By Lisa Morgan –
I love exceptions to the rule. I idealize people who win against the odds. I love this story and idealize the people in it: This is the love story of Lauri Bono and Kal David.
It was 1977 in Woodstock, New York. Music was all the buzz in the artsy little community. Kal David was a rock and roller with a fan club and quite the following of groupies. He heard about a certain female vocalist, Lauri Bono who, unlike most of the other venues during that time, was performing jazz. All the jazz artists were lining up to sit in where Lauri was playing. Kal was “very taken with Lauri’s vocal prowess and her beauty.” They first came together musically when Kal asked her to work on a demo with him. But it wasn’t long before it turned into true love. At first Lauri thought, “No way. That’s not for me.” She was aware of his fanfare and after all, he was a rock and roll guy. But, as she shared, “We are soul mates, so it worked out for the good.” For 36 years they have been the exception to the rule in an industry that seems plagued with broken homes and hearts.
They “lived in sin” for their first 12 years together, according to their parents. Finally in 1989, mostly to appease their folks, Kal got down on one knee, inside the hot tub of all places, and proposed. Lauri laughed at him thinking he couldn’t be serious. Eventually, he convinced her he was serious and she agreed. “I think it brought us closer,” she shared. “But we would have stayed together anyway.”
“Something happens when you get married and make that statement to the world” says Kal. “I think it gets deeper. It was kind of whimsical actually.” It will be 36 years this July and Kal and Lauri are together pretty much 24/7. “Not only are we living in love together, we are working together all the time… that’s like 800 years compared to other people who leave each other to go to work,” he chuckles. “Music is really the thing that has totally bonded us together. We have the same musical tastes.”
“We’ve had disagreements over the years,” Lauri shared. “You’d have to be a robot to not hit any walls in your relationship. We say what’s on our minds most of the time. We talk about everything. It takes some work, but you’ve got to listen to each other. Once you get through those things, it makes you stronger.”
I asked Kal what it is like to “work on the relationship”. He answered, “You’ve got to pay attention to the signs. Fortunately, Lauri speaks her mind and doesn’t hold things in. I usually know if something’s wrong – if I’m not holding up my end. When Lauri says something, then she is right.”
“That’s why it works!” laughed Lauri when Kal said that. “Kal is really open to listening to what I have to say. We discuss everything together. We really respect each other’s opinion.”
“Musically, I’m Lauri’s biggest fan and she’s mine. We can level with each other if we don’t think the other is performing up to par. We recently worked on a project called Crossroads of My Life. Lauri very strongly suggested that we do it. We co-produced it but she was the brains behind the project. I resisted on a few songs but because I know she has my best interests at heart, I listened and agreed. It turned out to be a great project.” Crossroads of My Life was #89 of the top 100 blues CDs released in 2011 according to RMR. It was played on Sirius/XM and on over 100 stations in the US and around the world. Kal and Lauri are now in the process of writing songs for a new album.
It was obvious in hearing them share about their relationship, that there were no insecurities between them. They have protected each other from those. “For Kal and me, it was really important for us to be secure in just being together. I don’t have those fears. I’m happy when women in the audience find him attractive and love his music. Kal has always been very trustworthy and I am too.”
It is a real treat to see these two in action. You can follow them and get their updated event schedule at kaldavid.com. You can even help add to their happiness by helping Kal win the chance to open for Eric Clapton by supporting him at http://www.playcrossroads.com/u/kaldavid. Also, be watching the website for an announcement of a big show with Lauri and The Brunettes in the spring!
