Carrie Brownstein
Brownstein in 2005
Born	Carrie Rachel Grace Brownstein (1974-09-27) September 27, 1974 (age 37) Seattle, Washington, USA
Alma mater	The Evergreen State College (1997)
Occupation	Musician, writer, actress
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag
Style	Alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock
Home town	Portland, Oregon
Television	Portlandia

Carrie Rachel Grace Brownstein^[1] (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, writer, and actress, known as a guitarist and vocalist in the now-defunct band Sleater-Kinney. Since 2010 Brownstein has sung and played guitar for the band Wild Flag;^[2] they released their self-titled debut album in September 2011.^[3] Brownstein stars with co-developer Fred Armisen in Portlandia, a sketch comedy show which began airing in January 2011 on the Independent Film Channel.

Early life[link]

Brownstein was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Redmond, Washington.^[4] Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a corporate lawyer; her parents divorced when she was fourteen, and she was raised by her father.^[5] She attended Lake Washington High School before transferring to The Overlake School for her senior year.^[6][7] She began playing guitar at 15, and received lessons from future Sunny Day Real Estate/The Fire Theft frontman Jeremy Enigk.^[8] She later said "he lived in the neighborhood next to mine, so I would just walk my guitar over to his house. He showed me a couple of open chords and I just took it from there. I'd gone through so many phases as a kid with my interests that my parents put their foot down with guitar. So [the instrument] ended up being the [first] thing that I had to save up my own money for-and maybe that was the whole reason that I actually stuck with it."^[8]

After high school, she attended Western Washington University before transferring to The Evergreen State College where Corin Tucker, Kathleen Hanna, and Tobi Vail were also students. While there, Brownstein was in the band Excuse 17. Around this time, she met Tucker, who was in the band Heavens to Betsy. The two bands toured together and both contributed to the Free to Fight compilation. They formed Sleater-Kinney as a side project, and released the Free to Fight split single with Cypher in the Snow.

In 1997, Brownstein graduated from The Evergreen State College with an emphasis in sociolinguistics^[9] and stayed in Olympia for three years before moving to Portland, Oregon.

Music career[link]

Sleater-Kinney[link]

After both Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy split up, Sleater-Kinney became Brownstein and Tucker's main focus. They recorded their first self-titled album during a trip to Australia in early 1994, where the couple were celebrating Tucker's graduation from Evergreen^[10] (Brownstein still had three years of college left). It was released the following spring. They recorded and toured with different drummers, until Janet Weiss joined the band in 1996. Following their eponymous debut, they released six more studio albums before going on indefinite hiatus in 2006.

In 2006 Brownstein was the only woman to earn a spot in the Rolling Stone readers' list of the 25 "Most Underrated Guitarists of All-Time."^[11]

Other work[link]

Brownstein and former Helium guitarist/singer Mary Timony, recording as The Spells, released The Age of Backwards E.P. in 1999.

In summer 2009 Brownstein and Weiss worked together on songs (produced by Tucker Martine) for the soundtrack of a documentary film by Lynn Hershman Leeson.^[12]

In September 2010, Brownstein revealed her latest project was the band Wild Flag, with Janet Weiss, Mary Timony, and Rebecca Cole, formerly of The Minders; according to Brownstein, about a year earlier "I started to need music again, and so I called on my friends and we joined as a band. Chemistry cannot be manufactured or forced, so Wild Flag was not a sure thing, it was a 'maybe, a 'possibility.' But after a handful of practice sessions, spread out over a period of months, I think we all realized that we could be greater than the sum of our parts."^{[2][dated info]}

In 2011, they toured for a second time,^[14] and played at CMJ Music Marathon.^[15]

Writing career[link]

Brownstein began a career as a writer before Sleater-Kinney broke up. She interviewed Eddie Vedder, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Karen O, and Cheryl Hines for The Believer magazine.^[16] Brownstein has also written a couple of music-related video game reviews for Slate.^[17][18]

From November 2007 to May 2010, Brownstein wrote a blog for NPR Music called "Monitor Mix";^[19] she returned for a final blog post in October, thanking her blog readers and declaring the blog "officially conclud[ed]."^[13]

In March 2009 Brownstein contracted to write a book to "describe the dramatically changing dynamic between music fan and performer, from the birth of the iPod and the death of the record store to the emergence of the "you be the star" culture of American Idol and the ensuing dilution of rock mystique";^[20] The book, called The Sound of Where You Are,^[21] is to be published by Ecco/HarperCollins.^[13]

Acting career[link]

In 2007 Brownstein briefly worked at Portland ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, helping them review applicants for their WK12 program of one-year internships.^[22]

Brownstein has been an actress (in what she calls a "mere hobby"),^[23] with a role in the short film Fan Mail, as well as the experimental feature Group, and the Miranda July film Getting Stronger Everyday. Brownstein and Fred Armisen have published several video skits as part of a comedy duo called "ThunderAnt".^[24] She also starred opposite James Mercer of The Shins in the 2009 independent film Some Days Are Better Than Others.^[25]

After their ThunderAnt videos, Brownstein and Armisen developed Portlandia, a sketch comedy show shot on location in Portland, for the Independent Film Channel.^[2][13] The two star in the series and write for it with Allison Silverman from The Colbert Report and Jonathan Krisel, a writer for Saturday Night Live.^[26] The show, which features appearances of some of the characters from ThunderAnt, aired its premiere in January 2011.^[27] It was renewed for a second season.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Brownstein was outed as bisexual to her family and the world by Spin when she was 21 years old. The article discussed the fact that she had dated band mate Corin Tucker in the beginning of Sleater-Kinney (the song "One More Hour" is about their breakup).^[29] After the article was out, she said, "I hadn't seen it [the Spin article], and I got a phone call. My dad called me and was like, 'The Spin article's out. Um, do you want to let me know what's going on?' The ground was pulled out from underneath me... My dad did not know that Corin and I had ever dated, or that I even dated girls." In 2006, The New York Times described Brownstein as "openly gay."^[30] In a November 3, 2010 cover-story for Portland, Oregon's Willamette Week, Brownstein laid to rest questions about her sexual identity: "It’s weird, because no one’s actually ever asked me. People just always assume, like, you’re this or that. It’s like, ‘OK. I’m bisexual."^[31] In 2012, Brownstein told interviewer Marc Maron that no one in Sleater-Kinney was gay, and that when she and Tucker had dated it was for "a second."^[32]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Carrie Brownstein discography at MusicBrainz
• Carrie Brownstein at Discogs
• Official Sleater-Kinney website
• Weil, Elizabeth (December 29, 2011). "Carrie Brownstein Starter Kit". The 6th Floor (blog). The New York Times. http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/carrie-brownstein-starter-kit/. 

Waka Flocka Flame
Background information
Birth name	Juaquin Bertholimule Malphurs
Born	(1986-05-31) May 31, 1986 (age 26) South Jamaica, Queens, New York
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	2008-present
Labels	Brick Squad Monopoly, 1017 Brick Squad Records, Warner Bros., Asylum
Associated acts	1017 Brick Squad, Gucci Mane
Website	www.wakaflocka1017.com

Juaquin Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), better known by his stage name Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper signed to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. He is a Southern hip hop artist best known for his singles "O Let's Do It", "Hard in da Paint" & "No Hands", along with his debut album, Flockaveli. Waka Flocka Flame has announced that his second album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family, will be released during the spring of 2012.^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Juaquin Malphurs was born in South Jamaica, Queens, New York in 1986. His family eventually settled in Riverdale, Georgia.^[2] He is the son of Debra Antney, Gucci Mane's former manager and CEO of So Icey/Mizay Entertainment.^[3] The name "Waka" was given to him by his cousin, after the Muppets character Fozzie Bear's catch phrase, "Waka Waka". The name "Flocka Flame" was given to him by rapper Gucci Mane.^[4] Waka Flocka posed for a nude but unrevealing picture for the company PETA to boycott killing animals. The picture says "Ink not Mink". The picture design is similar to Waka Flocka Flame's album Flockaveli.^[5] Waka Flocka Flame said that he has known Gucci Mane since he was 19^[6]

[edit] 2009-2010: Flockaveli

Waka Flocka Flame came to fame with his breakthrough single "O Let's Do It" in 2009,^[7] which peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. Waka Flocka Flame is a member of the 1017 Brick Squad with Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Frenchie, and Wooh Da Kid.^[8] On January 19, 2010, Malphurs was shot and robbed at a car wash in Atlanta. The bullet went through his right arm.^[9][10] He is currently preparing multiple mixtapes with Brick Squad.^[11] His debut album, Flockaveli was released on October 5, 2010. He was featured on Lil Jon's album Crunk Rock on the track "Throw It Up, Pt. 2 (Remix)". The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. He was named the eighth hottest MC of 2010 by MTV.^[12]

Gucci Mane fired Debra Antney as his manager. Despite rumors, there is no animosity between the two rappers due to this event. In an MTV interview, both he and Waka Flocka Flame affirmed that their relationship is in good standing even though they no longer speak.^[13] In early September, Gucci Mane was seen at Flocka's Flockaveli listening party supporting the artist.^[14]

[edit] 2011-present: Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family and mixtapes

Waka Flocka Flame has released previous mixtapes in 2011 including Salute Me or Shoot Me 3, Benjamin Flocka and his last Twin Towers 2 with Slim Dunkin'. On August 9, 2011 his latest compilation with Gucci Mane, Ferrari Boyz was released. The first single was "She Be Puttin On", featuring the now deceased Slim Dunkin, who was shot at an Atlanta recording studio shooting a music video.^[15]

On August 9, 2011, the first single for his sophomore album, "Round of Applause", featuring Canadian-rapper Drake, a confirmed featured guest to appear on the album, was released. It is produced by Lex Luger. The first original version featured only Waka Flocka Flame, and the remix featured Drake, but later the remix was made the original version. Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family is slated to be released in the first quarter of 2012.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• 2010: Flockaveli
• 2012: Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family

References[link]

External links[link]

• Waka Flocka Flame Official Website
• Waka Flocka Flame on Myspace

Tame Impala
Tame Impala at the V Festival, 2009
Background information
Origin	Perth, Western Australia
Genres	Psychedelic rock, Neo-Psychedelia
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Modular Recordings
Associated acts	The Dee Dee Dums Pond Mink Mussel Creek Space Lime Peacock Giant Tortoise Allbrook Avery
Website	http://www.tameimpala.com/
Members
Kevin Parker Dominic Simper Jay Watson Nick Allbrook

Tame Impala is the psychedelic rock project of Kevin Parker^[1] from Perth, Australia. They are signed to Modular Records. The band came to prominence in 2010 with the release of their debut album, Innerspeaker. Their name refers to the impala, a medium sized antelope.^[2] They like to see themselves as "a steady flowing psychedelic groove rock band that emphasizes dream-like melody."^[3]

Biography[link]

Early Career[link]

Tame Impala were formed from Kevin Parker's original blues/jazz/psychedelic band, the Dee Dee Dums. The Dee Dee Dums consisted of Parker (drums ) and Luke Epstein (guitar), with the band getting second place at the 2005 AmpFest^[4] and winning third place that year in the state final of The Next Big Thing.^[5] In October 2006 Epstein was replaced by drummer Sam Devenport, Epstein going on to play with Sugarpuss. The Dee Dee Dums went on to win the WA state final of the National Campus Band Competition.^[6] In late 2007 the band renamed to Tame Impala unveiling another new drummer and replacing the two-guitar attack for the more traditional guitar/bass/drums format. Devenport went on to pursue an acting career.^[7]

In July 2008 the band signed a worldwide deal with independent label Modular Recordings.^[8]

[edit] Tame Impala EP

The signing was soon followed by the release on their self-titled debut EP in September 2008.^[9] Due to Kevin Parker's original artwork there was some confusion with the EP title and many believed it to be called Antares Mira Sun.^[10][11] The artwork is an interpretation of a slide he saw in an astronomy lecture, which demonstrated the difference in size between the stars Antares, Mira and the Sun.

The cover art is meant to be a painting; an interpretation of a diagram, so those labels are just there to make the diagram make sense. But lo and behold, there were reviews coming out saying "And Tame Impala's new EP 'Antares, Mira, Sun".

—Kevin Parker^[12]

Tame Impala went to number 1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) Chart and number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart,^[13] with three songs, "Desire Be, Desire Go", "Half Full Glass of Wine" and "Skeleton Tiger" which received national radio airplay on the Triple J Network.^[14][15] Tours in 2008 included supports for You Am I, The Black Keys, Yeasayer and MGMT, as well as performances at Southbound, Meredith Music Festival, and Falls Festival, as well as a national headline tours in support of their EP. 2009 tours include a sold out 6 date 'Skeleton Tiger' national headline tour, a 5 date UK tour including Nevereverland UK, V Festival, Groovin The Moo and a stadium tour with The Living End and Gyroscope.

Tame Impala appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 2008, their first appearance on the list, with "Half Full Glass of Wine" reaching number 75. The song is also on the Hottest 100 compilation.^[16][17]

[edit] Sundown Syndrome

Tame Impala’s first single, "Sundown Syndrome", was recorded at Toerag Studios in London, with recording engineer Liam Watson, whilst the band was there in March 2009.^[18] "Sundown Syndrome" was premiered by Richard Kingsmill on his 2009 show on triple j on Sunday 10 May. It was released in July 2009 on vinyl and electronically along with a cover of Blue Boy's "Remember Me".^[19]

The band embarked on a national tour supporting the single through September and October 2009.^[20]

"Sundown Syndrome" was included on the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated film "The Kids Are All Right."

"Half Full Glass Of Wine" was used in HBO's hit TV series Entourage as the closing song for an episode.

Tame Impala appeared at Big Day Out in early 2010, performing alongside bands Muse, The Mars Volta, Kasabian and Rise Against, among others.

"Remember Me" appeared at number 78 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2009.

[edit] Innerspeaker

Tame Impala's debut album, Innerspeaker, was released on 21 May 2010. In the U.K. it's official release date was 28 June, however iTunes accidentally made it available to buy immediately (not pre-order) on 12 May. The album was released in the United States on 8 June to general and critical acclaim. Pitchfork named it Best New Music.^[21]

On a interview with Triple J talking about the album's recent nomination for the J Award, Parker stated that they have secretly been recording a new album. "Jay and I have been recording pretty compulsively and album number two is nearing potential completion already and I'm so excited about it that I'm having trouble keeping myself from telling you all about it." This comes as a big surprise as this statement was released only months after their debut album, Innerspeaker, was released.

The band has been busy touring during mid 2010, with their 'Innerspeaker album tour' commencing on 13 May 2010, as the opening band for MGMT's 2010 American tour. The band returned to Australia to play at Splendour in the Grass festival, which was followed by a European Tour in July (including an appearance at the Reading Festival) and a national Australian tour in October. In November they returned to the UK and Europe for a fifteen date tour, including their largest London headline show to date which was attended by Noel Gallagher, Tom Meighan, Sergio Pizzorno, Noel Fielding, Alexa Chung and Alison Mosshart,^[22] the band then went on to the United States for twenty headline dates including sold out New York, LA and San Francisco. They also received four 2010 ARIA Music Awards nominations which include, 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Rock Album' for Innerspeaker, 'Best Group' and also 'Breakthrough Artist'.^[23]

On 29 November 2010 Tame Impala's debut album "Innerspeaker" won Australian youth-oriented radio network Triple J's highest honor, taking out the J Award for Album of the Year ^[24]

Second Album[link]

On 7 December 2011, Kevin Parker began mixing a new album with producer Dave Fridmann.^[25]

On 2 March 2012, they stated via Facebook that the new album was "finished, mixed, mastered, mooged, broinged, and beeped". Drummer Jay Watson expects it to be released in Mid 2012. Stated in an Interview posted on their website, Kevin Parker said that the next batch of songs "Represents a departure from his previous work by incorporating an expanded sonic palette, more emotional song writing, and a more pronounced narrative perspective." The album, set to be released in October 2012 was created by a similar set up as the debut album, being that Kevin Parker wrote and recorded the great majority of the album by himself at his home in Perth, Australia. ^[26]

In an article published in April 2012 by Triple J Magazine, Kevin Parker revealed some details about the forthcoming, currently untitled second album by Tame Impala. The majority of recording had taken place in France, and as a result, one of the tracks are titled, Un, Deux, Trois. Other song titles revealed are, Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control, and Apocalypse Dreams, one of the first songs Parker has co-written with drummer Jay Watson.

Band members[link]

Live[link]

• Kevin Parker – vocals, guitar, kazoo
• Jay "Gumby" Watson – drums, backing vocals
• Dominic Simper – guitar & synth (previously bass)
• Nick "Paisley Adams" Allbrook – bass (previously guitar & keys)

Studio[link]

• Kevin Parker – vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keys
• Jay Watson – drums, keys, guitar
• Dominic Simper – percussion, bass, guitar, effects

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Innerspeaker - Modular Recordings (21 May 2010) AUS #4^{[27][28][29][30][31]}
• Untitled (TBA) - Modular Recordings (October 2012)^{[32] [33]}

Live albums[link]

• Live at the Corner - Modular Recordings (May 2010)^[34]

EPs[link]

• Tame Impala [H.I.T.S. 003] - Hole in the Sky (August 2008) (12" vinyl)^[35] (limited re-issue April 2009)
• Tame Impala EP - Modular Recordings (September 2008) AUS #82^[36]

Singles[link]

• "Sundown Syndrome"/"Remember Me" - Modular Recordings (July 2009) (7" vinyl)^[37][38]
• "Solitude Is Bliss" - Modular Recordings (April 2010)^[39]
• "Lucidity" - Modular Recordings (July 2010) ^[40]
• "Expectation" - Modular Recordings (December 2010) ^[41]
• "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind" - Modular Recordings (February 2011)^[42]

Remixes[link]

• "Mammalian Locomotion" - Abbe May (October 2010) [Track 2 of "Mammalian Locomotion" single]^[43]
• "End of Line" - Daft Punk - Walt Disney Records (August 2011) [Track 11 of Australian version of "Tron: Legacy Reconfigured" CD]^[44]

Collaborations[link]

• "Big City Lights" - Canyons - Hole in the Sky (May 2008) [Track 3 of "The Lovemore EP"]^[45]
• "Tonight" - Canyons - Modular Recordings (November 2011) [Track 8 of "Keep Your Dreams"]^[46]
• "When I See You Again" - Canyons - Modular Recordings (November 2011) [Track 9 of "Keep Your Dreams"]^[46]
• "Children of the Moon - The Flaming Lips - Warner Bros. Records (April 2012) [Track 5 of "The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends"]^[47]

Awards and nominations[link]

WAMI Awards[link]

ARIA Awards[link]

J Awards[link]

Rolling Stone Awards[link]

APRA Awards[link]

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".^[53]

References[link]