Vova Nova

Vova Nova

Vova Nova was a short-lived hard funk band which grew out of the established jazz-fusion group Forecast, which by the late 1980s had renamed itself The Cast. The group included guitarist Glen Butts and vocalist/flutist Libba Walker with drummer Mark Lanter and bassist Milton Davis.

The band's updated sound evolved after a notable Red Hot Chili Peppers performance at The Nick in December 1987. They added hip-hop inflections and social commentary, inspired by groups like Living Colour. In 1991 they signed a recording contract with Stephen Powers' newly-reformed Chameleon Records. They recorded at Chips Moman's Three Alarm Studio in Memphis, Tennessee with producer Paul Ebersold, and released one album (on cassette and compact disc) under the new name suggested to them by their label publicist.

Vova Nova's members increasingly bristled at the requirements placed on them by label executives, and they parted ways after a year and a half.

Afterward the group returned to playing older songs and resumed performing as The Cast. Lanter left the group and was replaced by Leif Bondarenko. Shortly afterward Davis left to focus on songwriting and was replaced by Eric Onimus.

Discography

• Vova Nova (1992) Vova Nova. Chameleon Records 61316

References

• Reynolds, Ed (December 13, 2012) "Birmingham's Musical King and Queen." Black & White
• Millard, Andre (2017) Magic City Nights: Birmingham's Rock 'n' Roll Years. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press ISBN 9780819576972

External links

• Vova Nova on allmusic.com
• Vova Nova at The Nick in 1990 on youtube.com