The coastline or seashore is where the land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs. Both the terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region; for example, New Zealand's West Coast, or the East and West Coasts of the United States.

A pelagic coast refers to a coast which fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of the land which adjoin any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). Similarly, the somewhat related term "bank" refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river (riverbank) or to a body of water smaller than a lake. "Bank" is also used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond. In other places this may be called a levee.

While many scientific experts might agree on a common definition of the term "coast", the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction, with many scientific and government authorities in various countries differing for economic and social policy reasons.

Formation

The main agents responsible for deposition and erosion along coastlines are waves, tides and currents. The formation of coasts is also heavily influenced by their lithology. The harder the material the less likely it is to erode or suffer the effects of erosion. Variants in the rock create different-shaped coastlines.

Tides often determine the range over which sediment is deposited or eroded. Areas with high tidal ranges allow waves to reach farther up the shore, and areas with lower tidal ranges produce deposition at a smaller elevation interval. The tidal range is influenced by the size and shape of the coastline. Tides do not typically cause erosion by themselves; however, tidal bores can erode as the waves surge up river estuaries from the ocean.

Waves erode coastline as they break on shore releasing their energy; the larger the wave the more energy it releases and the more sediment it moves. Coastlines with longer shores have more room for the waves to disperse their energy, while coasts with cliffs and short shore faces give little room for the wave energy to be dispersed. In these areas the wave energy breaking against the cliffs is higher, and air and water are compressed into cracks in the rock, forcing the rock apart, breaking it down. Sediment deposited by waves comes from eroded cliff faces and is moved along the coastline by the waves.

Sediment deposited by rivers is the dominant influence on the amount of sediment located on a coastline. Today riverine deposition at the coast is often blocked by dams and other human regulatory devices, which remove the sediment from the stream by causing it to be deposited inland.

Like the ocean which shapes them, coasts are a dynamic environment with constant change. The Earth's natural processes, particularly sea level rises, waves and various weather phenomena, have resulted in the erosion, accretion and reshaping of coasts as well as flooding and creation of continental shelves and drowned river valleys (rias).

Environmental importance

The coast and its adjacent areas on and off shore is an important part of a local ecosystem as the mixture of fresh water and salt water in estuaries provides many nutrients for marine life. Salt marshes and beaches also support a diversity of plants, animals, and insects crucial to the food chain.

The high level of biodiversity creates a high level of biological activity, which has attracted human activity for thousands of years.

Human impacts

Human uses of coasts

An increasing part the global population inhabits coastal regions. Many of the world's major cities have been built on or near good harbors and have port facilities. Jurisdictions that are landlocked have achieved port status by such measures such as building canals.

The coast is a crucial frontier that nations typically defended against military invaders, smugglers and illegal migrants. Fixed Coastal defenses have long been erected in many nations and coastal countries typically have a navy and some form of coast guard.

Coasts, especially those with beaches and warm water are an important draw for tourists. In many island nations such as those of the Mediterranean, South Pacific and Caribbean, tourism is central to the economy. Coasts are popular destinations because of recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, surfing, boating, and sunbathing. Growth management can be a challenge for coastal local authorities who often struggle to provide the infrastructure required by new residents.

Threats to a coast

Coasts also face many environmental challenges relating to human-induced impacts. The human influence on climate change is thought to be a contributing factor of an accelerated trend in sea level rise which threatens coastal habitat.

Pollution can occur from a number of sources: garbage and industrial debris, the transportation of petroleum in tankers, increasing the probability of large oil spills, small oil spills created by large and small vessels, which flush bilge water into the ocean.

Fishing has diminished due to habitat degradation, overfishing, trawling, bycatch and climate change. Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has gone from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries. The scraping of the ocean floor in bottom dragging is devastating to coral, sponges and other long-lived species that do not recover quickly. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species composition and biodiversity. Bycatch, the capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is typically returned the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents approximately ¼ of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture, the bycatch is five times larger than the shrimp caught.

Also, the melting arctic ice will cause sea rise which will flood costal areas.

Conservation

Extraordinary population growth in the 20th century has placed stress on the planet’s ecosystems. For example, on Saint Lucia, harvesting mangrove for timber and clearing for fishing drove the mangrove forests to low levels, resulting in a loss of habitat and spawning ground for marine life that was unique to the area. These forests also helped to stabilize the coastline. Conservation efforts since the 1980s have partially restored the ecosystem.

Types of coast

According to one principle of classification, an emergent coastline is a coastline which has experienced a fall in sea level, because of either a global sea level change, or local uplift. Emergent coastlines are identifiable by the coastal landforms, which are above the high tide mark, such as raised beaches. Alternatively, a submergent coastline is a coastline which has experienced a rise in sea level, due to a global sea level change, local subsidence, or isostatic rebound. Submergent coastlines are identifiable by their submerged, or "drowned" landforms, such as rias (drowned valleys) and fjords.

According to a second principle of classification, a concordant coastline is a coastline where bands of different rock types run parallel to the shore. These rock types are usually of alternating resistance, so the coastline forms distinctive landforms, such as coves. A discordant coastline is a type of coastline formed when rock types of alternating resistance run perpendicular to the shore. Discordant coastlines feature distinctive landforms because the rocks are eroded by ocean waves. The less resistant rocks erode faster, creating inlets or bays; the more resistant rocks erode more slowly, remaining as headlands or outcroppings.

Coastal landforms

The following articles describe some coastal landforms:

Bay

Cape

Cove

Gulf

Headland

Peninsula

Cliff erosion

Much of the sediment deposited along a coast is the result of erosion of a surrounding Cliff, or bluff. Sea Cliffs retreat landward because of the constant undercutting of slopes by waves. If the slope/cliff being undercut is made of unconsolidated sediment it will erode at a much faster rate then a cliff made of bedrock. (Easterbrook 1999).

A Natural arch is formed when a sea stacks is eroded through by waves.

Sea caves are made when certain rock beds are more susceptible to erosion than the surrounding rock beds because of different areas of weakness. These areas are eroded at a faster pace creating a hole or crevasse that, through time, by means of wave action and erosion, becomes a cave.

A Stack is formed when a headland is eroded away by wave and wind action.

A Stump is a shortened sea stack that has been eroded away or fallen because of instability.

Wave-cut notches are caused by the undercutting of overhanging slopes which leads to increased stress on cliff material and a greater probability that the slope material will fall. The fallen debris accumulates at the bottom of the cliff and is eventually removed by waves.

A wave-cut platform forms after erosion and retreat of a sea cliff has been occurring for a long time. Gently sloping wave-cut platforms develop early on in the first stages of cliff retreat. Later the length of the platform decreases because the waves lose their energy as they break further off shore (Easterbrook 1999).

Rivers on the coastline

Delta

Estuary

Coastal features formed by sediment

Beach

Beach cusps

Boondocks

Cuspate foreland

Dune system

Mudflat

Raised beach

Ria

Shoal

Strand plain

Spit

Surge channel

Tombolo

Coastal features formed by another feature

Lagoon

Salt marsh

Other features on the coast

Concordant coastline

Discordant coastline

Fjord

Island

Island arc

Machair

Coastal processes

The following articles describe the various geologic processes that affect a coastal zone:

Attrition

Currents

Denudation

Deposition

Erosion

Flooding

Longshore drift

Saltation

Sea level change

:*eustatic :*isostatic

Sedimentation

Coastal sediment supply

:*sediment transport :*solution :*sub-aerial processes :*suspension

Tides

Water waves

:*diffraction :*refraction :*wave breaking :*wave shoaling

Weathering

Wildlife

Animals

Animals living along the coast vary enormously, some live along coasts to nest like puffins, sea turtles and rockhopper penguins. Sea snails and various kinds of barnacles live on the coast and scavenge on food deposited by the sea. Most coastal animals are used to humans in developed areas, such as dolphins and seagulls who eat food thrown for them by tourists. Since the coastal areas are all part of the littoral zone, there is a profusion of marine life found just off-coast.

There are many kinds of seabirds on the coast. Pelicans and cormorants join up with terns and oystercatchers to forage for fish and shellfish on the coast. There are also sea lions on the coast of Wales and other countrys.

Plants

Coastal areas are famous for their kelp beds. Kelp is a fast growing seaweed that grows up to a metre a day. Corals and anemones are true animals, but live a similar lifestyle as plants do. Mangroves and salt marsh are important coastal vegetation types in topical and temperate environments respectively.

Coastline statistics

The coastline problem

At some time in the years immediately preceding 1951, Lewis Fry Richardson in researching the possible effect of border lengths on the probability of war noticed that the Portuguese reported their measured border with Spain to be 987 km, but the Spanish reported it to be 1214 km. This was the beginning of the coastline problem, which is how to arrive at an estimate of a boundary that is infinite.

The prevailing method of estimating a border (or coastline) was to lay off ''n'' equal straight-line segments of length ''ℓ'' with dividers on a map or aerial photograph. Each end of the segment must be on the boundary. Investigating the discrepancies in border estimation Richardson discovered what is now termed the Richardson Effect: the sum of the segments is inversely proportional to the common length of the segments. In effect, the shorter the ruler, the longer the measured border; thus, the Spanish and Portuguese geographers were using different-length rulers.

The result most astounding to Richardson is that, as ''ℓ'' approaches zero, the length of the coastline approaches infinity. Richardson had believed, based on Euclidean geometry, that a coastline would approach a fixed length, as do similar estimations of regular geometric figures. For example, the perimeter of a regular polygon inscribed in a circle approaches the circumference with increasing numbers of sides (and decrease in the length of one side). In Geometric measure theory such a smooth curve as the circle that can be approximated by small straight segments with a definite limit is termed a rectifiable curve.

Describing a coastline

More than a decade after Richardson's work was finished, Benoît Mandelbrot invented a new branch of mathematics, fractal geometry, to describe just such non-rectifiable complexes in nature as the infinite coastline. His own definition of the new figure serving as the basis for his study is:

A key property of the fractal is self-similarity; that is, at any scale the same general configuration appears. A coastline is perceived as bays alternating with promontories. No matter how greatly any one small section of coastline is magnified, a similar pattern of bays and promontories on bays and promontories appears, right down to the grains of sand. At that scale the coastline appears as a momentarily shifting, potentially infinitely long thread with a stochastic arrangement of bays and promontories formed from the small objects at hand. In such a real environment (as opposed to smooth curves) Mandelbrot asserts "coastline length turns out to be an elusive notion that slips between the fingers of those who want to grasp it."

A coastline is definitely to be represented by a fractal. However, there are different kinds of fractals. A coastline is in "a first category of fractals, namely curves whose fractal dimension is greater than 1." That last statement represents an extension by Mandelbrot of Richardson's thought. Mandelbrot's statement of the Richardson Effect is:

:$L(\backslash epsilon)\backslash sim\; F\backslash epsilon^\{1-D\}\backslash ,$

where L, coastline length, a function of the measurement unit, ε, is approximated by the expression. F is a constant and D is a parameter that Richardson found depended on the coastline approximated by L. He gave no theoretical explanation but Mandelbrot identified L with a non-integer form of the Hausdorff dimension, later the fractal dimension. Rearranging the right side of the expression obtains:

:$\backslash frac\; \{F\}\; \{\backslash epsilon^\{D\}\}\; \backslash cdot\; \backslash epsilon$

where Fε^-D must be the number of units ε required to obtain L. The fractal dimension is the number of the dimensions of the figure being used to approximate the fractal: 0 for a dot, 1 for a line, 2 for a square. D in the expression is between 1 and 2, for coastlines typically less than 1.5. The broken line measuring the coast does not extend in one direction nor does it represent an area, but is intermediate. It can be interpreted as a thick line or band of width 2ε. More broken coastlines have greater D and therefore L is longer for the same ε. Mandelbrot showed that D is independent of ε.

Notes

See also

Ballantine Scale

Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation

Coastal biogeomorphology

Coastal erosion

Coastal management

Coastline of the North Sea

European Atlas of the Seas

Coral reefs

How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension

Coastal Hazards

Coastal Development

Land reclamation

List of countries by length of coastline

List of U.S. states by coastline

Marine debris

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate and Societal Interactions Program

Nautical chart

Pole of inaccessibility

Seaside resort

Marine terrace

References

External links

Category:Coastal geography Category:Coastal and oceanic landforms

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Coordinates	17°38′46″N95°27′37″N
name	Devin Townsend
background	solo_singer
birth name	Devin Garret Townsend
birth date	May 05, 1972
birth place	New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
instrument	Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drum machine, sampler, banjo
genre	Extreme metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, death metal, progressive metal, progressive rock, ambient, new age
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
years active	1993–present
associated acts	The Devin Townsend Band, The Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad, Steve Vai, Punky Brüster, IR8, Front Line Assembly, Grey Skies, Caustic Thought, Noisescapes, Ayreon, The Wildhearts
website
notable instruments	Peavey, ESP, Fender, and Gibson }}

Devin Garret Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist.

After performing in a number of metal bands in high school, Townsend was discovered by a record label in 1993 and was asked to perform lead vocals on Steve Vai's album ''Sex & Religion''. After recording and touring with Vai, Townsend was discouraged by what he found in the music industry, and vented his anger on a solo album released under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He soon assembled a band under the name, and released the critically acclaimed ''City'' in 1997. Since then, he has released three more studio albums with Strapping Young Lad, along with solo material released under his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records. Townsend's solo albums, a diverse mix of hard rock and progressive metal, have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed The Devin Townsend Band, a dedicated lineup which recorded and toured for two of his solo releases.

In 2007, Townsend disbanded both Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, taking a break from touring to spend more time with his family. After a two-year hiatus, he began work on a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with each album written in a different style. The first two entries in the series, ''Ki'' and ''Addicted'', were released in 2009. Townsend scheduled tours throughout Australia and North America in 2010 in support of the albums, and released the next two, ''Deconstruction'' and ''Ghost'', in 2011.

Townsend's trademark production style, featuring a heavily multitracked wall of sound, has been compared to the styles of Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. His versatile vocal delivery ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing, and his songwriting is similarly diverse. Townsend's musical style is rooted in metal, and his albums are written to express different aspects of his personality.

Biography

Early musical career (1972–1996)

Devin Townsend was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, on May 5, 1972. Townsend picked up the banjo when he was five, and began playing guitar when he was 12. He participated in several metal bands while he was in high school, and founded Grey Skies at the age of 19. Around the same time he joined a popular local group called Caustic Thought, replacing Jed Simon on guitar and playing alongside bassist Byron Stroud, both of whom would later become members of Townsend's flagship band, Strapping Young Lad. In 1993, Townsend began writing material under the name Noisescapes, a project he later described as "just as violent as Strapping Young Lad".

Townsend recorded a Noisescapes demo and sent copies to various record labels. Relativity Records responded to Townsend with a record deal and Townsend began work on what was to be the first Noisescapes album, ''Promise''. Shortly afterward, the label introduced him to musician Steve Vai. Impressed with Townsend's vocal work, Vai offered him the role of the lead vocalist on his new album ''Sex and Religion''. Townsend took the offer, unfamiliar with Vai's work and unaware of his acclaim in the music world. After recording ''Sex and Religion'', Townsend accompanied Vai on a world tour in support of the album. Townsend soon landed a second touring gig, this time with the opening band of Vai's tour, The Wildhearts. He played live with the band throughout half of 1994 in Europe, and appeared as a guest musician on their single Urge. Ginger, the band's frontman, remained close friends with Townsend, later co-writing several songs on ''Infinity'' and the ''Christeen + 4 Demos'' EP.

While on tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend formed a short-lived thrash metal project with Metallica's then-bassist Jason Newsted. The band, known as IR8, featured Newsted on vocals and bass, Townsend on guitar, and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums. The group recorded a few songs together, although Townsend says that they never intended to go further than that. "People heard about it and thought we wanted to put out a CD, which is absolutely not true," he explains. "People took this project way too seriously." A demo tape was put together, but the material was not released until 2002, when Newsted published the IR8 vs. Sexoturica compilation.

Though Townsend was proud of what he had accomplished so early in his career, he was discouraged by his experience with the music industry. "I was becoming a product of somebody else's imagination, and it was mixing with my own personality," he later reflected. "This combination was appalling." He pushed to get his own projects off the ground. Despite getting notable touring gigs with other musicians, however, Townsend continued to face rejection of his own music. Relativity Records dropped Noisescapes from their label shortly after Townsend accepted Vai's offer, seeing no commercial appeal in Townsend's music. "I have a hunch they only offered me a deal to get me to sing with Steve," he mused. While touring with The Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R; representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him. The offer was ultimately rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise".

In 1994, Century Media Records offered Townsend a contract to make "some extreme albums". and began to record material under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. Townsend avoided using his real name at this point in career, looking for a fresh start after his high-profile Vai gig. "At the beginning, I wanted to avoid at all cost to use my name because I was known as the singer for Steve Vai and it wasn't the best publicity to have," he later explained. "I was playing somebody else's music and I was judged in respect to that music." Townsend produced and performed nearly all the instruments on the debut studio album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing'', which was released in April 1995. Following the release of the record, Townsend and several other musician friends he knew in Vancouver recorded an album in 1996 entitled ''Cooked on Phonics'' for another one-off side project, Punky Brüster. Written and recorded in under a month, the album was produced as a parody of punk rock bands and documents the act of selling out for mainstream success.

Devin also provided much of the guitar work on the 1994 album Millennium and the 1995 album Hard Wired by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly.

''City'' through ''Infinity'' (1996–1998)

Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record ''City'', including prolific metal drummer Gene Hoglan, along with Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The industrial-influenced album was released in 1997. To this day, the album is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work, with ''Metal Maniacs'' calling it "groundbreaking" and ''Revolver'' naming it "one of the greatest metal albums of all time". Townsend himself considers it the band's "ultimate" album. Later that year, Townsend released his first solo album, ''Ocean Machine: Biomech''. The album featured a mix of hard rock, ambient, and progressive rock. Townsend founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release the album.

After the completion of ''City'' and ''Biomech'', Townsend began to approach a mental breakdown. "I started to see human beings as little lonesome, water based, pink meat," he explained, "life forms pushing air through themselves and making noises that the other little pieces of meat seemed to understand." In 1997, he checked himself into a mental-health hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The diagnosis helped him understand where the two sides of his music were coming from; he felt his disorder "gave birth to the two extremes that are Strapping's ''City'' record and Ocean Machine's ''Biomech''." After being discharged from the hospital, Townsend found that "everything just clicked" and he was able to write his second solo album, ''Infinity'', which he described as "the parent project" of ''City'' and ''Biomech'', with music influenced by Broadway. Townsend returned to the studio, accompanied by Hoglan, to work on the album, on which Townsend played most of the instruments. ''Infinity'' was released in October 1998. Later in his career, Townsend has cited ''Infinity'' as his favorite solo record.

With ''Infinity'', Townsend began to label all albums outside of Strapping Young Lad under his own name, dropping the Ocean Machine moniker, to reduce confusion. He wanted to show that despite the highly varied nature of his projects, they are all simply aspects of his identity. The album ''Biomech'' was relabeled and redistributed as ''Ocean Machine: Biomech'', under Townsend's name, to reflect the new arrangement. Townsend's bandmates began to play two sets at their shows, one as Strapping Young Lad, and one as The Devin Townsend Band, playing songs from Townsend's solo albums.

''Physicist'' and ''Terria'' (1999–2001)

Townsend's next project took several years to come to fruition. After the creation of the IR8 demo tape, Townsend and Jason Newsted had begun work on a new project called ''Fizzicist'', which they described as "heavier than Strapping Young Lad". When the IR8 tape was leaked, Newsted's Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich learned of the project. Hetfield was "fucking pissed" that Newsted was playing outside the band, and Newsted was prevented by his bandmates from working on any more side projects. With the project stalled, Townsend instead wrote the album himself, entitling it ''Physicist''. Townsend assembled his Strapping Young Lad bandmates to record it, the only time this lineup was featured on a Devin Townsend album. The thrash-influenced ''Physicist'' was released in June 2000, and is generally considered a low point in Townsend's career. Hoglan and the rest of the band were dissatisfied with the way the sound was mixed, and Townsend considers it his worst album to date.

Feeling he had "ostracized a bunch of fans" with ''Physicist'', Townsend felt he had the chance to make a more personal and honest record. Townsend was inspired one morning while driving across Canada with his band, and looked to write an "introspective" album dedicated to his homeland. He produced and recorded ''Terria'', a "highly illustrated stream-of-consciousness" album, with Gene Hoglan on drums, Craig McFarland on bass and Jamie Meyer on keyboards. Townsend cited Ween's ''White Pepper'' as an inspiration for the album. ''Terria'' was released in November 2001.

''Strapping Young Lad'' through ''Synchestra'' (2003–2006)

Townsend's solo run lasted until 2002. After a five-year break from recording, Strapping Young Lad reunited to record a new album. Townsend credits the album, ''Strapping Young Lad'', as an emotional response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States. "If the world's about to blow up," said Townsend, "let's write the soundtrack for it." The album's lyrics were based more around fear and insecurity than the "hostile" lyrics of ''City''. Musically, ''Strapping Young Lad'' was less industrial than ''City'', and more reminiscent of death metal, with a "larger-than-life" rock production style. Townsend cited Front Line Assembly, Grotus, and Samael's ''Passage'' as influences. The self-titled album was released in February 2003. It received lukewarm reviews, with critics finding it inferior to ''City'', but it was the band's first charting album, entering at 97th place on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

While Strapping Young Lad was being reunited, Townsend formed a new, permanent band "on par with Strapping" to record and tour for his solo releases. The Devin Townsend Band consisted of Brian Waddell on guitar, Mike Young on bass, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums, and Dave Young on keyboards. Townsend performed guitar, vocals, and production, as he did in Strapping Young Lad. Townsend worked on the band's first album, ''Accelerated Evolution'', at the same time he was working on ''Strapping Young Lad'', spending half the week on one and half on the other. ''Accelerated Evolution'', named for the pace of putting a new band together in under a year, was released a month after ''Strapping Young Lad''. Mike G. of ''Metal Maniacs'' called it "the album of the year", praising it for "the hard-to-accomplish trick of being extreme yet accessible, simultaneously heavy 'n' rockin' yet majestic and beautiful." Prior to the formation of The Devin Townsend Band, Townsend had represented his solo releases live with the Strapping Young Lad lineup; the band would play one set of Strapping Young Lad songs and one set of Devin Townsend songs. After the release of ''Accelerated Evolution'', Townsend's two bands toured separately for their separate albums.

Strapping Young Lad began working on their next album, ''Alien'', in March 2004. Feeling that the band's previous album did not live up to expectations, Townsend decided to take his music to a new extreme. To prepare for the new album, Townsend stopped taking the medication prescribed to treat his bipolar disorder. "I think that as an artist, in order for me to get to the next plateau, I kind of feel the need to explore things and sometimes that exploration leads you to places that are a little crazy," he explains. "And ''Alien'' was no exception with that." Although Townsend considered the album an "impenetrable mass of technicality", it was well received on its release, selling 3,697 copies in its first week and appearing on several Billboard charts.

Shortly thereafter Townsend began putting together the next Devin Townsend Band record, with the working title ''Human''. Townsend intended the album as the more "pleasant" counterpart to ''Alien''. "It's basically a record about coming back down to earth after being in space with ''Alien'' for a while." The album ended up being renamed ''Synchestra'' and was released in January 2006. Townsend showcased a wide variety of musical styles in ''Synchestra'', blending his trademark "pop metal" with influences from folk, polka, and Middle Eastern music.

''Ziltoid'' and hiatus (2006–2008)

Townsend's wife, Tracy Turner, gave birth to their first son, Reyner Liam Johnstan Townsend, on October 4, 2006. Around this time, Townsend withdrew from touring to spend time with his family. From home, Townsend completed his second solo ambient album, ''The Hummer'', releasing it exclusively on his website in November 2006.

In May 2007, Townsend released ''Ziltoid the Omniscient'', a tongue-in-cheek rock opera about the eponymous fictional alien. This was truly a solo album; he programmed the drums using Drumkit from Hell, a software drum machine that uses MIDI samples recorded by Tomas Haake of Meshuggah Shortly after the album's release, Townsend announced that he no longer planned to tour or make albums with Strapping Young Lad or The Devin Townsend Band. He explained that he was "burnt out on travelling, touring, and self promotion" and wished to do production work, write albums, and spend time with his family without the stress of interviews or touring.

In 2008, Townsend lent his voice to characters in several episodes of the Adult Swim cartoon ''Metalocalypse'' (see Musician cameos in ''Metalocalypse'' for more). The original character design for Pickles the Drummer, one of the series' main characters, bore a striking resemblance to Townsend. The series' co-creator Brendan Small acknowledged the similarity, and altered the design before the series began. "We made sure he didn't look like Devin Townsend. We gave him the goatee and the dreadover so he wouldn't look like that."

The Devin Townsend Project (2008–present)

After removing himself from the music industry, Townsend cut his trademark hair off and gave up drinking and smoking. Townsend found it "disconcerting" that he had difficulty writing music without drugs, and that he had trouble identifying his purpose as a musician. He spent a year producing albums in absence of writing, but found it unrewarding and decided to "pick up the guitar and just write". This began a period of "self discovery" where he learned "how to create without drugs".

Over two years, Townsend wrote over 60 songs, and found that they fit into "four distinct styles". In March 2009, Townsend announced his plans for a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with the goal of clarifying his musical identity and being "accountable" for the persona he projects to the public. The project's concept includes a different "theme" and a different group of musicians on each album.

''Ki'', the first album of The Devin Townsend Project, was written to "set the stage" for the subsequent albums. Townsend channeled his newfound control and sobriety into ''Ki'', a "tense, quiet" album that contrasts with much of the music he had been known for. ''Ki'' was released in May 2009. The second entry, a "commercial, yet heavy" album called ''Addicted'', was released in November 2009.

Townsend returned to the stage in January 2010, touring North America with headliner Between the Buried and Me as well as Cynic and Scale the Summit. This was followed by a headlining tour in Australia and a series of high-profile shows in Europe (for example co-headlining the Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic). He headlined a North American tour with UK label mates TesseracT supporting, which began in October 2010, and toured in Europe with support from Aeon Zen and Anneke van Giersbergen.

The final albums in The Devin Townsend Project series, Deconstruction and Ghost were released on June 21, 2011.

Townsend is to perform all four of The Devin Townsend Project albums in the UK and record them for release in a special DVD to coincide with the release of The Devin Townsend Project boxset. The first two shows have been confirmed to be held at Union Chapel in Islington on November 10 and November 13 where he will be playing the albums Ki and Ghost respectively. These four shows will each be entitled "An Evening With The Devin Townsend Project".

Since 2009, Townsend has discussed plans to expand the ''Ziltoid the Omniscient'' franchise. His ideas included a sequel album, a "full blown musical" with the title ''Z²'', but the album appeared to have been scrapped, as Townsend stated in mid-June 2011, "I’m very rapidly realizing that humor and metal… it doesn’t really work." However, as of July 2011, he has stated on his Twitter account that the album was still in the works, but was "vying for pole-position" as he works on other projects. He has expressed possible plans to begin a series of online videos, a series titled ''ZTV'', instead, in which a Ziltoid hand puppet conducts interviews with various bands. A graphic novel based on the Ziltoid character, and possibly performing the ''Ziltoid'' album as a staged musical, at least as a one-off, have also been considered.

Townsend has stated on his Twitter that he is working on a new album, entitled "Epicloud". He described the album as "Big, heavy, romantic kind of melodic stuff. Pretty, ethereal and simple."

Musical style

Projects

Townsend designed his two main projects, the aggressive Strapping Young Lad and his more melodic solo material, as counterparts. Strapping Young Lad's music was a diverse mix of extreme metal genres; death metal, thrash metal, black metal and industrial metal. Townsend's solo material blends many genres and influences, with elements of atmospheric ambient music, hard rock and progressive rock, along with pop metal and arena rock. Despite Strapping Young Lad's greater mainstream acceptance, Townsend identifies more with his solo material, and has never intended Strapping Young Lad to be the focus of his music.

Production style

As a self-proclaimed "fan of multitracking", Townsend has developed a trademark production style featuring an atmospheric, layered "wall of sound". Townsend has drawn critical praise for his productions, which "are always marked by a sense of adventure, intrigue, chaotic atmospherics and overall aural pyrotechnics", according to Mike G. of ''Metal Maniacs''. Townsend mainly uses Pro Tools to produce his music, alongside other software suites such as Steinberg Cubase, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro. Townsend's musical ideas and production style have drawn comparisons to Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. Townsend has carried out the mixing and mastering for most of his solo work himself. He has also mixed and remixed work for other artists such as Rammstein.

Playing style

Townsend mainly uses Open C tuning for both six and seven string guitar. He now also uses Open B tuning and Open B flat tuning (Open C tuning tuned a half and a whole step down respectively) on his six string guitars. Townsend's technique varies from fingerpicking, power chords and polychords to sweep-picked arpeggios and tapping techniques. He is also known for his heavy use of reverb and delay effects. He has expressed that he has no taste for shred guitar, saying that "Musically it doesn't do anything for me" and that he only solos when he thinks that he can within the context of the song.

Influences

Townsend draws influence from a wide range of music genres, most prominently heavy metal. Townsend has cited, among others, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Frank Zappa, Broadway musicals, Abba, new age music, Zoviet France, King's X, Morbid Angel, Barkmarket, Grotus, Jane's Addiction, Metallica, Cop Shoot Cop and Fear Factory as his influences, and has also expressed his admiration for Meshuggah on several occasions, calling them "the best metal band on the planet". ''City'' was influenced by bands such as Foetus and Cop Shoot Cop, | rowspan="1"| September 2011 |}

;Strapping Young Lad {|class="wikitable" ! Title ! Release date ! Label |- | ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing'' | April 4, 1995 | rowspan="5"| Century Media |- | ''City'' | February 11, 1997 |- | ''Strapping Young Lad'' | February 11, 2003 |- | ''Alien'' | March 22, 2005 |- | ''The New Black'' | July 11, 2006 |- |}

References

External links

HevyDevy Records

Devin Townsend at YouTube

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:People from New Westminster Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Musicians from Vancouver Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian rock singers Category:Canadian record producers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:Canadian multi-instrumentalists Category:Progressive metal guitarists Category:Ableton Live users

br:Devin Townsend ca:Devin Townsend cs:Devin Townsend de:Devin Townsend es:Devin Townsend fr:Devin Townsend it:Devin Townsend hu:Devin Townsend nl:Devin Townsend ja:デヴィン・タウンゼンド no:Devin Townsend pl:Devin Townsend pt:Devin Townsend ru:Таунсенд, Девин fi:Devin Townsend sv:Devin Townsend uk:Девін Таунсенд zh:迪文·唐森德

Coordinates	17°38′46″N95°27′37″N
name	Andy McKee
background	solo_singer
born	April 04, 1979 Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
instrument	Guitar, baritone guitar, harp guitar
genre	Folk, Instrumental, Fingerstyle guitar
occupation	Guitarist
years active	2001 – present
label	Razor & Tie, CandyRat Records
website	www.andymckee.com
religion	Atheist }}

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitarist, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie. His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase; in late 2006, a live performance of his signature song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 40,000,000 views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 19,000,000 views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa" reached over 9,000,000 views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records.

Life and career

McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED that year in order to quit attending high school. He began to draw influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and from ''Passion Session'' by Don Ross, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.

Nocturne (2001)

In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, ''Nocturne''. That same year, he was placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas. In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the ''Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest'' of the ''Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships'' with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002.^, The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of ''Nocturne'' were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.

Dreamcatcher (2004)

McKee released his second album, ''Dreamcatcher'', in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa" , as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to Michael Hedges. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring, with whom he has since toured. Additionally, he placed second in the ''Fingerstyle Guitar Competition'' of the ''Canadian Guitar Festival'' that year. The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.

Art of Motion (2005)

McKee's third CD, ''Art of Motion'', was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, whom McKee is currently on the same label with and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from ''Dreamcatcher'' as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, ''Art of Motion'' was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result. In a couple of his songs he plays a harp guitar shown down and to the right.

Gates of Gnomeria (2007)

After his popularity due to his performances on YouTube and touring extensively throughout much of 2007, McKee returned to the studio to record his fourth CD, ''Gates of Gnomeria''. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both ''Gates of Gnomeria'' and his collaborative album with Don Ross, ''The Thing That Came From Somewhere''. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from ''Gates of Gnomeria''.

Common Ground EP (2009)

In between touring extensively, and helping promote his duo guitar record with Don Ross, McKee recorded an EP of 2 re-recordings of songs from his Dreamcatcher album, and a cover song by Japanese guitarist Masaaki Kishibe. The album was released digitally only, along with videos available on iTunes that include his performance of his 2 compositions, a video each that either does or does not include commentary.

Joyland (2010)

McKee announced in May 2009 that he was intending to finish touring in the second half of the year and concentrate on recording his upcoming album. He stated in July 2009 that it will most likely be titled "Joyland", the title track of the album which originally went under the name "Music For A Vacant Amusement Park". The album was completed in November 2009 and was released in iTunes on March 23, 2010, and in stores on March 30, 2010 on Razor & Tie Records. According to McKee, "On this album I've branched out a bit and included some instrumentation on a couple of songs. There's also a new harpguitar tune and a couple of covers such as "Layover" by Michael Hedges and one of my favorite 80's tunes." (That one is Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".) The album also features a DVD full of 75 minutes worth of additional video material, including a documentary called ''Andy McKee: Joyland'', and four new performance music videos. All four music videos have been released on YouTube and can be found at:

"Never Grow Old"

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

"Hunter's Moon"

"Joyland"

The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.

Career progression

Self-described as "just this guy from Topeka, Kansas who kind of blew up on the Internet about a week before Christmas", McKee became one of Candyrat Records' best-selling artists after their video of "Drifting" was massively upvoted by users at Digg. In the wake of this exposure, he appeared by invitation on Woodsongs as well as Last Call with Carson Daly, and his online store completely sold out of his various guitar tablature books. Due to the increased demand, he began to offer sheet music for nearly all of his songs on his official website. He also contributed to Josh Groban's 2007 Grammy-nominated Christmas album, ''Noël'', playing guitar on the song "Little Drummer Boy". Groban's album went on to become the best-selling CD of 2007 in the U.S., hitting #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. In 2010 McKee contributed to Lee Ritenour's highly acclaimed CD ''6 String Theory'' that also features guitarists like Steve Lukather, Slash, Neal Schon, Tal Wilkenfeld, and Mike Stern.

Response to filesharing

McKee has, at least once in the past, personally commented on BitTorrent websites hosting his music, chastising downloaders for their actions. Posting to The Pirate Bay under the name "AlteredTuning" (which is the same handle he uses in all his internet message board appearances as well as on his own website's message boards), McKee sarcastically echoed other commenters' thanks to the original uploader of his album and urged people to purchase his work legitimately. His comments were met with approval while some pointed out that the exposure on The Pirate Bay might lead to increased sales.

"Yeah thanks a lot for uploading! It's not like I need to make a living with my music or anything. 8,676 thieves. If you really appreciate what I am doing, buy my CD legitimately so I can continue to compose music rather than work at K-Mart. I'm not Metallica. I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less millions. Andy McKee"

Equipment and influences

McKee currently uses the following equipment:

Greenfield G4 and GB Guitars

Greenfield HG1.2 Harp Guitar

Lance McCollum Baritone Guitar

Ron Spillers Harp Guitar

K&K; Sound Pickups (internal)

DTAR Solstice Pre-Amp

D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Medium Gauge

Shubb Capos

McKee's influences include: Eric Johnson, Dream Theater, Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Billy McLaughlin, Tommy Emmanuel, Björk, Steve Lukather, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto, Peter Gabriel, Imogen Heap, King Crimson, Primus, Pat Metheny, and Don Ross,

McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.

In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:

:"I too have never touched weed, pills, blow or needles. I'm always insulted when people find that hard to believe. 'How can you write such insane music straight?!?' Frick! Some of us are just creative using only the chemicals already present in our bodies. That goes for almost any musician I've had a close association with, contrary to the stereotypes. Hell, Zappa was sober all the time! :Bravo, Andy. I appreciate the fact that when you and I tour together, there's no junk going around, no smokes, no nothing. Keeping it clean. And we always have a fabulous time."

Discography

Album Title	Year
	2001
	2004
	2005
''Gates of Gnomeria''	2007
Split DVD with Antoine Dufour	2007
	2008
	2009
	2010

References

External links

McKee's Official Website

Andy McKee's MySpace

Andy McKee @ Razor & Tie

McKee @ Candyrat Records

Interview @ InstruMentalCase

2011 Andy McKee Interview on FingerstyleGuitarists.com

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American folk guitarists Category:American Internet personalities Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:Musicians from Kansas

cs:Andy McKee de:Andy McKee es:Andy McKee fr:Andy McKee it:Andy McKee lv:Endijs Makijs nl:Andy McKee ja:アンディ・マッキー pl:Andy McKee pt:Andy McKee simple:Andy McKee