Earthquire -

Earthquire was an American soul group that released a self-titled album on Motown-subsidiary Natural Resources in 1972. Vocalist Táta Vega later recorded as a solo artist.

Members: Brie Howard, Laurie Anne Bell, Mike Gorfaine, Tata Vega

Background

Earthquire assembled in 1971 when singer Tata Vega teamed with Brie Brandt.

Tata (b. Carmen Rosa Vega, October 7, 1951; Queens) came from a Latin/African household and sang from age twelve. In 1969, she joined the Los Angeles cast of the counter-culture Broadway musical Hair. Her first recorded group activity was in Pollution, a soul-psych band produced by Dobie Gray for Prophesy Records.

Brie (b. Marie Berry, August 9, 1949) grew up in Sacramento and took up drums as a child, inspired by her musician brothers. In 1965, she recorded three songs with her first group, The Kee-Notes. She then joined The Svelts, an all-female precursor to Fanny. In 1968, she married Mike Brandt and the couple had a daughter, Brandi Brandt, a future actress and Playboy Playmate of the Month. Brie partook in the 1970 formation of Fanny, initially a quintet, but stepped aside when they settled on a four-piece configuration.

Tata and Brie hit the Los Angeles live circuit with Mike Gorfaine and Laurie Anne Bell. Gorfaine cut a prior single as Zodiac: the 1968 Uni Records release “”X” Rated” (b/w “Then Goodbye”). At LA’s Troubadour, Earthquire impressed attendee Berry Gordy Jr., who signed the act to Natural Resources, a just-launched white division of Motown with a small roster of rock and folk acts (Corliss, Gotham, Heart, Road).

Earthquire (album)

Earthquire released their self-titled album in 1972 on Natural Resources.

The album pairs warm, percussive soul with jazz inflections and sweeping vocal arrangements. It’s the lone document of Earthquire’s brief union, centered on vocalist Táta Vega, who delivers with rangy phrasing and fervent presence.

Táta Vega wrote four songs and co-wrote a fifth with keyboardist Mark Hofstein, who also arranged the material. Additional contributors include guitarist Mike Gorfaine and outside writers P. Brown, J. Salih, and J. Smith.

A1. “Sunshine Man” (3:59)
A2. “Harvest Feeling” (3:29)
A3. “A Day to Remember” (4:13)
A4. “Southern Comfort” (4:24)
A5. “Soul Long” (3:57)

B1. “Soul Eyes” (3:25)
B2. “So Free” (4:02)
B3. “This Feeling Won’t Last Long” (3:32)
B4. “My Sea” (4:27)
B5. “Prayer of Light” (2:45)

Sessions occurred at an unspecified studio with producer Tom Wilson and engineer Bruce Ellison, assisted by John Borman. Mark Hofstein played tenor sax and flute. Greg Mathieson handled keys. Charlie Stephens played bass and Jim Varley handled drums.

Earthquire features cover art by Cliff McReynolds. The image depicts the band as weeds being plucked by a sharecropper; on the back, they float above her in a sky-lit haze.

Postlude

Gordy folded the Natural Resources after one album apiece from each if its acts. Tata sang on the 1972 Prophesy release Polution II. Between 1976 and 1980, she made four solo albums on Motown’s Tamla division.

Brie divorced Brandt and married Mama Lion keyboardist James Newton Howard. In 1974, she rejoined Fanny for their fifth album, Rock and Roll Survivors.

Discography: