EDL
Born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Oakland CA of Jamaician parents, Erika “EDL” Lawrence has always had a great love for music. Her childhood was filled with reggae, rock, folk, and r&b thanks to her mother, a talented songwriter, guitarist and pianist, and music loving father; her love of classical and opera was heavily influenced by her grandfather who played the organ and performed often sh
owcasing his powerful vocals as well. EDL began learning the flute, her first instrument, at 6 years of age. She eventually went on to receive training in classical piano and music theory during junior high school, and was chosen to be a part of world re-known choir, the Castlemont Castleers (Oakland CA) starting in her 11
grade year in high school where she learned the fundamentals of vocal performance, sight singing, touring, and other aspects of event planning. Focusing on vocal expression, EDL continued to improve and elevate her skills providing background ground vocals for several artists, and shared live performances with, Ritchie Spice, Sly & Robbie, Matt Fink (the Revolution), and Fiji, in venues, and festivals including: Yoshi’s (SF & Oakland, CA), House of Blues (Los Angeles, CA), Harmony Festival (Sonoma, CA), and SXSW (Austin, TX)…to name a few. In addition to live performances, she began recording regularly in the studio for album projects, songwriting and creating vocal arrangements, taking advantage of the opportunity to work with a diverse groups artists and producers including: Mykal Rose (Black Uhuru), Jr. T***s, and Prince Paul (for Souls of Mischief, Montezuma’s Revenge). Currently, EDL is a signed artist to Rysque’ Records (a vinyl label based in Sacramento, CA), as part of the groups DU-O and Fonk-E-Bone. She continues to record in the studio, creating original material and covers for fundraising projects, tributes, and albums for various independent artists. Her love and support for musical family is energized by opportunities to work with fellow peers on any creative journey of artistic expression to share with the world. Since childhood; for EDL, Music is Life.
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FONK
Born and raised in Oakland California, Freddie “Fonk” White spent endless self-taught hours learning how to play multiple instruments and write/produce music by studying different musical techniques from some of his favorite artists growing up. These influences came from extremely talented performers such as: Roger Troutman, Louis Johnson, Bootsy Collins, Marcus Miller, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and BabyFace. Freddie developed and mastered his own unique style, adapting the same work ethic and skills of these legendary players, giving him an edge that can be easily experienced watching him perform on stage. He has been blessed in recent years with many opportunities to showcase his skills as a performer and accomplished musician working with some of the best in the industry including: Con Funk Shun, Howard Hewitt, Gary Taylor, and Jay King (to name a few), and has worked in the studio with George Clinton (Parliament Funkadelic), Ollie Woodson (the Temptations), and Matt Fink (The Revolution). Freddie tours regularly with "Lenny Williams", former lead singer of Tower of Power, in venues large and small, nationally ;including The Lincoln Center (NY), The Fox Theatre (Atlanta, GA) and Yoshi’s (Oakland/SF) and internationally in Africa and Jamaica. Although he is best known for his talents on the bass guitar, he also owns, operates, and maintains his own project recording business “Peek a Boo studio” in Oakland, CA, allowing him the tools to create music of all genre types, with many local up and coming artists, record (vinyl) labels and fellow musical peers alike. After many years of experience, circulation of high quality original music and discipline, Freddie has become a prominent and respected songwriter, producer, and highly proficient recording engineer, playing an important role in many successful projects. Some of his most recent work can be heard on several different programs and commercials in the U.S. and throughout the world including: Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, France, Sweden, Germany, Amsterdam, South Africa, and Spain to name a few.
