Tuesday, March 8, 2011

La Flavour

Artist: La Flavour
LP: Mandolay
Song: "Can't Kill the Beat"
[ listen ]

Here's something else I found at Jive Time Records over the weekend. Started in Massillon, Ohio by the Nervo twins and their classmates Craig and Gino back in 1967, the group was previously called The Noblemen, The Blues Soul, and Ragweed before they finally hit it big as La Flavour with the release of their "Mandolay" LP in 1980. By then they had added Rusty and Rick to the lineup, they had become one of the hottest dance bands in the region, and they had developed a penchant for gourmet ice cream. The group signed to MCA for their followup release, but since the disco craze had begun to wane, the label changed their name to Fair Warning and steered the band in a pop/rock direction. The song "She Don't Know Me" was chosen as their first single, but then some upstart rock band swiped it out from under their noses, stuck it on their own album, and the Fair Warning LP was eventually shelved by MCA. Undaunted, La Flavour continued to tour on the strength of their "Mandolay" single, eventually embellishing their live shows with appearances by Franklin and Nick—a pair of dueling, drunken, and outspoken puppets who sent audiences into hysterical fits of stitches with their outrageous and inappropriate remarks. You can read all about La Flavour here, find each member's personal bio here, buy your own La Flavour apparel here, and find out where the group will be performing next right here.

No comments: