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Seminole Herald Article
Music is the key to couple's harmony
By Michelle Jerla Managing Editor
Lake Mary Laura Lucie and Seven Richard
claim music has always been a part of their lives. However, they say it
is the one thing that had nothing to do with how they met nine years ago.
"Music had nothing to do with it," Richard said, " A mutual friend introduced
us, and I had no idea she was even interested in music."
The attraction grew, and even though both planned to leave Sanford before
they met, they stayed and a band - and eventually a marriage - was formed.
Richard was born in Michigan to a father who loved music.
"When my mom and dad married, my dad was in a swing band," Richard said.
"When he went to rehearsal, he would to take me. I would fall asleep in
his horn case."
At 13, Richard picked up a guitar and hasn't stopped playing since. "Everywhere
I went, I was in someone's band or they were in mine. I always had to
play music."
Lucie, born in New
York, took the singing route. From an early age, she said she sang with
her family and in the church choir and was as a member of the school chorus.
Along the way, she also learned to play the flute.
"Music was a part of my family," she said. "I remember as a child washing
dishes and singing together after dinner." Lucie's family eventually moved
to Sanford. Richard also moved to Sanford after leaving the military.
However, neither intended on staying until their paths crossed.
In 1991, they were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, and according
to both of them, they instantly "clicked.
" To impress Lucie, Richard serenaded her the night they met. A couple
of days later, Lucie gave Richard a tape of a song she recorded.
But, Richard said, at first, he didn't take her musical ambitions to seriously.
"She told me she loved to sing, but a lot of people love to sing," Richard
said. "One night, out of boredom, I stuck her tape in the cassette player,
and I couldn't believe it. It sounded so good I had to play the song over
and over again."
In 1992, the duo took to the stage at an Orlando club and eventually formed
the band Jaycius. In 1993, the band recorded its first and only album,
"More Sauce."
Two years later, Lucie and Richard married. Shortly after their marriage,
Jaycius disbanded.
"We aren't sure why the band broke up," Richard said. "But, we said to
heck with it and went back into the
studio."
This time, the couple created an album, "By The Light of the Storm," and
decided to call themselves Little Laura's Love Band.
Late in 1995, they decided to go on tour. However, they needed more people
to play in their band.
"We created a band around the album," Richard said, "But it seemed every
time we got a band together, it would break up. Every time the dust would
settle, we were there standing alone."
Nevertheless, in 1998, they were able to record and release a second album,
"Neeto Lane," under the same name.
According to Richard, the album received considerable air play in the
United States and gathered attention in London
and Amsterdam.
But, the couple said they were tired of trying to keep a band together
and decided to go to Europe for some time off from music. When they returned
to Sanford, it was as a duet. "We just fell into it, " Richard said. "It's
what we are all about."
They decided to call themselves Laura & Seven and released "Gone Again,"
a collection of acoustic music, in late 1998. A year later, the couple
went back into the studio and plan to release their second rock album
in the near future.
When they aren't in the studio, the band can be seen at various clubs,
including Sanford's Palladium, the Handle Bar & Grill in Longwood and
several clubs in Orlando.
"We rarely get any time away from our music, but we love doing it," Lucie
said. "We don't have a big social life, but it is something we need to
do." "But, we don't want to sit limits," Richard said. "We
just want it all."
More information on the band can be found at their Web site, www.lauraandseven.com
they can also be contacted at LLLB777@aol.com.
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