Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} The band was formed by Howard Devoto after leaving punk band Buzzcocks in early 1977. Devoto had decided to create a more experimental and less punk band. Their style and lyrical preoccupations later influenced many musicians.

Magazine reunited in 2009 for a UK tour, with almost all the remaining and "classic" line-up, with the exception of guitarist John McGeoch who died in 2004. He was replaced by Noko, who played with Devoto in Luxuria. Magazine released an album of new material, No Thyself, in October 2011, followed by a short UK tour.

Biography[link]

Howard Devoto formed Magazine in Manchester shortly after he left Buzzcocks in early 1977. In April 1977 he met guitarist John McGeoch, then an art student, and they began writing songs, some of which would appear on the first Magazine album.^[12] They then recruited Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards^[13] and Martin Jackson (previously of The Freshies) on drums, to form the first line-up of the band. After signing to Virgin Records, Magazine played their debut live gig at the Rafters, in Manchester, on 28 October 1977.

Dickinson, co-writer of "Motorcade" and whose background was in classical and avant-garde music, left shortly after a number of gigs in late 1977. In early 1978 the band released their first single "Shot by Both Sides", a song Magazine recorded as a four-piece which featured a guitar-bass-drums sound similar to punk rock. Shortly after the single's release, Dave Formula, who had played with a 1960s shortly famed rock band from Manchester called St. Louis Union, joined as keyboardist. "Shot By Both Sides", the chorus of which shared the same chord progression as Buzzcocks' "Lipstick," fractionally missed the UK Top 40. The band, with Formula on keyboards, made its first major TV appearance on Top Of The Pops in February 1978, performing the single.

Following a British tour to promote their critically acclaimed debut album Real Life (which made the UK Top 30), Jackson left Magazine in late July, and was replaced briefly by Paul Spencer, who performed with the band for gigs across Europe and some television appearances, including the Old Grey Whistle Test, where they played "Definitive Gaze". Spencer quit partway through the tour, joining The Speedometors shortly afterwards, and he was replaced in October by John Doyle, who completed the Real Life promotional tour and remained in the band.^[14]

In 1979 Magazine's second album, Secondhand Daylight was released, reaching the UK Top 40. The record features more experimental, synthesiser-based material. That same year, McGeoch, Adamson and Formula joined electronic project Visage, recording and releasing the single "Tar".

After the release of Secondhand Daylight, Devoto decided to change producer, choosing Martin Hannett, who produced their next album in the same year, The Correct Use of Soap, again making the Top 30. Following its release McGeoch decided to leave the band, tired of Magazine's low sales and their less guitar-oriented songs, joining Siouxsie and the Banshees. To replace him the band called Robin Simon, who previously was in Ultravox and Neo. That line-up toured across Europe and Australia, recording their next release, the live album Play. Simon made some initial recordings and rehearsals for the Magic Murder And The Weather album, including co-writing the song "So Lucky", but he left the band before the album was released so that he could record on the John Foxx solo album The Garden.

Again without a guitarist, Devoto called in his former college friend at Bolton, Ben Mandelson (former Amazorblades member). This line-up completed the recording of Magic, Murder And The Weather in 1981, but Devoto quit in May of the same year months before its release of the album with the remaining members deciding to disband . A year later, After The Fact, the first Magazine compilation was released.

Adamson continued collaborating with Visage, and also began to work with The Birthday Party and Pete Shelley, Formula continued as member of Visage and joined Ludus, Mandelson joined The Mekons,^[15] and Doyle joined The Armoury Show in Scotland in 1983, along with John McGeoch. After a brief solo outing and two albums with Luxuria Devoto quit music to become a photo archivist until a collaboration with Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley produced the Buzzkunst album in 2002.

Reunion[link]

It was confirmed in July 2008 that Howard Devoto and Magazine would reform for five dates in February 2009. The line-up includes Devoto, Formula, Adamson and Doyle. In November 2008, the band announced Noko, Devoto's bandmate in Luxuria, would be the guitarist in the reformation line-up,^[16] taking the place of John McGeoch, who died in 2004.

The sold out shows received widespread critical acclaim.^[17][18][19] The group then went on to play at festivals in the UK and abroad over summer, before performing 'The Soap Show' in Manchester, Edinburgh and London. At these concerts, the band played two sets – a performance of The Correct Use of Soap in full, followed by a set composed of other songs from their catalogue.

In January 2010 Noko officially joined the band, becoming a full member of Magazine. The band started work on new material. In November 2010 Barry Adamson left to concentrate on his film work and solo recordings. Jon "Stan" White joined as bass player on the new recordings and debuted live on 30 June 2011 at Wolverhampton Slade Rooms where Magazine were playing a warm up show for their Hop Farm festival appearance two days later.

A new studio album, No Thyself, was released worldwide by Wire Sound on 24 October 2011 and the band embarked on a UK tour in November 2011.

Legacy[link]

Magazine's music continues to be an influence today. While having roots in the punk and New Wave movements, Magazine combined elements of avant-garde and pop. Radiohead in particular draw on the lyrical style of the group, and have performed "Shot By Both Sides" in concert. What's more, Radiohead's 1995 single "Just", with its ascending guitar hook, bears a passing resemblance to "Shot By Both Sides". Former Smiths singer Morrissey, a fan and acquaintance of Devoto's, covered "A Song From Under The Floorboards" as a B-side to his 2006 single "The Youngest Was the Most Loved". "Floorboards" was covered by My Friend The Chocolate Cake on their 1994 album Brood. Half Man Half Biscuit have performed live covers of a number of Magazine songs. "The Light Pours Out Of Me", from the album Real Life, has been covered by The Mission, Peter Murphy, Sleep Chamber and Ministry. Swedish punk band No Fun at All did a cover of "Shot By Both Sides" on their record And Now For Something Completely Different. Devoto co-wrote two songs with Mansun, "Everyone Must Win" and "Railings", contributing vocals to the latter, and the band later covered "Shot By Both Sides" for John Peel. In issue 66 (May 2011) of Bass Guitar Magazine^[20] Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver cites Magazine's album Real Life as an influence, particularly on tracks where McKagan uses a chorus effect.

Members[link]

Discography[link]

All records were released on Virgin unless otherwise indicated. All listings are UK releases.

Studio albums[link]

• Real Life (June 1978) # 29 UK
• Secondhand Daylight (March 1979: V2121) # 38 UK
• The Correct Use of Soap (May 1980: V2156) # 28 UK
• Magic, Murder and the Weather (June 1981: V2200) # 39 UK
• No Thyself (November 2011: Wired18) # 167 UK^[21]

Live albums[link]

• Play (Live at Melbourne Festival Hall) (16 September 1980: V2184) # 69 UK
• BBC Radio 1 in Concert (1993) – BBC Windsong
• Play+ (2 CD version) (31 August 2009)
• Real Life & Thereafter DVD/CD (21 September 2009) – Wire Sound
• Live and Intermittent (21 September 2009) – Wire-Sound

Singles and EPs[link]

• "Shot by Both Sides" b/w "My Mind Ain't So Open" (VS200, 1978) UK #41
• "Touch and Go" b/w "Goldfinger" (VS207, 1978)
• "Give Me Everything" b/w "I Love You You Big Dummy" (VS237, 1978)
• "Rhythm of Cruelty" b/w "TV Baby" (VS251, 1979)
• "A Song from Under the Floorboards" b/w "Twenty Years Ago" (VS321, 1980)
• "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" b/w "The Book" (VS328, 1980)
• "Upside Down" b/w "The Light Pours Out of Me" (VS334, 1980)
• Sweetheart Contract EP (VS36812, 1980) UK #54
• About the Weather EP (VS412-12, 1981)^[21]

Compilations[link]

• After the Fact (1982) – Virgin (UK) IRS Records (US)
• Rays and Hail 1978–1981: the Best of Magazine (1987) – Virgin
• Scree – Rarities 1978–1981 (1991) – Virgin
• Where The Power Is (2000) – Virgin
• Maybe It's Right to Be Nervous Now (2000) – Virgin
• The Complete John Peel Sessions (2008) – Virgin EMI
• Touch & Go: Anthology 02.78–06.81 (2009) – Virgin EMI

DVD[link]

• Real Life & Thereafter DVD/CD (2009) – Wire Sound

Bootlegs[link]

• Pre Real Life Demos & Live, a collection of demos and live tracks before the release of the Real Life album.^[22][23]
• Definitive Daze^[23]
• Live in Boston, in 1979. Named Back To Nature (Centrifugal 12CENT-10C).

Biography[link]

• Helen Chase (2009). Magazine: The biography. Northumbria Press. ISBN 1-904794-36-X. 

See also[link]

• List of New Wave bands and artists
• List of post-punk bands
• List of Peel sessions
• Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)

References[link]

External links[link]

• wire-sound Magazine's official website-blog
• [2] Magazine's official Facebook site
• [3] Magazine's official MySpace site
• [4] Magazine's site on YouTube
• Magazine on www.punk77.co.uk
• Shot by Both Sides (expired in September 2008)
• Magazine at Allmusic
• Magazine on PunkNet'77
• Magazine on TrouserPress
• band information

This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (December 2011)

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications that are printed with ink on paper, generally published on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three.^[1]

Distribution[link]

Magazines can be distributed through the mail; through sales by newsstands, bookstores or other vendors; or through free distribution at selected pick-up locations. Sales models for distribution fall into three main categories.

Paid circulation[link]

In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee or monthly price is paid and issues are sent by post to readers. Examples from the UK include Private Eye and PC Pro.

Non-Paid Circulation[link]

This means that there is no cover price and issues are given away, for example in street dispensers, airline in-flight magazines or included with other products or publications. An example from the UK and Australia is TNT Magazine.

Controlled circulation[link]

This is the model used by "insider magazines" or industry-based publications distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free and determined by some form of survey. This latter model was widely used before the rise of the World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. For example, in the United Kingdom, a number of computer-industry magazines, including Computer Weekly and Computing, and in finance, Waters Magazine.

Technical definition[link]

In the library technical sense a "magazine" paginates with each issue starting at page one.^[2] Academic or professional publications that are not peer-reviewed are generally professional magazines.^[3]

History[link]

The Gentleman's Magazine, first published in 1731, in London, is considered to have been the first general-interest magazine. Edward Cave, who edited The Gentleman's Magazine under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban," was the first to use the term "magazine," on the analogy of a military storehouse of varied materiel, originally derived from the Arabic makhazin "storehouses".^[4] Wordsmith offers this origin: "Plural of Arabic makhzan: storehouse, used figuratively as "storehouse of information" for books, and later to periodicals)."^[5]

The oldest consumer magazine still in print is The Scots Magazine, which was first published in 1739, though multiple changes in ownership and gaps in publication totaling over 90 years weaken that claim. Lloyd's List was founded in Edward Lloyd’s England coffee shop in 1734; it is still published as a daily business newspaper.

See also[link]

Lists

• List of 18th-century British periodicals
• List of fashion magazines
• List of men's magazines
• List of 19th-century British periodicals
• List of online magazine archives
• List of political magazines
• List of railroad-related periodicals
• List of women's magazines
• List of travel magazines
• List of architecture magazines
• List of teen magazines

Categories

• Periodicals
• Religious magazines
• Satirical magazines
• Wildlife magazines

References[link]

External links[link]

• All Magazines

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Magazines

Look up magazine, periodical, or journal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Magazine at the Open Directory Project

John Witherspoon
Born	(1723-02-05)February 5, 1723 Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland
Died	November 15, 1794(1794-11-15) (aged 71) Near Princeton, New Jersey
Nationality	Scottish/American
Alma mater	University of St Andrews University of Edinburgh
Occupation	Founding Father, Clergyman, President of Princeton University
Religion	Presbyterian Church or (Church of Scotland)
Signature

John Witherspoon (February 15, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scots Presbyterian minister and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey (1768–94; now Princeton University), he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration.^[1] John Witherspoon is an ancestor of actress Reese Witherspoon.^[2][3][4][5]

Early life and ministry in Scotland[link]

John Witherspoon was born at Gifford, a parish of Yester, at East Lothian, Scotland, as the eldest child of the Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon and Anne Walker,^[6] a descendant of John Welsh of Ayr and John Knox.^[7] This latter claim of Knox descent though ancient in origin is long disputed and without primary documentation.^[8] He attended the Haddington Grammar School, and obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Edinburgh in 1739. He remained at the University to study divinity.

Witherspoon was a staunch Protestant, nationalist, and supporter of republicanism. Consequently, he was opposed to the Roman Catholic Legitimist Jacobite rising of 1745-1746. Following the Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk (1746), he was briefly imprisoned at Doune Castle,^[9] which had a long-term effect on his health.

He became a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister at Beith, Ayrshire (1745–1758), where he married Elizabeth Montgomery of Craighouse. They had ten children, with five surviving to adulthood.

From 1758-1768, he was minister of the Laigh kirk, Paisley (Low Kirk). Witherspoon became prominent within the Church as an Evangelical opponent of the Moderate Party.^[10] During his two pastorates he wrote three well-known works on theology, notably the satire "Ecclesiastical Characteristics" (1753), which opposed the philosophical influence of Francis Hutcheson.^[11] He was awarded a Master of Arts, Bachelor of Divinity, and Doctorate of Divinity from the University of St Andrews, Fife.

Princeton[link]

At the urging of Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton, whom he met in Paisley,^[12] Witherspoon finally accepted another invitation (he had earlier turned one down in 1766) to become President and head professor of the small Presbyterian College of New Jersey in Princeton. To fulfill this, he and his family emigrated to New Jersey in 1768 at the age of 45. He became the sixth President of the college, later known as Princeton University.

Some of the courses he taught personally were Eloquence or Belles Lettres, Chronology (history), and Divinity. Of his courses, none was more important than Moral Philosophy (a required course). An advocate of Natural Law within a Christian and republican Cosmology, which Witherspoon considered Moral Philosophy vital for ministers, lawyers, and those holding positions in government (magistrates). He was firm but good-humored in his leadership. Witherspoon instituted a number of reforms, including modeling the syllabus and university structure after that used at the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish universities. Witherspoon was very popular among both faculty and students, among them James Madison and Aaron Burr.

Upon his arrival at the College of New Jersey at Princeton, Witherspoon found the school in debt, instruction had become weak, and the library collection did not meet current student needs. At once he began fund-raising locally and back home in Scotland, added three hundred of his own books to the library, and began the purchase of scientific equipment: the Rittenhouse orrery, many maps and a "terrestrial" globe. He also firmed up entrance requirements. These things helped the school be more on par with Harvard and Yale. According to Herbert Hovenkamp, his most lasting contribution was the initiation of the Scottish Common-Sense Realism, which he had learned by reading Thomas Reid and two of his expounders Dugald Stewart and James Beattie.^[13]

As the College's primary occupation at the time was training ministers, Witherspoon was a major leader of the early Presbyterian church in America. Witherspoon also helped to organize Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, N.J.

Philosophy[link]

Witherspoon was a prominent evangelical Presbyterian minister in Scotland before becoming the sixth president of Princeton in 1768. Upon his arrival, he transformed a college designed predominantly to train clergymen into a school that would equip the leaders of a new Protestant national generation. Witherspoon made fundamental changes to the moral philosophy curriculum, strengthened the college's commitment to natural philosophy an early form of science tempered with Christian principles, and positioned Princeton in the larger transatlantic world of the republic of letters. Although a proponent of Christian values, Witherspoon's common sense approach to the public morality of civil magistrates was more influenced by the Enlightenment ethics of Scottish philosophers Francis Hutcheson and Thomas Reid than the Christian virtue of Jonathan Edwards. In regards to civil magistrates, Witherspoon thus believed moral judgement should pursued as a science. In this regard, he held to old Roman Republic concepts of virtue in determining moral leadership in civil magistrates.

It could be cultivated in his students or deduced through the development of the moral sense, an ethical compass instilled by God in all human beings and developed through religious education (Reid) or civil sociability (Hutcheson). Contrary to modern distinctions of morality, Witherspoon saw morality as having two distinct components: spiritual and temporal. Civil government owed more to the latter than the former in Witherspoon's Presbyterian doctrine. Thus, public morality owed more to the natural moral laws of the Enlightenment than traditional sources of Christian ethics. However, as a Christian, Witherspoon saw the impossibility of maintaining public morality or virtue in the citizenry without an effective religion. In this sense, the temporal principles of morality required a religious component which derived its authority from the spiritual. Therefore, public religion was a vital necessity in maintaining the public morals.

Thus, while "public morals" were derived from natural virtue, its ultimate source lay in the public religion of Christianity. However, in this framework, non-Christian societies could have virtue, which, by his definition, could be found in natural law. Witherspoon, in accordance with the Scottish moral sense philosophy, taught that all human beings, Christian or otherwise, could be virtuous. Nonetheless, in keeping with the direction of destiny taught by the English Reformation, Scottish Reformation, and Irish Reformation colonial founders, he saw the new American national leaders, guided by their Christian religion, natural virtues, and republican sense of government, would be the most protestant, Christian, free, and, therefore, noble nation, a light to the world. Many of his students, including James Madison, Aaron Burr, Philip Freneau, William Bradford, and Hugh Henry Brackenridge, played prominent roles in the development of the new nation.^[14]

Revolutionary War[link]

As a native Scotsman, long wary of the power British Crown, Witherspoon saw the growing centralization of government, progressive ideology of colonial authorities, and establishment of Episcopacy authority as a threat to the Liberties of the colonies. Of particular interest to Witherspoon was the crown's growing interference in the local and colonial affairs which previously had been the prerogatives and rights of the American authorities. When the crown began to give additional authority to its appointed Episcopacy over Church affairs, British authorities hit a nerve in the Presbyterian Scot, who saw such events in the same lense as his Scottish Covenanters. Soon, Witherspoon came to support the Revolution, joining the Committee of Correspondence and Safety in early 1774. His 1776 sermon "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men" was published in many editions and he was elected to the Continental Congress as part of the New Jersey delegation,^[15] appointed Congressional Chaplain by President Hancock, and in July 1776, voted to adopt the Virginia Resolution for Independence. In answer to an objection that the country was not yet ready for independence, according to tradition he replied that it "was not only ripe for the measure, but in danger of rotting for the want of it."

In John Trumbull's famous painting, Witherspoon is the second seated figure from the (viewer's) right among those shown in the background facing the large table.^[16]

Witherspoon served in Congress from June 1776 until November 1782 and became one of its most influential members and a workhorse of prodigious energy. He served on over 100 committees, most notably the powerful standing committees, the board of war and the committee on secret correspondence or foreign affairs. He spoke often in debate; helped draft the Articles of Confederation; helped organize the executive departments; played a major role in shaping foreign policy; and drew up the instructions for the peace commissioners. He fought against the flood of paper money, and opposed the issuance of bonds without provision for their amortization. "No business can be done, some say, because money is scarce," he wrote. He also served twice in the New Jersey Legislature, and strongly supported the adoption of the United States Constitution during the New Jersey ratification debates.

In November 1778, as British forces neared, Witherspoon closed and evacuated the College of New Jersey. The main building, Nassau Hall, was badly damaged and his papers and personal notes were lost. Witherspoon was responsible for its rebuilding after the war, which caused him great personal and financial difficulty.

In 1780 he was elected to a one-year term in the New Jersey Legislative Council representing Somerset County.

Death and burial[link]

John Witherspoon Statue, Princeton

Witherspoon had suffered eye injuries and was blind by 1792. He died in 1794 on his farm Tusculum, just outside of Princeton, and is buried in the Princeton Cemetery.

Legacy and memory[link]

Witherspoon has been viewed as being "not a profound scholar" but "an able college president".^[17]

From among his students came 37 judges, three of whom made it to the U.S. Supreme Court; 10 Cabinet officers; 12 members of the Continental Congress, 28 U.S. senators, and 49 United States congressmen. His most prominent students were Aaron Burr and James Madison. When the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America met in 1789, 52 of the 188 delegates had studied under Witherspoon.

The President's House in Princeton, New Jersey, his home from 1768 to 1779 is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. A bronze statue at Princeton University by Scottish sculptor Alexander Stoddart is the twin of one outside The University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland.^[18] In Princeton today, a University dormitory built in 1877, the street running north from the University's main gate, and the local public middle school all bear his name. Another statue stands near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., at the intersections of Connecticut Avenue, N and 18th Streets.

Paisley, Scotland honored Witherspoon's memory by naming a newly constructed street in the town center after him, in honor of his having lived in Paisley for a portion of his adult life.

A son-in-law was Congressman David Ramsay, who married Frances Witherspoon on 18 March 1783. Another daughter, Ann, married Samuel Stanhope Smith, who succeeded Witherspoon as president of Princeton in 1795.

The Witherspoon Society is a body of laypeople within the Presbyterian Church (USA) in existence since 1979 that is activist in liberal and progressive causes that takes its name from John Witherspoon.^[19]

A merchant ship, the SS John Witherspoon, saw service during World War II. It was part of convoy PQ-17, and was sunk by a German U-boat in the North Atlantic on July 6, 1942

The Witherspoon Institute is an independent research center that works to enhance public understanding of the moral foundations of free and democratic societies. Located in Princeton, it promotes the application of fundamental principles of republican government and ordered liberty to contemporary problems through a variety of centers, research programs, seminars, consultations, and publications.^[20]

Witherspoon was portrayed in the musical 1776 by Edmund Lyndeck in the 1969 stage play and by James Noble in the 1972 film.

References[link]

Doctor John Witherspoon, Washington, D.C.

• Burns, David G. C. (December 2005). "The Princeton Connection". The Scottish Genealogist 52 (4). ISSN 0300-337X. 
• Collins, Varnum L. President Witherspoon: A Biography, 2 vols. (1925, repr. 1969)
• Ashbel Green, ed. The Works of the Rev. John Witherspoon, 4 vols. (1802, repr. with a new introduction by L. Gordon Tait, 2003)
• Morrison, Jeffrey H. John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic (2005)
• Pomfret, John E.. '"Witherspoon, John" in Dictionary of American Biography (1934)
• Tait, L. Gordon. The Piety of John Witherspoon: Pew, Pulpit, and Public Forum (2001)
• Moses Coit Tyler "President Witherspoon in the American Revolution" The American Historical Review Volume 1, Issue 1, July 1896. pp. 671–679. [1]
• Woods, David W.. John Witherspoon (1906)

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Witherspoon

• Princeton Companion entry
• John Witherspoon at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Photographic tour of John Witherspoon's grave at Princeton Cemetery.
• Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
• Who Is That Man, Anyway? Witherspoon's statue, near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.
• John Witherspoon at Find a Grave

v t e Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence J. Adams S. Adams Bartlett Braxton Carroll Chase Clark Clymer Ellery Floyd Franklin Gerry Gwinnett Hall Hancock Harrison Hart Hewes Heyward Hooper Hopkins Hopkinson Huntington Jefferson F. Lee R. Lee Lewis Livingston Lynch McKean Middleton L. Morris R. Morris Morton Nelson Paca Paine Penn Read Rodney Ross Rush Rutledge Sherman Smith Stockton Stone Taylor Thornton Walton Whipple Williams Wilson Witherspoon Wolcott Wythe

v t e Signers of the Articles of Confederation A. Adams · S. Adams · T. Adams · Banister · Bartlett · Carroll · Clingan · Collins · Dana · Dickinson · Drayton · Duane · Duer · Ellery · Gerry · Hancock · Hanson · Harnett · Harvie · Heyward · Holten · Hosmer · Huntington · Hutson · Langworthy · Laurens · F. Lee · R. Lee · Lewis · Lovell · Marchant · Mathews · McKean · G. Morris · R. Morris · Penn · Reed · Roberdeau · Scudder · Sherman · Smith · Telfair · Van Dyke · Walton · Wentworth · Williams · Witherspoon · Wolcott

Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin at Northeastern University on April 11, 2007
Born	(1973-05-25) May 25, 1973 (age 39) New York City, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Years active	Since 2002
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal humor, musical comedy, wit/wordplay, sketch comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday Life, American Culture, Random Subjects
Influences	Steven Wright, Eddie Izzard, Emo Philips, Mitch Hedberg, Socrates
Notable works and roles	· Demetri Martin. Person.  · Correspondent on The Daily Show  · Himself/Various on Important Things with Demetri Martin  · Elliot Tiber in Taking Woodstock (2009)
Website	www.demetrimartin.com

Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on The Daily Show and for his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Early life[link]

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family^[1] in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, now deceased, a Greek Orthodox priest.^[2] Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship.^[3]

Career[link]

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase Premium Blend. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show If I....^[4] The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[5] In 2004, Martin had his own Comedy Central Presents stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while alternating between playing harmonica and talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on The Daily Show, on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace.^[6] On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on The Daily Show, talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled These Are Jokes, which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features Saturday Night Live member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to The Daily Show on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series Flight of the Conchords. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.^[7]

He also had a part in the movie The Rocker (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called Important Things With Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season.^[8] The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that Important Things will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film Taking Woodstock (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled This Is a Book by Demetri Martin.

Martin was slated to portray Paul DePodesta as Oakland Athletics assistant GM to Billy Beane in the 2011 movie Moneyball, however was dropped and Jonah Hill took his place in the movie.

Plans[link]

Martin sold his movie concept Will to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role.^[9] He will play the lead in the film Moon People, a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.^[10]

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.^[11]

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] If I

If I is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.^[12] It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.^[13]

Comedic style[link]

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses one-liners and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once.^[14] He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.^[15]

Personal life[link]

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage when his stand-up career began.^[3]

He is extremely allergic to nuts and peanuts.^[16]

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.^[17]

Filmography[link]

• Invite Them Up (2005)
• These Are Jokes (2006)
• Demetri Martin. Person. (2007)
• Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009–2010)

Filmography and television work[link]

Written works[link]

• This Is a Book, April 2011, ISBN 978-0446539708.

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (May 2012)

• Official website
• Demetri Martin on Myspace
• Demetri Martin at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club
• Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia
• Article, in The Scotsman
• Article, in Gelf Magazine
• Interview by Brian M. Palmer
• MP3 Audio Interview on The Sound of Young America public radio show and podcast
• Interview Believer Mag
• New Jersey Monthly Magazine
• Fresh Air, NPR.org