Cat Power
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Cat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Charlyn "Chan" Marshall (born Charlyn Marie Marshall, January 21, 1972), known for her minimalist (and often pastoral) music, sparse guitar and piano playing and ethereal, Southern-styled vocals. She is often accompanied by backing musicians on record and in concert.
Biography
The daughter of divorced parents, Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall was born in Georgia. Her childhood involved much upheaval, with Marshall living throughout the Southern United States (Greensboro, North Carolina, Bartlett, Tennessee, and Georgia and South Carolina,) and between parents. In interviews she has openly discussed her childhood and stated that the constant travelling prepared her for the touring life of a professional musician.
After dropping out of high school, she started performing under the name Cat Power while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. She soon moved to New York City where, after opening for Liz Phair in 1994, she met Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee. In 1996 she was signed to Matador Records, and released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News".
Shortly following the release of What Would the Community Think Marshall disappeared off the musical scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with boyfriend Bill Callahan (who performs under the name Smog). The plan was to permantly retire from music but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs. These songs would make up the bulk of Moon Pix. The record was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne in eleven days with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three. [link] The album was well-received by critics, and gained her recognition in the indie rock scene. However, during the subsequent tours she grew tired of her own material. This resulted in a series of shows during 1999 involving Marshall providing musical accompainment to a series of screenings of the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and many covers, many of which would later see release on The Covers Record, a collection of cover songs recorded at various sessions in 1998 and 1999.A selection of covers that didn't make it on to the album were recorded at Peel Acres, home of the highly influential and legendary British DJ John Peel. The session was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show and featured Marshall's own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" amongst others.
In 2003 she resumed releasing original material with You Are Free, a diverse and critically applauded album which featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and the Dirty Three's Warren Ellis.
The year 2004 saw the release of the critically polarizing DVD Speaking for Trees, which featured a single, nearly 2-hour static shot of Marshall performing in a woodland, and was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", featuring M. Ward on guitar. 2005 found Marshall out on the road again, touring the world and playing sold-out solo shows, including an Australian tour supporting Nick Cave. The shows largely consisted of material for her next album. Her latest record, The Greatest, was released in January, 2006.
Early in 2006, Marshall announced the cancellation of her upcoming United States Tour, citing "health-related issues". A few days later, Matador announced the cancellation of her two shows in London and Paris. She resumed touring in April 2006, playing some of the most well received shows of her career both with the Memphis Rhthym Band and as a solo performer. She is now sober, a fact that she has refered to at many of these shows.
Trivia
- Marshall has garnered notoriety for her live shows, which often feature a chaotic lack of polish and structure. Songs are frequently cut short for no apparent reason, or "tail off" into what sounds like an extended period of guitar tuning. Some listeners are alienated by this apparent lack of direction, while others have been enchanted by the free-form nature of the performances.
- Marshall lent her vocals to the track "I've Been Thinking" from the 2004 Handsome Boy Modelling School album, White People. She also sang on the song "Great Waves", from the 2005 Dirty Three album Cinder.
- Marshall is of Cherokee, Irish, Dutch, and Jewish descent.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
- She is notable both as a songwriter and as an innovative interpretor of other artists' songs. Her cover versions often ignore the melodies and lyrical hooks of the originals, as evidenced by her renditions of Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", or alter the mood of the song altogether, as with her recording of Oasis' "Wonderwall". The music is similarly stripped down, often to little more than an electric guitar with a clean tone and her voice.
- She often performs unreleased covers at her live shows. Her choice of covers over the years has revealed a widespread and eclectic taste in both new and old music, incorporating everything from the White Stripes and Bob Dylan to Nina Simone and Jessie Mae Hemphill.
- She is somewhat shy and a loner though recent interviews seem to show her coming out of her shell a little bit. She has described herself as an "introverted person."
- She has supported numerous charitable causes, including "The Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian Parents' Circle" and PETA, and appeared at the "Fuck Cancer Benefit". Later this year she will be performing at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York with all proceeds going to the Music For Youth Foundation.
- She was spotted at numerous Bob Dylan concerts in 1999.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Discography
Albums
- Dear Sir CD/LP(10") (1995, Runt Records) (reissued CD/LP(12") 2003, Plain records)
- Myra Lee (1996, Smells Like Records)
- What Would the Community Think (1996, Matador Records)
- Moon Pix (1998, Matador Records)
- The Covers Record (2000, Matador Records)
- You Are Free (2003, Matador Records) US #105, UK #157
- The Greatest (2006, Matador Records) US #34, UK #45, CAN #63, AUS #26
Singles
- "Headlights" 7" (1994, The Making of Americans)
- "Nude as the News" 7" (1996, Matador Records)
- "Cat Power goes to Guvnerville, Guv'ner goes in Catpowerland" 7" (1996, self-released)
- "Undercover" 7" (2000, Undercover Records)
- "He War" CD (2002, Matador Records)
- "The Greatest" 7" (2006, Matador Records)
- "Living Proof" (2006, Matador Records)
- "Could We" 7" (2006, Matador Records)
Videos
External links
Official sites
Data
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