Lonnie Marshall
Encyclopedia
Lonnie "Meganut" Marshall is a bass player, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. He is best known as the frontman and founder of Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice (band)
Weapon of Choice is a band from Los Angeles fronted by bass player Lonnie Marshall. They play a mixture of rock, alternative, funk, hip hop, jazz and reggae called Nutmeg, a term created by Marshall...

, and is the inventor of the Nutmeg Potty Plunger.

Early life

Marshall is the second of five children born to an African-American father and a Jewish mother. He grew up and attended school in South Central Los Angeles, graduating from Mid City Alternative Magnet School. While in school, Marshall was exposed to P-Funk through a classmate whose father worked for Parliament
Parliament (band)
Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...

 / Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...

. That connection allowed Marshall and his brother Arik
Arik Marshall
Arik Marshall is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, poet, and author, best known as a one-time member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has earned the respect and praise of artists as diverse as Joe Strummer, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, and Carlos...

 to experience the original P-Funk up close and proved to be a highly influential event in his life, inspiring him to pursue a career in music and to create his own brand of funk music which he calls Nutmeg.

He briefly attended Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...

 after high school, majoring in Music, and worked for a short time as a walking messenger for downtown Los Angeles law firms.

He got his start in music by joining the bands Accent founded by Lebo M., Animal Dance, and Shrine with Xan Cassavetes and Steve Hufsteter.

Marshall Law

In 1988, Marshall and his brother Arik Marshall
Arik Marshall
Arik Marshall is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, poet, and author, best known as a one-time member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has earned the respect and praise of artists as diverse as Joe Strummer, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, and Carlos...

, a guitarist, formed a band called Marshall Law. They performed around Los Angeles and signed a development deal with Island records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...

. They recorded a demo for the record company, but the band dissolved after having only released two tracks on a Ska Parade compilation. They later reunited in 2006 to release an album titled Another X-cuse. Immediately following the breakup of Marshall Law, Lonnie formed the band Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice may refer to:* Weapon of Choice , a high-energy funk band led by Lonnie Marshall* Weapons of Choice, a 2004 novel by John Birmingham...

 while Arik joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

 and later became a permanent member of Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...

's band.

Weapon of Choice

Lonnie founded Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice may refer to:* Weapon of Choice , a high-energy funk band led by Lonnie Marshall* Weapons of Choice, a 2004 novel by John Birmingham...

 in 1992 with himself on bass and lead vocals and members Keefus Ciancia
Keefus Ciancia
Keith Ciancia, better known as Keefus Ciancia or Keefus Green is an American born musician and producer.- Life and work :...

 (keyboards), Finn Hammer (guitar), Tom-Bone Ralls (trombone), Scott Garrett (drums), Audra Cunningham (vocals) and Angelica "Jellybean" Arnado (vocals/dance). After a video directed by Geoff Moore for their song, Uppity, Yuppity Doolittle, came to the attention of Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...

, the band was signed to Gossard's record label Loosegroove
Loosegroove Records
Loosegroove Records was a Seattle based record label formed by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard and Brad drummer Regan Hagar in 1994. Initially a subsidiary of Sony before going independent in 1996, Loosegroove signed many up and coming artists from various musical genres, especially rock and hip...

. They released three albums with Loosegroove before the company folded in 2000: Nut-meg says Bozo the Town (1994), Highperspice (1996), and Nutmeg Phantasy (1998). In 2002, the band released "Illoominutty" on Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

's Nuttsactor 5 record label, and in 2004, they released "Color Me Funky."

An independently produced Weapon of Choice DVD, Weapon of Choice: Uncut Nut 1992-2006, was released in 2007. The band continues to perform, mainly in the Los Angeles area. Many of the original members have gone on to other bands or pursuits and have been replaced by newer members.

Other work

Outside of Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice may refer to:* Weapon of Choice , a high-energy funk band led by Lonnie Marshall* Weapons of Choice, a 2004 novel by John Birmingham...

, Marshall has recorded and performed with a variety of artists and has participated in a number of side projects.

He has performed alongside members of P-Funk
P-Funk
P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed...

 and Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

, among others, as part of Trulio Disgracias, a group formed by Norwood Fisher of Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

 in 1987. The band's lineup changes from show to show. He is also an emcee and bassist for Dakah, a 65 piece hip hop orchestra which performs periodically in the Los Angeles area.

He recorded and toured with Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...

 of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

, promoting Strummer's 1989 solo release Earthquake Weather
Earthquake Weather (album)
-Personnel:*Joe Strummer - vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, percussion*Zander Schloss - lead guitar, banjo, vocals*Lonnie Marshall - bass*Jack Irons - drums*Willie McNeil - drums* Josh Shoes - cover-art...

. He cowrote one song on the album with Strummer and Zander Schloss
Zander Schloss
Zander Schloss is a Los Angeles, California based musician, actor and composer. He is perhaps best known as bass player for The Circle Jerks and The Weirdos and for his contributions to a number of independent feature films. His first screen appearance was as "Kevin the Nerd" in Repo Man...

, "Boogie With Your Children'".

He has contributed to recordings by Tone Loc
Tone Loc
Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...

, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

, George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

, Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...

, Dionne Farris
Dionne Farris
Dionne Farris is an American female R&B/soul musician who sang on three songs with the hip hop group Arrested Development...

 (Arrested Development), Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...

 (Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...

), Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

, Les Claypool
Les Claypool
Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...

 (Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...

), Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...

 (Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

) and Arik Marshall
Arik Marshall
Arik Marshall is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, poet, and author, best known as a one-time member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has earned the respect and praise of artists as diverse as Joe Strummer, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, and Carlos...

.

He performed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

 and George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

 at the 1993 Grammy Awards Show. He has also performed with Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...

, Kurupt
Kurupt
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown , better known by his stage name Kurupt, also known as Kurupt Tha Kingpin, Kurupt Young Gotti or Young Gotstra is an American rapper and former Executive Vice President of Death Row Records...

 (Tha Dogg Pound
Tha Dogg Pound
Tha Dogg Pound is a rap group made up of Daz Dillinger and Kurupt. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. The group made their 1992 rap debut on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, on various songs. They also appeared on Snoop Dogg's debut album...

), Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...

, N'dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport is an American recording artist, dancer, performer and producer, best known for her work as a vocalist in the UK funk band, The Brand New Heavies, and her pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.-Biography:...

, Shock G
Shock G
Gregory E. Jacobs , known by the stage names Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American musician and rapper, known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop group Digital Underground...

 (Digital Underground
Digital Underground
Digital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....

), Mike Shrieve (Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...

) and Doug Winbush (Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music...

).

He partnered with Gabby Lang a.k.a. Gabby La La
Gabby La La
Gabby La La, is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist , signed to Prawn Song Records. Her music is self described as "fun, unique, crazy kooky". La La's eccentric debut album, Be Careful What You Wish For..., is a collaboration with Les Claypool that though "peculiar.....

 as a duo called Love Balm to record an album c. 2002.

He released a solo album, That Would Be Dope, in 2005 under the name Meganut and Friends. The Friends included Skerik
Skerik
Skerik is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, Skerik is a pioneer in a playing style that has been dubbed saxophonics. He is a founding member of Critters Buggin, Garage a Trois and Skerik's Syncopated...

, Pete Droge
Pete Droge
Pete Droge is an American alternative/folk rock musician from Vashon Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. His debut album Necktie Second, released by American records in 1994, featured the tongue-in-cheek "If You Don't Love Me ", , as well as the songs "Sunspot Stopwatch" and "So I am Over...

, Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam...

 and Matt Chamberlain
Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain is an American drummer, producer and sound engineer. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:...

.

In 2009, the Life Drum Core, a group of young musicians he put together, performed at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles for Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...

 and garnered local news coverage. The group performed on drums they had created from recycled plastic buckets on which they painted Earth Day designs.

He partnered with Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

 member Angelo Moore
Angelo Moore
Angelo Christoper Moore is an American musician, best known for his work as the founding member, lead singer and saxophonist for the Los Angeles alternative rock band Fishbone. Moore also performs and records spoken word poetry under the stage name of Dr. Madd Vibe.-Biography:In 1993 he released a...

, and young musicians Malik Deering and Tevin Douglas to form a group called the Unstoppabros which performed in Los Angeles in 2009.

He has taught guitar and bass and led Funk Workshops and camps for kids at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music
Silverlake Conservatory of Music
Silverlake Conservatory of Music is a non-profit educational organization formed in California. It was founded in 2001 by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Michael "Flea" Balzary and Keith "Tree" Barry to foster music education...

 (founded by Flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...

 from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

) since its inception in 2001.

Television and Film

Marshall had a Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...

 show in Los Angeles on cable TV called the Late Nutt Snack. In 2010, he is filming a pilot for a children's television program called the Lil Big Ups.

He appeared on an episode of the 2000-2001 Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...

 sitcom on CBS performing a rap with her that he wrote.

He, and members of Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice may refer to:* Weapon of Choice , a high-energy funk band led by Lonnie Marshall* Weapons of Choice, a 2004 novel by John Birmingham...

, appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the backup band for Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

.

A Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice may refer to:* Weapon of Choice , a high-energy funk band led by Lonnie Marshall* Weapons of Choice, a 2004 novel by John Birmingham...

 song, Nutty Nutmeg Phantasy, was adapted and rerecorded by Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...

 and appeared in the 2002 movie Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

 and on the soundtrack.

Marshall played MC Madd, the dance battle emcee in the opening scene of the 2007 film Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard is a 2007 drama and dance film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges...

.

Awards/Recognition

In 1996, he was voted one of the top five funk bassists in Bass Player Magazine.

Discography

  • Marshall Law

another X-cuse (2006)
  • Weapon of Choice
    Weapon of Choice (band)
    Weapon of Choice is a band from Los Angeles fronted by bass player Lonnie Marshall. They play a mixture of rock, alternative, funk, hip hop, jazz and reggae called Nutmeg, a term created by Marshall...


Nut-Meg Sez "Bozo the Town" (1994)

Highperspice (1996)

Nutmeg Phantasy (1998)

Illoominutty (2002)

Color Me Funky (2004)
  • Meganut and Friends

That Would Be Dope (2005)
  • Joe Strummer
    Joe Strummer
    John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...


Earthquake Weather
Earthquake Weather (album)
-Personnel:*Joe Strummer - vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, percussion*Zander Schloss - lead guitar, banjo, vocals*Lonnie Marshall - bass*Jack Irons - drums*Willie McNeil - drums* Josh Shoes - cover-art...

(1989)
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