Information AboutElliott Smith |
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith ( August 6 , 1969 – October 21 , 2003 ) was an American Singer-songwriter and Musician . His primary instrument was the Guitar , but he was also proficient at Piano , Clarinet , Bass , Harmonica and Drums . Smith had a distinctive vocal style characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery",1 and use of Multi-tracking to create vocal Harmonies . Although Smith was born in Omaha , Nebraska , raised primarily in Texas , and died in Los Angeles , California , he resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland , Oregon , where he first gained popularity. After playing in the Rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994 with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars . He eventually signed a major label contract with DreamWorks Records in 1997, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to Mainstream prominence when his song " Miss Misery ", written for the film '' Good Will Hunting '', was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1997. Smith battled with evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were Self-inflicted .2 LIFE AND MUSIC CAREER Early life Steven Paul Smith was born on August 6 , 1969 at Clarkson Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska . His mother, Bunny Welch ( Née Bunny Kay Berryman), was a music Teacher , and his father, Gary Smith, was a University Of Nebraska medical student at the time. His parents Divorce d about a year later. Gary was drafted into the Air Force and was sent to the Philippines as a Physician .3 Smith endured a difficult childhood.Gowing, Liam. "Mr. Misery". ''SPIN''. Volume 20 number 12. December 2004. Smith graphically chronicled the impact of this part of his life later in the lyrics of "Some Song": "Charlie beat you up week after week, and when you grow up you're going to be a freak."Shutt, 2002, p. 3 The name "Charlie" would recur in songs throughout the years, such as "Flowers For Charlie" and " No Confidence Man ". In contrast, his biological parents' names were never mentioned specifically in any song. The family was a part of the Community Of Christ through much of Smith's childhood, but eventually began attending services at a local Methodist Church. Smith felt that going to Church did little for him, except make him "really scared of Hell ," a fear that biographer Benjamin Nugent believes remained with him the rest of his life.Nugent, 2004, pp. 12–14 Smith began learning guitar around the age of 10 on a small Acoustic bought for him by his father.4 At this age he also composed an original piano piece, "Fantasy," which won him a prize at an Arts Festival .Shutt, 2002, p. 2 Many of the people on his mother's side of the family were non-professional Musicians ; his grandfather was a Dixieland Drummer and his grandmother sang in a Glee Club . He cited his influences while growing up as Bob Dylan , Kiss , The Clash , Elvis Costello , Hank Williams , but most importantly The Beatles . Smith continued to be a dedicated fan of The Beatles (as well as their Solo Project s) and once noted that he had been listening to them frequently since he was about "four years old."Smith said this when asked "Have you been listening to a lot of Beatles lately?" in '' Strange Parallel ''. At 14, Smith moved from Texas to Portland, Oregon , to live with his father, who was then working as a Psychiatrist . It was around this time that Smith first began trying Drugs and alcohol with friends as well as experimenting with Recording for the first time, borrowing a friend of a friend's Four-track Recorder . During high school, Smith was part of the band Stranger Than Fiction (with Garrick Duckler, Jason Hornick, and Tony Lash (and later Adam Koval)). He graduated from Lincoln High School on June 3 , 1987 as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist . After graduating from high school, Steven Smith began calling himself "Elliott", claiming he thought "Steve" sounded too much like a " Jock " name.Shutt, 2002, p. 4 S. R. Shutt's biography of Smith speculates that it was either inspired by a street name in Portland, or it was suggested by his then-girlfriend (who had derived it from the last name of her ex-boyfriend). Heatmiser Smith graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts , in 1991 with a degree in Philosophy and Political Science . "Went straight through in four years," he explained to ''Under the Radar'' in 2003. "I guess it proved to myself that I could do something I really didn't want to for four years. Except I ''did'' like what I was studying. At the time it seemed like, 'This is your one and only chance to go to college and you had just better do it because some day you might wish that you did.' Plus, the whole reason I applied in the first place was because of my girlfriend, and I had gotten accepted already even though we had broken up before the first day." After he graduated he "worked in a Bakery back in Portland with a Bachelor’s Degree in philosophy and Legal Theory ." While at Hampshire, Smith formed the band Heatmiser with Neil Gust (a classmate at Hampshire) and Jason Hornick (who attended college nearby). After graduating from Hampshire, the band reconfigured (now Smith, Gust, Tony Lash , and Brandt Peterson (replaced after recording 'Mic City Sons' in August of 1994 by Sam Coomes , later of Quasi )) to pursue music professionally in Portland. Their sound has been compared to Fugazi and other Punk and Grunge Rock bands. The group recorded one album and an EP for Lisa Fancher's Frontier Records , and were then signed by Andy Factor to Virgin Records to release what became their final album, ''Mic City Sons''. Smith and manager JJ Gonson convinced Virgin, who legally owned the 1st three solo works, to license them to Cavity Search and then to Kill Rock Stars to allow an organic development of his burgeoning but delicate solo career. The resulting attention to Smith's solo work created tension with his band, who were still recording their debut major label release. BMG Publishing had discovered and signed Smith's solo work further separating him from the group. Smith disbanded Heatmiser prior to 'Mic City Sons' release prompting Virgin to put the album out inauspiciously through their independent arm, Caroline Records. Fresh interest in Smith's seemingly independent solo career brought the ears of DreamWork's Lenny Waronker and prompted a plan to get out of the Virgin contract rather than be beholden by the leaving man clause in Heatmiser's contract. The richer deal at Dreamworks was orchestrated as Virgin replaced heads of the company with new British managing directors who were unaware of Smith. Around this time, Smith and Larry Crane built Jackpot! Studios. Heatmiser officially broke up in 1995 after one short tour to promote "Mic City Sons". Brendan Benson, ( The Raconteurs ), another act on Virgin, opened the dates. ''Roman Candle'' Shortly before the dissolution of Heatmiser, Smith began recording solo, mostly Acoustic albums on borrowed four-track cassette machines. His solo material was more sparse and moody than his previous band, with lyrics that referenced Chemical Dependency , Depression , and betrayal. His first release, '' Roman Candle '' (1994), was supposedly a collection of demos that did not fit as Heatmiser songs. Smith's girlfriend at the time convinced him to send a tape of the songs to Cavity Search Records , and owner Christopher Cooper immediately requested to release it. One track, "Condor Avenue", was reported to be written when Smith was only about 17 years old. The instrumentation of the recordings was primarily Acoustic Guitar , occasionally accompanied by brief electric guitar riffs or a small drum set played with brushes. Only the final track, an instrumental titled "Kiwi Maddog 20/20" (a reference to the Bum Wine MD 20/20 ), had full band instrumentation. Smith's debut solo performance was at the now-defunct Umbra Penumbra on September 17 , 1994 . He played for 35 minutes and about fifteen people were in attendance. Only three songs from ''Roman Candle'' were performed, with the majority of the ten-song set comprised of B-side s, Heatmiser tunes, and unreleased tracks.5 For the last song of the evening, he invited bandmate Neil Gust onstage to assist him in playing "Half Right", which was to be the last (hidden) song on the final Heatmiser album. Soon after this performance, he was asked to open for Mary Lou Lord on a week-long U.S. tour. Several more short tours followed, and Smith helped her record "I Figured You Out", a song which he also wrote. ''Elliott Smith'' and ''Either/Or'' In 1995, the self-titled album '' Elliott Smith '' was released on Kill Rock Stars ; the record featured a similar style of recording to ''Roman Candle'', but not without hints of growth and experimentation. Though the majority of the album was recorded by Smith alone, friend and Spinanes vocalist Rebecca Gates sang harmony vocals on "St. Ides Heaven", and Heatmiser guitarist Neil Gust played guitar on "Single File". Although songs like " Needle In The Hay " implied that Smith was beginning to have drug troubles, he would maintain that he was clean of hard drugs throughout the 1990s. In 1996, filmmaker ''. Two of these songs would appear on '' Either/Or '', another Kill Rock Stars release that came out in 1997 to favorable reviews. The album found Smith venturing further into full instrumentation, with several songs containing bass, drums, keyboards and electric guitars, all played by Smith. The album title was derived from the two-volume Book of the same name by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard , which deals with such themes as Existential Despair , Dread , Death and God . The Oscars and The Beatles In 1997, Smith was tapped by director and fellow Portland resident Gus Van Sant to be a part of the soundtrack to his film, '' Good Will Hunting ''. Smith recorded an orchestral version of "Between the Bars" with acclaimed composer Danny Elfman for the movie. Contrary to popular belief, the song "Miss Misery" was not an original song penned for the film's soundtrack, as evidenced by the early version recorded in 1996 present on the New Moon album, and numerous live performances of the song in 1996 and early 1997. Three other previously released tracks from '' Roman Candle '' ("No Name #3") and '' Either/Or '' ("Angeles" and "Say Yes") were also included. The film was a commercial and critical success, and Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for "Miss Misery". Apparently not eager to step into the limelight, he had to be convinced to perform the song at the awards ceremony. Only after the producers informed him that his song would be played live that night—either by him or another musician of their choosing—did he agree to show up. On March 5 1998 , Smith made his Network Television debut on '' Late Night With Conan O'Brien '' performing "Miss Misery" solo on acoustic guitar.6 A few days later, wearing a white suit, he played an abridged version of the song at the Oscars, accompanied by the house Orchestra . James Horner and Will Jennings won the award that night for best song with " My Heart Will Go On " (sung by Celine Dion ) from the film '' Titanic ''. Smith never voiced disappointment about his loss.7 In 1998, Smith recorded and contributed a Cover Version of the Beatles song " Because " to the '' American Beauty '' soundtrack, which can be heard during the closing credits of the film. Although this was the only Beatles song that Smith ever officially released, he is known to have recorded at least one other (" Revolution ", during the sessions for ''XO''), and played many during his live concerts. Among the Beatles songs he played during concerts are " Blackbird ", " Yer Blues ", " I Me Mine ", " For No One ", " Something ", " I'm So Tired ", " Long, Long, Long ", and " I'm Only Sleeping ". He also played songs from the Beatles members' solo careers, including the John Lennon song " Jealous Guy " and the George Harrison songs "Give Me Love", " My Sweet Lord ", and "Isn't It a Pity?". Smith was also rumored to have recorded a version of " Hey Jude " for the 2001 Wes Anderson film '' The Royal Tenenbaums '' to be played during the opening scenes, but the song never materialized. In a December 2004 interview with '' Entertainment Weekly '', Anderson said that although Smith was lined up to record the song, he "was in a bad state and just wasn't able to."8 However, ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' did ultimately include Smith's song "Needle in the Hay", played during the suicide attempt of Richie Tenenbaum ( Luke Wilson ), one of the film's principal characters. ''XO'' and ''Figure 8'' In 1998, after the success of '' Either/Or '' and "Miss Misery", Smith signed to the major label DreamWorks Records . Around the same time, Smith fell into depression. While in North Carolina , he became severely Intoxicated and ran off a cliff. He landed on a tree, which despite badly impaling him, broke his fall. Smith's first release for DreamWorks was later that year. Titled '', consisting of former bandmate Sam Coomes on bass guitar and Coomes's ex-wife Janet Weiss on drums. Quasi also performed as the opening act at many shows on the tour, with Smith sometimes contributing bass, guitar or backing vocals. On October 17, 1998 , Smith appeared on '' Saturday Night Live ''. He sported a worn T-shirt featuring an image of Steve Martin , an apparent nod to the comedian/musician who had hosted ''SNL'' frequently, and performed "Waltz #2." His backing band for this appearance was John Moen, Jon Brion, Rob Schnapf and Sam Coomes. In response to whether the change to a major label would influence his creative control, Smith said: "...sometimes people look at major labels as simply money-making machines, they're actually composed of individuals who are real people, and there's a part of them that needs to feel that part of their job is to put out good music."10 Smith also claimed in another interview that he never read his reviews for fear that they would interfere with his songwriting.11
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| Since Smith's Death Many Musical Acts Have Paid Him Tribute Songs In Tribute To, Or About Smith Have Been Released By | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Rilo_Kiley" class="copylinks">Rilo Kiley ("Ripchord" and "It Just Is" on '' More Adventurous ''34), Sparta ("Bombs and Us"), Third Eye Blind ("Elliott Smith" on '' Symphony Of Decay ''), Ben Folds ("Late" on '' Songs For Silverman ''{{cite news last = The Guardian first = title = Joke's over work = With his three-piece quintet and comedy lyrics, Ben Folds used to be a goof - but he's moved on He tells Oliver Burkeman about ad-libbing, Adelaide and his eulogy for his friend Elliott Smith publisher = Guardian Unlimited Arts date = 29 April , 2005 url = http://artsguardiancouk/fridayreview/story/0,,1472117,00html |
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