I met Lucinda at a Long Ryders show at Club Lingerie in the mid-80’s. I was there because I liked them, she was there because she was married to LR drummer Greg Sowders (she’s been married to quite a few musician’s!). I was on the floor talking to the LR manager, and Lucinda walked up to say hey. He introduced us, telling me she was a songwriter and singer. I didn’t know it at the time, but she had two albums out on Folkways Records. I had never heard of her, not being a particular fan of acoustic Folk Blues. She looked down at the floor, with a kind of embarrassed/sheepish look on her face. I was impressed---humility in L.A.!
Then her Rough Trade album came out, and I love, love, loved it! My girlfriend and I started going to see her wherever she appeared around town, one time at a pizza parlour. There were about a half dozen people in the room, including staff! The first time we saw her my girl said "Hey, she works at Moby Disc". MD was a small record store in Sherman Oaks, in the valley on the other side of the Hollywood Hills. Lucinda could often be found standing behind the cash register, gazing off into space. Perhaps composing lyrics?
Then she got her Warner Brothers deal, and started work on what would become Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. She recorded the entire album three times, until she got what she was after. In that process, her lead guitarist/bandleader/producer Gurf Morlix (great guitarist name, ay?!) couldn’t take any more, quit the band, and moved to Austin, where he remains. The success of that album changed her life. For once, artistic excellence and commercial success! I couldn’t be happier for her, and for us.
My "missed boat" story is of the time I went to see John Hiatt at The Roxy on Sunset Blvd. There was an opening act, some girl I had never heard. I don’t care to sit listening to music I don’t find interesting, having to pay ten bucks for a drink. So we arrived just as the opener was playing her last song, and damnit it, it was killer. The song was "Run Baby Run", and the girl was Sheryl Crow! The song was great, her voice was great, and she had a great band. Her first album was not out yet, and she was an unknown to me. Oops.
