Olivia Records While she was living in New York, some friends of Trull's sent a tape of her music to
Olivia Records, then located in Los Angeles, California. Olivia was a fledgling women-only record company, devoted to recording music by women, for women, and about women. The Olivia collective was interested in recording Trull, but had other projects in the works. They encouraged Trull to move to LA, and gave her a job in the company's packing and shipping department until her recording could take place. Trull's first album with Olivia was
The Ways A Woman Can Be released in 1977. It was Olivia's fifth LP release and two singles were released as well. The album's style is primarily folk-rock with R&B, gospel, and country influences, and contains several songs with overt lesbian and/or feminist lyrics, such as "Woman-Loving Women" and "Don't Say Sister (Until You Mean It)." Six of the album's eight songs were composed by Trull, most of them written when she was between the ages of 16 and 20. Also in 1977, Olivia released the compilation album
Lesbian Concentrate in response to
Anita Bryant's
anti-gay crusade. Two Trull performances were included on the LP: "Prove It On Me Blues" (composed by
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey) and "Woman-Loving Women" (composed by Trull). Olivia released a second Trull LP in 1980 titled
Let It Be Known. This album also contains overtly lesbian and feminist lyrics ("There's A Light" and "Every Woman"), but the musical styles are funk, jazz, and pop. Guest musicians included some well-known artists from within the women's music community, such as Julie Homi,
Linda Tillery, Ellen Seeling and Jean Fineberg from the group
Deuce, as well as mainstream artists such as
Sheila E. on drums and percussion. The LP generated some controversy within the lesbian-feminist community because two of the songs were co-written by Trull and a man,
Ray Obiedo. Prior to this LP, all Olivia recordings were completely women-only projects, including artists, composers, and technicians. The LP's cover was criticized by some because Trull was wearing make-up in the photograph and there were accusations that Olivia intentionally put sexually oriented subliminal messages on the cover of the LP. The criticism of
Let It Be Known from within the lesbian community contributed to the resignation of the Olivia staffer who was the graphic designer of the cover. The recording was also criticized by some for being too commercial in its sound, with one reviewer going so far as to call it a "dull collection of every slick disco cliché." Years later, Trull reflected on the lessons she learned working on
Let It Be Known. The intention of the LP was to produce it with all women, but to make it more technically viable than previous Olivia recordings. She described the recording as a "total financial bomb" and a "big nightmare" to make, because of the desire to use women musicians who may not have the studio experience to give the producer what they want in an efficient manner, which increased the costs of the recording process. While Trull did not produce
Let It Be Known, she remembered the experiences later in her career when she was responsible for the finances of other recordings. Trull left the Olivia collective around 1981, citing a "difference in philosophy." This was the last solo album released by Trull; her subsequent CDs have been collaborative efforts with
Barbara Higbie and
Cris Williamson. In 1987, Trull toured as a background singer with The
Bonnie Hayes Band as the opening act for
Huey Lewis and the News on a national tour that included stadium-sized audiences. Trull described the experience as "a real eye opener….What I saw was a lifestyle that I didn't want any part of. You become a marketable product. You make decisions based on business and not on music." ==Collaboration with Barbara Higbie==