David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on 8th January 1947 in Brixton, London, UK) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Active in six decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He has been cited as an influence by many musicians and is known for his distinctive voice and the intellectual depth of his work.
Rasputina is a "cello rock" ensemble composed of singer/cellist Melora Creager, and various, frequently changing band members. The current lineup includes Creager (cello), Daniel Dejesus (cello), and Dawn Miceli (drums). Founded by Creager in 1992, they have long held true to their mission of enlightening the common man as to the power and versatility of the mighty cello. Historically influenced, and constantly costumed, Rasputina keeps a small legion of incredibly passionate admirers enthralled with their earnest musicianship.
Joy Division were a post-punk band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The band dissolved in May 1980 after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis. Much of their popularity/reputation arguably resulted from frequent playings on air by iconic DJ John Peel, but it is easy now to overlook the impact that the first album, Unknown Pleasures, had on post-punk music at the time, as reference the number of prominent bands that cited this album as an influence.
Melissa McClelland (born c. 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in Burlington, Ontario, in her youth and now bases her career from Toronto. McClelland's music is influenced by blues and americana. A writer on CMJ's staff blog wrote that McClelland has "a persona reminiscent of a female Tom Waits." Biography Melissa McClelland was born in Chicago, Illinois. She spent her youth in Burlington, Ontario before developing her career in Toronto.
Gerard is a singer-songwriter from Wigan, currently based in Bristol and the former frontman of Witness. Following their split in 2004, Gerard went on to self-release an album of demos called Drawbridge, in August 2006. Gerard returned in 2011 with the release of his full debut album release Potions. http://www.gerardstarkie.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/gerardstarkie
Steve Rodgers fast became one of the most in-demand underground international artistes of 2009, with his self-released EP being snapped up by thousands of fans on his myspace forum. With an eclectic sound which has been likened to Jeff Buckley, Scott Mathews, Ray Lamontagne and of course, his father (the Legend, Paul Rodgers), Steve is set to take the world by storm over the coming months.
Having had a taste of fame from an early age – being son to Paul Rodgers and of course lead guitarist in ‘Boa’ (who’s single ‘Duvet’ was the title track to award-winning Manga ‘Lain-Serial Xperiments’...
Ben Gibbard (born August 11, 1976 in Bremerton, Washington) is an American musician and songwriter who has formed several indie bands. He is most notable as the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie; his other projects include The Postal Service and All-Time Quarterback. He has also created music under his name and under the band Pinwheel. Gibbard appeared as a guest on Jimmy Tamborello's (his Postal Service collaborator) Dntel album entitled Life is Full of Possibilities (2001) - Specifically, he contributed vocals to the song "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.
Bruce Cockburn, (pronounced "CO-burn"), has had a long and distinguished career with much success in his native Canada. His first albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun And Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Chino XL (born Derek Barbosa, April 8, 1971, in The Bronx, New York but raised in East Orange, New Jersey) is a rapper well respected among hip hop enthusiasts for his battling abilities. He is notorious for his usage of self-consciously over-the-top punchlines (which usually take the form of puns or similes) and for his exaggerated egotism. He is also well known to many for a brief feud with Tupac Shakur.
Conor Oberst is an American singer-songwriter born February 15, 1980 in Omaha, Nebraska. He began his recording career in 1993 at the age of 13 and has since produced an enormous amount of material. Conor was deeply influenced early on by singer-songwriters David Dondero and Simon Joyner. His first two albums "Water" and "Here's to Special Treatment" were both released in 1994. Rolling Stone has referred to him as "rock's boy genius.