bianco odin

lady bianca

aka- bianca odin

from: patrick neve (splat@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
first things first. the artist would like the world to know that she is first and foremost a lady and that her name is lady bianca. ok.

from: murksoyg@aol.com (murksoyg)
how long did she tour with fz?

from: charles ulrich (chulrich@interchange.ubc.ca)
she was in the band when the tour started on october 16, 1976. she was still around on november 6, but she was gone by november 19. bianca sang "you didn't try to call me" and "black napkins" in virtually every show, but they never got near melbourne on the fall 1976 tour. fz only toured australia in summer 1973 (the band with jean-luc ponty) and winter 1976 (the band with roy estrada, napoleon murphy brock, and andre lewis). all of bianca's appearances with fz were in the eastern united states.

from: jon naurin (mg20634@gaia.swip.net)
her first concert was in miami, oct 16 1976. she quit some time between nov. 11th-16th '76. i.e., the last tape with bianca is quebec nov. 11th and the first without her is toronto nov 16.

from: murksoyg@aol.com (murksoyg)
why did she leave?

from: charles ulrich (chulrich@interchange.ubc.ca)
possibly because audience members wanted her to take her clothes off. i thought she handled such requests pretty well: "tell your mama to take *her* clothes off. and while she's got 'em off, tell her to suck a rat's dick." (10/24/76, early show)

from: redtutu1@aol.com
p.s at the time frank was not pleased with me at all ....he didn't like my comment to the person in the audience. and told me so. oh well.....lb

from: ben watson (negative dialectic of poodle play)
p. 346
in october 1976 zappa toured with vocalists ray white and bianca odin (another strongly gospel-influenced singer), eddie jobson (freed from roxy music as bryan ferry split for a solo career) on violin and keyboards and the o'hearn/bozzio rhythm section. with so few participants, there was less need for the elaborate arrangements used for larger forces, and the music was exxceptionally fluid - the sound wet and live. the was room for a great deal of spontaneity. (etc)
p. 498
'wind up workin' in a gas station' features the rare vocals of bianca odin. her strong voice and swaggering attitude were perfect, but apprarntly she could not handle the 'get 'em off' choruses that greeted her appearances on stage: zappa's base in rock, the music of american male adolescence, claiming another aesthetic casualty.

from: biffyshrew (biffyshrew@aol.com)
the original issue of ycdtosa6 credits her as bianca odin; the 1995 reissue changes the credit to bianca thornton. she appears under the latter name on several van morrison albums. the first place i saw her name given as odin was in one of the big interviews with fz in society pages usa: i've never seen it spelled oden.

from: connah@earthlink.net
as i understand it, bianca lives in east oakland. my friend was working club dates with her back in 1992.

from: lady bianca (redtutu1@aol.com)
hello to you my friend would like to correct you on a few things...
i was with frank's band for not one month but for almost a year. i was in the band that had terry bozzio on drums, ray white on guitar, patrick o'hearn on bass and myself on piano. i was never bianca odin or oden this name was given me by the people i worked for..my stage name is and has always been lady bianca.
i am doing fine and very well here in oakland ca. i have a blues cd out on telarc records and am as hot as ever. i want to thank you for your continued interest in my career...lady bianca
i must add a p. s. ed jobson was the main keyboard and synth player. i did the following songs: advance romance, chrissy puked twice, dyna moe hum. the torture never stops, you didn't try to call me, wind up workin at the gas station, and oh yeah i still have my set list and lyrics and folder of songs i sang..if you are going to dish get the right plate. thank you

hello patrick i am doing fine thanks...i have been raising my family and was singing with van morrison, until 1985. then i met my new husband and producer and song writer and have been singing and recording ever since. i am now on the hot and rising stars list in the blues world lol. i left frank zappa because i am a lady. i did not feel i had to be humiliated by taking off my cloths or letting frank use me as a prop on his show. i feel that my vocals and musicianship should have sufficed. that is why i left, it was my choice. yes, i have a jr. cd called "best kept secret" i am now working on my sophomore cd.

(re: we you really harrassed by the audience?)
oh yeah to answer the question about the person in the audience in boston yes he was very obnoxious and wayyyy out of line! that is why i said what i did to him. i was unable to deal with him in a normal manner. lol (that was funny)

you can see my cd pic on http://www.telarc.com/releases/release.req?id=83367

dear pat...i was on good terms with frank when i left as a matter of fact i returned to see some of his performances when he was in town. we kinda laughed about the whole thing. but it wasn't funny at the time. the band was just host of incredible musicians and highly talented. i recommend ray white for the guitar position and terry i met when i auditioned for frank. patrick o,hearn was the most kind and fabulous bassist. i got a call on the phone one day from intercontinental absurdities and they said frank would like me to come down and audition for his band..i said frank who? then my friend said frank zappa! (i still didn't know who he was) but i went anyway and the rest is history. he said you got the gig. i will not tell anymore about the experiences i had because i am gonna save it for my book.
by the way do you know what happened to the videos he recorded during that time i was with him. that would be something to see.

from: patrick neve (splat@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
if you care to elaborate on your name, i'll post it of course. it looks like taj mahal may have been the first to call you that? were you always lady bianca and have been trying to shake this odin stuff all along?

from: redtutu1@aol.com
(lady bianca) was my stage name all the time throughout this whole ordeal, with frank zappa, van, and even sly. oh and taj mahjal (i love him dearly) did not give me my stage name...it was a man named quinn harris...my name is bianca and he put lady on the front of the name because i was very very green in the business. he had a cd out called quinn harris and the masterminds....out of san francisco it is a vinyl lp i have one and maybe about 100 others do as well (it was my very first recording and attempt at song writing) ...lady bianca

from: charles ulrich (ulrich@sfu.ca)
title: slowboat to china
artist: san francisco medicine ball
year: 1976
label: real turkey records & tapes
instrumentation: three banjos, guitar, string bass, plus numerous guests.
bianca is credited for lead vocal on "america the beautiful". the other noteworthy track is "caravan"--with a drum solo, naturally. the woman in the cover photographs is not bianca, but amanda hughes, who sings the title track.

from: patrick neve (splat@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
here is lady bianca's website. check it out for information on her latest releases and tourdates, as well as interviews, a biography, and other stuff: http://www.ladybianca.com/

from: charles ulrich (ulrich@sfu.ca)
lady bianca (aka bianca aka bianca thornton aka bianca odin) has a new album due june 12. it's entitled rollin'. cduniverse is taking advance orders for $11.71. (cdnow is charging a couple of dollars more.) i couldn't find any information about the new album at lady bianca's own website, but check for yourself (http://www.ladybianca.com/).

discography:

as bianca odin:

1992 frank zappa- you can't do that on stage anymore, vol. 6 (keys, vocals)

as bianca oden:

1979 taj mahal- taj mahal & int' rhythm band live (vocals)

as bianca thornton: (all credits for vocals)

1975 jon hendricks- tell me the truth

1978 lee oskar- before the rain

1980 giants (2)- giants

1982 van morrison- beautiful vision

1983 van morrison- inarticulate speech of the heart

1985 van morrison- sense of wonder