"Give Us Free," Records: Press

Fleshcoat featuring Dr. E
Coat of Flesh
("Give Us Free" Records)
By Eddie Fleisher
Published: October 10, 2007

If you believe R&B has become nothing more than a sexed-up subgenre of hip-hop, turn off the radio and buy Coat of Flesh, a collaboration between Fleshcoat, a C-Town outfit whose music has appeared on several daytime soaps, and Dr. Elaine Richardson, a Penn State professor and Cleveland native with a solid set of pipes.

Coat feeds on the positivity of Richardson. Her lyrics deal with career, love, faith, and the blues. On such tracks as "Back to Work" and "I See Heaven," she digs deeper than her mainstream counterparts -- that's for sure.

Fleshcoat's jazzy touch works perfectly with Dr. E's soulful voice.

By Stacey Federov
Collegian Staff Writer
Dr. E, Penn State prof, brings blues to Arts Fest
The stereotypical professor knows nothing about drugs, jail or prostitutes.
But Dr. E isn't a stereotypical professor. Dr. E, an applied linguistics and English professor at Penn State whose full name is Elaine Robinson, will perform her brand of soul and R&B at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on the Allen Street Stage as part of the 41st annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
She said she has been singing since she was a teenager in Cleveland when she was a part of group she formed with her friends called the Shades of Love.
She became entangled in a lifestyle of crime shortly after that, but she said willpower helped her overcome it.
"If you want to overcome certain circumstances you can, if you have your mind made up," she said.
She fronts the group Fleshcoat who released their first album, "Coat of Flesh," in September 2006, but will be performing solo at this year's Arts Festival.
"I have been trying to get into the Arts Festival [music lineup] since I've been in State College," she said. "Finally, the stars lined up, and it was my time."

Cleveland Call and Post article on Dr E by Rhonda Crowder (April 2007)

State College Magazine article on Dr. E by Dave Higgins (May 2007)

Dr. E and Fleshcoat give adults their soul
By Camille Yvette Welsch, for the CDT
In August, Atlanta hosted the first annual Soul Music Summit, an attempt to bring artists of neo-soul together to make connections, make music and make history. The summit also tried to discover artists to bolster the scant number of soul musicians in the mainstream, such as Angie Stone, Jill Scott and India.Arie. Indeed, lovers of soul have to look hard to find acts bands worthy of the soul title.
Thankfully, Fleshcoat Featuring Dr. E, a band fronted by Penn State associated professor of English and applied linguistics Elaine Richardson, has taken up the torch, paying homage to legends such as Patti Labelle and Donny Hathaway while keeping pace with newer artists.
A cross between Chaka Khan and Scott, Fleshcoat Featuring Dr. E is all about "grown folks' music," tunes for adults that's light on violence, candy-coated lyrics and overt sexuality, and heavy on slow grooves for late-night dancing and funk for long drives with the windows down.
Gifted with a voice that bends to a throaty, womanly purr or high, Erykah Badu-like top notes, Dr. E leads the band through songs that praise God, children and love.
In "Back to Work," Dr. E and her co-writer-producer, James D. Johnson, penned an anthem for the everywoman who just wants to stay home and enjoy a little more time with her man, her family, her real life. The chorus sticks in the head and encourages chair dancing and singing along. The choruses generally fall within the vocal range of the average person, making them perfect songs to sing along to. After three listens to the album, you'll have the whole thing on the brain.
"Losin' It" sounds like a lost Chaka Khan track, and "I See Heaven" returns listeners to funk with a sexy bass line and a smoky delivery by Dr. E, truly "grown folks music" as track two claims.
Fleshcoat answers what some might call a niche market of music for adults without being easy listening. For adults who still have some swing to their hips and a desire for smart, sexy tunes, here's a match. Almost every song on the album is catchy and funky with lyrics that most people can relate to, whether it is wanting to avoid work or praise God.
The name Fleshcoat, rather than being an unsavory euphemism, reflects Johnson's belief that human beings are, as Richardson described it, "spirit constrained in flesh."
A way to release that constraint, to discover your own identity, is through music. This philosophy drives the album, and hopefully, it should drive sales.

Voices of Central PA article on Dr E (November 2006)