Lydia Pense, lead vocals
Donny Baldwin, Drums
Rich Armstrong, trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals, percussion
Rob Zuckerman, tenor sax, flute
Steve Salinas, keys, vocals
Evan Palmerston, bass
Steve Dunne, lead guitar
Joel Behrman, trombone, trumpet
Influences
Tower of Power, the East-Bay sound
Signed by legendary producer Bill Graham in 1969, Cold Blood cranked out several good chunks of vinyl until 1974. Those albums included Sisyphus1969, First Taste Of Sin1972, Thriller1973, Vintage Blood: Live1973 and Lydia1974
Sounds Like
WE BROKE THE MOLD!
Coldblood, along with Tower of Power, is one of the original horn bands from the late 60's/ early 70's that exemplified the "East Bay Grease" melding of funk and rock with blues and jazz elements. Lydia Pense has been compared to Janis Joplin, but is a true original and a pioneer in the women's rock movement.
great history on crossover musicians and a brief history of the recordings and people behind them including the band's work with the late great Donny Hathaway
Lydia Pense and Cold Blood on the UK radio waves! Click the link to hear our song, Good Woman, open up the BBC's Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show. Now this is radio the way it should be... no Clear channel out there! You can even hear the scratches on the record!
Lydia Pense and Cold Blood are Bay Area music pioneers with an amazing history and an exciting future.
Lydia and the band debuted when the Fillmore was at its peak as one of the nation’s musical Mecca’s. Owner Bill Graham was so impressed with Lydia’s voice and the sound of the band that he immediately signed Cold Blood to his new record label. During the span of six original late-60’s, early-70’s albums, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood helped, along with Tower Of Power, forge their own specific brand of funk/soul and R&B which came to be know as East Bay Grease. That music still holds up today, proving that great music is timeless and will continue to inspire generations to come. Lydia Pense and Cold Blood packed the San Francisco Ballrooms in their heyday, but that was then and this is now. In the now, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood still fill halls with cheering, dancing, foot-stomping fans. Far from fading over the years, Cold Blood has flourished.
The word legend certainly applies to Lydia Pense and Cold Blood…and not in some past tense-make-a-living-as-an-oldies-act sort of way either. Pense can still shout like a 60’s soul diva and purr a slow blues tune with spine-tingling subtlety. Cold Blood, as a whole, features a stellar group of musicians who have been playing together for nearly 20 years including Steve Dunne on guitar, Steve Salinas ..boards, a gritty-growling horn section comprised of Rich Armstrong and Rob Zuckerman along with a stellar rhythm section featuring Evan Palmerston on bass and Donny Baldwin on drums.
The band members are all veteran Bay Area musicians who have played with many great artists including Boz Skaggs, Elvin Bishop, Starship, Thomas Dolby, Eddie Money, Michelle Shocked, Albert Collins and more. Of course there is Lydia who still has the chops with the patina of a seasoned veteran who’s done and seen it all. Together she and the band continue to twist together R&B, (both Old School and New School); into something that doesn’t have a label... On any given night, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood power through their historic essentials, like “You Got Me Hummin’,” “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” “I’m A Good Woman,” and “Down to the Bone.” But now, there’s a whole new CD of future classics that draws on their heritage but is not stifled by the past. Now able to draw from the first new Cold Blood album in three decades, Lydia and the band blast out a set that covers 40 years of thumping, throbbing, East Bay funk.
Several of the new tracks that make it on to the set list each night come from original Cold Blood alum Skip Mesquite. Another tune of particular note, “Face the Music,” is written by guitar ace Steve Dunne. All this fresh music makes any Cold Blood show invigorating. And, of course, anything Lydia sings is sung well. She has a list of famous admirers that includes Bonnie Raitt, Michelle Shocked, David Lee Roth, even Janis Joplin back in the day.
It’s been a long road, over 40 years to be exact with a break somewhere in the middle. But, Lydia and the band are living proof that a little time off can be a really good thing. With their new CD, “Transfusion” (DIG 116) turning heads across the country, fans are remembering just what has been missing from music in the last few decades. The 12 songs exemplify how a performer can take great strides forward, without forgetting her roots. Using “Transfusion” as their muse there is a renewed interest in live performances, from both the band, and venue owners. Cold Blood is booking dozens of shows across the country, entertaining generations of club, theatre and festival goers.
Cold Blood has been blessed with the ability to reach backwards for original influences and the creativity to reach forward, working with new approaches. The music they play is ageless, and can still fill any room to the rafters.
Now Cold Blood is featured on a new live record- Live Blood! Just released, this new live recording shows the world that Lydia Pense is a force to be reckoned with. This album displays Cold Blood in midtour perfection and in front of a big appreciative audience, the Sunbanks Music Festival in Washington State. This raucous recording features Cold Blood powering through some of their most recognized tunes such as “I’m A Good Woman,” “You Got Me Hummin’,” and “I Just Wanna Make Love To You.” To balance this sweat-soaked session they also deliver a few from their recent studio recording Transfusion and top things off with a new R&B masterpiece, “Can’t Take It (Don’t Give A Damn)” written by the great Lavelle White. Live Blood is what Cold Blood fans have been waiting for – lightning in a bottle, fronted by the incomparable Ms. Pense. Cold Blood continues to draw from their heritage without being stifled by their past, and all the while boasting a reinvigorated groove that will make you sweat, dance, and smile...all at the same time.
Cold Blood Discography
Vintage Blood (Dig 104)
Transfusion (Dig 116)
Live Blood (Dig 119)
Contact scott(at)digmusic.com
Clip taken from the concert film "Fillmore: The Last Days" You Got Me Hummin'
You all and Lydia are just toooooo kewl! I barely saw you at Woodfest (which I was at 40 years back..eeeeks) because I was behind another stage. And so many continue to rave about you! I did see and hear you not long ago. Am going to try and work my way out to RANCHO! Love you and what a super fun place. Be well and lots'a love.
Shannon
P.S. We are lining up some benefits for Norton Buffalo. The first one is Nov 22nd. As you most likely know he has fallen VERY ill. But not without those miles of smiles of his!
In just two weeks, Bill Champlin will be touring the West Coast in support of his new CD / DVD, "No Place Left To Fall", currently available by clicking the widget on his sites. Joining Bill will be Tamara Champlin, on vocals, along with Jerry Lopez, Rochon Westmoreland, Eddie Garcia, and Jamie Hosmer, of Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns.
Tickets are on sale now
Friday, November 6 • San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House - 949-496-8930
Saturday, November 7 • San Diego, CA - Anthology - 619-595-0300
Sunday, November 8 • Redondo Beach, CA - Brixton South Bay - 310-406-1931
Tuesday, November 10 • Santa Cruz, CA - Moe's Alley - 831-479-1854
Wednesday, November 11 • Mill Valley, CA - Throckmorton Theatre - 415-383-9600
Thursday, November 12 • Tuolumne, CA - Black Oak Casino - 209-928-9322
Friday, November 13 • Lodi, CA - Hutchins Street Square - 209-333-6782
Saturday, November 14 • Santa Rosa, CA - Last Day Saloon - 707-545-5876
Sunday, November 15 • Newcastle, CA - Constable Jacks - 916-663-9385
Tuesday, November 17 • Dunsmuir, CA - Sengthong's Blue Sky Room - 530-235-1046
Thursday, November 19 • Portland, OR - Jimmy Maks - 503-295-6542
Friday, November 20 • Langley, WA - Mukilteo Coffee Roaster - 360-321-5262
Saturday, November 21 • Langley, WA - Mukilteo Coffee Roaster - 360-321-5262
Sunday, November 22 • Seattle, WA - Triple Door - 206-838-4333
Saw you tonight at the Aladdin in Portland! Lydia you are proof that dynamite comes in small packages! AWESOME!! Hey Rich~ Is there an instrument that you don't play...yet?
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music. George Eliot~ "She says it so well!"
Thank you, Lydia & Cold Blood! You truly honor me with your friendship and music! Blessings and A Sense of Wonder! Caron~
In 1968, I was in a band called 'Littlejohn Farm' and we had the great pleasure of opening for you in Rio Nido on the Russian River. I still remember that gig and being blown away by you. All my best wishes, leland sklar
