| Storm Large | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Susan Storm Large |
| Born | June 25, 1969 Southborough, Massachusetts, United States |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock, Metal, Jazz, Christian rap |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Associated acts | The Balls, Flower SF, Storm and Her Dirty Mouth, Storm Inc., Dan the Automator, Broun Fellinis, the Mermen,[1] Dave Navarro, Pink Martini |
| Website | stormlarge.com |
Storm Large (born Susan Storm Large, June 25, 1969) is a singer best known as a contestant on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova.
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Large was born and raised in rural Southborough, Massachusetts. Since around age five, Large has been singing and writing songs. She graduated in 1987 from St. Mark's School, a prestigious private school whose alumni include Ben Bradlee, Prince Hashim of Jordan, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt III. Her father Henry Large was a history and religion teacher there, as well as the football team coach before he retired.[2]
After high school, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.,[1] where she earned an associates degree in 1989.
Soon after leaving the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1989, Storm moved to San Francisco and got involved in the music and drug scene. She had a brief addiction to heroin in San Francisco but credits music with getting her off the drug. While in San Francisco Storm became involved in a variety of musical endeavors.
Storm moved to Portland, Oregon in 2002, originally planning to quit music and attend the Western Culinary Institute, but at the urging of friends and in particular Frank Faillace, owner of the Portland rock club, Dante's Inferno, she began singing again with a band she called "The Balls".[3]
Storm is bisexual,[4] though she dislikes the term and instead calls herself "sexually omnivorous."[5]
While in San Francisco Storm formed the bands Flower SF, Storm and Her Dirty Mouth, and Storm, Inc. Storm also performed with Micheal Cavasito as the duo Storm and Michael or Storm and Friends.
Storm, Inc. featured Shaunna Hall of 4 Non Blondes and P-Funk fame as a rhythm guitarist. Shaunna was featured on The Calm Years LP and toured with the band for a few months after the album's release.
The Balls, also known as Storm and the Balls, were formed in May/June 2002[6] after Large moved to Portland from San Francisco. Storm and the Balls consisted of Davey Loprinzi (aka "Hotrod" Davey Nipples, formerly of Sweaty Nipples) on bass guitar, James Beaton on keyboards, and Brian Parnel on drums. The Balls drew what local media called a "cult-like" following in clubs, primarily during Wednesday night shows at Dante's. They perform "lounge-core, mash-up" renditions of artists such as ABBA, Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead and Olivia Newton-John as well as their own compositions. Large worked part-time as a bartender at Dante's when not touring with The Balls. The Balls opened for Everclear, Nina Hagen, Hank 3, Pleasure Club, and Nancy Sinatra, to name a few.[3]
The Balls' Davey Nipples and James Beaton were also touring musicians with Everclear. Drummer Brian Parnell was formerly in the band Motherload.
Storm has also sung with John Doe, Rufus Wainwright, China Forbes, Darcelle, George Clinton, Katey Sagal, Michael McKean, Eric McFadden and Animotion.
During live shows, Storm has filled in for Jen Folker on vocals alongside Rob Wynia (of Floater) with Drumattica out of Portland.[7]
Before moving to Portland, she performed in the San Francisco Bay Area with her former bands Storm Inc., Storm and Her Dirty Mouth, and FlowerSF.[1] During that time, she tended bar at Rat and Raven in Noe Valley.
Large played Sally Bowles in a Portland Center Stage (PCS) production of the musical Cabaret.[1] PCS is also the site of the premiere of her autobiographical musical Crazy Enough.[8]
She has finished filming RID OF ME (by James Westby), starring Katie O'Grady, John Keyser, Theresa Russell, and Art Alexakis (Everclear). It can be viewed on You Tube.
In 2008 Storm Large premiered her autobiographical, one woman show, "Crazy Enough" at Portlands Center Stage. She got rave reviews. In New York the show is scheduled to appear Off-Broadway in the spring of 2011. A book version of the autobiography is also in the works.
She appeared in Randy Newman's Harps and Angels at the Mark Taper Forum from November 10 - December 22, 2010.
Large is most widely known for her appearances as a contestant on Rock Star: Supernova. She was eliminated on September 6, 2006 (in the last show before the season finale). After elimination, host Dave Navarro recorded a guitar track for her single "Ladylike" and she was slated to open for the band Rock Star Supernova on tour in January 2007, though she and fellow contestant Magni Ásgeirsson were dropped from the billing for financial reasons.[9] On October 14, 2006, "Ladylike" debuted at #5 on Billboard's "Hot Singles Sales" chart.
In addition to being a contestant on Rock Star: Supernova, Large appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on September 11, 2006.[10] She discussed her childhood (and her unique name) with Ellen and performed Queen's "We Are the Champions" with Paul Mirkovich from the Rock Star: Supernova house band accompanying her on piano.
On September 26, 2006, Large sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the second season finale of ESPN reality television show The Contender. She performed the national anthem again on November 4, 2006 at the Portland Trail Blazers' opening home game of their 2006-2007 NBA season. The broadcast appeared on Fox Sports Northwest, the Seattle and Portland affiliate of Fox Sports Net.
Storm Inc was featured in an episode of TMC "Locals Only" show. There are many YouTube videos of various song from this performance.
Storm appeared in a street interview in an episode of Real Sex on HBO.
She is currently touring with the band Pink Martini from July 4 through December 16, 2011, as a temporary replacement for vocalist China Forbes, who underwent vocal chord surgery.[11]
| Album Name | Release | Storm's Alias |
|---|---|---|
| Big Daddy Large | 1995 | FlowerSF |
| Storm and Her Dirty Mouth | 1998 | Storm and Her Dirty Mouth |
| The Calm Years | 2000 | Storm Inc. |
| Hanging With The Balls | 2003 | The Balls |
| Vasectomy | 2005 | The Balls |
| Ladylike Side One | June 5, 2007 | Storm Large |
| Crazy Enough | 2009 | Storm Large |
| Single Name | Note | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Ladylike | Storm and The Balls | 2006 |
| Ladylike | Featuring Dave Navarro | 2006 |
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