Lauri Conger
| Lauri Conger | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Thunder Bay, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, dance |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, keyboardist |
| Instruments | Keyboard |
| Years active | 1970s-1988 |
| Associated acts | Parachute Club |
Lauri Conger is notable primarily as the keyboardist and one of the principal co-writers of most of the songs of the Parachute Club.
History
Lauri Conger is a native of Thunder Bay, where she commenced her professional music career in the 1970s. She received her early piano and dance training in Port Arthur, Ontario, prior to its merger as a component of Thunder Bay, and was a graduate of Hillcrest High School in that city.[1]
Conger continued her career in Toronto, where she and Lorraine Segato were members of Mama Quilla II. In 1982, Conger and Segato, along with percussionist Billy Bryans, formed the nucleus of what would become the Parachute Club.[2] Concurrently, in the early 1980s, Conger was developing a reputation as a solo and duo performer on the Canadian folk music circuit.[3]
While with the Parachute Club, Conger was a co-writer, mainly with Lorraine Segato, other band members and lyricist Lynne Fernie, of most of the group's songs, including the song for which the group is best known, "Rise Up".
Conger stayed with the band through its three albums, released between 1983 and 1986, but left the group in mid-1987, where her final performance was before the Duke and Duchess of York in Toronto.[1] She then trained in Santa Fe, New Mexico to become a registered massage therapist. She rejoined the band in July, 1988 for what would turn out to be its final performances[4][5] at Toronto's Ontario Place.[2]
Following her departure from the group and despite her significant contributions to music, Conger did not continue in a prominent role as a professional musician or songwriter. She returned to Canada and to music in 1988, when she received funding from the Canada Council "to pursue a musical focus in First Nations music/rhythms".[2]
Discography
Singles (Parachute Club)
| Release date | Title | Chart peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM | |||
| July 1983 | "Rise Up" | 9 | The Parachute Club |
| 1983 | "Alienation" | ||
| 1984 | "Boy's Club" | ||
| October 1984 | "At The Feet Of The Moon" | 11 | At The Feet of the Moon |
| February 1985 | "Act Of An Innocent" | 61 | |
| June 1985 | "Sexual Intelligence" | ||
| October 1986 | "Love Is Fire" | 24 | Small Victories |
| February 1987 | "Love And Compassion" | 81 | |
| May 1987 | "Walk To The Rhythm" | 90 | |
Albums
With Mama Quilla II
- 1982 KKK//Mama Quilla/Angry Young Woman Tupperwaros; EP.
With The Parachute Club
- 1983 The Parachute Club Current/RCA
- 1984 At The Feet of the Moon Current/RCA
- 1985 Moving Thru the Moonlight Current/RCA; remixes
- 1986 Small Victories (1986) Current/RCA
- 1992 Wild Zone: The Essential Parachute Club BMG; reissued 2006 by EMI International[6]
With Other Artists
- 1980 Heather Bishop, Celebration
- 1980 Rodney Brown, When The Bay Turns Blue
- 1981 Mendelson Joe, Let's Party
- 1982 Heather Bishop, Bellybutton (Children's Album)
- 1982 Heather Bishop, I Love Women Who Laugh
- 1985 Soundtrack (with Michael Beinhorn), Dark Lullabies (Director: Irene Angelico and Abbey Neidik) (National Film Board of Canada)
- 1986 Lillian Allen, Revolutionary Tea Party
- 1988 Lillian Allen, Conditions Critical
- 1988 Soundtrack, Calling The Shots, being profile of Jeanne Moreau (Director: Janis Cole and Holly Dale)
- 1988 Soundtrack, Mile Zero: The SAGE Tour (Director: Bonnie Sherr Klein) (National Film Board of Canada)
References
- 1 2 Uncredited, Lauri Conger has left Parachute Club. Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal, July 28, 1987. As archived and summarized in Gateway to Northwestern Ontario History. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- 1 2 3 Canadian Pop Encyclopedia, Biography of Parachute Club; www.jam.canoe.ca.
- ↑ Such as performing with Heather Bishop at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1982: see List of Past Performers at the Winnipeg Folk Festival; www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca.
- ↑ until a reconstituted version of the band, without Conger, commenced performing in 2005. See Parachute Club.
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Biography of The Parachute Club;www.thecanadianeyclopedia.com
- ↑ Particulars via www.amazon.com; accessed 09-02-07.