14 April 2019

LUCY BROWN self titled 1991

by request


Artist Biography by

The Lucy Brown profiled in this bio was not a female solo artist but rather an interracial, all-male funk-metal/funk-rock combo along the lines of Living Colour, Mother's Finest, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and 24-7 Spyz. Like those bands, Lucy Brown had one foot in bass-slapping funk and the other in crunching, guitar-powered, metallic rock. Led Zeppelin and the seminal Jimi Hendrix were influences, but so were Sly & the Family Stone, Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, and George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic. (In fact, one of the songs that Lucy Brown liked to perform on-stage was Funkadelic's "Super Stupid"). Unfortunately, the obscure Lucy Brown (whose lyrics could be very sociopolitical) didn't have much commercial success, but those who were hip to the East Coast funk-rockers swore by them.
The band's original lineup was formed in the Washington, DC area in 1987. At first, they favored a power trio format that consisted of Scott Llewellyn on lead vocals and electric bass, Luis Peraza, Jr. on electric guitar and background vocals, and Chris Neuberg on drums and background vocals. In 1988, Lucy Brown's original three-man lineup recorded its self-titled debut album (which was only released as a vinyl LP) for T.O.G. Records, a small independent label based in Virginia. The record, which suffered from limited distribution, didn't do much and quickly went out of print. It was in 1990 that the band unveiled a new four-man lineup. That year, Gene Hawkins became the new lead vocalist. Llewellyn remained, but he was no longer the lead singer -- he was strictly a guitarist/background vocalist from that point on. In 1991, Lucy Brown's new Hawkins/Llewellyn/Peraza/Neuberg lineup signed with Megaforce/Atlantic and recorded a new album. Like their previous album on T.O.G., the band's first Megaforce/Atlantic album was self-titled -- ut unlike that LP, it enjoyed strong national distribution. Even so, 1991's Lucy Brown was a commercial disappointment, which is why Megaforce/Atlantic decided to drop the band. In 1992, Llewellyn left the group, and Jon Papazoglou became the new bassist. With that third lineup in place, Lucy Brown signed with the small, Washington, DC-based Death Rebel Music in 1993 and recorded a six-song EP titled Five Dead Dogs. That EP turned out to be Lucy Brown's final release; in 1994, Hawkins met an untimely death. Instead of searching for a new lead singer, Peraza, Neuberg, and Papazoglou decided that it would be best for them to call it quits and go their separate ways. So in 1994, Lucy Brown officially broke up and ended its seven-year run. Peraza went on to become the partial owner of Atomic Music, a store that is located in College Park, MD and sells musical instruments and equipment. 

Tracklist

1 Skyburn 4:11
2 Nobody Home 3:49
3 Colorblind 3:26
4 Thoughts (Working Class) 4:18
5 It Takes Me Higher 3:43
6 Brother 4:28
7 Mold The Truth 4:38
8 Roots 3:43
9 Favorite Waste Of Time 3:34
10 Big Sleep 4:14
11 Rhode Island 3:49


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