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Cat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Charlyn "Chan" Marshall (born Charlyn Marie Marshall, January 21, 1972), known for her minimalist (and often pastoral) music, sparse guitar and piano playing and ethereal, Southern-styled vocals. She is often accompanied by backing musicians on record and in concert.
Biography The daughter of divorced parents, Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall was born in Georgia. Her childhood involved much upheaval, with Marshall living throughout the Southern United States (Greensboro, North Carolina; Bartlett, Tennessee; and Georgia and South Carolina,) and between parents. In interviews she has openly discussed her childhood and stated that the constant travelling prepared her for the touring life of a professional musician. After dropping out of high school, she started performing under the name Cat Power while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. She soon moved to New York City where, after opening for Liz Phair in 1994, she met Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee. In 1996 she was signed to Matador Records, and released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News". Following a three-month tour in late 1996, co-headlined by the band Guv'ner and in support of the release of What Would the Community Think, Marshall disappeared from the musical scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with then boyfriend Bill Callahan (who performs under the name Smog). The plan was to permanently retire from music but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs. These songs would make up the bulk of Moon Pix. The record was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne in eleven days with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three. * The album was well-received by critics, and gained her recognition in the indie rock scene. However, during the subsequent tours she grew tired of her own material. This resulted in a series of shows during 1999 involving Marshall providing musical accompaniment to a series of screenings of the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and many covers, many of which would later see release on The Covers Record, a collection of cover songs recorded at various sessions in 1998 and 1999.A selection of covers that didn't make it on to the album were recorded at Peel Acres, home of the highly influential and legendary British DJ John Peel. The session was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show and featured Marshall's own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" amongst others. In 2003 she resumed releasing original material with You Are Free, a diverse and critically applauded album which featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and the Dirty Three's Warren Ellis. A music video was released for the song "He War" and found moderate exposure on MTV2's Subterranean. The year 2004 saw the release of the critically polarizing DVD Speaking for Trees, which featured a single, nearly 2-hour static shot of Marshall performing in a woodland, and was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", featuring M. Ward on guitar. 2005 found Marshall out on the road again, touring the world and playing sold-out solo shows, including an Australian tour supporting Nick Cave. The shows largely consisted of material for her next album. Her latest record, The Greatest, was released in January, 2006. This was not a greatest hits record but rather the Matador Records-arranged collaboration with Al Green's guitarist Teenie Hodges and many other talented musicians. A tour followed in the Fall of 2006. Early in 2006, Marshall announced the cancellation of her upcoming United States Tour, citing "health-related issues". A few days later, Matador announced the cancellation of her two shows in London and Paris. She resumed touring in April 2006, playing some of the most well received shows of her career both with the Memphis Rhythm Band and as a solo performer. Performance Style Marshall’s live shows are often chaotic and unpolished, with songs beginning and ending abruptly and without apparent reason, or blending into one another without clear transitions. Marshall will often stop playing in order to apologize for a self-perceived flaw in her performance, and often claims to be suffering from extreme stage fright. She has even cut short a few of her performances without explanation. These events have had a polarizing effect on Marshall’s fan base. Some have been alienated by what they perceive as Marshall’s lack of professionalism, while others enjoy what they see as a candid, honest, and spontaneous performance. She is also very talkative during performances, usually cracking jokes. Marshall is notable both as a songwriter and as an innovative interpretor of other artists' songs. Her cover versions often ignore the melodies and lyrical hooks of the originals, as evidenced by her renditions of Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", or alter the mood of the song altogether, as with her recording of Oasis' "Wonderwall". The music is similarly stripped down, often to little more than an electric guitar with a clean tone and her voice. She often performs unreleased covers at her live shows. Her choice of covers over the years has revealed a widespread and eclectic taste in both new and old music, incorporating artists as diverse as the White Stripes, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, and Jessie Mae Hemphill. She is constantly introducing new covers into her live performances though the unpredictability of her live shows has made the performance of certain songs a rarity, as is the case with her rarely performed version of "Wolf Among Wolves" by Will Oldham among others. In addition, her highly personalized version of "The House of the Rising Sun" is particuarly notable in that it is an example of a traditional folk song being performed in the tradition of folk music, that of adding new lyrics to an old song to make it a more personal expression. This adapting of old songs is largely absent from modern music. Trivia Albums Singles Appears on DJ Eclipse - "Matador Megamix" (uses portions of "Back of Your Head") "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards) "Are You Down With It" (backing vocals, main vocals by Mike Patton, scratches by Rob Swift) "I've Been Thinking" (vocals) "Paths of Victory" ("Bob Dylan") w/ Karen Elson - "I Love You (Me Either)" (Serge Gainsbourg) "I Found a Reason" (Lou Reed) Films Promos Songs used in movies Official sites Databases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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