name	MC Lars
background	solo_singer
birth name	Andrew Robert Nielsen
birth date	October 06, 1982
origin	Berkeley, California, U.S.
genre	Hip hop, punk rock, nerdcore hip hop
instrument	VocalsGuitar
years active	1999–present
label	Horris
manager	Erwin Von Googlheimer
website	Official website MySpace
current members	MC LarsDamondrick JackJon Thatcher LongleyJoe OligerMike RussoJosh White
past members	Chris AyerSteve ConnollyMike LoveJon ShiffmanRob Piccininni Jr. }}

Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982) is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands. John Mayer has credited Lars with coining the phrase "iGeneration", a term used to describe kids born from 1982-2000. He is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Horris Records.

Career

He has recorded for Truck Records in the UK, Sidecho Records in the USA, Big Mouth Records in Japan, and Shock Records in Australia. He was formerly known as MC Lars Horris but changed his pseudonym to MC Lars in 2004 for purposes of simplicity. MC Lars currently resides in California.

In 2006, he released the single "Download This Song" with it entering the Australian Singles Chart at number 29.

Nielsen has toured and done one-off performances with many different bands and rappers, including The Matches, Lupe Fiasco, Nas, Something With Numbers, Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, Army of Freshmen, Gym Class Heroes, Say Anything, Streetlight Manifesto, Suburban Legends, Test Icicles, Jack's Mannequin, Patent Pending, Bayside, Fightstar, Make It Better Later, MC Frontalot, Wheatus, The Aquabats, Ludacris, YTCracker, T-Pain, Yung Joc, Cartel and Zebrahead. Some of these bands play the part of Hearts That Hate for the song "Signing Emo" at live shows.

Nielsen appeared in the 2008 independent film ''Community College'' as MC Lars.

Nielsen was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.

Education

Lars was born in Berkeley and grew up in the Oakland hills. He attended the Head-Royce School before his family moved to the Monterey Peninsula in 1993.

He then attended Stevenson School and was the co-founder of the Monterey Bay Area punk rock band Amphoteric. He would later leave and the group would switch directions and gain a progressive metal following (especially amongst Internet listeners). Although the line-up has changed entirely, the group still resides in central California and continues to release albums independently. While at Stevenson he had a morning radio show through the school's radio station, KSPB. The show was called "Morning Madness", which featured Andrew and his co-host, Chris Gates.

Lars moved on as an English studies-major student of Stanford University in California who went on international study at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University in England. During his time at Stanford, MC Lars and fellow band member and Stanford student, Mike Love, co-created and appeared in ''Good Morning Tresidder Union'' which appeared on Stanford Cardinal Broadcasting Network (SCBN). While at Stanford, Lars drew a comic strip called 27th Street for the Stanford Daily This was partly due to motivation from a Scottish friend of his youngdarrin. Following his graduation in 2005, it became a webcomic. He had a radio show on Stanford's radio station KZSU, playing nerdcore hip hop and old school rap, prior to being discovered by Truck Records.

Style and culture

Originally releasing tracks under the name Lars Horris, he eventually dropped Horris which later became the name of his record label, in order to become MC Lars. In the past, MC Lars was backed by a single friend who handled laptop duties. However, today's MC Lars live experience is very different. With a punk rock band set to back him up, MC Lars plays a hip-hop set to a true punk rock background (a joining which he refers to as "post-punk laptop rap"). His band mates play live over the samples and loops contained in his recorded music - all stored on his laptop computer.

As with many other rap and Hip-Hop acts, samples play a key role in MC Lars' music. But, with intent to preserve his rock roots, MC Lars chooses to sample alternative bands such as the British band Supergrass, Long Island, New York's Brand New, as well as Fugazi, and Iggy Pop.

MC Lars has also shown an interest in using lyrics and song titles based on English and American literature. "Rapbeth" references William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'', whilst "Mr. Raven" is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." Also, the song "Ahab", which is featured on one of his newer albums, ''The Graduate'', sees Lars rapping about the novel ''Moby Dick'' while "Hey There Ophelia" on ''This Gigantic Robot Kills'' retells the story of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''.

The term iGeneration, used to describe the generation born primarily in the mid-to-late 1980s, was not actually coined by MC Lars, but it was used in his song of the same name, which was given out for free to Facebook users in August 2006 in conjunction with iTunes.

MC Lars' MySpace profile includes exclusive tracks related to the MySpace social scene of the iGeneration: "Internet Relationships", "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock", "Download This Song" and "Signing Emo". Hearts That Hate, whose song "Cry Tonight" is sampled in Lars' "Signing Emo", is a fictional group created by the rapper. The Grammy-nominated Texan band Bowling for Soup performed as Hearts That Hate when MC Lars has supported them on tour. A full version of "Cry Tonight" is available as a B-side to the UK "Signing Emo" single.

In early 2006, his song "Download This Song" was featured on the pop-culture CBC Radio show, Definitely Not The Opera, during an exposé on geeks.

''The Graduate''

In 2006, Lars worked with the Canadian independent record label Nettwerk Records to release ''The Graduate''. Following this release, Lars toured extensively throughout the U.S., then he toured UK and did shows in Japan, and Australia. Not long after the album was released on iTunes, Lars received an e-mail from a 15-year-old fan Elisa Greubel on his web forum saying she identified with "Download This Song" since her family was one of many being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America. This led to Nettwerk executive Terry McBride and a team of major-label artists managed by Nettwerk to support the Greubels with their case.

MC Lars returned to the UK in October 2006, due to popular demand, to play more shows in support of his "Ahab" single and video.

''This Gigantic Robot Kills''

In April 2007, MC Lars and Nettwerk made the component tracks for his single "White Kids Aren't Hyphy" available for remix under a by-nc-sa Creative Commons license on the Jamglue online mixing site as a contest. In May, MC Lars toured the UK on the third installment of the Good To Go Tour, making friends with Wheatus front man Brendan B. Brown. In July Lars and Brendan recorded a bunch of new songs, two of which would later appear on This Gigantic Robot Kills. In November, Lars returned to the UK on tour with pop-punk band Last Letter Read who performed their own set and then on stage with Lars, debuting Lars' new song "Hey There Ophelia".

In 2008 and 2009, Lars worked with "Weird Al" Yankovic, Wheatus, the Rondo Brothers, Nick Rowe and Mike Kennedy of Bloodsimple, Daniel Dart of Time Again, Donal Finn of Flash Bastard, Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan, MC Bat Commander of The Aquabats, Suburban Legends, Worm Quartet, Gabriel Saporta of Cobra Starship, Brett Anderson of The Donnas, MC Frontalot, Jesse Dangerously, Jaret Reddick of Bowling for Soup, Adil Omar, Linus Dotson of Size 14, Parry Gripp of Nerf Herder, Salvation, Jonathan Coulton, Aesias Finale, Sebastian Reynolds, Joe Ragosta of Patent Pending and classical musician Walt Ribeiro to complete his album "This Gigantic Robot Kills".

''Lars Attacks''! (2011-)

In an interview on punknews.org MC Lars stated that the album Lars Attacks! is going to have fewer guest artists and more of a return to basics so the album will to contain less punk elements and more standard hip-hop stylings like the split with k.flay. The subject matter will be "Everything from circumcision to bro culture to vikings!"

Later in the interview he revealed that he would be releasing a children's album after ''Lars Attacks!''.

B-sides and rarities

Some demos of songs Lars finished but will not be released include "Dharma Police", "You Might Be Stoner", "Coming Up Short", "Ana's Song", "Wikipedia Song", "I Flow Econo", "Dudes Don't Text Dudes", "Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Religion I Learned from Daniel Johnston", "Pop Life", "Don't Fear the Ice Cream Monster".

Horris Records

Horris Records is an independent record label formed by MC Lars in 2006. Horris served as an imprint of Nettwerk and Oglio before becoming its own label. In 2008, Horris signed a two-record distribution deal with Crappy Records, founded by Jaret Reddick, from the American Rock band Bowling For Soup. The label's name derived from a cartoon character Lars created in middle school which also served as the basis for Lars' original stage name, MC Lars Horris. In 2011, Horris signed Weerd Science.

Live accompaniment

MC Lars is often joined on stage by bands he is on tour with. He has had Bowling For Soup, Simple Plan, and Army Of Freshmen play with him live on the song "Signing Emo" filling in for the fictional band "Hearts That Hate". He's also had the band Failsafe back him on several tours of the United Kingdom. While supporting the band Zebrahead in the UK and Europe in 2010, MC Lars had Zebrahead members Ed Udhus and Greg Bergdorf on drums and guitar every night. In addition, Zebrahead Tour Manager Bobby Conner joined them on bass.

Discography

''Nothing to Fear'' (1999)

''Insectivorous'' (2000)

''Radio Pet Fencing'' (2003)

''The Graduate'' (2006)

''This Gigantic Robot Kills'' (2009)

''Lars Attacks!'' (2011)

Filmography

''Community College'' (2009)

''Nerdcore Rising'' (2009)

''Nerdcore For Life'' (2009)

References

External links

Purevolume

MTV.com site

VH1 Biography

Live Review of MC Lars in the UK

Interview with MC Lars

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Category:American bloggers Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American rappers Category:American musicians of Swedish descent Category:American people of Australian descent Category:Musicians from California Category:Critics of Scientology Category:Nerdcore hip hop artists Category:People from Berkeley, California Category:Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Stanford University alumni Category:People from Pacifica, California

de:MC Lars sv:MC Lars

name	For Real
background	group_or_band
genre	R&B;, Pop, Dance
years active	1993–1999
label	Arista RecordsA&M; Records, Rowdy Records
past members	Wendi WilliamsLatanyia BaldwinJosina Elder Necia Bray-Gates
notable instruments	}}

For Real was an American R&B; and soul quartet, that formed in 1993. In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Grammy, Billboard Music Award, and Soul Train Music Award.

Biography

For Real secured their recording contract by accident. "We were picking up our manager from the airport. So we decided to greet him with an acappella song. Someone from A&M; records just happened to be in the airport and heard them perform. Not long after, they were signed," said Latanyia Baldwin.

The band released their debut album, ''It's a Natural Thang'', with production from Brian McKnight on A&M; Records in 1994, and it became a critical success, including a rare four stars from Rolling Stone Magazine. Their first single, "You Don't Wanna Miss" hit #28 on the ''Billboard'' chart, courtesy of a danceable new jack swing remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley, which was featured in the song's video. A second single, "Easy To Love," peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album scored another chart hit with the a cappella love song, "You Don't Know Nothin'," which was written and produced by Mervyn Warren, and which peaked at #27. The song peaked at #54 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1995. The album sold over one million copies worldwide, and peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200.

In 1995, the band appeared in Italian ''Vogue'', modeling mens suits. They toured alongside Stevie Wonder, and lent their voices to the Martin Scorsese film project ''Grace of My Heart.'' The foursome also forayed into acting with appearances in the film ''Shake, Rattle and Rock!'' starring Renée Zellweger and Howie Mandel on ''Showtime''.

They also hit the US Top 20 with the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)" featuring Aaliyah, TLC, En Vogue, BlackGirl, SWV, and Vanessa Williams from the movie ''Panther''. They also recorded a duet with Stevie Wonder called "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow", which appeared on the Marvin Gaye tribute album, ''Inner City Blues: The Music Of Marvin Gaye.'' For Real also recorded songs for the soundtracks of the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' and ''Fled'' respectively.

After a label change from A&M; to Dallas Austin's Arista imprint Rowdy Records in 1996, For Real struck again with the Austin-produced, 60s-leaning single "Like I Do," from their second album ''Free''. "Like I Do" hit #10 on the Billboard singles chart, the video also earned a Billboard nomination for Best R&B; Clip, the album made the Top 100, and nearly 400,000 copies in the US, the album's next and last single was the Diane Warren-penned pop ballad "The Saddest Song I Ever Heard" which hit #65 on the Top 100 singles chart. The band performed "Saddest Song" on the TV show All That. ''Free'' included production from top R&B;/pop producers like Babyface, Mario Winans, and Jon B.

The band also recorded three songs ("I Do", "Born to Love That Boy" and "Unwanted Number") and appeared in the critically acclaimed film ''Grace of My Heart''. The films soundstrack won a Satellite Award in 1997.

In January 1997, the band won an American Music Award for their work on the ''Waiting to Exhale'' soundtrack, in Summer 1997, the group earned a Soul Train Award nomination for Album Of The Year (By A Group, Band Or Duo) for "Free".

In 1999, Wendi Williams lent her voice to the Emmy winning film ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'', with Halle Berry, in which Berry plays a singer but Williams is behind her singing voice.

In 2002, their song "Love Will Be Waiting At Home", appeared in the movie, ''Two Can Play That Game'', that starred Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut.

In 2009, CoryLavel began to work with Josina Elder on her new album.

Discography

''It's a Natural Thang'' (1994)

''Free'' (1996)

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Work
	Nominated	Grammy Award	Album of the Year	Waiting to Exhale
	Nominated	Billboard Music Award	Best Clip - R&B;	"Like I Do"
	Nominated	Soul Train Music Award	Album of the Year (By a Group, Band or Duo)	''Free''

References

External links

SingingFool.com Streaming music videos for "Like I Do" and "The Saddest Song I Ever Heard"

Allmusic Discography, biographies, and pictures

IUMA Group photos, lyrics, message board, audio streams, and bio.

Google Album info, photos, and lyrics

Category:American pop music groups Category:American rhythm and blues musical groups Category:African American musical groups Category:American girl groups Category:American soul musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1999

Name	Gabe Saporta
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Gabriel Eduardo Saporta
Born	October 11, 1979
Origin	Montevideo, Uruguay
Years active	1998–present
Genre	Pop punk, synthpop, alternative rock, alternative dance, synth punk, dance-pop
Education	Rutgers University
Label	Decaydance, Fueled by Ramen
Associated acts	Cobra Starship, Midtown, Humble Beginnings
Website	}}

Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta (born October 11, 1979) is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown.

Cobra Starship is signed to the Decaydance record label. The band Cobra Starship released their second album ''¡Viva La Cobra!'' on October 23, 2007. Their third album, ''Hot Mess'', was released on August 11, 2009, and debuted at #4 on Billboard 200 albums chart with sales of more than 42,000.

Early life

Gabe Saporta was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, the oldest of three children of Diego and Jeanette Saporta (Paula Saporta - Ricardo Saporta and Gabriel Saporta) . His parents' families, both Jewish, emigrated to South America from Europe during World War II. His father is a Sephardic Jew from Spain, who became a doctor in Uruguay, and his mother is from Austria. His family emigrated to the United States when he was four, settling in Queens, New York, where his father sold scarves on the street before going to medical school for seven years. When his father completed his education, the family relocated to Springfield, New Jersey when Saporta was 12. When Saporta was 15, his parents divorced and he moved in with his father.

Saporta attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange, New Jersey. He developed an interest in music at the age of eight. Saporta was greatly influenced by hip-hop music and later discovered an affinity towards punk and hardcore rock, listening to bands such as Gorilla Biscuits, NOFX and Lagwagon. These bands influenced him greatly, and as a teenager, he adopted a straight edge lifestyle.

Of his teenage years, Saporta recalled, "I was pretty much just as obnoxious as I am now, but louder. I went against the grain a little bit, and you always get in trouble when you do that...Teachers hated me." He and his friends considered forming a band and performing locally. The concerts grew in popularity in his small town, until about 500 people would attend each week. Saporta then joined another band, Humble Beginnings. Saporta attended Rutgers University and majored in philosophy.

Career

Saporta was a vocalist, lyricist and bassist in the band Midtown. The group released one EP and three LP albums: ''The Sacrifice of Life'', ''Save the World Lose the Girl'', ''Living Well Is The Best Revenge'' and ''Forget What You Know'', respectively. The group eventually disbanded in 2005, but still maintain a significant following.

After the breakup of Midtown, Saporta decided to create a side-project which would be influenced by techno and dance music. He discussed this with John Janick, head of the label Fueled by Ramen. Saporta then signed to Pete Wentz's Decaydance label, a subsidiary of Fueled by Ramen. In 2006, Saporta, William Beckett of The Academy Is..., Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, and Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds appeared on Cobra Starship's first notable single, "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", and later appeared in a music video for the song. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie ''Snakes on a Plane'' and played during the closing credits of the film. The song is also featured on the Cobra Starship album ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''.

The official line-up of Cobra Starship is Alex Suarez, Victoria Asher, Nate Novarro, and Ryland Blackinton. Victoria Asher replaced the group's original keytarist, Elisa Schwartz.

The group's second album, ''¡Viva La Cobra!'', was released on October 23, 2007. The album includes the hit song "Guilty Pleasure" (the video budget was spent on a sports car for the group so they made a 'home edition' video).

The third Cobra Starship studio album, titled ''Hot Mess'', was released on August 11, 2009. The album includes the band's hit song "Good Girls Go Bad," which also features vocals by ''Gossip Girl'' actress Leighton Meester, which was released digitally on May 11, 2009.

On October 21, 2009, Gabe Saporta and Cobra Starship took their first trip via a private jet, which the group Tweeted about enthusiastically. The trip was to Bloomington, Indiana, to attend a charity concert event at Indiana University, which also featured DJ Girl Talk. The event was Victoria's Secret's PINK Nation B-Town Bash, which took place on October 22, 2009 and benefited Middle Way House, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence. Indiana University students competed against five other institutions during the summer to host the event, which raised $5,000 for Middle Way House.

On June 5, 2010 Gabe appeared on MTV's ''When I Was 17'', in which he discussed his lifestyle as a teenager.

Personal life

Gabe Saporta is a vegetarian and an active member of PETA.

Saporta submitted his face for the "Faces Of Mars" event for 30 Seconds to Mars, and is now featured on one of the many different album covers of their third album ''This Is War''.

Gabe is also good friends with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz. Pete posted this on his official site elaborating on their relationship saying, "Gabe taught me the idea that our lives are about service to others. The night I freaked out and lost my mind- Gabe Saporta got on a plane no questions asked and was at my house the next day. He hung with me through my lame freak outs and made me laugh when we free styled late at night in my living room. He never assumed shit about me and is one of the most fiercely loyal people I have ever met."

Gabe Saporta confirmed in an interview for Alternative Press Magazine that he and his five year girlfriend Bianca Dueñas had called it quits in 2009. In OK Magazine it was confirmed that Saporta is now dating fashion designer Erin Fetherston as of early 2011. Gabe Saporta has two brothers, one is Ricardo Saporta and his younger sister Paula Saporta.

Guest vocals

Gabe Saporta was featured on the songs:

Fall Out Boy The Academy Is... MC Lars Stunnaman Cisco Adler Alexandra Burke

Song !! Artist !! Year !! Notes
Up Song	Donots
What a Catch, Donnie	|	2008	Cameo appearance; sings the chorus Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy at the end of the song.
Crowded Room	|	2008	Gabe is part of the yelling in the beginning of the song
Hey There Ophelia	|	2009
T.I.N.A.	|	2009
Shut Your Mouth	|	2010
What Happens On The Dancefloor	|	2010

References

External links

Gabe Saporta official website

''New York Times'' article about Gabe Saporta

Gabe Saporta on Twitter

Gabe Saporta Fanpage

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Montevideo Category:Rutgers University alumni Category:American people of Uruguayan descent Category:American Jews Category:American vegetarians Category:Uruguayan bass guitarists Category:Uruguayan male singers Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Uruguayan Jews Category:Uruguayan vegetarians Category:Sephardi Jews

de:Gabe Saporta et:Gabe Saporta es:Gabe Saporta it:Gabe Saporta pl:Gabe Saporta pt:Gabe Saporta fi:Gabe Saporta sv:Gabe Saporta

Name	Brett Anderson
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Brett Lewis Anderson
Birth date	September 29, 1967
Origin	Haywards Heath, England
Instrument	vocals, Piano, Guitar
Genre	Alternative rock, Britpop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1989–present
Label	Drowned In Sound
Associated acts	Suede, The Tears
Website	www.BrettAnderson.co.uk }}

Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he briefly fronted The Tears and released three solo albums. Suede reformed in 2010. In Suede's early days, Anderson's androgynous style and unique vocals were an instant phenomenon in the UK.

Early years: 1967-1988

Born in Haywards Heath, West Sussex into a working class family, Anderson's mother was an artist and his father was a classical music fan. He was brought up in a small council estate in Lindfield, a village adjoining Haywards Heath, attending Lindfield Junior School then Oathall Comprehensive School.

In his teens, Anderson played guitar for garage bands such as The Pigs and Geoff, the latter featuring future Suede bassist Mat Osman. In the late-1980s, Anderson and Osman formed Suede with Anderson's girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, soon recruiting guitarist Bernard Butler through an advertisement in the ''NME''. After receiving percussional help from former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, in 1991, Simon Gilbert joined Suede as their official drummer. It was around this time that Frischmann left Anderson for Blur frontman Damon Albarn, which created an early rift in the burgeoning Britpop scene of the early 1990s. After missing too many rehearsals and flaunting her relationship with Albarn while still living with Anderson, Frischmann was fired from the group, going on to front Elastica.

Suede: 1989-2003; 2010 onwards

Even before Suede's first album appeared in stores, Anderson's androgynous style and vague "confessions" about his sexuality stirred controversy in the British music press. His infamous comment that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience" was indicative of how he both courted controversy and a sexually ambiguous, alienated audience. In 1993, ''Suede'' hit number one on the UK charts. Combining Morrissey's homoerotic posturing with David Bowie's glam theatrics, Anderson achieved instant fame in the UK. America, however, was still spellbound by the grunge revolution and Anderson's grim yodellings clashed with the raw anger of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Furthering complications across the Atlantic, due to a trademark dispute with the American lounge singer Suede, the band were forced to change their name to The London Suede for the American market. Although the departure of songwriting partner Butler in 1994 during the recording of second album ''Dog Man Star'' (number three on the UK charts) led many to fear Suede's eventual demise, the band continued to release critically and ever increasingly commercially successful material in the UK, Europe and Asia, such as 1996's critically acclaimed ''Coming Up'' (another number one of the band). The band carried on to release ''Head Music'' (number one on the UK charts and in several countries) in 1999, but ''A New Morning'' was a commercial disappointment in 2002. In 2003, following the release of their "Singles" collection, Suede disbanded.

Anderson has commented that the history of Suede is "...ridiculous. It’s like Machiavelli rewriting ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''. It involves a cast of thousands. It should star Charlton Heston... it’s like a pram that’s just been pushed down a hill. It’s always been fiery and tempestuous and really on the edge and it never stops. I don’t think it ever will.” On his own, Anderson collaborated with Stina Nordenstam, and his guest vocals can be heard on the album ''This Is Stina Nordenstam'' and has made a duet with Jane Birkin in 1995 which appeared in 1998 Birkin's Best Of album. He also sang the lyric "You're going to reap just what you sow" in the Children in Need charity single "Perfect Day".

Following persistent rumours, the boss of the band's former label, Nude Records' Saul Galpern, confirmed to the ''NME'' that Suede would be playing together again. "It's [for] a one-off gig," he explained of the show, which featured the band's second incarnation. The band will played London's Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2010 Teenage Cancer Trust shows.

Because of the huge success of the shows, a new European tour was announced for the summer of 2010, covering 2 festivals, Skanderborg Festival in Denmark and Parkenfestivalen in Norway, the tour continued in the autumn covering France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium. A homecoming date at the The O2 Arena (London) closed the tour. Further festival dates have been announced for 2011, along with UK dates where Suede will perform their first 3 albums in full.

The Tears: 2004-2005

In 2004, Anderson and former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler briefly formed the band The Tears with Will Foster, Makoto Sakamoto and Nathan Fisher and released their debut album ''Here Come The Tears,'' which was met with mixed critical and popular reaction. It was produced by Butler and largely recorded at home, and featured the singles "Refugees" and "Lovers". Following the cancellation of a European tour in support of the album, the band were dropped by Independiente and the project was abandoned.

Anderson was close friends with Simon Hobart (promoter of Popstarz) and was the DJ at the benefit night held in Hobart's honour after his death.

Solo work: 2006-present

In May 2006, Anderson announced details of a solo album consisting of 11 tracks, which was released on 26 March 2007. He told NME that the title would be ''Brett Anderson'' since "...that's my name, you see." The accompanying video for Anderson's first single "Love Is Dead" debuted on UK television in February 2007, quickly finding its way to YouTube. "Love Is Dead" made its debut at #42 in the UK singles chart, and the album went to #54 the following week. The keyboardist-producer on his album is Fred Ball, and former Suede bass player Mat Osman joined the live band on tour.

In July 2007 Anderson modeled Nick Hart for Aquascutum's autumn/winter 2007 campaign photos on wallpaper.com

In May 2008 it was announced that Anderson's second album was to be premiered on 7 July in a special concert at London's mermaid theatre. A copy of the album, entitled ''Wilderness'', was distributed to all ticket buyers, in the form of a USB stick. The album was recorded in only seven days, with most tracks recorded as live takes. He plays the piano and the acoustic guitars, and is accompanied by Amy Langley on cello. One of the songs "Back to You" written with Fred Ball of the Norwegian band Pleasure is a duet with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner.

Anderson's third album, ''Slow Attack'' was co-written with Leo Abrahams. On his website, Brett Anderson writes that he tried to use words in a different way, as fragments, and hint of meanings and emotions. The music is more orchestral than ''Wilderness'' with more instrumentation throughout the album. On tour, he was joined by Didz Hammond (Dirty Pretty Things), Angie Pollock (Goldfrapp), Sebastian Sternberg (Pleasure, Marina and the Diamonds), Kris Sonne and Amy Langley, thus giving the songs a more art-rock edge.

''Black Rainbows'' - Anderson's fourth solo album will be released through BA Songs, distributed by EMI Music Service on 26th September 2011 which will be preceeded by the single "Brittle Heart". This will be second album Anderson has co-written with Leo Abrahams and sees a return to a simpler more commercial rock format.

Solo discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !rowspan="2"| Album !colspan="3"| Peak chart positions |- !width="45"| UK !width="45"| UK Indie !width="45"| Japan |- |align="left"| ''Brett Anderson''

Released: 26 March 2007

Label: Drowned in Sound

| 54 | — | 165 |- |align="left"| ''Wilderness''

Released: 1 September 2008

Label: B A Songs

| 161 | 16 | 275 |- |align="left"| ''Slow Attack''

Released: 2 November 2009

Label: B A Songs

| 174 | — | 212 |- |align="left"| ''Black Rainbows''

Released: 26 September 2011

Label: B A Songs / EMI Music Services

| | | |- |colspan="4" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released |}

Live albums

''Live in London'' (9 May 2007) (Limited Edition of 1500)

''Live at Union Chapel'' (19 July 2007) (Limited Edition of 1500)

''Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall'' (20 October 2007) (Limited Edition of 1500)

Singles and EPs

"Love Is Dead" (19 March 2007) - (UK #42)

"Back to You" (EP) (9 July 2007) (Non-chart eligible)

"A Different Place" (21 July 2008) (Digital download)

"The Hunted" (22 November 2009) (Digital download)

"Brittle Heart" (15 August 2011) (Digital download)

References

External links

Brett Anderson Official Website

Category:Alumni of University College London Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:People from Haywards Heath Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Suede members Category:1967 births Category:Living people

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name	Tina Root
background	solo_singer
birth name	Bettina Root
alias	Tina Minero
birth place	Los Angeles, California
instrument	voice
occupation	songwriter vocalist
years active	1989-Present
label	Cleopatra Records Independent
associated acts	Switchblade Symphony Tre Lux Small Halo
website	Official website for Tre Lux
notable instruments	voice }}

Tina Root (born Bettina Root), also now known as Tina Minero, is an American classically trained female vocalist and songwriter from Los Angeles, California, perhaps most famous for her work performing as the lead singer of Switchblade Symphony during the mid-to-late-1990s. Her current work includes a solo performance and recording project, Tre Lux, and a partnership project, called Small Halo, with guitarist and fellow songwriter George Earth.

Biography

Tina Root was born in Los Angeles, California and still resides there. She is a classically trained vocalist with a background in musical theater. She married in June 2002 and has a daughter, Gabriella Star Minero, who was born in June 2007.

She formed the San Francisco-based band Switchblade Symphony in 1989, with composer Susan Wallace. They performed and recorded with several other band members over the years, including guitarists Robin Jacobs and George Earth, and drummers Eric Gebow, and Scott van Shoick. They released several records on Cleopatra Records, including the critically acclaimed albums ''Serpentine Gallery'' in 1995, ''Scrapbook'' in 1997, ''Bread and Jam for Frances'' in 1997 and ''The Three Calamities'' in 1999, and performed international tours in support of those albums until the group disbanded in 1999.

In April 2001, she created the solo trip hop project, Tre Lux, performing her first show as Tre Lux in Montreal, Canada in January 2002, with the help of San Francisco duo BeatDestruct. She has so far recorded one full-length album as Tre Lux (also known as Tré Lux), entitled ''A Strange Gathering'', released in 2006 and featuring her covers of several other artists' hits, including one from Switchblade Symphony, Bad Trash.

In 2008, she reunited musically with former Switchblade Symphony guitarist George Earth to form Small Halo; a project that has so far recorded one self-titled five-song EP, which they released in 2009.

In 2010, Tina recorded vocals on the MC Lars song, ''Reaping Beauty'', inspired by the SEGA game Bayonetta, which was included on the 2011 second re-release of Lars' album ''21 Concepts (But a Hit Ain't One)''.

Discography

;With Switchblade Symphony

Full-length albums and EPs

* ''Serpentine Gallery'' (1995)

* ''Scrapbook'' (1997) (out of print)

* ''Bread and Jam for Frances'' (1997)

* ''The Three Calamities'' (1999)

* ''Sinister Nostalgia'' (2001) (remixes)

* ''Sweet Little Witches'' (2003) (live performances and video track)

* ''Serpentine Gallery Deluxe'' (2005)

Singles

* ''Clown'' (1996)

* ''Drool'' (1997)

Other

* ''Fable'' (1991) (out of print demo cassette)

* ''Elegy'' (1992) (out of print demo cassette)

* ''Girlscout'' (single) (recorded with Jack Off Jill) (1998)

Compilations

* ''From The Machine'', featured the song: "Mine Eyes" (Index Records, 1990)

* ''Gothic Rock Volume 2: 80's Into 90's'' (1995)

* ''Gothik'' (1995) (re-released in 2006)

* ''Wired Injections'' (1996)

* ''Gothic Divas Presents: Switchblade Symphony, Tre Lux, and New Skin'' (Cleopatra, 2006)

* ''Psycho Tina's Hell House Of Horrors'', featured the song "Witches (Live)" (Cleopatra, )

;As Tre Lux

''A Strange Gathering'' Album (2006) covers

;With Small Halo ''Small Halo'' EP (2009)

References

External links

Switchblade Symphony on Myspace

Tre Lux on Myspace

Official page for Tre Lux

Small Halo on myspace

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:American female singers Category:Female rock singers