RCA Press Release
When Creole chefs combine a number of mouth-watering ingredients
to form a rich gravy base, the resulting sauce is called a "roux."
Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the band known as LeRoux
more than lives up to their name with a music that's strong,
tasty and fulfilling.
So Fired Up is LeRoux's second album for RCA, following
last year's Last Safe Place, which included the singles
"Addicted" and "Nobody Said It Was Easy." Last Safe Place
and their new album So Fired Up were both produced by
bassist Leon Medica.
The members of LeRoux were playing together for some time
before combining their talents as a formal band. Leon Medica,
David Peters, Rod Roddy, Bobby Campo, and Jeff Pollard all worked
in the house band at Studio in the Country, a major recording
facility located in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Medica, a staff producer,
led them in backing up such artists as Clifton Chenier and Clarence
"Gatemouth" Brown. For a while, they would tour with Gatemouth
half the week and devote the other half to their own music,
eventually organizing as the Jeff Pollard Band. In 1976 they
backed Brown on a tour of Africa sponsored by the United States
State Department.
Tony Haselden was recruited as the band's guitarist shortly
after the group was awarded their first recording contract in
1977. Changing their name to "Louisiana's LeRoux" (they used
the State's name both for local identification and for legal
reasons—another band was already using the name LeRoux), they
released their debut album named after the group in 1978. A
hit single, "New Orleans Ladies," made the national top 40 and
climbed higher still in several markets. Subsequent albums were
titled Keep The Fire Burnin' and Up.
In 1981, after building a solid reputation thanks to their
albums and a tortuous touring schedule that had them on the
road three quarters of each year, LeRoux—no need for "Louisiana's"
any more—was signed to RCA.
The departure of two founding members, Jeff Pollard and Bobby
Campo, to pursue other interests has resulted in the addition
of a new lead singer and lead guitarist. Jim Odom, lead guitarist,
is from the band's hometown of Baton Rouge. Jim attended Boston's
prestigious Berklee School of Music on a scholarship sponsored
by the jazz journal Down Beat. Back in Baton Rouge, Jim formed
a Jazz-Rock fusion band that bears the distinction of being
"...the first Asia. When the super group that had been put together
decided that they wanted to use that name, they had to square
things with us, because we were already registered with it."
Dennis "Fergie" Frederiksen, now LeRoux's lead singer, was
living in Los Angeles when manager Budd Carr contacted him about
auditioning for the opening spot in LeRoux.
Fergie hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was on a gymnastic
scholarship at Central Michigan University. "At the same time
I was going to college, I was working in a band. I'd drive 99
miles to make a club date, and then have to be back in class
at eight the next morning." Music won out, with Fergie moving
to Chicago and joining a band called Trillion.
"Not only does the addition of Fergie and Jim extend the
strength of LeRoux's already-powerful recorded sound and stage
show, there's an added bonus," says Leon. "The fact that Fergie
is a lead singer, and not someone who doubles on an instrument,
focuses the band visually in a way we didn't have before. Of
course, Jim's strength as a player will add its own dimension.
We were looking for that kind of thing when we were auditioning
musicians."
Past performances have proven LeRoux as highly regarded songwriters
and as one of the most accomplished bands around, with a particularly
strong following in the southeastern part of the country. Their
television appearances include "Solid Gold" and their video
of "Addicted" reached heavy rotation on MTV.
The future promises to be even more exciting. Leon speaks
confidently of a "team effort that's really happening," and
of LeRoux's "well-rounded chemistry."
And what could be more important to a tasty roux than the
well-rounded chemistry of a diverse blend of proven Ingredients?
