BY BRITTANY DANIELLE for WEEKLY VOLCANO 1/16/26 |
There can be so much wrapped up in someone’s name. What if your name is Joy and you’re mean, Grace and you are clumsy, Sunny and you’re a dark cloud? But when Storm Large was born, the match was made. She is a force of nature with an unforgettable voice. Storm, whom you may remember from TV appearances or past tours through our area will be featured with Pink Martini in Tacoma on January 23. The Portland little orchestra brings its 30th anniversary tour to the Tacoma Armory’s Parade Floor.
Storm Large’s career makes more sense if you think of her less as a singer who did TV and more as a lifelong stage performer who would occasionally get beamed into America’s living rooms. She did the long, unglamorous reps first: club work in San Francisco through the 1990s, then a hard left turn to Portland in 2002 when a last-minute cancellation at the famous music venue Dante’s dragged her back to the mic, where she undertook a standing Wednesday-night residency with her band, The Balls. A cult-like Portland following treated the show like church, where community was built and foundations were formed. During these days, their comedic yet sexually charged show came through Tacoma quite a few times, and she distinctly remembers “post-gig breakfasts at Shakabrah” after mostly sold-out performances at Jazzbones.
Between 2006 and 2011, Storm competed on CBS’s Rock Star: Supernova and later on America’s Got Talent. In addition to performing on TV screens around the world, she also did worldwide touring.
“Rock Star: Supernova had way more impact on my career than America’s Got Talent, surprisingly. Probably because I was on TV for three months solid, and it was early days in reality TV. The first thing that comes to mind is my first encounter with being actually legit famous. Like FAMOUS famous. I was only famous famous for about a year and a half, but it was constant people chasing me through airports, malls, and the street. People tried to take pictures of me while I was eating anywhere, or they would literally come and sit with me, telling me all about their most private events in their lives. It was a lot. Tons of people had imagined fully fleshed-out relationships with me just because they had watched me on television. I am eternally grateful for my career, and that I get to still do this in my 50s, but for your readers out there who think being famous is the thing, please let me change your mind. Being famous, that famous, is kind of awful,” she admitted.
When asked about the most thrilling foreign stage she has ever performed on, she told Weekly Volcano, “1,000% Beirut, Lebanon. We were about 40 km from a hot war zone with Israel, a stone’s throw from where there had been a massive explosion, a potential terrorist attack, a year earlier. There were armed military guards at the stage, which isn’t too unusual when we’re in Europe, but these guys were a little more serious, understandably. I sang the skin out of my throat and danced my legs off for those folks. So many had lost so much, and were going to lose more at any minute. And they just wanted to dance and sing with us. It was absolutely strange, heartbreaking, and amazing.”
Once the TV commitments were over, she doubled down on being herself by leaning into cabaret, theater, and rock-club spectacle, building a career that more closely resembles international circuit work than a mainstream pop trajectory. One of her festival bios notes that she kept a fan base that would “follow her around the world” after Rock Star: Supernova.
When asked for advice to aspiring singer-songwriters she said, “Tell the truth. Keep it simple. Do not let anybody tell you what or who you are supposed to sound like. Only you, your spirit guides, your God, and your soul can figure that out, and it takes your whole life to really know your authentic voice. Be patient, also, because your voice, your story, and you will change and evolve as you go along. And thank you in advance for your sacrifice.”
Being true to yourself when others are trying to change who you are in order to fit the music industry brand is one of the hardest lines to hold. She told Medium magazine that she faced critiques daily: “You need a record deal. You need to change your name. You need to lie about your age. You need to lose weight. You need to look like this. You need to sound more like this.” She did not falter. In fact, it made her double down on who she is even more.
In her solo career, stage performances, and life, Storm Large is not interested in shrinking or changing to be accepted. She knows who she is. She is sexual, theatrical, risky, and comfortable in discomfort. She is also patient, self-loving, and forgiving. Her vulnerability is truly her strength, and she has found a way to move through this industry unapologetically.
Storm is multifaceted: book writer, songwriter, singer, theatrical performer, and an upcoming musical composer. “I am writing a musical for Portland Center Stage that will be up in June called Storm Large Makes It Home,” she shared with us.
How did Pink Martini get hooked up with Storm Large? “I joined Pink Martini in 2011 when China needed vocal cord surgery,” explained Storm, “China Forbes has been the main lead singer for the last 30-plus years, and they just kidnapped me after that. Truth be told, I am still so happy to be trapped in that crazy circus family.”
Pink Martini was founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members describe it as a little orchestra that crosses several styles, with songs sung in more than 25 different languages. Learn more or preview some tunes at pinkmartini.com.
Pink Martini featuring Storm Large, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Tacoma Armory. Get tickets here: tinyurl.com/PinkMartiniTacoma123
