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In Erica Brown's words the blues are "my
musical love". She has worked with some of the finest artists in
the country, and has shared stages with Tab Benoit, Kenny Neal, Delbert
McClinton, Sonny Rhodes, Debbie Davies, Bernard Allison, and Larry McCray,
to name a few. Erica Brown's vocals were featured in the Sony Pictures
movies, “The Fan”, with Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro in
1996, as well as the 2005 CD “African Wind” released by the
Northern Blues Label.
Meet...
Erica Brown (from WhatsDoingTonight.com)
Among the perks of this "job" are
the exceptional people I've been able to add to my list of friends and
acquaintances. Musicians, singers and artists often posses special qualities
beyond their talent that would make anyone proud to be associated with
them.
I've never ranked this list. But, if I had
to do so, Erica Brown would certainly find a spot at the top.
Erica Brown With BB King |
From my perspective, there are two Erica Browns.
Off stage, there is the quiet, unassuming woman who can slip into the
circle of people you are talking to at a gathering without anyone noticing
just who it was who joined the group. In moments stolen to speak with
her between sets, she is soft spoken and demonstrates that she is first
a kind, compassionate and caring woman.
On stage that all changes. Erica Brown the
blues performer lets it all hang out. With a flirtatious little gleam
in her eyes, she taunts, she teases and she lets loose with a fun-loving,
high
energy rhythm and blues show that will knock your socks off!
So just who is Erica Brown? Well, she
is a gracious woman... and she's Denver's Queen of Rhythm and Blues.
Erica Brown moved to Colorado from Missouri
in 1976 and began her professional singing career in 1984. The first
band
of
note that she played with was Foreskin 500 and then Cherry Bomb Club.
She said she has some great road trip stories with those bands... (but
she isn't telling us any of them). She has since shared the stage with
the likes of Tab Benoit, Kenny Neal, Delbert McClinton, Sonny Rhodes,
Debbie Davies, Bernard Allison, and Larry McCray, to name a few. Her
vocals were featured in the Sony Pictures movies, “The Fan”,
with Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro in 1996.
Performers often become "larger than
life." When they are up there on that stage singing our troubles
away, it's easy to believe they have none of their own.
Not so. Most have had to overcome tremendous
hardships on their path and Erica Brown is no exception. In 2000, she
was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and with that came the terror that
she
might never
sing again. As "luck" would have it, Erica landed one of the
top surgeons in the country, Dr. Mona Abaza of the National Center for
Voice and Speech. Then she learned to speak and sing again from her vocal
coach, Ms. Kate Emerich.
Erica Brown says that thanks to the talent
of these two "amazing" women that she now sings better than
before the operation. She wants Colorado vocalists to know that we have
resources available in Colorado that other states don't have. The University
of Colorado voice practice medical clinic is actually located within
the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Lucky Erica and lucky us. The tireless performer
puts in a 40 hour week at her day job, rehearses with her band, puts
on public and corporate shows each week and still finds time to play
out with other bands... as does the rest of her band. Her drummer, Scotty,
occasionally plays with Tommy Thomas. Scotty, and her bass player, Rich,
recently worked on a commercial that is being aired in Japan.
Erica Brown's recent accomplishments,
outside her own band, include doing vocals with Frankie Lee for Dan
Treanor's African Wind CD. She also did the vocals for three tracks
on Homebrew's new CD, Smoke and Mirrors. In particular the song, Fandango
in Paris is a masterpiece and presents a side of Erica's talent that
you've never heard before. |
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