In 2011, singer China Forbes, of Pink Martini and “Hey Eugene!” fame, had to have surgery on her vocal cords.
The band was left in the lurch because it had four sold-out gigs booked at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The gigs were just a few days away. Pink Martini pianist and band leader Thomas Lauderdale fired off emergency emails to Storm Large, a singer and pal of Forbes who also lived in the hipster hive known as Portland, Oregon. Lauderdale wanted Large to substitute for Forbes. STAT. And, yes, Storm Large is her real name.
