Official name	Donets'k (Донецьк)
Native name	Donetsk (Доне́цк)
Image shield	Большой_герб_Донецка.png
Shield size	110px
Map caption	Map of Ukraine with Donetsk highlighted.
Image map1	Donetsk downtown map.png
Mapsize1	225px
Map caption1	Map of Donetsk's city centre.
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	UA
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Oblast
Subdivision name1
Subdivision type2	Raion
Subdivision name2	22px|border Donetsk Municipality
Parts type	Raions
Parts style	list
Parts	List of 9
P1	Budionivskyi Raion
P2	Voroshylovskyi Raion
P3	Kalininskyi Raion
P4	Kyivskyi Raion
P5	Kirovskyi Raion
P6	Kuibyshevskyi Raion
P7	Leninskyi Raion
P8	Petrovskyi Raion
P9	Proletarskyi Raion
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Oleksandr Lukianchenko
Established title	Founded
Established date	18691
Established title2	City rights
Established date2	1917
Area total km2	358
Population as of	2007
Population total	975 959 (July 1, 2011)
Population metro	2,009,700
Population density km2	2960
Timezone	EET
Utc offset	+2
Timezone dst	EEST
Utc offset dst	+3
Elevation m	169
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	83000 — 83497
Area code	+380 622, 623
Blank name	Licence plate
Blank info	АН
Blank1 name	Sister cities
Blank1 info	Bochum, Charleroi, Kutaisi, Pittsburgh, Sheffield, Taranto, Moscow, Vilnius
Footnotes	1 Donetsk was founded in 1869 as ''Yuzovka''.²The population of the metropoliten area is as of 2004. }}

Donetsk ( , translit. ''Donets’k''; , translit. ''Donetsk''; former names: Yuzovka, Staline, Stalino, see also: Cities' alternative names), is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin (''Donbass'') region.

The city was founded in 1869 by a Welsh businessman, John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines in the region; the town was thus named Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role in its founding ("Yuz" being a Russian or Ukrainian approximation of Hughes). During Soviet times, the city's steel industry was expanded.

In 1924 at the plenum Yuzovsky executive committee had decided to rename the town from Yuzovka to ''Stalin'' (Сталiн). In 1929-1931 the town was renamed in ''Stalino'' (Сталино). In 1932 the city became the center of Donetsk region. In 1961, during the De-Stalinisation the city was again renamed to its modern name Donetsk after the Seversky Donets river. In addition, some sources state that the city was briefly called Trotsk—after Leon Trotsky—for a few months in 1923. Today, the city still remains an important industrial centre for coal and steel in Ukraine.

The city is currently home to two major professional football teams in Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalurh Donetsk, both of which currently play in the Ukrainian Premier League. Important attractions of the city include the Cathedral Transfiguration of Jesus, the Donetsk National University, and others.

Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants (2010) and has a metropolitan area of over 1,566,000 inhabitants (2004). According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Donetsk is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.

Geography and climate

Donetsk lies in the steppe landscape of Ukraine, surrounded by scattered woodland, hills (''spoil tips''), rivers, and lakes. The northern outskirts of the city are mainly used for agriculture. The Azov Sea, 95 km south of Donetsk, is a popular recreational area for those living in Donetsk. A wide belt of farmlands surrounds the city.

The city stretches 28 km from north to south and 55 km from east to west. There are 2 nearby reservoirs: Nyzhnekalmius (60 ha), and the "Donetsk Sea" (206 ha). 5 rivers flow through the city, including the Kalmius, Asmolivka (13 km), Cherepashkyna (23 km), Skomoroshka, and Bakhmutka. The city also contains a total of 125 spoil tips.

Donetsk's climate is moderate continental. The average temperatures are −5 °C (23 °F) in January and in June. The average number of rainfall per year totals 162 days and up to 556 millimetres per year.

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Sep

Oct

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Ave. high °C (°F)

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History

Donetsk was founded in 1869 when the Welsh businessman John Hughes built a steel plant and several coal mines in the southern part of Russian Empire at ''Aleksandrovka'' (). The town initially was given the name ''Hughesovka'' (Yuzovka; ; ). By the beginning of the 20th century, Yuzovka had approximately 50,000 inhabitants, and had attained the status of a city in 1917.

In 1924, under the Soviet rule, the city's name was changed to ''Stalin''. In that year, the city's population totaled 63,708, and in the next year — 80,085. In 1929-31 the city's name was changed to ''Stalino''. The city did not have a drinking water system until 1931, when a 55.3 km system was laid underground. In July 1933, the city became the administrative centre of the Donetsk Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1933, the first 12 km sewer system was installed, and next year the first exploitation of gas was conducted within the city.

In the beginning of World War II, the population of Stalino consisted of 507,000, and after the war - only 175,000. The Nazi invasion during World War II almost completely destroyed the city, which was mostly rebuilt on a large scale at the war's end. It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 16 October 1941 and 5 September 1943.

The territory of Donetsk at the time of the Nazi German occupation consisted mainly of a Jewish ghetto, in which 3,000 Jews died, and a concentration camp in which 92,000 people were killed. During the war, a collective responsibility system was enforced. For every killed German soldier, 100 inhabitants were killed, and one for every killed policeman.

In 1945 many forced laborers, young men and women aged 17 to 35, were interned into reparation servitude from the Danube Schwabian communities Schwowe of Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Roumania ( the Batschka, and Banat) and worked under extreme hardship to rebuild Stalino and to labor in its mines. Many died from disease and malnutrition.

Although Stalino means Steel in Russian, during Nikita Khrushchev's second wave of destalinization in November 1961 the city was renamed Donetsh, after the Seversky Donets river, a tributary of the Don in order to distance it from the former leader Joseph Stalin.

In 1965, the Donetsk Academy of Sciences was established as part of the Academy of Science of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1970, Donetsk was recognized by UNESCO as the cleanest industrial town of the world. Donesk was granted the Order of Lenin in 1979.

Residents of the city tend to be pro-Russian in their political beliefs. This has been massively exploited during 2004 presidential election, in which the city mostly voted for candidate Viktor Yanukovych, which had been announced as the winner of the election by the Central Election Commission. The vote was later proven to have been falsified, with many of the falsified votes coming from the surrounding region. This led to an election re-run, thus making Yanukovych lose the election. During the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, the Yanukovych-led Party of Regions also won most of the votes from the region.

Government and administrative divisions

[[File:Raions of Donetsk and Donetsk City Municipality.PNG|thumb|right|250px|Raions of Donetsk on the territory of the Donetsk City Municipality: {|width="100%" |valign="top"| |valign="top"| |}]]

While Donetsk is the administrative center of the Donetsk Oblast (province), the city is the capital of the Donetsk City Municipality. However, Donetsk is a city of oblast subordinance, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the Donetsk City Municipality housed in the city itself.

The territory of Donetsk is divided into 9 administrative raions (districts). In addition, every raion consists of ''raion councils'', which are subordinate to the Donetsk City Council.

{| style="background:transparent;" cellspacing="2px" | |}

Demographics

Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants (2010) and has a metropolitan area of over 1,566,000 inhabitants (2004). It is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.

While the majority of people in central and western Ukraine speak Ukrainian, most residents of Donetsk are Russian-speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians. According to 2001 population census, Ukrainians are 56,9% of Donetsk oblast and Russians are 38,2%. The Russian language is dominant in Donbas: even most ethnic Ukrainians speak it as their first language. In 1989 there were no Ukrainian language schools in Donetsk.

The actual nationality structure of the Donetsk City Municipality is as follows:

# Russians: 493,392 people, 48.15% # Ukrainians: 478,041 people, 46.65% # Belarusians: 11,769 people, 1.15% # Greeks: 10,180 people, 0.99% # Jews: 5,087 people, 0.50% # Tatars: 4,987 people, 0.49% # Armenians: 4,050 people, 0.40% # Azerbaijanis: 2,098 people, 0.20% # Georgians: 2,073 people, 0.20% # Other: 13,001 people, 1.27% :Total: 1,024,678 people, 100.00%

In 1991 one-third of the population described themselves as ''Russian'', one-third as ''Ukrainian'' while the majority of the rest described themselves as ''Slav''.

Culture

Main Sights

Artema Street

The main part of Donetsk, this large avenue is the place to start for any tourist trip around the city. You'll see an interesting mix of new and old architecture together with small parks, stylish hotels, shopping centers and fine restaurants. The historical sites are the most amazing here and include Lenin Square, the Opera & Ballet Theater, Monument to Coalminers, and Donetsk Drama Theater.

Statue of Artem (Fyodor Sergeyev)

This imposing six meter statue on Artema Street is a tribute to one of the Soviet’s most celebrated politicians and adopted son of Joseph Stalin. He died in the Donets Basin in 1921.

Donetsk Opera & Ballet Theater

Built in 1936, this is a gem of a theater with an elegant exterior and world-class performances inside.

Pushkin Boulevard

A beautiful green walkway that takes you away from Donetsk city life for a stroll. Here you can enjoy peaceful fountains, al fresco cafes, and a number of interesting statues such as the monument o Taras Shevchenko.

Monument to John Hughes

This 2001 statue located in front of Donetsk National Technical University honors the hard work of Welsh city founder John James Hughes. He was responsible for the city’s Yuzovka Steel Plant that gave Donetsk its industrial history.

Lenin Square

This Square features the gigantic 42 meter Lenin Statue, one of Ukraine’s largest symbols of Lenin and a symbol of the importance of the city during the Soviet Union.

Architecture

Donetsk, at the time ''Yuzovka'', was divided into two parts: north and south. In the southern part were the city's factories, train depots, telegraph buildings, hospitals and schools. Not far from the factories was the ''English colony'' where the engineers and the management lived. After the construction of the residence of John Hughes and the various complexes for the foreign workers, the city's southern portion was constructed mainly in the English style.

These buildings used rectangular and triangular shaped façades, green rooftops, large windows, which occupied a large portion of the building, and balconies. In this part of the town, the streets were large and had sidewalks. A major influence on the formation of architecture in Donetsk was the ''official architect'' of a Novorossiya company — ''Moldingauyer''. Preserved buildings of the southern part of Yuzovka consisted of the residences of John Hughes (''1891, partially preserved''), Bolfur (''1889'') and Bosse.

In the northern part of Yuzovka, ''Novyi Svet'', lived traders, craftsmen and bureaucrats. Here were located the market hall, the police headquarters and the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The central street of Novyi Svet and the neighbouring streets were mainly edged by one- or two-story residential buildings, as well as markets, restaurants, hotels, offices and banks. A famous preserved building in the northern part of Yuzovka was the Hotel Great Britain.

The first general plan of Stalino was made in 1932 in Odessa by the architect P. Golovchenko. In 1937, the project was partly reworked. These projects were the first in the city's construction bureau's history.

A large portion of the city's buildings from the second half of the 20th century were designed by the architect Pavel Vigdergauz, which was given the Government award of the USSR for architecture in the city of Donetsk in 1978.

Sports

Three major professional football clubs play in the city, which include two in the Ukrainian Premier League and one in the Ukrainian Second League: Shakhtar Donetsk, which plays at the Donbass Arena, Metalurh Donetsk, which plays at the Metalurh Stadium, and FC Olimpik Donetsk.

The MFC Shakhtar Donetsk won the Ukrainian futsal championship five times.

The VC Shakhtar Donetsk were the last team to win the Soviet Volleyball Championship, in 1992.

The city also has a team in the Ukrainian Basketball Super League, BC Donetsk.

In Donetsk, the USSR Tennis Championship took place within the city in 1978, 1979, and 1980 near the Donetsk Railroad tennis courts. Some tennis matches of the Davis Cup took place in Donetsk in 2005.

In Donetsk, the Soviet Championship on Light Athletics in Youth took place in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1984. A monument to famous pole vault athlete Serhiy Bubka is installed in the city.

In the city, sailboat championships take place on the city's Kalmius river.

When the joint bid for the UEFA Euro 2012 was won by Poland and Ukraine, Donetsk's Donbass Arena was chosen as the location for 3 Group Matches, Quarter-Final, and Semi-Final matches. The RSK Olimpiyskyi Stadium was chosen as a reserve stadium.

Religion

Donetsk's residents belong to many different religious bodies: Eastern Orthodox Greek Catholic, Protestant, and Roman Catholic, as well as Islamic Mosques and Judaic synagogues. The largest religious body with the most members is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

Media

Five television stations operate within Donetsk:

TRK Ukraina () KRT, Kievskaya Rus' () First Municipal () Kanal 27 () TRK Donbass ()

In Donetsk, there is the 360 metre tall TV tower, one of the tallest structures in the city, completed in 1992.

Famous people

Donetsk has been home to many people, including sportsmen, musicians, writers, businessmen, dissidents, and many others. The citizens of Donetsk are commonly called ''Donechyani'' (). The following is a list of famous people that were born or raised in the city:

Transportation

Local transportation

The main forms of transport within Donetsk are: trams, electric trolley buses, buses and marshrutkas (private minibuses). The city public transportation system is controlled by the united ''Dongorpastrans'' municipal company. The city has 12 tram lines (~130 km), 17 trolley bus lines (~188 km), and about 115 bus lines. Both the tram and trolley bus systems in the city are served by 2 depots each. Another method of transport within the city is taxicab service, of which there are 32 in Donetsk.

The city also contains autostations located within the city and its suburbs: autostation ''Yuzhny'' (South), which serves mainly transport lines to the south, hence its name; autostation ''Tsentr'' (Centre), which serves transport in the direction of Marinka and Vuhledar as well as intercity transport; the autostation ''Krytyi rynok'' (Indoor market), which serves mainly transport in the north and east directions; and the autostation ''Putilovsky'', which serves mainly the north and northwest transport directions.

There is currently a metro system under construction in Donetsk, with the first stage totaling 6 stations to open by 2012.

Railroads

Donetsk's Main Railway Station, which serves about 7 million passengers annually, is located in the northern part of the city. There is a museum near the main station, dealing with the history of region's railroads. Other railway stations are: ''Rutchenkovo'', located in the Kyivskyi Raion; ''Mandrykino'' (Petrovskyi Raion), and ''Mushketovo'' (Budionivskyi Raion). Some passenger trains avoid Donetsk station and serve the station Yasynuvata, located outside the city limits. Although not used for regular transportation, the city also has a children's railway. (As of September 2009) a new railway terminal facility that will comply with UEFA requirements (since Donetsk is one of the host city's for UEFA EURO 2012) is planned.

As the Donetsk Oblast is an important transportation hub in Ukraine, so is its center Donetsk. The ''Donetsk Railways'', based in Donetsk, is one of the largest railway divisions in the country. It serves the farming and industrial businesses of the area, and the populations of the Donetsk, Luhansk, partly the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv oblasts.

Road transport

The 25px|link=European route E50 highway, part of the International E-road network, runs through the city ''en route'' to Rostov-on-Don in Russia.

In addition, another international road runs through the city: the M 04. Also, three national Ukrainian roads ( N 15, N 20, and N 21) pass through the city.

Air travel

In addition to public and rail transport, Donetsk has an international airport. It was constructed in the end of the 1940s to the beginning of the 1950s. The whole airport complex was finished in 1973. The city-based ''DonbassAero'' airline operates the airport.

Economy

Donetsk and the surrounding territories are heavily urbanized and agglomerated into conurbation. The workforce is heavily involved with heavy industry, especially coal mining. The city is an important center of heavy industry and coal mines in the Donets Basin (''Donbas'') and Ukraine. Directly under the city lie coal mines, which have recently seen an increase in mining accidents, the most recent accident being at the Zasyadko mine, which killed over 100 workers.

Donetsk's economy consists of about 200 industrial organizations that have a total production output of more than 5 billion hryvnias per year and more than 20,000 medium-small sized organizations. The city's coal mining industry comprises 17 coal mines and two concentrating mills; the metallurgy industry comprises 5 large metallurgical plants located throughout the city; the engineering market comprises 67 organizations, and the food industry — 32 organizations.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Donetsk and other neighbouring cities of the Donbas suffered heavily, as many factories were closed down and many inhabitants lost their jobs. However, in spite of the difficult economic situation in Ukraine, Donetsk is a developing city. About 412 thousand m² of living space, 7.9 km of gas networks, and 15.1 km of water supply networks were constructed in the city during 1998-2001.

The city also houses the "Donetsk" special economic zone. Donetsk currently has nine sister cities. The German city of Magdeburg had economic partnerships with Donetsk during 1962-1996.

The airline Donbassaero has its head office on the property of Donetsk International Airport.

Education

Donetsk is a well-known educational location of the surrounding area, accompanied with several universities, which include 5 state universities, 11 institutes, 3 academies, 14 technicums, 5 private universities, and 6 colleges.

The most important and prominent educational institutions include the National Technical University ("Donetsk Polytechnical Institute" in 1960-1993), as well as the Donetsk National University which was founded in 1965. The National Technical University held close contacts with the University in Magdeburg. Since 1970, more than 100 students from Germany (''East Germany'') have completed their higher education at either one of the two main universities in Donetsk.

There are also several scientific research institutes, and an Islamic University within Donetsk.

Twinnings

Donetsk participates in international town twinning schemes to foster good international relations. Partners include:

* Bochum, Germany, (1987)

* Charleroi, Belgium

* Katowice, Poland

* Kutaisi, Georgia

Moscow, Russia

* Narva, Estonia

* Pittsburgh, USA

* Rostov-on-Don, Russia

* Sheffield, United Kingdom

* Taranto, Italy (1984)

* Vilnius, Lithuania

* Ostrava, Czech Republic (2009)

Footnotes and references

External links

* Category:Donetsk Oblast Category:Cities in Ukraine Category:Special Economic Zones Category:Populated places established in 1869

af:Donetsk ar:دونتسك be:Горад Данецк be-x-old:Данецк bg:Донецк ca:Donetsk cv:Донецк cs:Doněck da:Donetsk de:Donezk et:Donetsk el:Ντονέτσκ es:Donetsk eo:Donecko eu:Donetsk fa:دونتسک fo:Donetsk fr:Donetsk gl:Donetsk ko:도네치크 hsb:Doneck hr:Donjeck id:Donetsk ie:Donetsk os:Донецк it:Donec'k he:דונצק kl:Donetsk ka:დონეცკი kv:Донецк lv:Doņecka lt:Doneckas hu:Doneck nl:Donetsk ja:ドネツィク no:Donetsk nn:Donetsk pnb:دونیتسک pl:Donieck pt:Donetsk crh:Donetsk ro:Donețk ru:Донецк sco:Donetsk scn:Donetsk sk:Doneck sr:Доњецк fi:Donetsk sv:Donetsk tt:Донецк th:โดเนตสค์ tr:Donetsk udm:Донецк uk:Донецьк vi:Donetsk vo:Donetsk war:Donetsk zh:頓涅茨克

name	J Mascis
background	solo_singer
birth name	Joseph Donald Mascis
birth date	December 10, 1965
origin	Amherst, Massachusetts
instrument	vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards, banjo
genre	Alternative rock, doom metal, hardcore punk
occupation	Musician, Singer-songwriter
years active	1982–present
associated acts	Dinosaur Jr.J Mascis + The FogWitchDeep WoundUpsidedown CrossSweet Apple
website	J Mascis.com
notable instruments	Fender JazzmasterFender TelecasterFender Jaguar }}

J Mascis ( ; born Joseph Donald Mascis on December 10, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr..

Biography

Mascis was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of an orthodontist. His family name is Italian, from the province of Foggia (region Puglia) in the South of Italy. His mother is an avid golfer.

Mascis formed the short-lived hardcore group Deep Wound with Lou Barlow and Scott Helland in the early 1980s. He started out on drums, but moved to guitar when he went on to found Dinosaur Jr. with bassist Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson 'Patrick' Murphy (aka 'Murph') in 1984 and achieved national success. His vocals have been described as "Neil Young-like" and his guitar riffs as "monolithic." After Mascis dismissed Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. in 1989, he recorded several more Dinosaur Jr. albums until 1997, including the 1996 acoustic solo album Martin + Me.

The manager for Deep Wound was Gerard Cosloy, who then went on to found Homestead Records. Homestead released Dinosaur Jr.'s first record. Mascis says that the reason why Dinosaur Jr.'s sound is not fully formed on that record is that they were more or less automatically signed to Homestead.

As a side-project, he was also the drummer in Boston doom metal group Upsidedown Cross (featuring Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt infamy), who released a self-titled album on Taang! Records in 1991. He also wrote songs for the film ''Gas, Food, Lodging'', and also made a cameo appearance. In 1996, he had a small part in the movie ''Grace of my Heart'' and provided a ballad and a Beach Boys-like song for the soundtrack. He then went on to produce albums with his new band, J Mascis + The Fog, starting in 2000.

In April 2005, Mascis rejoined with Barlow and Murph, as the original trio of Dinosaur Jr., to begin a tour celebrating the re-release of the group's first three albums. They have since released two new albums; Beyond (released in 2007) and Farm (released in 2009).

In August 2005, Mascis released a new solo album under the J Mascis and Friends banner, ''J and Friends Sing and Chant For Amma'', an album of devotional songs dedicated to Hindu religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, or Ammachi, about whom he had previously written "Ammaring" on the first J Mascis + The Fog album ''More Light''. The proceeds from the album are being donated to Tsunami relief efforts Ammachi's organization is spearheading.

In 2006, Mascis returned to drumming with his newly formed heavy metal band Witch for their self-titled debut album.

His wife Luisa is from Berlin, Germany. They reside in Amherst, Massachusetts and in September, 2007, they had a baby boy named Rory. Philipp Virus, his brother-in-law, is a German film maker who is currently working on a documentary on J Mascis.

July 2007 saw the release of a signature guitar by Fender, the J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster. The instrument comes in a Purple Sparkle finish and while otherwise visually similar to a standard Jazzmaster, it features a number of modifications J requested such as a tune-o-matic bridge (for improved intonation), a reinforced tremolo arm housing (for higher durability when subjected to repeated heavy bending, which the original Jazzmaster was never designed for), vintage style pickups, jumbo frets, and a satin finished neck and customised wiring.

In 2010, Mascis joined with John Petkovic and Tim Parnin of Cobra Verde and Dave Sweetapple of Witch to form Sweet Apple. The self-titled debut album was released on Tee Pee Records Mascis plays drums, guitar, and sings on the album.

Mascis released a mostly acoustic album in March, 2011 titled ''Several Shades Of Why'' on Sub Pop Records. He was joined in the studio by several guest musicians including Kurt Vile and Sophie Trudeau. Mascis will tour the US with Vile as support act to promote the album.

Discography

Solo albums

''Martin + Me'' (1996)

''The John Peel Sessions'' (2003)

''J and Friends Sing and Chant for Amma'' (2005)

''J Mascis Live at CBGB's'' (2006)

''Several Shades of Why'' (2011)

Dinosaur Jr.

''Dinosaur'' (1985)

''You're Living All Over Me'' (1987)

''Bug'' (1988)

''Whatever's Cool With Me'' (1991)

''Green Mind'' (1991)

''Where You Been'' (1993)

''Without a Sound'' (1994)

''Hand It Over'' (1997)

''Beyond'' (2007)

''Farm'' (2009)

J Mascis + The Fog

''''More Light'' (2000)

''Free so Free'' (2002)

Witch

''Witch'' - Tee Pee Records (2006)

''Paralyzed'' - Tee Pee Records (2008)

Deep Wound

1982 demo''

''s/t''

''Bands That Could Be God''

''Discography''

Upsidedown Cross

Upsidedown Cross (1991)

Evilution (1993)

Witchcraft (1997)

Sloth/Updsidedown Cross Split (2002)

Sweet Apple

''Do You Remember 7"'' - Valley King Records (2010)

''Love & Desperation'' - Tee Pee Records (2010)

Guest appearances

In 2011 Mascis featured on the album 'Espero' by Irish musician Mark O'Connor.

In 2010 Mascis was on Episode 7 of the Australian TV show ''Spicks and Specks''

In 2010, Mascis played guitar on Dead Confederate's album ''Sugar'', on the track titled "Giving it All Away."

In 2009 Mascis is seen playing the guitar and riding a skateboard in Alien Workshop's video "Mind Field".

In 2008, Mascis contributed to The Hold Steady's album, ''Stay Positive'', playing banjo on the song "Both Crosses".

In 2008 Mascis contributed lead guitar, drums and vocals on the album ''Ocean'' by Devadas

In 2007 Mascis made an appearance on Thurston Moore's second solo album, ''Trees Outside the Academy'', which was recorded at Mascis' home studio.

Also in 2007, Mascis played guitar and sang back-up vocals for Kevin Drew on the song "Backed out on the ...", which appeared on Drew's solo album, ''Spirit If...''.

In 2006 Mascis added guitar tracks to select songs on The Lemonheads' comeback album, ''The Lemonheads''.

In 2005 Mascis played guitar and drums on the album ''Shine Shine On'' by Devadas

In late summer 2005, Mascis helped Danish band Mew by adding vocals to the song "Why Are You Looking Grave?" and backing vocals on "An Envoy to the Open Fields". Both songs can be found on the album ''And the Glass Handed Kites''.

In 2002, Mascis appeared on the song "Blinded," by Jeremiah Freed.

In 2002, Mascis went on tour with Cobra Verde when their lead guitarist Derek DePrator left the band.

In 1993, Mascis remixed and added vocals to the Breeders' song "Do You Love Me Now Jr?" released on the ''Divine Hammer'' E.P.

In 1992, Mascis played bass on the Jad Fair album ''I Like It When You Smile''.

In 1992, Mascis appeared on the Epic Soundtracks' album ''Rise Above'', playing drums on three tracks.

In 1988, cameo guitar on Ciccone Youth's ''The Whitey Album''.

Provided the voice of J.J., the pet store employee in the ''Assy McGee'' episode "Squirrels" on July 6, 2008.

In 1987 J Mascis played lead guitar on the GG Allin record ''Hated in the Nation''.

References

External links

JMascis.com

J Mascis Background file

FreakScene.net - Online Fan Community

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:American rock guitarists Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:People from Amherst, Massachusetts Category:Grunge musicians Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni

de:J Mascis fr:J Mascis gl:Joseph Mascis it:J Mascis nl:Joseph Mascis ja:J・マスシス no:J Mascis pt:J Mascis sv:J. Mascis tr:J Mascis

name	Keith Caputo
background	solo_singer
birth date	December 04, 1973
instrument	Vocals, keyboards
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, post-grunge
occupation	Singer, songwriter
years active	1989–present
associated acts	Life of Agony, Freax
website	Official website
notable instruments	}}

Keith Caputo (born 4 December 1973) is the lead singer of the New York metal band Life of Agony.

Personal life

In July 2011, after performing for more than twenty years as a man, Caputo announced plans to transition from male to female and began referring to herself with female pronouns.

Career

Caputo started Life of Agony in 1989 with guitarist Joey Z and bassist Alan Robert. Drummer Sal Abruscato was recruited soon afterwards. After signing with Roadrunner Records, they debuted with the 1993 album ''River Runs Red''. Shortly after the release of a third album in 1997, Caputo claimed that her heart was no longer in the type of music they performed and left the group.

After leaving the group, Caputo formed with Absolute Bloom, but that band broke up in July 1998. Later, Caputo helped to re-form the Brazilian band Freax, which had broken up over ten years earlier. They developed a self-titled album in 2003.

Caputo also worked extensively on a solo career in the 1990s and released two studio albums.

The original line-up of Life of Agony reunited for two sold-out shows at New York's Irving Plaza on January 3 and 4, 2003. The reunion resulted in several more shows and appearances on European festivals, as well as the recording of ''Broken Valley'' (2005), the band's first new material since 1997.

In 2003, Caputo formed a group consisting of New York musicians Mike Shaw (Bass) and Dan Platt (guitars) along with Dutch musicians Jochem Van Rooijen (drums) and Jack Pisters (lead guitars) that toured and recorded what became the album ''Live Monsters'' (2004).

In 2005, Caputo provided vocals for the song "Tired N' Lonely" on the ''Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions'' album.

On May 1, 2006, Keith Caputo released her third solo album ''Hearts Blood On Your Dawn'' which was only sold at her live shows, via mailorder through her website, and in the iTunes Store.

In 2007, Caputo recorded a fourth solo album, ''A Fondness For Hometown Scars'', which includes a guest appearance by Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on trumpet, amongst others. During 2008 she toured in support of this release, with a band composed of Dutch musicians Ryan Oldcastle (guitars), Axel van Oort (bass guitar), and Jochem van Rooijen (drums). The album was produced by Martyn LeNoble, and was released in Europe in April 2008 by Dutch label Suburban Records.

Caputo participated as a guest singer on Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's track "What Have You Done", the first single (and second track) from their 2007 album, ''The Heart of Everything''.

Keith also guested on the track "Free Speech (Will Cost You)" on the album ''Memory Rendered Visible'' by the band Both Worlds released on Roadrunner Records. She also provided additional backing vocals on Type O Negative's release ''Bloody Kisses''.

Discography

With Life of Agony

Albums

''River Runs Red'' (1993)

''Ugly'' (1995)

''Soul Searching Sun'' (1997)

''1989-1999'' (1999)

''Unplugged at the Lowlands Festival '97'' (2000)

''The Best of Life of Agony'' (2003)

''River Runs Again: Live (CD/DVD)'' (2003) (Live)

''Broken Valley'' (2005)

With Absolute Bloom

Albums

''Demo'' (1998)

As a solo artist

Albums

''Died Laughing'' (1999/2000)

''Died Laughing Pure'' (2000) (acoustic versions)

''Perfect Little Monsters'' (2003)

''Live Monsters'' (2004) (Live performances)

''Heart's Blood On Your Dawn'' (2006)

''A Fondness For Hometown Scars'' (2008)

''Dass-Berdache / Essential Rarities and Demo Cuts'' (2008)

''Cheat (EP)'' (2009)

Singles

"Selfish" (1999)

"New York City" (2000)

"Why" (2001)

With Freax

Albums

''Freax'' (2002)

Guest appearances

Additional Vocals - ''Bloody Kisses'' by Type O Negative

"Free Speech (Will Cost You)" (with Both Worlds) (1998)

"Tired 'n Lonely" - Roadrunner United (Vocals and Piano) (2005)

"What Have You Done" (with Within Temptation) (2007)

References

External links

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Transgender and transsexual musicians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American heavy metal keyboardists Category:American singer-songwriters

da:Keith Caputo de:Keith Caputo es:Keith Caputo nl:Keith Caputo pl:Keith Caputo fi:Keith Caputo sv:Keith Caputo

name	Wiz Khalifa
alt	Wiz Khalifa holding a microphone
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
alias
born	September 08, 1987Minot, North Dakota, United States
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Singer
years active	2005–present
label	Rostrum, Warner Bros., Atlantic
associated acts	Tinie Tempah, Snoop Dogg,Rick Ross, Curren$y, Big Sean, Fashawn, Mac Miller
website	wizkhalifa.com
notable instruments	}}

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', in November 2009. He released the mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well-known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, ''Rolling Papers'', was released on March 29, 2011.

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, to a mother and a father serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis. Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen. Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got his stage name tattooed on his 17th birthday. He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.

Career

2005-08: Early mixtapes and ''Show and Prove''

Khalifa released his first mixtape, ''Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania'', in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled ''Show and Prove'' in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: ''Grow Season'', hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and ''Prince of the City 2'', released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, ''Feed the Animals'', over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes ''Star Power'' in September 2008, and ''Flight School'' in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, ''First Flight''. Khalifa stated to the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves". Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.

2009-10: ''Deal or No Deal''

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape ''How Fly'', a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape ''Burn After Rolling'' on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', on November 24, 2009.

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.

2010: Signing with Atlantic Records

Citing music industry insiders, ''New York'' magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape ''Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women '' by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape ''More About Nothing''. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue. On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, ''How Fly''.

2010-11: Mainstream success and ''Rolling Papers''

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single was peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colours of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, ''24 Hour Karate School''. Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.

On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States.

On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.

Khalifa collaborated with the prolific British rapper Tinie Tempah whom Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and is to be produced by Stargate. The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.

Personal life

Thomaz is dating Amber Rose, the former girlfriend of Thomaz's fellow hip-hop star Kanye West. He is also personal friends with rapper Yelawolf, and fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Show and Prove'' (2006)

''Deal or No Deal'' (2009)

''Rolling Papers'' (2011)

References

External links

Wiz Khalifa at MTV

Category:1987 births Category:Military brats Category:African American rappers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Minot, North Dakota Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania

bs:Wiz Khalifa ca:Wiz khalifa cs:Wiz Khalifa da:Wiz Khalifa de:Wiz Khalifa es:Wiz Khalifa fa:ویز خلیفا fr:Wiz Khalifa hr:Wiz Khalifa it:Wiz Khalifa he:ויז קאליפה nl:Wiz Khalifa ja:ウィズ・カリファ no:Wiz Khalifa pl:Wiz Khalifa pt:Wiz Khalifa ro:Wiz Khalifa ru:Wiz Khalifa simple:Wiz Khalifa sh:Wiz Khalifa fi:Wiz Khalifa sv:Wiz Khalifa vi:Wiz Khalifa zh:维兹·卡利法

Name	Nick Drake
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nicholas Rodney Drake
Genre	Folk, folk rock
Birth date	June 19, 1948
Birth place	Rangoon, Burma
Death date	November 25, 1974
Death place	Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Years active	1969–1974
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, clarinet, saxophone
Label	Island
Website	Bryter Music }}

Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Best known for the sombre pieces composed on his primary instrument, the guitar, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone. Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has gradually achieved wider notice and recognition; he now ranks among the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years.

Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, ''Five Leaves Left'', in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums—''Bryter Layter'' and ''Pink Moon''. None of the albums sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release. His reluctance to perform live or be interviewed further contributed to his lack of commercial success. Despite this, he was able to gather a loyal group of fans who would champion his music. One such person was his manager, Joe Boyd, who had a clause put into his own contract with Island Records that ensured Drake's records would never go out of print. Drake suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life, and these topics were often reflected in his lyrics. Upon completion of his third album, 1972's ''Pink Moon'', he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. There is no known footage of the adult Drake; he was only ever captured in still photographs and in home footage from his childhood. On 25 November 1974, Drake died from an overdose of amitriptyline, a prescribed antidepressant; he was 26 years old.

Drake's music remained available through the mid-1970s but the 1979 release of the retrospective album ''Fruit Tree'' caused his back catalogue to be reassessed. By the mid-1980s Drake was being credited as an influence by such artists as Robert Smith, David Sylvian and Peter Buck. In 1985, The Dream Academy reached the UK and US charts with "Life in a Northern Town", a song written for and dedicated to Drake. By the early 1990s, he had come to represent a certain type of 'doomed romantic' musician in the UK music press, and was frequently cited by artists including Kate Bush, Paul Weller and The Black Crowes. His first biography appeared in 1997, was followed in 1998 by the documentary film ''A Stranger Among Us''. In 2000, Volkswagen featured the title track from ''Pink Moon'' in a television advertisement, and within a month Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous 30 years.

Early life

Nicholas Rodney Drake was born on 19 June 1948, into an upper middle-class English family living in Rangoon, Burma. His father, Rodney (1908–1988), had moved there in the early 1930s to work as an engineer with the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation. In 1934, Rodney met the daughter of a senior member of the Indian Civil Service, Mary Lloyd (1916–1993), known to her family as Molly. Rodney proposed in 1936, though the couple had to wait a year until Molly turned 21 before her family allowed them to marry. In 1950, they returned to Warwickshire to live in the country estate of Far Leys, near Tanworth-in-Arden in west Warwickshire, just south of Solihull. Drake had one older sister, Gabrielle, later a successful film and TV actress. Both parents were musically inclined, and they each wrote pieces of music. In particular, recordings of Molly's songs which have come to light following her death are remarkably similar in tone and outlook to the later work of her son. Mother and son shared a similar fragile vocal delivery, and both Gabrielle and biographer Trevor Dann have noted a parallel sense of foreboding and fatalism in their music. Encouraged by his mother, Drake learned to play piano at an early age, and began to compose his own songs, which he would record on a reel-to-reel tape recorder she kept in the family drawing room.

In 1957, Drake enrolled at Eagle House School, an English preparatory boarding school in Berkshire. Five years later, he went on to public school at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had all attended. He developed an interest in sport, becoming an accomplished sprinter (his record for the 100-yard dash still stands) and captain of the school's rugby team for a time. He was also Head of House in C1, the College's largest house. School friends recall Drake at this time as having been confident and "quietly authoritative", while often aloof in his manner. His father Rodney remembered, "In one of his reports [the headmaster] said that none of us seemed to know him very well. All the way through with Nick. People didn't know him very much."

Drake played piano in the school orchestra, and learned clarinet and saxophone. He formed a band, The Perfumed Gardeners, with four schoolmates in 1964 or 1965. With Drake on piano and occasional alto sax and vocals, the group performed Pye covers and jazz standards, as well as Yardbirds and Manfred Mann numbers. The line-up briefly included Chris de Burgh, but he was soon ejected as his taste was seen as "too poppy" by the other members. Drake's academic performance began to deteriorate, and while he had accelerated a year in Eagle House, at Marlborough he began to neglect his studies in favour of music. He attained seven GCE O-Levels in 1963, but this was fewer than his teachers had been expecting, and he failed "Physics with Chemistry". In 1965, Drake paid £13 for his first acoustic guitar, and was soon experimenting with open tuning and finger-picking techniques.

In 1966, Drake won a scholarship to study English literature at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. He delayed attendance to spend six months at the University of Aix-Marseille, France, beginning in February 1967. While in Aix, he began to practice guitar in earnest, and to earn money would often busk with friends in the town centre. Drake began to smoke cannabis, and that spring he travelled with friends to Morocco, because, according to travelling companion Richard Charkin, "that was where you got the best pot". Drake most likely began using LSD while in Aix, and lyrics written during this period — in particular for the song "Clothes of Sand" — are suggestive of an interest in hallucinogens.

Cambridge

Upon returning to England, he moved into his sister's flat in Hampstead, before enrolling at Cambridge that October. His tutors found him to be a bright student, but unenthusiastic and unwilling to apply himself to study. Dann notes that he had difficulty connecting with staff and fellow students alike, and points out that official matriculation photographs from this time reveal a sullen and unimpressed young man. Cambridge placed much emphasis on its rugby and cricket teams, yet by this time Drake had lost interest in playing sport, preferring to stay in his college room smoking marijuana, and listening to and playing music. According to fellow student Brian Wells (now leading psychiatrist Dr Brian Wells): "they were the rugger buggers and we were the cool people smoking dope." In September 1967, he met Robert Kirby, a music student who went on to orchestrate many of the string and woodwind arrangements for Drake's first two albums. By this time, Drake had discovered the British and American folk music scenes, and was influenced by performers such as Bob Dylan, Josh White and Phil Ochs. He began performing in local clubs and coffee houses around London, and in February 1968, while playing support to Country Joe and the Fish at the Roundhouse in Camden Town, made an impression on Ashley Hutchings, bass player with Fairport Convention. Hutchings recalls being impressed by Drake's skill as a guitarist, but even more so by "the image. He looked like a star. He looked wonderful, he seemed to be 7 ft."

Hutchings introduced Drake to the 25-year old American producer Joe Boyd, owner of the production and management company Witchseason Productions. The company was, at the time, licensed to Island Records, and Boyd, as the man who had discovered Fairport Convention and been responsible for introducing John Martyn and The Incredible String Band to a mainstream audience, was a significant and respected figure on the UK folk scene. He and Drake formed an immediate bond, and the producer acted as a mentor figure to Drake throughout his career. A four track demo, recorded in Drake's college room in the spring of 1968, led Boyd to offer a management, publishing, and production contract to the 20-year old, and to initiate work on a debut album. According to Boyd: In a 2004 interview, Drake's friend Paul Wheeler remembered the excitement caused by his seeming big break, and recalled that the singer had already decided not to complete his third year at Cambridge.

Career

''Five Leaves Left''

Drake began recording his debut album ''Five Leaves Left'' later in 1968, with Boyd assuming the role of producer. The sessions took place in Sound Techniques studio, London, with Drake skipping lectures to travel by train to the capital. Inspired by John Simon's production of Leonard Cohen's first album, Boyd was keen that Drake's voice would be recorded in a similar close and intimate style, "with no shiny pop reverb". He also sought to include a string arrangement similar to Simon's, "without overwhelming... or sounding cheesy". To provide backing, Boyd enlisted various contacts from the London folk rock scene, including Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson and Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson (no relation). He recruited John Wood as engineer, and drafted Richard Hewson in to provide the string arrangements.

Initial recordings did not go well; the sessions were irregular and rushed, taking place during studio downtime borrowed from Fairport Convention's production of their ''Unhalfbricking'' album. Tension arose between artist and producer as to the direction the album should take; Boyd was an advocate of George Martin's "using the studio as an instrument" approach, while Drake preferred a more organic sound. Dann has observed that Drake appears "tight and anxious" on bootleg recordings taken from the sessions, and notes a number of Boyd's unsuccessful attempts at instrumentation. Both were unhappy with Hewson's contribution, which they felt was too mainstream in sound for Drake's songs. Drake suggested using his college friend Robert Kirby as a replacement, although Boyd was sceptical at taking on an amateur music student lacking prior recording experience. However, he was impressed by Drake's uncharacteristic assertiveness, and agreed to a trial. Kirby had previously presented Drake with some arrangements for his songs, and went on to provide a spare chamber music quartet score associated with the sound of the final album. However, Kirby did not feel confident enough to score the album's centerpiece "River Man", and Boyd was forced to stretch the Witchseason budget to hire the veteran composer Harry Robinson, with the instruction that he echo the tone of Delius and Ravel.

Post-production difficulties led to the release being delayed by several months. It has been alleged that the album was poorly marketed and supported, though the inclusion of the opening track "Time Has Told Me" on the Island Records sampler ''Nice Enough to Eat'' brought him a very wide audience (a track from his second album was likewise included on the subsequent sampler ''Bumpers''). Drake was featured in full-page interviews in the pop press. In July, ''Melody Maker'' referred to the album as "poetic" and "interesting", though ''NME'' wrote in October that there was "not nearly enough variety to make it entertaining". It received radio plays from the BBC's more progressive disk-jockeys such as John Peel and Bob Harris. Drake was unhappy with the inlay sleeve, which printed songs in the wrong running order and reproduced verses omitted from the recorded versions. In an interview his sister Gabrielle said: "He was very secretive. I knew he was making an album but I didn't know what stage of completion it was at until he walked into my room and said, 'There you are.' He threw it onto the bed and walked out!"

''Bryter Layter''

Drake ended his studies at Cambridge nine months before graduation, and in autumn 1969 moved to London to concentrate on a career in music. His father remembered "writing him long letters, pointing out the disadvantages of going away from Cambridge...a degree was a safety net, if you manage to get a degree, at least you have something to fall back on; his reply to that was that a safety net was the one thing he did not want." Drake spent his first few months in the capital drifting from place to place, occasionally staying at his sister's Kensington flat, but usually sleeping on friends’ sofas and floors. Eventually, in an attempt to bring some stability and a telephone into Drake's life, Boyd organised and paid for a ground floor bedsit in Belsize Park, Camden.

In August, Drake recorded three songs for the BBC's John Peel show. Two months later, he opened for Fairport Convention at the Royal Festival Hall in London, followed by appearances at folk clubs in Birmingham and Hull. Remembering the performance in Hull, folk singer Michael Chapman commented: The experience reinforced Drake's decision to retreat from live appearances; the few concerts he did play around this time were usually brief, awkward, and poorly attended. Drake seemed unwilling to perform and rarely addressed his audience. As many of his songs were played in different tunings, he frequently paused to retune between numbers.

Although the publicity generated by ''Five Leaves Left'' was minor, Boyd was keen to build on what momentum there was. 1970's ''Bryter Layter'', again produced by Boyd and engineered by Wood, introduced a more upbeat, jazzier sound. Disappointed by his debut's poor commercial performance, Drake sought to move away from his pastoral sound, and agreed to his producer's suggestions to include bass and drum tracks on the recordings. "It was more of a pop sound, I suppose", Boyd later said, "I imagined it as more commercial." Like its predecessor, the album featured musicians from Fairport Convention, as well as contributions from John Cale on two songs: "Northern Sky" and "Fly". Trevor Dann has noted that while sections of "Northern Sky" sound more characteristic of Cale, the song was the closest Drake came to a release with chart potential. In his 1999 biography, Cale admits to using heroin during this period, and his older friend Brian Wells began to suspect that Drake was also using. Both Boyd and Wood were confident that the album would be a commercial success, but it went on to sell fewer than 3,000 copies. Reviews were again mixed: while ''Record Mirror'' praised Drake as a "beautiful guitarist — clean and with perfect timing, [and] accompanied by soft, beautiful arrangements", ''Melody Maker'' described the album as "an awkward mix of folk and cocktail jazz".

Soon after the release, Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records, and moved to Los Angeles to work with Warner Brothers in the development of soundtracks for film. The loss of this key mentor figure, coupled with the album's poor sales, led Drake to further retreat into depression. His attitude to London had changed: he was unhappy living alone, and visibly nervous and uncomfortable performing at a series of concerts in early 1970. In June, Drake gave one of his final live appearances at Ewell Technical College, London. Ralph McTell, who also performed that night remembered that "Nick was monosyllabic. At that particular gig he was very shy. He did the first set and something awful must have happened. He was doing his song 'Fruit Tree' and walked off halfway through it. Just left the stage." His frustration turned to depression, and in 1971 Drake was persuaded by family to visit a psychiatrist at St Thomas's Hospital, London. He was prescribed a course of antidepressants, but he felt uncomfortable and embarrassed about taking them, and tried to hide the fact from his friends. He knew enough about drugs to worry about their side effects, and was concerned about how they would react with his regular marijuana use.

''Pink Moon''

Island Records was keen that Drake promote ''Bryter Layter'' through press interviews, radio sessions and live appearances. Drake, who was by this time smoking what Kirby has described as "unbelievable amounts" of marijuana and exhibiting "the first signs of psychosis", refused. By the winter of 1970, he had isolated himself in London. Disappointed by the reaction to ''Bryter Layter'', he turned his thoughts inwards, and withdrew from family and friends. He rarely left his flat, and then only to play an occasional concert or to buy drugs. "This was a very bad time", his sister Gabrielle Drake recalled, "He once said to me that everything started to go wrong from [this] time on, and I think that was when things started to go wrong."

Although Island neither expected nor wanted a third album, Drake approached Wood in October 1971 to begin work on what would be his final release. The sessions took place over two nights, with only Drake and Wood present in the studio. The bleak songs of ''Pink Moon'' are short, and the eleven-track album lasts only 28 minutes, a length described by Wood as "just about right. You really wouldn't want it to be any longer." Drake had expressed dissatisfaction with the sound of ''Bryter Layter'', and believed that the string, brass and saxophone arrangements had resulted in a sound that was "too full, too elaborate". Drake appears on ''Pink Moon'' accompanied only by his own carefully recorded guitar save for a single piano overdub on the title track. "He was very determined to make this very stark, bare record," Wood later recalled. "He definitely wanted it to be him more than anything. And I think, in some ways, ''Pink Moon'' is probably more like Nick is than the other two records."

Drake delivered the tapes of Pink Moon to Chris Blackwell at Island Records, contrary to a popular legend which claims he dropped them off at the receptionist's desk without saying a word. An advertisement for the album placed in ''Melody Maker'' in February opened with "Pink Moon — Nick Drake's latest album: the first we heard of it was when it was finished." ''Pink Moon'' went on to sell fewer copies than either of its predecessors, although it did receive some favourable reviews. In ''Zigzag'' magazine, Connor McKnight wrote, "Nick Drake is an artist who never fakes. The album makes no concession to the theory that music should be escapist. It's simply one musician's view of life at the time, and you can't ask for more than that."

Island Records founder Chris Blackwell felt ''Pink Moon'' had the potential to bring Drake to a mainstream audience; however his staff were disappointed by the artist's unwillingness to undertake any promotional activity. A&R; manager Muff Winwood recalls "tearing his hair out" in frustration, and admits that without Blackwell's enthusiastic support, "the rest of us would have given him the boot." However, following persistent nagging from Boyd, Drake agreed to an interview with Jerry Gilbert of ''Sounds Magazine''. The "shy and introverted folk singer" spoke of his dislike of live appearances and very little else. "There wasn't any connection whatsoever", Gilbert has said. "I don't think he made eye contact with me once. If you wanted to be uncharitable, you could say he was just a spoiled boy with a silver spoon and went around feeling sorry for himself."

Final years

In the months following ''Pink Moon'''s release, Drake became increasingly asocial and distant from those close to him. He returned to live at his parents' home in Far Leys, and while he resented the regression, he accepted that his illness made it necessary. "I don't like it at home", he told his mother, "but I can't bear it anywhere else." His return was often difficult for his family; as his sister Gabrielle explained, "good days in my parents' home were good days for Nick, and bad days were bad days for Nick. And that was what their life revolved around, really."

He lived a frugal existence, his only source of income being a £20-a-week retainer he received from Island Records. At one point he could not afford a new pair of shoes. He would often disappear for days, sometimes turning up unannounced at friends' houses, uncommunicative and withdrawn. Robert Kirby described a typical visit: "He would arrive and not talk, sit down, listen to music, have a smoke, have a drink, sleep there the night, and two or three days later he wasn't there, he'd be gone. And three months later he'd be back."

Referring to this period, John Martyn (who in 1973 wrote the title song of his album ''Solid Air'' for and about Drake) described him as the most withdrawn person he'd ever met. He would borrow his mother's car and drive for hours without purpose on occasion, until he ran out of petrol and had to ring his parents to ask to be collected. Friends have recalled the extent to which his appearance had changed. During particularly bleak periods of his illness, he refused to wash his hair or cut his nails. Early in 1972, Drake suffered a nervous breakdown, and was hospitalised for five weeks.

In February 1974, Drake again contacted John Wood, stating he was ready to begin work on a fourth album. Boyd was in England at the time, and agreed to attend the recordings. This initial session was followed by further recordings in July. In his 2006 autobiography, the producer recalled being taken aback at Drake's anger and bitterness: "[He said that] I had told him he was a genius, and others had concurred. Why wasn't he famous and rich? This rage must have festered beneath that inexpressive exterior for years." Both Boyd and Wood noticed a discernible deterioration in Drake's performance, requiring him to overdub his voice separately over the guitar. However, the return to Sound Techniques studio raised Drake's spirits; his mother later recalled, "We were so absolutely thrilled to think that Nick was happy because there hadn't been any happiness in Nick's life for years."

Death

By autumn 1974, Drake's weekly retainer from Island had ceased, and his illness meant he remained in contact with only a few close friends. He had tried to stay in touch with Sophia Ryde, whom he had first met in London in 1968. Ryde has been described by Drake's biographers as "the nearest thing" to a girlfriend in his life, but she now prefers the description 'best (girl) friend'. In a 2005 interview, Ryde revealed that a week before he died, she had sought to end the relationship: "I couldn’t cope with it. I asked him for some time. And I never saw him again." Similar to the relationship Drake had earlier shared with fellow folk musician Linda Thompson, Drake's relationship with Ryde was never consummated.

At some time during the night of 24/25 November 1974, Nick Drake died at home in Far Leys from an overdose of amitriptyline, a type of antidepressant. He had gone to bed early the night before, after spending the afternoon visiting a friend. His mother claimed that, around dawn, he left his room for the kitchen. His family was used to hearing him do this many times before but, during this instance, he did not make a sound. They presumed that he was eating a bowl of cereal. He returned to his room a short while later, and took some pills "to help him sleep". Drake was accustomed to keeping his own hours; he frequently had difficulty sleeping, and would often stay up through the night playing and listening to music, then sleeping late into the following morning. Recalling the events of that night, his mother later stated: "I never used to disturb him at all. But it was about 12 o’clock, and I went in, because really it seemed it was time he got up. And he was lying across the bed. The first thing I saw was his long, long legs." There was no suicide note, although a letter addressed to Ryde was found close to his bed.

At the inquest that December, Drake's coroner stated that the cause of death was as a result of "Acute amitriptyline poisoning — self-administered when suffering from a depressive illness", and concluded a verdict of suicide. Though this has been disputed by some members of his family, there is a general view that accidental or not, Drake had by then given up on life. Rodney described his son's death as unexpected and extraordinary; however, in a 1979 interview he admitted to "always [being] worried about Nick being so depressed. We used to hide away the aspirin and pills and things like that." Boyd has stated that he prefers to believe the overdose was accidental. He recalled that Drake's parents had described his mood in the preceding weeks as having been very positive, and that he had planned to move back to London to restart his music career. Boyd believes that this levity was followed by a "crash back into despair". Reasoning that Drake may have taken a high dosage of his antidepressants in order to recapture this sense of optimism, he said he prefers to imagine Drake "making a desperate lunge for life rather than a calculated surrender to death". Writing in 1975, ''NME'' journalist Nick Kent comments on the irony of Drake's death at a time when he had just begun to regain a sense of "personal balance". In contrast, Gabrielle Drake has said she prefers to think Drake committed suicide, "in the sense that I'd rather he died because he wanted to end it than it to be the result of a tragic mistake. That would seem to me to be terrible..."

On 2 December 1974, after a service in the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Tanworth-in-Arden, Drake's remains were cremated at the Solihull Crematorium and his ashes later interred under an oak tree in the adjoining graveyard of St Mary's. The funeral was attended by around 50 mourners, including friends from Marlborough, Aix, Cambridge, London, Witchseason, and Tanworth. Referring to Drake's tendency to compartmentalise relationships, Brian Wells later observed that many met each other for the first time that morning. Molly recalled "a lot of his young friends came up here. We'd never met many of them." His public profile remained low throughout the mid and late 1970s although occasional mentions of his name appeared in the music press. By this time, his parents were receiving an increasing number of fans and admirers as visitors to the family home in Far Leys. Island Records, following a 1975 ''NME'' article written by Nick Kent, stated "...we have no intention of repackaging Nick's three albums (which remained available), either now or at anytime in the foreseeable future" but in 1979 Rob Partridge joined Island Records as press officer and commissioned the release of the ''Fruit Tree'' box set. Partridge was a fan of Drake's, and had seen him perform early in 1969: "The first thing I did when I got to Island was suggest we put together a retrospective—the studio albums plus whatever else was there. I wasn't necessarily expecting massive vaults with millions of tunes, live recordings or whatever, but there was very little..." The release brought together the three studio albums as well as the four tracks recorded with Wood in 1974 and was accompanied by an extensive biography written by the American journalist Arthur Lubow. However, sales were poor and the album received little press notice; in 1983 Island deleted ''Fruit Tree'' from its catalogue.

By the mid 1980s Drake was being cited as an influence by musicians such as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Robert Smith of The Cure. Smith credited the origin of his band's name to a lyric from Drake's song "Time Has Told Me" ("a troubled cure for a troubled mind"). Drake gained further exposure in 1985 with the release of The Dream Academy's hit single "Life in a Northern Town", which included an on-sleeve dedication to Drake. By 1986 the very first biography of Nick Drake was published (in Danish). His reputation continued to grow, and by the end of the 1980s, Nick Drake's name was appearing regularly in newspapers and music magazines in the United Kingdom: he had come to represent a kind of mythical doomed romantic hero in the eyes of many, an "enigma wrapped inside a mystery".

In 1999, Pink Moon was used in "Milky Way", a Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial, leading to a large increase in record sales.

In early 1999, BBC2 aired a 40-minute documentary, ''A Stranger Among Us — In Search of Nick Drake'', as part of its ''Picture This'' strand. The following year, Dutch director Jeroen Berkvens released a documentary titled ''A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake'', featuring interviews with Boyd, Gabrielle Drake, Wood and Kirby. Later that year, ''The Guardian'' placed ''Bryter Layter'' at number 1 in its "Alternative top 100 albums ever" list. In recent years, several musicians, including Lucinda Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Lou Barlow and Mikael Åkerfeldt have cited Drake as an influence. In 2004, nearly 30 years after his death, Drake gained his first chart placing when two singles ("Magic" and "River Man"), released to coincide with the compilation album ''Made to Love Magic'', made the middle reaches of the U.K. charts. Later that year, the BBC aired a radio documentary about Drake, narrated by Brad Pitt.

Musical and lyrical style

Drake was obsessive about practicing his guitar playing, and would often stay up through the night, experimenting with tunings and working on songs. His mother remembered hearing him "bumping around at all hours. I think he wrote his nicest melodies in the early-morning hours." A self-taught guitarist, Drake achieved his guitar style through the use of alternative tunings to create cluster chords. These are difficult to achieve on a guitar using standard tuning; Drake used tunings which made cluster chords available using more conventional chord shapes. In many songs he accents the dissonant effect of such non-standard tunings through his vocal melodies.

Drake studied English literature while in Cambridge, and was particularly drawn to the works of William Blake, William Butler Yeats and Henry Vaughan, and lyrics reflect such influences. Drake also employs a series of elemental symbols and codes, largely drawn from nature. The moon, stars, sea, rain, trees, sky, mist and seasons are all commonly used, influenced in part by his rural upbringing. Images related to summer figure centrally in his early work; from ''Bryter Layter'' on, his language is more autumnal, evoking a season commonly used to convey senses of loss and sorrow. Throughout, Drake writes with detachment, more as an observer than participant, a point of view ''Rolling Stone's'' Anthony DeCurtis described "as if he were viewing his life from a great, unbridgeable distance." This perceived inability to connect has led to much speculation about Drake's sexuality. Boyd has said he detects a virginal quality in his lyrics and music, and notes that he never observed or heard of the singer behaving in a sexual way with anyone, male or female. Kirby described Drake's lyrics as a "series of extremely vivid, complete observations, almost like a series of epigrammatic proverbs", though he doubts that Drake saw himself as "any sort of poet". Instead he believes that Drake's lyrics were crafted to "complement and compound a mood that the melody dictates in the first place."

Discography

{|class="wikitable" |- ! Release date ! Title |- | 1969 | ''Five Leaves Left'' |- | 1970 | ''Bryter Layter'' |- | 1972 | ''Pink Moon'' |}

References

Boyd, Joe (2006). ''White Bicycles – Making Music in the 1960s'', Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1-85242-910-0

Cale, John (1999). ''What's Welsh for Zen'', Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-4383-6

Chartier, Henry (2008). "Nick Drake : l'abécédaire", Le Bord de l'eau (in French) ISBN 978-2-35687-002-5

Dann, Trevor (2006). ''Darker Than the Deepest Sea: The Search for Nick Drake'', Da Capo Press. London. 2006. ISBN 0-306-81520-6

De Angelis, Paola (2007). "Journey to the Stars — I testi di Nick Drake", Arcana Editrice (in Italian)

Drake, Nick: Under Review DVD (2007) ASIN: B000TV4PZG

Hogan, Peter K (2008)''Nick Drake: The Complete Guide to His Music.''

Humphries, Patrick (1997). ''Nick Drake: The Biography'', Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 1-58234-035-8

Petrusich, Amanda (2007) ''33 1/3 Nick Drake's Pink Moon''. ISBN 978-0-8264-2790-8

Rasmussen, Gorm Henrik (1986). ''Pink Moon — Sangeren og guitaristen Nick Drake'', (in Danish), Forlaget Hovedland.

Various sources (2003). ''Way to Blue: an Introduction to Nick Drake '', Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-8179-5

Various sources (2003). ''The Nick Drake Song Collection'', Music Sales. ISBN 0-7119-4464-4

Notes

External links

Bryter Music: The Estate of Nick Drake Official website

Nick Drake.co.uk Website with information, interviews with related people, pictures, news, etc., in direct connection with the annual Nick Drake gathering

Annual Gathering web site for the annual gathering of musicians in Tanworth-in-Arden to celebrate the music of Nick Drake, with information, pictures and forum

Nick Drake guitar tabs Nick Drake guitar tabs

The Nick Drake Files features discography, lyrics, transcripts of interviews with Drake, accurate tab, etc.

Nick Drake Tabs features accurate tabs from the algonet site plus some new ones, updated regularly.

''Lost Boy – In Search of Nick Drake'' – BBC Radio Documentary

''Remembering Five Leaves Left'' - ABC Radio National Radio Documentary on Into the Music

A Place To Be: Reflections of Nick Drake – "a collection, a celebration, in film, photography, painting, drawing and prose, of the impact the music of Nick Drake has had on other artists" (official "touring exhibition" site sponsored by the Estate of Nick Drake)

Three Records from Sundown: Joe Boyd Remembers Nick Drake English language audio documentary with Russian text translation.

Exiled from Heaven Essay on the life and music of Nick Drake by Ian MacDonald

* Category:1948 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Category:Drug-related deaths in England Category:Elektra Records artists Category:English folk musicians Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:Island Records artists Category:Old Marlburians Category:People from Tanworth-in-Arden Category:People from Yangon Category:Universal Records artists Category:People educated at Eagle House School

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