Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

War at War

Harold Brown (white hat) and his Lowrider Band 
enjoy the spoils of War.
Harold Brown (white hat) and his Lowrider Band enjoy the spoils of War.

“I went toward the stage hoping to get his attention and some respect,” says drummer Harold Brown of the last time he saw former bandmate Lonnie Jordan, performing in 2009 at the Canyon Club with a new version of their ’70s funk band War. “He [Jordan] strutted around like Mussolini. I wanted to throw one of my shoes at him. But I would have had to leave with one shoe.”

A San Diego native and longtime resident, Jordan is War’s sole original member. The group will issue its first full-length in nearly 15 years, War.Com, in early 2012, with the first single “Bounce” set for release next week. However, “Lonnie Jordan does not own the name War,” says Brown. “Back in 1979, [War’s] manager and producer Jerry Goldstein and Steve Gold, his former business partner, went and trademarked the name behind our backs. A corporation called Far Out Productions owns the name. Lonnie Jordan is only an employee for hire.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brown and Howard Scott cofounded their first funk band in the ’60s, soon adding Jordan, Lee Oskar, and B.B. Dickerson to the lineup that became War. Record producer Jerry Goldstein hooked them up with former Animals singer Eric Burdon, and their song “Spill the Wine” became a radio staple.

After splintering through the ’80s, they regrouped for the 1994 album Peace Sign, featuring singer Jordan with Harold Brown, Lee Oskar, and Howard Scott, though they were still under the management of producer Goldstein, who owned the War trademark. All but Jordan filed a lawsuit to gain control of the name in 1996, but failed. Brown, Oskar, and Scott quit War to form the Lowrider Band (named after their hit “Low Rider”) with returning cofounder B.B. Dickerson, while Jordan opted to stay with Goldstein.

So why did Goldstein only hire Jordan for a new War? “It’s cheaper for him to use nonunion and side musicians,” says Brown. “He would have to pay us all equally.”

The group was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, which is what prompted Brown to attempt a connection with Jordan that night at the Canyon Club. “It was to no avail. But, on my way back to the table, there just happened to be two pieces of pie...you can guess what took place next.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Half Hour Late lives up to their name at the Template

Deadhead-inflected band right at home in Ocean Beach
Harold Brown (white hat) and his Lowrider Band 
enjoy the spoils of War.
Harold Brown (white hat) and his Lowrider Band enjoy the spoils of War.

“I went toward the stage hoping to get his attention and some respect,” says drummer Harold Brown of the last time he saw former bandmate Lonnie Jordan, performing in 2009 at the Canyon Club with a new version of their ’70s funk band War. “He [Jordan] strutted around like Mussolini. I wanted to throw one of my shoes at him. But I would have had to leave with one shoe.”

A San Diego native and longtime resident, Jordan is War’s sole original member. The group will issue its first full-length in nearly 15 years, War.Com, in early 2012, with the first single “Bounce” set for release next week. However, “Lonnie Jordan does not own the name War,” says Brown. “Back in 1979, [War’s] manager and producer Jerry Goldstein and Steve Gold, his former business partner, went and trademarked the name behind our backs. A corporation called Far Out Productions owns the name. Lonnie Jordan is only an employee for hire.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brown and Howard Scott cofounded their first funk band in the ’60s, soon adding Jordan, Lee Oskar, and B.B. Dickerson to the lineup that became War. Record producer Jerry Goldstein hooked them up with former Animals singer Eric Burdon, and their song “Spill the Wine” became a radio staple.

After splintering through the ’80s, they regrouped for the 1994 album Peace Sign, featuring singer Jordan with Harold Brown, Lee Oskar, and Howard Scott, though they were still under the management of producer Goldstein, who owned the War trademark. All but Jordan filed a lawsuit to gain control of the name in 1996, but failed. Brown, Oskar, and Scott quit War to form the Lowrider Band (named after their hit “Low Rider”) with returning cofounder B.B. Dickerson, while Jordan opted to stay with Goldstein.

So why did Goldstein only hire Jordan for a new War? “It’s cheaper for him to use nonunion and side musicians,” says Brown. “He would have to pay us all equally.”

The group was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, which is what prompted Brown to attempt a connection with Jordan that night at the Canyon Club. “It was to no avail. But, on my way back to the table, there just happened to be two pieces of pie...you can guess what took place next.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.