|
x |
Artists |
|
|
LUCE began when songwriter Tom Luce, having moved back to San Francisco from North Carolina, met Adam Rossi, a producer and keyboardist who was setting up a studio in Palo Alto, California. The duo clicked and went to work on the first LUCE CD, with Tom commuting to Adam’s studio where he’d meet some of the best players in the Bay area, including drummer Steve Bowman, who was with the Counting Crows on August and Everything After.
With the self-titled CD completed, Tom put together his touring band. After hearing LUCE’s music, Joe Schuld, working with Columbia Records at the time, became their manager and sent their album to San Francisco’s KFOG. The station reacted immediately, placing “Long Way Down”, then “Good Day”, into regular rotation - unheard of for an independent band that had only played a dozen shows. With KFOG aboard, other stations around the country heard the tracks and LUCE was soon getting airplay in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, Nashville, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland and many other markets.
By 2002, the band was signed to Nettwerk America and “Good Day” had become a minor hit within Triple A and Hot AC radio. Subsequently, LUCE earned honors as one of Radio & Records 2002 Triple A Breakthrough Artists, and then won the California Music Award that year for Outstanding Debut Album. “Good Day” also landed in two major motion pictures — 13 Going on 30 and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days — as well as placement in several network television series’, including Alias and The OC.
By April 2006 everything was looking up for LUCE. They had independently released their second album Never Ending in 2005 and “Buy A Dog” made the top 100 most played songs at the major Triple A-formatted radio stations. In fact, it was the only song with that distinction from a band not signed with a label. LUCE’s fanbase expanded throughout the country and they were set to tour.
But bad luck would finally catch good luck by surprise. On the Friday before the spring ‘06 tour began, as Tom was taking the stage, he got word that his home was destroyed by fire. Everything he owned was lost that day. Despite the significant loss, Tom joined the band for the tour as planned. Two weeks later bad luck struck again in Philadelphia when the band’s van, trailer and all of their equipment were stolen from their hotel. Immediately, fans responded with offers of equipment and cash – even a van! LUCE continued the tour on borrowed gear and borrowed time, and was forced to cancel 10 shows and drive back to San Francisco after the van was found damaged. It was repaired and they returned to the road just in time for a string of dates with Toad The Wet Sprocket.
While Tom is LUCE’s leader, singer, guitarist and chief songwriter, the band around him continues to evolve, with Tom and Adam at the backbone. L.A. punk lead guitarist Dylan Brock became a key addition to the group, which now includes drummer Brian Zalewski and bassist Kevin White, who has also played with Chuck Prophet and Shelby Lynne.
Megan Slankard (www.meganslankard.com) was born to make music. It's in her soul and you can hear it in her performances. Megan released her first CD, Lady Is A Pirate, at 17 years of age. The Northern California native performed at music conferences in Boston, Toronto, and Switzerland. She was a finalist in the Pantene Pro-Voice program, then made freaky little story, her second CD, that filled out her sound and has now sold almost 10,000 copies. During the summer of 2004, Megan gained notoriety in the U.S. and Canada from her appearance on The Learning Channel makeover show What Not To Wear. On the show, David Knopfler of Dire Straits, who Megan had already toured with twice in Germany, said, "She's the real deal, she's an artist and she's walking in the same tradition as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell." Megan even co-wrote and performed the title track on Knopfler's latest CD, Ship Of Fools. Last summer the legendary KFOG in San Francisco included her song "Too Bad You" on a station compilation CD, she performed on their morning show and received airplay. The same type of things were happening at KQPT in Chico and KOSO in Modesto, where she won her second MAMA (Modesto Area Music Association) award. ------------------------- |
LUCE
