Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, sometimes referred to as POTR, is an American country rock group based in California.
The band consists of Lukas Nelson (lead vocals, guitar), Anthony LoGerfo (drums, percussion), Corey McCormick (bass guitar, vocals), Logan Metz (keyboards, lap steel, guitar, harmonica, vocals), and Tato Melgar (percussion). Lukas is the son of Willie Nelson.
Lukas Autry Nelson moved from Paia, Hawaii to Los Angeles in 2007 to attend Loyola Marymount University. In 2008, Nelson met drummer Anthony LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert and they began playing music together in Seal Beach, California.
Nelson dropped out of college in October 2008 to pursue a music career. He contacted Anthony LoGerfo (drummer), Tato Melgar (percussionist), Merlyn Kelly (bassist), and formed Promise of the Real.
The band played its first shows in the fall of 2008, selling its first EP Live Beginnings to pay for touring. The album contained live tracks recorded at the “Belly Up” venue in Solana Beach, California.
In January 2009, the band began a nine-show tour opening for Willie Nelson, including a five-night stop at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Following that tour the band embarked on a two-week tour with B.B. King through Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Nebraska.
In April 2009, Promise of the Real released its first studio EP, Brando’s Paradise Sessions. Its cover art became the basis for the band’s peace sign logo.
Original bassist Merlyn Kelly left the band in 2009. Corey McCormick became the band’s bass player in 2010. McCormick had performed with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden.
Promise of the Real Touring Appearances (2010–2012)The band released its first album, Promise of the Real, in December 2010.
Promise of the Real was recorded in Austin, Texas at Pedernales Studios in March 2010. Album engineer Steve Chadie’s 6-year-old daughter provided the cover art. The album also contains a booklet of paintings and illustrations created on stage by Lukas’s brother, Micah, during the band’s concerts.
The album consists of 12 tracks and one bonus track. The band paid homage to two influences, Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young, in the songs “Pali Gap/Hey Baby” and “L.A.” The band covered “Peaceful Solution”, a song written by Lukas’s father, Willie Nelson, and his sister Amy Niccore. And Willie sang back up on “Sound of Your Memory” and “Fathers and Mothers”. Lukas’s aunt, Bobbie Nelson, played piano on “Fathers and Mothers”.
Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real played more than 200 shows across the United States during 2011, promoting “Promise of the Real”. Major festival appearances included Stagecoach, Farm Aid, Bridge School Benefit, Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground, and Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour. The band also made national TV appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the Late Show with David Letterman.
The band frequently opened shows for Willie Nelson in 2012 during which Lukas played with his father’s band.
The band released its second studio album, Wasted, on April 3, 2012. Following the album’s release, the band embarked on a national tour at Antone’s Nightclub in Austin, Texas.
The band was featured on a webcast through Yahoo Music that was shot at TRI Studios, Bob Weir’s studio. The webcast aired on April 17, 2012 and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands. The band was featured as the homepage artist on Yahoo music.
On May 1, 2012, Live Nation announced that Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real would back John Fogerty on his coast-to-coast tour of Canada in September 2012.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia