Music
Press
"Our steamy but sweet fantasies of soulful early-1960s amour now have a soundtrack: Lord Loves a Working Man... These men pour their hearts out in songs that make audience members alternately work up a sweat and hold each other very, very close." - Hiya Swanhuyser
"Feeling a bit nostalgic for the 1960s? The appropriately named, 9-piece band, 'Lord Loves A Working Man,' is fully-inspired, classic, old school rhythm and blues, powered by unforgettable horns and keyboards, touched with a golden streak of Otis Redding and Sly and the Family Stone. Dripping with that vibe of southern soul shouters, this gang nails the genre on the head so perfectly that you'd never know it was 2005. They have proven that no matter how great the old R&B masters might have been, there's always room for one more, always room in the heart and head for more of this classic style." - CDBABY.COM
"...the latest release from San Francisco's Lord Loves a Working Man is the ultimate soul throwback. With a sound rooted in classic recordings from decades past, the group's eponymous full-length release reaches back and attempts to reconnect with the source of soul music. It's like a seance with dancing, and if you listen closely you can hear a little bit of everyone in there: some James Brown here, some Al Green there...
...The arrangements on LLAWM's record, the bridges, tones and melodic elements, are sketched with an uncanny precision by the group. They invoke the spirit of old soul music in a respectful and playful way. And in an era where most folks are focused on the "next big thing", it is good to see there are some kids still kicking around the old ideas and keeping them fresh. " - Malcom Sosa (Fresno Famous)
"Don't know why it should be any different for this genre than for any other, but it strikes us that it's gotta take some major cojones to tackle the badass stylings of Stax! That said, L.L.A.W.M. do so, and they do it admirably well. These folks clearly have a genuine gritty love of old soul music." - Aquarius Records San Francisco
"This year's Awards program was a colorful and diverse celebration of local music and people.
...My interest was most piqued by Soul/Funk/R&B winner Lord Loves a Working Man, of whom I had not previously heard (but later scouring of the Internet radiowaves turned up some super sweet beats)...
...If you weren't at our special affair at Ruby Skye last night, here are this year's winners without further ado."
2008 SF Weekly Music Awards Winners
Bay Area Maverick: Lyrics Born
Rap/Hip-Hop: Subtle
Dance/Electronic: Wallpaper
Alt-Country/Folk/Singer-Songwriter: Sean Hayes
Club Night: Saturday Night Soul Party
Jazz/Blues: Nice Guy Trio
Experimental, Etc.: Uni and her Ukelele
Indie Rock/Pop: Thee Oh Sees
Metal/Psych/Punk: Wooden Shjips
International: Brass Menazeri
Soul/R&B/Funk: Lord Loves a Working Man
(by Tamara Palmer) - SF WEEKLY
"First Annual S.F. Songbird Festival: High Octane ’60s Soul Shakedown"
Date/Time:Thu., July 30, 8:00pm
Price: $10
Winner of last year’s SF Weekly Music Award for the Soul/Funk/R&B category, Lord Loves a Working Man infuses Deep South grit into its Mission District home base. The band balances moody blues with uplifting shakers and near-spiritual onstage jam sessions. The group recently expanded its lineup to 11 members by adding two new vocalists, sultry singer Cynthia Taylor and trumpeter Freddi Price. Lord Loves a Working Man performs live, with support from the Struts, the Hi-Nobles, and dancers the Devil-Ettes, as part of the first Songbird Festival. — Tamara Palmer
- SF WEEKLY.com
"Lord loves a working man" is advice given to Navin Johnson from his family in Steve Martin's classic, The Jerk. But SF's own Lord Loves A Working Man feels more like "Cool Jerk." With a sound slathered with raw soul reminiscent of the early Stax Records era, it's a wonder that the 9-piece band hails from the Mission District instead of the Mason-Dixon line.
Their 2005 self-titled release is a throwback to traditional rhythm and blues, long before it was ruined by Auto-Tune. Sporting a mean rhythm section accompanied by smooth horns and both female and male vocalists, Lord Loves A Working Man can get the hips swaying as easily as fellow revivalists Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and shares the old-school aesthetic of funk/soul aficionados as Miles Tackett and Stones Throw DJ's Egon and Peanut Butter Wolf. Their live performances match if not exceed their studio grooves, and provide a perfect night to slip on some boogie shoes.
The gritty, lowdown soul of Lord Loves A Working Man puts them amongst this year's SF Weekly Music Awards nominees. Show your support and cast a vote. --Oscar Pascual
Original URL to article:
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2008/09/sf_weekly_music_awards_nominee_5.php
- SF WEEKLY
I first heard Lord Loves a Working Man on a road trip to Monterey. "Just a Good Time" came on my friend's iPod and I had to interrupt our conversation to ask who was playin' the classic soul. I was shocked to find out that they're from the Mission and not from Motown. With nine instruments fueled on rock and blues, they bust out dirty nitty-gritty American soul music so badass you'd think you were listening to unreleased Wilson Pickett. If the organ, trumpet, and soothing vocals ain't enough, that bari-sax will put the final nail in your groove-coffin. (Sam Devine) - SF Bay Guardian
"San Francisco-based Lord Loves A Working Man revives classic rhythm and blues vibes for the ready go set and fuses old-school sensibility with soul and authentic love of the player and the played. My picks: "You Throw Out Your Lifeline," "Yuba City Breakdown," "Can't Remember Her Name" and "The Anthem."
Original link:
http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=5024
- San Francisco Bay Times
"Striding aloft the Bay Area music scene with an old-school rhythm-and-blues sound that rattles the floorboards, San Francisco's nine-piece band Lord Loves a Working Man is a rarity. It's clearly a dance-friendly outfit, but its music is so clearly imbued with a deep appreciation of soul music that it transcends mere tribute and becomes a living and breathing soul outfit in its own right. This isn't a throwback act, though the sounds it mines are classic--instead, this is rippling and vital, maximum R&B for our time. There are many groups who strike these veins for retro kitsch, but Lord Loves a Working Man is dead serious in its mission to get the dance floor moving while laying down serious servings of deep soul."
original link:
http://www.metrosantacruz.com/calendar/santacruz.html - METRO SANTA CRUZ.COM
Discography
1."Lord Loves A Working Man" 2005 (self-titled, self-released)
*availble for purchase on cdbaby.com
2."Lord Loves A Working Man- 5 Song EP" 2011. Limited edition EP with select tracks from the upcoming full length album (July 2011) along with unreleased live tracks.
3. "Lord Loves A Working Man" 2011 (self-titled, self-produced) Released September 1st, 2011
Photos
Bio
LORD LOVES A WORKING MAN is made up of ten Bay Area musicians brought together by the sound of late 60's scratched vinyl records with names such as "Stax", "Otis Redding," "Booker T,""Candi Staton," "James Carr," "Muscle Shoals," and "ZZ Hill" embossed on the tattered cardboard sleeves.
The accomplished and tenured members from various other jazz, avant garde, rock, blues, and R&B projects that make up LLAWM formed the group with the mission to revive some of the essential elements of 60's Southern "Memphis Style Deep Soul": the emotive shouts and screams, truth-be-told lyrics, the biting guitar twang, the locomotive steady rhythms, the crackling organ, and manic horn sections that take you from melancholy to uncontrollable fits of revelry as if tomorrow didn't matter. At every show, the band "punches the clock" and doesn't let up until they fully inspire their audiences to hoot,holler, dance. romance, sweat, and swing off the ails of the work week .
Formed in 2003, LLAWM has called the Mission District of San Francisco its home and continues to attract an ever- growing following through their raucous live performances and repertoire that seamlessly mixes original material with obscure and rare covers of a bygone day. They have become a regular headlining and supportive attraction in some of the major clubs in city such as Bottom of the Hill, Cafe Du Nord, and The Great American Music Hall. Recently LLAWM was awarded the 2008 SF WEEKLY Music Award for "Best Local Soul/R&B/Funk Act."
LLAWM looks to bring their unique brand of gritty retro R&B Soul to audiences far and wide. Its a sound rooted and owing to the past but one that evokes a hip-shaking, knuckle pounding, and tear-jerking good time that never goes out of style.
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