In Erica’s words the blues are "my musical love". Erica Brown has been a musician all her life, starting with singing in her Baptist Church choir as a child. Music was always in her home, and she was musically inclined early in life. She picked up the flute in 3rd grade, where she participated in concert and marching bands the remainder of her school experience through graduation from High School. She moved to Colorado later that same year, and the musical experiences of living in a large city were exactly what she needed to feed her muse.
But when true love came calling, she could not refuse, and embarked on her blues career in 1998. The blues-rock outfit The Erica Brown Band (1998-2008) was a staple on the Colorado music scene, winning virtually every award the region offered, including Best Blues Band from the Rocky Mountain News, Best “Underground” band several years running from the Denver Post, The Westword Music Award for Best Blues Band, and going to Memphis, TN as the Colorado Band Category Representative to the International Blues Challenge for the Colorado Blues Society in 2008, winning over twenty other Colorado bands to vie for the honors in Memphis. The band recorded two studio CD's, Body Work (2000) and Rough Cut Stone (2003), along with a live recording of their Telluride Blues and Brews festival appearance in 2007.
She dabbled in many different musical genres trying to find a comfortable fit for her talents before the Erica Brown Band came into being, and had successes with more than one, including the legendary Electronica band Foreskin 500 ( where her vocals from the Band’s 1996 release “Starbent but Superfreaked” were featured in the Sony Pictures movies, “The Fan”, with Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro in 1996) and recorded the CD “Cherry Bomb Club” as a member of that band (where the band won the Westword Music Award for best Electronica Band in 1998).
Erica has always been willing to lend her considerable vocal chops to her friends, and in 2005, collaborated on the Handy-Award nominated CD “African Wind” released by the Northern Blues Label. On September 03, 2005, she contributed to the Colorado recording of "A Concert for the Gulf Coast" broadcast live and recorded by KRFC Radio in Fort Collins CO, which raised over $42,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims. In 2006, she was featured on the CD “Smoke and Mirrors” released by MojoHand Records.
Erica was dubbed “Denver’s Queen of the Blues”, a moniker that was used by the Altitude Network in their concert showcase feature “OnStage”, which was broadcast to their subscriber-base of five million households in ten western states in 2005. The band opened shows for many legends of the blues, including B.B. King, Al Green, Buddy Guy, and John Mayall, to name a few. Erica has shared stages with a veritable who’s who of blues over the years, including Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, Big Bill Morganfield, Tab Benoit, Kenny Neal, Delbert McClinton, Sonny Rhodes, Debbie Davies, Bernard Allison, Papa Mali, Henry Butler and Larry McCray. She has also worked with contemporary artists such as Hazel Miller and BrownGirl.
Here's a review of Erica by Dan Todd of the Pikes Peak Blues Society:
"Then, out walks Erica Brown.
Nothing quite prepares an audience for the big presence and sheer joy of living listeners find in Ms. Brown’s performance. She was engaging and funny, at once self-effacing and supremely confident. Opening with “Night Time Is the Right Time,” she also showed that she can deliver the blues. Her middle range, dynamic voice soared, then growled, then soared again, insisting and pleading until the mood for the night was set. Musicians have what’s called a “get over number” to get the crowd on their side. “Night Time” got over, all right. With Erica in the driver’s seat, if you wanna take a ride, better fasten your seat belt. There is a feeling of continued anticipation in the rare art of great blues performance: each song builds on the energy and execution of the last one, and you find yourself thinking “How you gonna top that?” But Erica did, with “I Want Love,” ("I Want Love" is an original tune penned by The Subdudes' John Magnie, and prolific songwriter Bob Mocken), followed by the heartfelt blues ballad “Nothing Takes the Place of You.” END OF REVIEW.
And another review by "Steady Rollin'" Bob Margolin, former guitarist for the legendary Muddy Waters:
“A little way into our last set, our host, Dan, tipped me that singer Erica Brown from down the road in Denver was in the house and I should call her up to sit in. Maybe because I was already having such a good weekend, I wasn't expecting it to go even farther. I did not know Erica Brown, but certainly trusted Dan and immediately invited her up to the bandstand. She proceeded to tear the house down, leading the band expertly and improvising a show with us that the audience loved. It was so much fun it must have been illegal, and it showed. We all need to get to know Erica Brown better." END OF REVIEW
What she's doing now: In 2008 Erica collaborated on no fewer than three CD’s, providing vocals to Slim Cessna’s Auto Club on their critically acclaimed CD “Cipher”, worked with rock genius Xiren on his CD “Trip-R”, and gave a gospel-inflected reading to 2008 Solo/Duo Category International Blues Challenge Winner Lionel Young’s CD “Beautiful Day”.
2009 will be a bright year for this daughter of the blues, and Erica looks forward delving ever deeper into that magical, mystical thing called the Blues, and will continue to spread the Blues gospel worldwide!
About me: Press Excerpts for Erica Brown:
**"Erica Brown kicks major booty on the Bandstand"-Bob Margolin**
"She really can sing!"-Bruce Iglauer, President, Alligator Records**
"Erica Brown joins in to provide some excellent backing vocals; her voice echoing and playing off Lionel's turns this into a righteous, tambourine-shaking, hallelujah brother spiritual. Makes you want to go out and get some religion if you don't have any already." Chick Cavallero, Senior CD Reviewer, Boulder's Home of the Blues Website**
"Well, I’ll just say it straight: Erica Brown is the best damn R&B singer in Denver, end of story"-Neil Haverstick, Colorado Music Buzz Magazine**
Hi Erica, Still looking forward to you coming to sit in.
The Music 4 Youth Benefit will take place, Sunday, May 17th, at the Fox Theatre from 6:00 pm – 12:00 am. Help area youth thrive in a learning environment that is customized and caring for them. Six great hours of entertainment for only $22. E-mail Leslie Levinson to become a sponsor. Go to the Fox Theatre web site to buy tickets. Go to the Catalyst High School web site to learn more about this incredible educational alternative that needs your help.
6:00 - BreakEFX (2008 winners of Colorado's Best Dance Crew)
6:45 - John Runnels (2009 winner of CU Idol Competition)
7:30 - Wendy Woo Duo (with a string of "Best of" awards from a variety of sources including so many from Westword that they put her in their Hall of Fame)
8:30 - Ginga (playing and dancing the samba in the Brazilian music scene of Colorado since 2004 )
9:30 - Hazel Miller (Westword's Readers Poll "Best Blues/R&B" 1995 - 1997) with Papa Juke (host band for Westword's 2009 Best Blues Jam)
10:30 - Girls on Top (Runner up for Best Local Musical Group inthe 2008 Colorado Daily Competition)
All Star Jam starts at 11:15.
Special Guests: Erica Brown (Westword's Award for Best Blues Band) & Lionel Young (Winner of the 2008 International Blues Challenge!)
The Informants Get Their Blues On @ Ziggie's Friday! The Informants rock you all night long Friday Ziggie's in Denver.
Hey Kats and Kittens,
The Informants @ Ziggie's Friday The Informants are back in action this weekend, bringing you a FULL night of dirty blues this Friday (4/17) at Denver's finest blues establishment, Ziggie's Saloon (38th & Sheridan in Denver). Informants shows at Ziggie's are starting to get a life of their own. It's always hot, sweaty and naughty. The crowds have also been at capacity, so be sure to get there early. The Informants take the stage at 9pm and play two full shows! So come on out, get a taste of the new record and dance your blues away.
NEW INFORMANTS CD SET FOR SPRING RELEASE Summer Dates and New Year’s Eve Announced
A new album from the Informants is currently being mixed and readied for a late spring release according to the band's label, Wipe It Off! Records. The yet untitled album was recorded this past winter at Denver's Notably Fine Audio with house engineer Mario Casilio and producer Jeremy Lawton, also of Big Head Todd & the Monsters. The album title, track listing, art work, and release date are expected to be released soon.
The Informants have also announced an extensive list of summer tour dates, including the grand opening of the Ghost Ranch Saloon--a new Steamboat Springs 400 seat music venue; headline slots on the Belvedere, Empire, and Blue Water Blues Festivals; Summerfest Blues & Brews with John Lee Hooker, Jr.; bikinis at Caldonia's; fireworks in Fraser; Memorial Day on Gold Hill; a dozen or more of Colorado's best concert series and festivals; and more shows to be announced soon. For details and the latest updates, check the band's official website www.theinformantsband.com.
Online Now!
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