A mixtape or mixed tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.

A mixtape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape's intended recipient. Essayist Geoffrey O'Brien has called the personal mixtape "the most widely practiced American art form", and many mixtape enthusiasts believe that by carefully selecting and ordering the tracks in a mix, an artistic statement can be created that is greater than the sum of its individual songs.

With the advent of affordable, consumer-level digital audio, creating and distributing mixes in the form of compact disc or MP3 playlists has become the contemporary method of choice, but the term ''mixtape'' is still commonly used, even for mixes in different media (for example, CD, MP3, MiniDisc, audio cassette 8 track). Video mixtapes have emerged as well.

History

The most common early mixtapes were bootleg 8 track tapes that were sold at flea markets and truck stops in the late 60's through the early 80's, with names like "Super 73", "Country Chart Toppers" or "Top Pops 1977".

Homemade mixtapes became common in the 1980s. Although the compact audio cassette by Philips appeared at the 1963 Berlin Radio Show, the sound quality of cassettes was not good enough to be seriously considered for music recording until further advances in tape formulations, including the advent of chrome and metal tape. Before the introduction of the audio cassette, the creation of a pop music compilation required specialized or cumbersome equipment, such as a reel-to-reel or 8 track recorder, that was often inaccessible to the casual music fan. As cassette tapes and recorders grew in popularity and portability, these technological hurdles were lowered to the point where the only resources required to create a mix were a handful of cassettes and a cassette recorder connected to a source of prerecorded music, such as a radio or LP player. The 8-track tape cartridge was more popular for music recording during much of the 1960s, as the cassette was originally only mono and intended for vocal recordings only, such as in office dictation machines. But improvements in fidelity finally allowed the cassette to become a major player. The ready availability of the cassette and higher quality home recording decks to serve the home casual user allowed the cassette to become the dominant tape format, to the point that the 8 track tape nearly disappeared shortly after the turn of the 1980s. The growth of the mixtape was also encouraged by improved quality and increased popularity of audio cassette players in car entertainment systems, and by the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1979.

A distinction should be drawn between a private mixtape, which is usually intended for a specific listener or private social event, and a public mixtape, or "party tape", usually consisting of a recording of a club performance by a DJ and intended to be sold to multiple individuals. In the 1970s, such DJs as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculoids, DJ Breakout, the Funky Four, and DJ Hollywood would often distribute recordings of their club performances via audio cassette, as well as customized recordings (often prepared at exorbitant prices) for individual tape purchasers. These recordings tended to be of higher technical ability than home-made mixtapes and incorporated techniques such as beatmatching and scratching. One 12 October 1974 article in ''Billboard Magazine'' reported, "Tapes were originally dubbed by jockeys to serve as standbys for times when they did not have disco turntables to hand. The tapes represent each jockey's concept of programming, placing, and sequencing of record sides. The music is heard without interruption. One- to three-hour programs bring anywhere from $30 to $75 per tape, mostly reel-to-reel, but increasingly on cartridge and cassette." Club proprietors, as well as DJs, would often prepare such tapes for sale. Throughout the 1980s, mixtapes were a highly visible element of youth culture. However, the increased availability of CD burners and MP3 players and the gradual disappearance of cassette players in cars and households have led to a decline in the popularity of the compact audio cassette as a medium for homemade mixes. The high point of traditional mixtape culture was arguably the publication of Nick Hornby's novel ''High Fidelity'' in 1995. Since then, mixtapes have largely been replaced by mix CDs and shared MP3 playlists, which are more durable, can hold more songs, and require minutes (rather than hours) to prepare. While some mixtape enthusiasts bemoan the obsolescence of the cassette tape, others concede that the greater convenience offered by the mix CD has expanded the possibilities and accessibility of the medium, as indicated by the recent resurgence of mix-swapping clubs that trade mix CDs by regular mail. Some mix enthusiasts also appreciate the potential of the mix CD for extended, continuous mixes and creative album art.

Today, websites concerned with electronic music provide mixes in a digital format. These usually consist of recorded DJ sets of live, beat-matched mixes of songs, which are used by DJs seeking to demonstrate their mixing skills to an online audience. Some radio shows worldwide specialize in mix series, including ''The Breezeblock'' on BBC Radio 1, ''The Solid Steel Show'' (formerly on KISS-FM), and ''The BTTB Show''.

Additionally, DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, DJ QBert, DJ Spooky, DJ Z-Trip or DJ Shadow, The Avalanches, and Rjd2 have gained fame for creating new songs by combining fragments of existing songs (which need not necessarily belong to the same genre). The resulting remix or mash-up can be seen as an evolution of the mixtape, in that it appropriates existing songs to give them new meanings through their juxtaposition, but does so in a quicker, more integrated style. This practice is heavily derived from the use of song loops as musical backdrops for an MC's rhymes in hip hop music, which is also related to turntablism.

Mixtapes vs. compilations

Many commercially available compilations of pop music initially seem to share certain important characteristics with mixtapes. Like many private mixes, a significant number of the earliest pop LPs were essentially collections of popular singles, and such compilation albums have often taken cues from underground mixes of the same era. One example is ''Disco Par-r-r-ty'', the first nonstop dancing LP record, which was released by Spring Records in October 1974. Consisting of a continuous mix of songs by such artists as James Brown, Mandrill, and Barry White, it was clearly inspired by the bootleg DJ mixes that were becoming popular at the same time. However, the relative anonymity of the compilers of such albums is arguably inconsistent with the rationale behind most mixtapes, which typically reflect the musical tastes of a single compiler. While the editors of such compilations do exercise a certain amount of discretion over song order and selection, the term ''mixtape'' is generally restricted to a compilation where the identity of the compiler is clearly associated with the album itself. For example, Starbucks, the coffee chain, sells a compilation CD series called Artist's Choice, which consists of mixes based on selections by such artists as Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, and Sheryl Crow. Similarly, Apple Computer's iTunes Store features Celebrity Playlists, downloadable mixtapes in AAC-compatible form, selected by such artists as Moby, Barry Manilow, and Andrew W.K. The ''Late Night Tales'' series has seen artists such as Four Tet and Turin Brakes make their own compilations that are distributed in mainstream record shops such as HMV.

The presence of an identifiable compiler whose tastes are reflected in song selection and arrangement allow retail mix CDs to be distinguished from other types of compilations. The distinction can be rather subtle. For example, while most "greatest hits" compilations of individual recording artists consist of a collection of singles in chronological order, others include album tracks, new songs, or obscure selections in addition to established hits, and sometimes reorder the songs for optimal listening. As such, these compilations can be seen as "artist-specific" mixes selected and arranged by the artists themselves.

One could also argue that the modern movie soundtrack, which often consists of selected pop music tracks (rather than the traditional orchestral score) is a mixtape with songs selected by the film's director or music supervisor.

Legal issues in the United States

An important distinction between homemade mixes and retail compilations of pop music is that the latter generally obtain permissions for the use of copyrighted songs, while the former do not. As a result, mixtapes, such as those produced and sold by club DJs in the 1970s, are illegal. Most mixtape enthusiasts assume that private mixtapes are inoffensive from a fair use standpoint, but this is far from clear. Frank Creighton, a director of anti-copyright infringement efforts for the Recording Industry Association of America, was quoted in ''New York Times'' as saying that "money did not have to be involved for copying to be illegal." While mixes on cassette tapes may not have inspired the wrath of the record industry in the past, Mr. Creighton said, "digital mixes have better sound quality". And given the proliferation of CD burning for friends and relatives, "it would be naïve of us to say that we should allow that type of activity".

Aesthetics

While the process of recording a mix onto an audio cassette from LPs or compact discs is technically straightforward, many music fans who create more than one mixtape are eventually compelled to confront some of the practical and aesthetic challenges involved in the mixtape format. From a practical standpoint, such issues as avoiding an excessive amount of blank tape at the end of one side (which requires careful planning of the length of each side of the mix) and reducing the audible click between songs (which requires mastery of the pause button on the cassette recorder) have been identified as part of the shared experience of mixtape aficionados. From an aesthetic point of view, many enthusiasts believe that because a tape player, unlike a CD player, lacks the ability to skip from song to song, the mixtape needs to be considered in its entirety. This requires the mixtape creator to consider the transitions between songs, the effects caused by juxtaposing a soft song with a loud song, and the overall "narrative arc" of the entire tape. One notable listing of such aesthetic "rules" can be found in a paragraph from Nick Hornby's ''High Fidelity'':

Many enthusiasts also devote substantial attention to the packaging of a mixtape intended as a gift, sometimes going so far as to create cover art and customized liner notes. The cover of the original McSweeney's edition of ''31 Songs'', a 2003 essay collection by Nick Hornby, was intended to suggest the packaging of a homemade mix CD. It also came with an actual CD featuring ten of the songs discussed in the text. Indeed, the look of mixtapes, featuring hand-written notes on the recording medium manufacturer's supplied labels, has become one of the aesthetic conventions of modern design, a distinct style that designers may attempt to copy or cite. Many have been so widely distributed that the CDDB has logged and can identify ID3 tags when a disc mixtape is inserted into a PC.

From an artistic point of view, many creators of mixtapes seem to regard them as a form of emotional self-expression, although whether a mixtape retains the same web of emotional associations when passed from its creator to the recipient is, at best, debatable. Some argue that in selecting, juxtaposing, or even editing originally unrelated tracks of pop music into a new work of art, the "author" of a mixtape moves from passive listener to archivist, editor, and finally active participant in the process of musical creation. (Some legitimacy for this viewpoint was provided by ''Cassette Stories'', a 2003 exhibition at the Museum of Communication in Hamburg, Germany, which featured stories and submissions from eighty mixtape enthusiasts.) However, this perception of the mixtape as a work of art has been criticized as resulting in a sort of elitism, with creators becoming more concerned with finding arcane and surprising combinations of tracks than with creating a tape that is listenable, enjoyable, or appropriate to its intended recipient. (In ''High Fidelity'', for example, the narrator's girlfriend complains that his mixtapes are too didactic.) On a very basic level, the creation of a mixtape can be seen as an expression of the individual compiler's taste in music, often put forward for the implicit approval of the tape's recipient, and in many cases as a tentative step towards building the compiler's personal canon of pop music.

Types of mixtapes

Although a "comprehensive" list of the different genres or categories of mixtapes could be extended indefinitely, creating a taxonomy of mixtapes is a project that many mixtape enthusiasts have intuitively attempted. The different types of mixtapes identified on community sites, such as FoundTrack and Art of the Mix (which lists over two hundred genres), indicate the variety of potential categories. Beyond basic genres as the simple taping of an entire album, the collection of favorite songs, and the "snapshot" mix of recent favorites, some of the more commonly cited categories include the driving mix, the workout mix, the party mix, the krazy mix (eclectic selections of obscure, rare or otherwise unconventional tracks), the didactic mix (intended to educate the recipient as to the essential works of a particular artist or genre), the concept / theme mix (a mix of Christmas songs, songs about cars, or covers of songs by a particular artist or similar), and the mood mix (simply a mix of songs intended to sustain a specific mood, stated or unstated — notable sub genres include the romantic mix and the break-up mix). Mixtapes eventually made their way onto television screens by video mix DJs (i.e., Jordan Laws 'Fit to Fill Video Mixtape' DJ SWB).

Mixtapes in hip hop

In hip hop's earliest days, the music only existed in live form, and the music was spread via tapes of parties and shows. Hip hop mixtapes first appeared in the mid-1970s in New York City, featuring artists such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaata. As more tapes became available, they began to be collected and traded by fans. In the mid-1980s, DJs, such as Brucie B, began recording their live music and selling their own mixtapes, which was soon followed by other DJs such as Kid Capri and Doo Wop. Ron G moved the mixtape forward in the early 1990s by blending R&B; ''a cappellas'' with hip hop beats (known as "blends"). Blend tapes became increasingly popular by the mid-1990s, and fans increasingly looked for exclusive tracks and freestyles on the tapes.

Mixtapes are now commonly used by labels and new artists as a promotional tool, as a way of generating hype. An unsigned artist might release several mixtapes to generate buzz, leading to interest from record labels, while a signed artist may release a mixtape to promote a future studio album, in a sales model relying on word of mouth to increase the artist's credibility (known as "street cred"). Often each track on a promotional hip hop mixtape will feature the same artist, thus making it more difficult to differentiate from a standard album. However, these mixtapes will usually have much lower production values than a studio album (such as containing demos or rough cuts of the tracks), and contain numerous collaborations, remixes, freestyles and voice-overs, often arranged in a specific flowing fashion. It's common for such mixtapes to re-use previously heard instrumental tracks from other artists.

Most hip hop mixtapes are professionally packaged, with a CD and artwork, and are often housed in a slim-format jewel case, rather than the more expensive full jewel cases most retail albums come in. Hip hop mixtapes are usually sold on the street, given out at the artists' live shows, or through independent record dealers or mail order. Many mixtapes are also sold or given away for free in MP3 format over the internet.

A 2007 documentary, Mixtape, Inc., features many aspects of the mix tape phenomenon in hip-hop. It analyzes the legality of the tapes; their use as promotion by MCs, DJs, and labels; the entrepreneurs involved; and their import to the hip-hop culture.

Although hip hop mixtapes have been instrumental in supplementing the marketing and promotions endeavors of record labels, and are utilized by major acts with the implicit support of their labels, the Recording Industry Association of America, a political lobby group funded by the major record corporations, classifies these mixtapes as bootleg or pirated music CDs.

Mixtapes in global culture

All of the references to mixtapes cited above come from media sources in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or continental Europe. The use of mixtapes in other countries is less documented. However, it seems reasonable to believe that mixes exist wherever access to popular music is combined with a convenient means of recording homemade compilations (although mixtapes may not have been a significant element of the youth culture in such countries). For example, Sarah Erdman's 2003 book ''Nine Hills to Nambonkaha'' includes a description of the tape collection of a middle-class African in Côte d'Ivoire:

See also

DJ mix

''Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture''

MP3 CD

References

Further reading

Corn, Doron Porat (c2002). ''"History of Mixtapes"'' AllMixTapes.com

Ellis, Bret Easton (1986). ''Less Than Zero''. ISBN 0-679-78149-8

Erdman, Sarah (2003). ''Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of An African Village''. ISBN 0-8050-7381-7

Gallagher, David (30 January 2003). For the mix tape, a digital upgrade and notoriety. ''The New York Times''.

Hornby, Nick (1995). ''High Fidelity''. ISBN 1-57322-551-7

Hornby, Nick (2003). ''Songbook''. ISBN 1-57322-356-5

Keller, Joel (22 January 2004). PCs killed the mix-tape star. ''Salon.com''.

Mobley, Max (5 December 2007). "Requiem for the Mixtape". ''Crawdaddy!''.

Moore, Thurston (2004). ''Mix Tape''. ISBN 0-7893-1199-2

McMahon, Andrew (2005): "The Mixed Tape", Everything In Transit — Jack's Mannequin

O'Brien, Geoffrey (2004). ''Sonata for Jukebox''. ISBN 1-58243-192-2

Paul, James (26 September 2003). Last night a mix tape saved my life. ''The Guardian''.

Sante, Luc (13 May 2004). Disco Dreams. ''The New York Review of Books''. (This review of ''Songbook'' and ''Sonata for Jukebox'' describes the mix tape as "one part Victorian flower album, one part commonplace book, one part collage, and one part recital.")

Stuever, Hank (29 October 2002). Unspooled: In the digital age, the quaint cassette is sent reeling into history's dustbin. ''Washington Post''.

Vowell, Sarah (2001). ''Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World''. ISBN 0-7432-0540-5

Warner, Alan (1995). ''Morvern Callar''. ISBN 0-385-48741-X

Category:Sound production technology Category:Mixtape albums Category:Compilation albums

de:Mixtape es:Mixtape fr:Mixtape it:Mixtape ja:ミックステープ nl:Mixtape nn:Mixteip pl:Mixtape pt:Mixtape ru:Микстейп fi:Mixtape sv:Blandband

name	Jamie Cullum
background	solo_singer
born	August 20, 1979Rochford, Essex, England, UK
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums
genre	Crossover jazz, power pop, blue-eyed soul
active	1999–present
spouse	Sophie Dahl (2010–present)
occupation	Musician, songwriter
label	UCJ, Candid, Decca, Verve (US), Verve Forecast (US), Deckdisc (BR)
website	www.jamiecullum.com }}

Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.

Early life

Cullum was born in Rochford, Essex. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire.

His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family settled in North England after Burma's independence; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who sang in Berlin nightclubs.

Cullum was educated at the independent Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School, a comprehensive school. He then went on to study English Literature and Film Studies at Reading University, where he graduated with First Class Honours.

Musical career

With only £48 to produce it, Cullum released his first album, ''Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All Before'', in 1999, of which 500 copies were made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of ''Heard it All Before'' resulted in Cullum being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album ''Songs of the Summer''.

After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released his best-selling album, ''Pointless Nostalgic'', which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson and Melvyn Bragg.

Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's second studio album, ''Twentysomething'', released in October 2003, went platinum and became the No. 1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.

Although primarily a jazz musician, he performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music from Miles Davis to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.

Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his style and charisma. One of the many things that features in Cullum's concerts is the Stomp box (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Cullum found this in Melbourne, Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as "Seven Nation Army", originally by The White Stripes and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a heavy part in Cullum's versions of "Seven Nation Army" and "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing at most gigs.

As well as The White Stripes and Kanye West, Cullum has performed work by Massive Attack, Pharell, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Joy Division, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also performed with Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Will.i.am and Burt Bacharach.

Cullum never works to a set list and on average his gigs last just over two hours. The gigs are largely improvised, rooted in jazz but not solely consisting of jazz music.

Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (in 2004 and 2009), New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (in 2005), Coachella 2005, 2006 South by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl (performing with the Count Basie Orchestra) and the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On 30 April 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in the Netherlands.

''Pointless Nostalgic''

''Pointless Nostalgic'' began life as a self-funded project and eventually got taken on by Candid Records, featuring a mix of standards, originals and contemporary covers. It was recorded in Spring 2001 at Clown's Pocket Studios, Bexley, by Derek Nash and co-produced by Geoff Gascoyne.

On the album Cullum created covers of old classics with new arrangements of Warren and Burke's "Devil May Care", Thelonious Monk's "Well You Needn't" and Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So".

''Twentysomething''

Recorded at London's Mayfair Studio and released 20 October 2003, ''Twentysomething'' contains a mix of jazz standards, contemporary tunes and ballads.

Due to the acoustic nature of the music, producer Stewart Levine chose to record and mix ''Twentysomething'' entirely on analogue tape. Since the album was recorded almost entirely "live" with no need to correct or improve performances, Levine saw no need for the infinite amount of tracks and computerised digital recording.

The album includes jazz standards "What a Diff'rence a Day Made", "Singin' in the Rain", and Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick out of You", modern takes on ''My Fair Lady'''s "I Could Have Danced All Night", Jeff Buckley’s "Lover, You Should Have Come Over", and Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary", as well as new tracks written by Cullum and his brother Ben, including the first single from the album "All At Sea" and the title track "Twentysomething".

''Catching Tales''

Cullum's third major label album, also produced by Stewart Levine, entitled ''Catching Tales'', was released on 26 September 2005, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and two weeks later in the United States, on 11 October. The American and French versions of ''Catching Tales'' do not include the track "Fascinating Rhythm", which appears on the European version. The first single released from the album, in the United Kingdom, was "Get Your Way", a collaboration with Dan The Automator which used a sample from the Thad Jones song "Get Out Of My Life, Woman". The second single released, in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, was "Mind Trick", written by Cullum and his brother Ben. The third single from the album was the self-penned track "Photograph", which Cullum said was written on New Years Day 2005 after he found a box of old photographs at his parents house.

A special edition version of ''Catching Tales'' was released in Europe, featuring a 20-minute documentary, including behind the scenes footage of Jamie recording the album and on the road footage, from across Europe. ''Catching Tales'' has also been released on double vinyl, as was the first single, "Get Your Way". A limited edition version of the "Get Your Way" single was released on red vinyl.

Cullum collaborated with Pharrell Williams. They recorded various songs together and it was thought that the track titled "Wifey" would make an appearance on ''Catching Tales'', but this was prevented by legal and contractual problems. Cullum's vocals finally featured on Pharrell's debut solo album, on a track titled "You Can Do It Too", though Cullum is not credited as a featured artist.

Cullum toured in support of ''Catching Tales'' from the end of October 2005 to December 2006.

''The Pursuit''

On 4 June 2009, Cullum announced the title of his fourth studio album, ''The Pursuit''. The album, which was released on 10 November 2009, is produced by Greg Wells, and the first single is "I'm All Over It", written by Deacon Blue frontman, Ricky Ross. The album was recorded at a Los Angeles studio, using songs that Cullum originally recorded at his Shepherd's Bush recording studio, Terrified Studios.

''The Pursuit'' was recorded in a variety of places; Jamie's kitchen, a studio in L.A. and "Terrifed Studios" (Jamie's own in Shepherd's Bush). Various musicians were also used in the recording process. Songs recorded in L.A. mostly used session musicians and sees Greg Wells and Cullum play various instrument including drums and bass. "Don't Stop The Music", the second single from the album (released as a download only in January 2010) was recorded with Chris Hill and Brad Webb.

Other band members

From 2003 to 2008 Cullum played consistently with Geoff Gascoyne on bass, and Sebastiaan de Krom on drums. From 2003 until 2004 the trio was joined by Ben Castle on saxophone, John Hoare on trumpet, Barnaby Dickinson on trombone and Malcolm MacFarlane on guitar.

Sam Wedgwood (guitarist, bassist and trumpeter) later joined Cullum, on tour, for a little over a year. At the end of 2005 Cullum was joined by Tom Richards (saxophonist, occasional guitarist and percussion). Soon after that Sam Wedgwood left to pursue his own solo musical career. At the beginning of 2006 Rory Simmons (trumpeter and guitarist) joined the band as a replacement, bringing the total number of band members (including Cullum himself) to five.

In late 2009 Cullum replaced Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Sebastiaan de Krom (drums) with Chris Hill (bass) and Brad Webb (drums).

Awards

The British Jazz Awards first recognised Cullum's growing success by awarding him the "Rising Star" award, at the 2003 ceremony in July. At the 2004 BRIT Awards, Cullum was nominated in the "British Breakthrough Act" category. He performed live in the ceremony at Earl's Court, a duet with Katie Melua of The Cure's "The Lovecats". In the 2005 BRIT Awards, Cullum was nominated for two awards: "Best Male Artist" and "Best Live Act". In 2005 Cullum was nominated for a Grammy while taking BBC Radio 2 "Artist of the Year" honours at the BBC Jazz Awards (as voted for by listeners of Radio 2). In 2007 Cullum won the Ronnie Scotts Jazz Award for "Best British Male". He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for his composition, "Gran Torino".

Personal life

Cullum married British food writer and former model Sophie Dahl in a private ceremony at Westminster Abbey in England on 9 January 2010. On 11 September 2010, the couple confirmed that they were expecting a child. Their daughter, Lyra, was born on 2 March 2011.

Discography

References

External links

Official record label site

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Reading Category:Anglo-Burmese people Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:British people of Burmese descent Category:English drummers Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English pop guitarists Category:English pop pianists Category:English pop singers Category:Jazz-pop pianists Category:Jazz-pop singers Category:People from Wiltshire Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:People educated at Grittleton House School

ca:Jamie Cullum cs:Jamie Cullum cy:Jamie Cullum da:Jamie Cullum de:Jamie Cullum es:Jamie Cullum fr:Jamie Cullum it:Jamie Cullum nl:Jamie Cullum ja:ジェイミー・カラム no:Jamie Cullum pl:Jamie Cullum pt:Jamie Cullum fi:Jamie Cullum sv:Jamie Cullum

name	Butch Walker
background	solo_singer
birth name	Bradley Glenn Walker
born	November 14, 1969Cartersville, Georgia, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Percussion, Hammond organ, Mandolin-banjo
genre	Glam metal (early)Pop punk Post-grunge Rock Pop rock Hard rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, Musician, Producer
years active	1985–present
label	Original Signal, Dangerbird Records, Lojinx
associated acts	Marvelous 3, SouthGang Floyds Funk Revival, Floyds
website	ButchWalker.com
notable instruments	}}

Butch Walker (born Bradley Glenn Walker on November 14, 1969) is a current American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer who was also the lead guitarist for the metal band SouthGang from the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.

Career

Walker grew up in Cartersville, Georgia and stood out as a guitarist and performer in several rock bands in the 1980s including Bad Boyz and Byte the Bullet. In 1988, he took Byte the Bullet to LA and they were signed to Virgin Records within the year. The band then changed their name to SouthGang and released two albums, ''Tainted Angel'' in 1991 and ''Group Therapy'' in 1992. SouthGang was one of the first bands to tour China in the early 1990s. Southgang disbanded when Walker lost interest in continuing, but he remained on good terms with all the other members of the band.

After Southgang, Walker formed a new band with ex-SouthGang members Jayce Fincher and Mitch McLee (aka: Doug Mitchell), calling themselves Floyd's Funk Revival after Walker's birthplace, Floyd county Georgia. Walker shared lead vocals in the band with Fincher's wife, Chrystina Lloree. They released one full length album, Creamy. The album contained thirteen original tracks with Lloree taking a large share of the lead vocals and heavy reliance on guitar. The band then shortened their name to The Floyds. They released one self-titled album on the Deep South label, which contained ten original tracks along with a humorous intro piece. Bonus tracks included a cover of Duran Duran's "Rio", and a live rendition of the Shasta soda jingle from the late seventies. (See Amazon.com and TheMarvieChronicles.com) The style of both these albums was guitar-oriented, mainstream rock with mild funk influences, and was a forerunner to the more basic guitar-oriented rock approach Walker took later with Marvelous 3. Although the albums are highly regarded among the people who discovered them (see Amazon.com reviews), they failed to sell many copies, and both albums are now quite rare. They are highly coveted by fans of Butch Walker, and the few copies that surface in the used cd market today command very high prices.

In 1997, Walker, Fincher, and McLee transformed themselves again, scaling back to a trio with Walker handling all the lead vocals. They also decided to streamline their sound to more of a "power pop" type of band. Calling themselves Marvelous 3, they released the album "Math and Other Problems" on Deep South Records in 1997. They followed this in 1999 with "Hey!Album" on Elektra records and had a minor hit with the song "Freak of the Week." The next year, they released their final album, "ReadySexGo", also on Elektra. That album failed to continue the momentum created by the prior release, however, and perceiving a lack of support from their record label, they disbanded in 2001. Their final concert was on August 3, 2001 at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park in front of their hometown fans.

Butch Walker then began a solo career, releasing the albums ''Left of Self-Centered'' in 2002, ''Letters'' in 2004 and ''The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites'' in 2006. In 2005 he played over 200 live shows across both the U.S. and Japan, and he released his first DVD, ''Live at Budokan''. At the end of 2005 he was named as ''Rolling Stone'''s producer of the year. Butch Walker was featured as a headlining artist on the MySpace-promoted Inaugural Hotel Cafe tour, supporting independent artists from the Los Angeles venue of the same name.

Butch Walker began 2008 by setting out many dates for new songs, DVDs, new albums both with the band 1969, which he is the bassist and lead singer for, and also a solo record titled ''Sycamore Meadows''. He stated that he was planning to release something on every major holiday in 2008. On February 14, 2008, an audio release of Walker's live performance in his hometown of Atlanta, GA, was released. A DVD of this show followed on March 17, 2008. The DVD and audio are titled ''Leavin' the Game on Luckie Street'' (Luckie Street is the road the venue at which the show was played, the Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA). Then working with ''Michael Chislett'' of The Academy Is... and Darren Dodd of ''The Let's Go Out Tonites'' under the name 1969 released a full-length debut album titled ''Maya'' on April 1, 2008. ''Sycamore Meadows'' was originally slated for a holiday release in the summer of 2008, but was postponed due to personal reasons until November 11, according to his MySpace blog. The first single, "The Weight of Her", and an additional track, "Ships in a Bottle", are available on iTunes. The video for "Ships in a Bottle" documents Butch walking on the grounds of his home on Sycamore Meadows Drive in Southern California after it was destroyed by the wildfires of November 2007. Both ''Maya'' and ''Sycamore Meadows'' were released on a limited run of vinyl.

An effort begun in 2009, Butch released "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart" on February 23, 2010. It was released under the name Butch Walker & the Black Widows. Recording sessions were held at RubyRed Productions in Santa Monica, Ca. Butch's support of the record includes touring with Train beginning March, 2010, a headlining tour of the States, and opening for Pink in Europe on her Stadium Festival Tour.

Productions and Collaborations

In July 2009, Butch Walker worked with Weezer on their album "Raditude". Butch mentioned working with the band during a radio interview with 99x. He was being interviewed via phone along with Cee Lo from Gnarls Barkley who was in the actual studio. Butch co-wrote and Produced several songs on "Raditude", including the first single, "If You're Wondering if I Want You To... (I Want You To)", which hit Number 1 hit on the Modern rock Chart.

In 2007, Walker provided guest vocals on Fall Out Boy's third record ''Infinity on High'', on the track "You're Crashing, but You're No Wave", and co-produced the track "Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?" with singer Patrick Stump. He also made a brief cameo in the video for "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race".

Walker also appears in The Academy Is... videos for "Slow Down" and "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands" as well as the video for "So What" by Pink. He also co-wrote the songs "Breaking" and "Younglife", both of which are performed by Anberlin and co-written by them.

Walker also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. He was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards.

In January 2009, post-hardcore band Saosin tapped Walker to produce their second album for Capitol Records.

In March 2009, the song "Open Happiness" debuted, a new business venture by Coca-Cola, written by Walker, and featuring Cee-Lo Green, Travis McCoy, Janelle Monae, Patrick Stump and Brendon Urie. This song has a Cantonese cover version by Joey Yung on her new album, ''A Time For Us'', and she is also filming advertisements for Coca Cola in Chinese.

Many of his songs have been hits for other artists, including Avril Lavigne, Sevendust, Injected, The Donnas, Hot Hot Heat, American Hi-Fi, Default, Gob, Midtown, Puffy AmiYumi, Pete Yorn, Fall Out Boy, Quietdrive, All-American Rejects, SR-71, The Academy Is... and recently The Cab, Saosin, NeverShoutNever!, Weezer, Dashboard Confessional and All Time Low.

Currently

Butch signed on to judge a competition called Spin's Hot Pursuit to find an unsigned band for Epic Records/Original Signal hosted on Music Nation.

Butch has been known to break his music down to the bare basics, and played a series of sold-out live shows with just acoustic guitar and vocals beginning in Fall, 2009, accompanied by friends including at various times Pink, actor Jeremy Piven, Jim Bianco, The Chapin Sisters and doctor Stephen Patt on steel guitar. Out of the shows came a tongue-in-cheek-cover of Taylor Swift's single "You Belong With Me" on banjolin, which was met with enough interest that Butch recorded a video and audio version in his studio, and as a goof, posted on youtube. The results were astounding: Taylor blogged about the video, it went viral, and then Ms. Swift invited Butch to appear with her at the Winter 2010 Grammy Awards, where he joined Taylor with singer Stevie Nicks onstage for a trio of songs.

On August 30, 2011 Butch Walker will release his second album with the Black Widows entitled The Spade. The first single released will be "Summer of '89".

Personal life

When Butch graduated high school, he says that he weighed 215 lbs but subsequently dropped to 165 lbs. In November 2007, Butch and family lost all of their possessions, including the masters to every song he had ever recorded, when the Malibu home he was renting from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers burned down as a result of a wildfire in Southern California. Butch titled his album "Sycamore Meadows" after the street the house was on.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	! width="50"	! width="50"
2002		-	-	-
2004	align="left"	171	10	137
2006		-	-	294
2008		173	7	-
2010		125	1	-
2011		-	-	-

Live albums

''This Is Me... Justified and Stripped'' (2004)

''Leavin' the Game on Luckie Street'' (2008)

EPs

''Heartwork'' (2004)

''Cover Me Badd'' (2005)

Live at Lollapalooza 2008 (2008)

''Here Comes The... EP'' (2009)

DVDs

''Live at Budokan'' (2005)

''Leavin' The Game On Luckie Street DVD'' (2008)

Featured In

"You're Crashing But You're No Wave" By Fall Out Boy (2007)

"Christmas All Over Again" by Butch Walker and Taryn Manning (2008)

"Good Times" By Tommy Lee (2005)

Produced Records

Marvelous 3 - Math And Other Problems (1997)

Marvelous 3 - Hey! Album (1998)

Marvelous 3 - Ready, Sex, Go (2000)

Injected - Burn It Black (2002)

Bowling for Soup - Drunk Enough to Dance (2002)

SR-71 - Tomorrow (2002)

Pete Yorn - Day I Forgot (2003)

Shawn Mars - Red Means Go (2003)

Gob - Foot In Mouth Disease (2003)

Default - Elocation (2003)

Sevendust - Seasons (2003)

Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin (2004)

Simple Plan - Still Not Getting Any... (2004)

Midtown - Forget What You Know (2004)

The Donnas - Gold Medal (2004)

American Hi-Fi - Hearts on Parade (2005)

Lindsay Lohan - A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005)

Wakefield - Which Side Are You On? (2005)

Pink - I'm Not Dead (2006)

PUFFY - Splurge (2006)

Family Force 5 - Business Up Front/Party in the Back (2006)

Pete Yorn - Nightcrawler (2006)

Quietdrive - When All That's Left Is You (2006)

Rock Star Supernova - Rock Star Supernova (2006)

Bowling For Soup - The Great Burrito Extortion Case (2006)

Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing (2007)

The Academy Is... - Santi (2007)

The Honorary Title - Scream & Light Up the Sky (2007)

Hot Hot Heat - Happiness Ltd. (2007)

PUFFY - Honeycreeper (2007)

The Automatic - This Is A Fix (2008)

Katy Perry - One of the Boys (2008)

Pink - Funhouse (2008)

The Films - Oh, Scorpio! (2009)

Secondhand Serenade - A Twist In My Story (2009)

PUFFY - Bring It! (2009)

All Time Low - Nothing Personal (2009)

Weezer - Raditude (2009)

Saosin - In Search Of Solid Ground (2009)

Plastiscines - About Love (2009)

Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending (2009)

The Rocket Summer - Of Men and Angels (2010)

Never Shout Never - What Is Love (2010)

Avril Lavigne - Goodbye Lullaby (2011)

Panic! At The Disco - Vices & Virtues (2011)

References

External links

2009 Interview Podcast with Butch Walker on BackstageMusician.Com

Interview from 2002 from PlugInMusic.com

Butch Walker's Top 10 Albums of 2008

Butch Walker Production Credit List (Discography) - beatbuggy.com

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Lead guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:Crush Management artists

de:Butch Walker es:Butch Walker hr:Butch Walker it:Butch Walker ja:ブッチ・ウォーカー pt:Butch Walker

Name	Tift Merritt
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Catherine Tift Merritt
Born	January 08, 1975Houston, Texas
Origin	Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Instrument	VocalsGuitarKeyboardsPianoHarmonica
Genre	FolkRockAlternative country
Occupation	MusicianSongwriter
Years active	1998–present
Label	Lost Highway, Fantasy
Associated acts	The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt
Website	www.tiftmerritt.com
Notable instruments	}}

Catherine Tift Merritt (born January 8, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and North Carolina native. With her longtime band, she has built what has been called a "unique" and critically acclaimed body of work of "sonic short stories and poignant performances." She has been compared to songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris.

Merritt has released two studio albums for Lost Highway Records and two for Fantasy Records. Her live albums so far are ''Home Is Loud'' released in 2005 and ''Buckingham Solo'' released in 2009.

Biography

Early years

Merritt was born in Houston but her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina soon after. Her father taught her guitar chords and how to play piano by ear to Percy Sledge and Bob Dylan songs, and she sang harmonies with him as a child. His eclectic record collection of soul, folk, R&B;, rock, and country music records influenced her both then and later; she credits his "genreless" taste with influencing her to write and perform without regard to genre herself.

In her early twenties, though she had performed solo in public, Merritt has said she decided she was better suited for writing short stories. She enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study creative writing. There, she met Zeke Hutchins, whose band had just taken a hiatus and who had decided instead to become a school teacher. "With his encouragement and a big box of LPs from the 1970s," Merritt and Hutchins agreed to form a band. Hutchins set up his drum kit in the kitchen of the farmhouse where Merritt lived, and they practiced songs at her piano.

Career

Merritt began her professional career with her band The Carbines playing small clubs in Chapel Hill and Raleigh such as The Cave, Cat's Cradle, and the front porch of the General Store in Bynum, NC. In 1998, The Carbines released a 7-inch single "Jukejoint Girl" b/w "Cowboy". In 1999, Merritt made a guest appearance on a seven-song EP on the by Yep Rock label with the Two Dollar Pistols, led by John Howie, Jr. The record was called ''The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt''. The EP featured two original tunes and five cover songs. In 2000, she won MerleFest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, found a manager, and signed a contract with Lost Highway Records.

In 2002, Merritt released her debut album, ''Bramble Rose'', containing eleven original songs recorded with her long-time band and produced by Ethan Johns. The record landed on the top ten lists for both ''Time'' and the ''The New Yorker'', and was called the best debut of the year in any genre by the ''Associated Press''. A song from the album, "Trouble Over Me", was featured in writer Nick Hornby's ''31 Songs''. While touring to promote ''Bramble Rose,'' Merritt opened for fellow North Carolinian Ryan Adams, who had helped her secure her first management and record contracts.

Her follow-up release, 2004's ''Tambourine'', was produced by George Drakoulias and featured backing by Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Neal Casal and Don Heffington (of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band and Lone Justice). ''Tambourine'' was honored with a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Album nomination, though its sound was frequently described in quite different terms, such as "rock-soul throwdown". In 2005, Merritt and ''Tambourine'' were also nominated for three Americana Music Awards by the Americana Music Association: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Good Hearted Man". During the tour to promote ''Tambourine'', Merritt opened for Elvis Costello and recorded ''Austin City Limits''—a performance later released as a DVD by New West Records. The sold-out homecoming concert for the tour—at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina—was recorded for a live album release; ''Home Is Loud'' was released in 2005 and re-released by the German label Blue Rose Records with bonus tracks in November 2009.

After extensive touring behind ''Tambourine'', Merritt rented an apartment in Paris, where she wrote the songs that would become 2008's ''Another Country'' album. Before signing with a new label and making that record, Merritt performed Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" at the I'm Not There tribute concert at New York City's Beacon Theater on November 7, 2007, with guitarist Joe Henry. According to the ''New York Times'' review, Merritt had "the night's purest voice."

Released on Fantasy Records in 2008, ''Another Country'' featured the core of Merritt's long-time band, along with guitarist Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan), and again with Drakoulias at the helm. ''Another Country'' continued the trend of high-profile favorable press for Merritt's releases. Emmylou Harris said, "I first heard Tift Merritt some years ago during a writers' night at a small club. She stood out like a diamond in a coal patch and everyone there knew she carried a promise of great things to come. She has more than fulfilled that promise with ''Another Country''." ''Paste'' magazine gave the album a four-star review, calling Merritt "a force to be reckoned with in any genre she approaches." The song "Broken" from ''Another Country'' was nominated for an Americana Music Award for Song of the Year. The ''Another Country'' tour played the Newport Folk Festival, Bonaroo, and in 2009, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and MerleFest. On the ''Another Country'' tour, Merritt made runs in both the U.S. and the UK with fellow singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson.

''Buckingham Solo'', recorded in England, is an intimate acoustic solo concert recording made during the ''Another Country'' touring, and released on the Fantasy label in April 2009.

''Please Break the Silence of the Middle of the Night'', an iTunes EP, was released later in 2008. The EP contains two alternate versions of songs from ''Another Country'', a cover of George Harrisons "I Live For You", an outtake from the ''Another Country'' sessions , "Last To Know", and "Wayward And Weary," recorded for the film ''Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson''.

Performance highlights of the later ''Another Country'' tour and immediately after it included opening an outdoor show in Santa Monica, California for folk singer Joan Baez, opening the Pine Cone Winter Music Festival in her hometown of Raleigh for Kris Kristofferson, and singing the "The Star-Spangled Banner" for then-Senator Barack Obama at his last campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina before winning the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.

Merritt recorded the follow-up to 2008's ''Another Country'' in Durham with producer Tucker Martine. The album, ''See You On The Moon'', was released June 1, 2010 on Fantasy Records. My Morning Jacket frontman Yim Yames (Jim James) is featured on the track "Feel of the World". Again, a review in ''The New Yorker'' specified moments on the record to other singers, including Emmylou Harris, Judy Collins, and additionally U2; and ''The Wall Street Journal'' included her in a weekend feature on singer-songwriters, placing her "in the tradition of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Leonard Cohen.

Touring for ''Moon'' began in June of 2010 and continueed for over a year in North America, Europe, and the UK. In addition to headlining dates in North America and the UK, Merritt has supported Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Amos Lee, Josh Ritter, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Gray, Ray LaMontagne, Iron & Wine, and Gregg Allman.

Merritt is also a photographer; her first gallery exhibition, ''Other Countries'', ran at The Mahler Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina in May 2009. She also hosts an artist-to-artist interview radio show called ''The Spark with Tift Merritt'' which is produced by KRTS in Marfa, Texas, and whose guests have included Nick Hornby, Kiki Smith, and poet C. K. Williams among others. Episodes of ''The Spark'' stream on the show's website and are available as a free podcast.

In 2009, Merritt married Zeke Hutchins, her band's drummer and her long-time partner, in New York City, where they currently reside.

Film & TV

In addition to Austin City Limits, Merritt has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Late Show with David Letterman. Her music has appeared in The L Word, Men In Trees, United States of Tara and the film New in Town. She has also written two songs for the upcoming animated film ''Dorothy of Oz'', starring Lea Michele and Dan Aykroyd, set for release in early 2012.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"
''Bramble Rose''		* Release date: June 4, 2002	* Label: Lost Highway Records	47	—	—	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: August 24, 2004	* Label: Lost Highway Records	—	—	21	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: February 26, 2008	* Label: Fantasy Records	—	156	1	—
''See You on the Moon''		* Release date: June 1, 2010	* Label: Fantasy Records	—	—	6	7

Live albums

Title	Album details
''Home Is Loud''		* Release date: 2005	* Label: RCAM
''Buckingham Solo''		* Release date: June 23, 2009	* Label: Vella Recordings

Extended plays

Title	Album details
''The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt''		* Release date: October 26, 1999	* Label: Yep Roc Records
''Please Break the Silence of theMiddle of the Night''		* Release date: September 16, 2008	* Label: Fantasy Records

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		! width="65"
	"Virginia, No One Can Warn You"	—
"Sunday"	—
2003	"Trouble Over Me"	—
	"Good Hearted Man"	60
"Stray Paper"	—
2008	"Broken"	—

Music videos

! Year	Video	! Director
2002	"Virginia, No One Can Warn You"	Douglas Avery
2004	"Good Hearted Man"	Philip Andelman
2008	"Broken"	Martyn Atkins

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Association	! Category	! Result
2004	47th Grammy Awards	Country Album of the Year - ''Tambourine''
		Album of the Year - ''Tambourine''
Artist of the Year
Song of the Year - "Good Hearted Man"

Notes

External links

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American rock musicians Category:American country singers Category:American alternative country singers Category:American female singers Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:Lost Highway Records artists Category:Fantasy Records artists Category:People from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:People from Houston, Texas

simple:Tift Merritt

__notoc__

name	Harold Hunter
birthname	Harold Atkins Hunter
birth date	April 02, 1974
birth place	New York City, New York, , U.S.
death date	February 17, 2006
death place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Professional skateboarder, actor }}

Harold Atkins Hunter (April 2, 1974 – February 17, 2006) was an American professional skateboarder and actor. He was best known on screen for his part in Larry Clark's 1995 film ''Kids'', playing the role of Harold.

Hunter was born in New York City and grew up in the East Village. He became associated with a local skate crew that hung out near Tompkins Square Park and was first sponsored by local skate shop "Skate NYC". Hunter first came to public attention in 1989 in a ''Thrasher'' magazine photo essay photographed by Charlie Samuels about the New York City skateboard scene. A goofy-footed skateboarder, Hunter was sponsored most notably by Zoo York. Later on he started Rock Star Bearings Co.

On February 17, 2006, Hunter was found dead from a cocaine-induced heart attack in his Lower East Side apartment. The Harold Hunter Foundation was founded in his memory to support city kids interested in skateboarding.

Filmography

''Kids'' (1995)

''Mind Games'' (1996)

''Hand on the Pump'' (1998)

''Kung Faux'' (2003)

References

External links

Harold Hunter Foundation website

Threeayedee Art Gallery created by Roya Butler in memory of Harold Hunter

Category:1974 births Category:2006 deaths Category:African American actors Category:American film actors Category:American skateboarders Category:Cocaine-related deaths in New York Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:People from New York City

de:Harold Hunter pt:Harold Hunter ru:Хантер, Харольд Аткинс sl:Harlod Hunter sv:Harold Hunter