Thor Harris
Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman. He was the percussionist for Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with Shearwater (2001–2010), Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa Germano, Yonatan Gat, Gretchen Phillips, Devendra Banhart, Rebecca Cannon, Xiu Xiu, Flock of Dimes & Amanda Palmer, Whalesong, and the Grand Theft Orchestra. He has recorded at least six instrumental albums with the Austin producer Rob Halverson. He also contributed to Ben Frost's 2014 album, ''Aurora''. He joined the touring lineup of Xiu Xiu as a percussionist in February 2017 and he has enjoyed touring with Thor & Friends since 2015. In the early 21st century, Harris wrote a short outline on "How To Tour In A Band Or Whatever". This set of '21 rules' spread widely across the internet. Harris also wrote and illustrated the 'zine/pamphlet, ''Ocean of Despair'', about depression, as a companion to his recorded album of the same t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching Drum stick, drumsticks, one in each hand, and uses their feet to operate a foot-controlled hi-hat and bass drum pedal. A standard kit may contain: * A snare drum, mounted on a snare drum stand, stand * A bass drum, played with a percussion mallet, beater moved by a foot-operated pedal * One or more Tom drum, tom-toms, including Rack tom, rack toms and/or floor tom, floor toms * One or more Cymbal, cymbals, including a ride cymbal and crash cymbal * Hi-hat cymbals, a pair of cymbals that can be manipulated by a foot-operated pedal The drum kit is a part of the standard rhythm section and is used in many types of popular and traditional music styles, ranging from rock music, rock and pop music, pop to blues and jazz. __TOC__ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Contemporary Folk Music
Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. The most common name for this new form of music is also "folk music", but is often called "contemporary folk music" or "folk revival music" to make the distinction. The transition was somewhat centered in the US and is also called the American folk music revival. Fusion genres such as folk rock and others also evolved within this phenomenon. While contemporary folk music is a genre generally distinct from traditional folk music, it often shares the same English name, performers and venues as traditional folk music; even individual songs may be a blend of the two. While the Romantic nationalism of the first folk revival had i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Angels Of Light
Angels of Light were an American folk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira since he left Swans, most noticeably being musically more melodic and less brutal than his previous efforts and with emphasis on acoustic instruments and folk and country influences. Before the band was formed, Gira intended to call his post-Swans acoustic/song-based project The Pleasure Seekers. This name was discarded because there had been a group with the same name in the 1960s. The first two live performances of what would become the Angels of Light (the Tonic/Bowery Ballroom benefit shows) were billed as "Michael Gira with guests". The revolving lineup up Angels of Light included a wide range of musicians from New York City and elsewhere, including Dana Schechter of Bee and Flower, Kid Congo Powers of The Cramps, Larry Mullins (a.k.a. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic. The newspaper reported a weekly readership of 545,500. It is part of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and it emulates the typical publications of the 1960s counterculture movement. History The ''Chronicle'' was co-founded in 1981 by Nick Barbaro and Louis Black, with assistance from others who largely met through the graduate film studies program at the University of Texas at Austin. Barbaro and Black are also co-founders of the South by Southwest Festival, although the festival operates as a separate company. The paper initially was published bi-weekly, and later weekly. Its precursor in style and format was the ''Austin Sun'', a bi-weekly that had ceased operations in 1978, after four years of publication. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gretchen Phillips
Gretchen Phillips (born 1963) is an American singer-songwriter known for her humorous and topical songs. Phillips has been openly gay throughout her life and her lesbianism has inspired much of her material. Background Phillips grew up in Houston. Her parents were musicians, and she played music from childhood. After graduating from the High School for Performing and Visual Arts, she decided move to Austin in 1981 to become a professional performer and was in a band with Sara Hickman. Meat Joy, Girls in the Nose, and Two Nice Girls Phillips was a member in three influential area bands in the mid-eighties: the punk band Meat Joy (with Jamie Lee Hendrix, Melissa Cobb Unit, John Hawkes-under the name John Boy Perkins, and Tim Pierre Mateer), the rock band Girls in the Nose (with Pam Barger, Kay Turner, Joanna Labow, and Darcee Douglas), and the country/disco/rock/folk/pop band Two Nice Girls (with Pam Barger, Laurie Freelove, Meg Hentges, and Kathy Korniloff). Two Nice Girls att ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lisa Germano
Lisa Ruth Germano (born June 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Indiana. Her album '' Geek the Girl'' (1994) was chosen as a top album of the 1990s by ''Spin'' magazine. She began her career as a violinist for John Mellencamp. , she has released thirteen albums." Alumni return for South Bend Youth Symphony's gala 50th anniversary concert at Notre Dame" By Andrew S. Hughes ''South Bend Tribune'' May 20, 2018 Early life Germano was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, one of five children of vi ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a member of the duo Evelyn Evelyn, and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. She has gained a cult fanbase throughout her career, and was one of the first musical artists to popularise the use of crowdfunding websites. Early life Palmer was born Amanda MacKinnon Palmer in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her parents divorced when she was one year old, and as a child she rarely saw her father. She attended Lexington High School, where she was involved in the drama department, and later attended Wesleyan University where she studied theater and was a member of the Eclectic Society. In 1999, Palmer founded the Shadowbox Collective, a performance group d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rob Halverson
Rob Halverson is an American record producer, songwriter and studio engineer, who lives in Austin, Texas. He is also a film composer. ''The Austin Chronicle'' claims Halverson "a low-key but nonetheless very important figure in Austin music since 1989". He has performed tours of Australia twice, and has toured in Europe and UK numerous times. He has released two solo records, ansix instrumental albumswith Thor Harris. Halverson has recorded or produced over 100 albums. Discography ''partial'' * 1999: ''Fields of Innards w/ An Ocean of Despair'' by Thor & Rob Halverson (self-released) * 2009: ''Drums and Drunken Circuit Bender'' by Thor & Rob Halverson (self-released) * 2010: ''Fields of Innards II'' by Thor & Rob Halverson (self-released) * 2011: ''R.O.A.R.'' by Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germani ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Angels Of Light
Angels of Light were an American folk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira since he left Swans, most noticeably being musically more melodic and less brutal than his previous efforts and with emphasis on acoustic instruments and folk and country influences. Before the band was formed, Gira intended to call his post-Swans acoustic/song-based project The Pleasure Seekers. This name was discarded because there had been a group with the same name in the 1960s. The first two live performances of what would become the Angels of Light (the Tonic/Bowery Ballroom benefit shows) were billed as "Michael Gira with guests". The revolving lineup up Angels of Light included a wide range of musicians from New York City and elsewhere, including Dana Schechter of Bee and Flower, Kid Congo Powers of The Cramps, Larry Mullins (a.k.a. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shearwater (band)
Shearwater is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg, a singer-songwriter. The band's music is notable for its imagery based in nature, cerebral yet intimate melodic songs, as well as Meiburg's vocals. History Early years In 1999, Okkervil River band members Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff founded Shearwater as an outlet for quieter songs on which they were collaborating. The band's name comes from the shearwater, a tribe of seabirds related to petrels and albatrosses. Meiburg, who holds a master's degree in geography with a focus on ornithology, picked the name mostly for the sound of the word. Shearwater's debut, '' The Dissolving Room'', introduced Kim Burke on upright bass; shortly after, drummer and vibraphonist Thor Harris joined the band. The addition of multi-instrumentalist Howard Draper plus tours and support dates with The Mountain Goats, Akron/Family and Blonde Redhead brought them exposure. S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bill Callahan (musician)
Bill Callahan (born June 3, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today. His work, in addition to lo-fi music, has encompassed apocalyptic folk and gothic country. Career Callahan started out as a highly experimental artist, using substandard instruments and recording equipment. His early songs lacked melodic structure and were clumsily played on poorly tuned guitars, resulting in the dissonant sounds on his self-released cassettes and debut album '' Sewn to the Sky''. Much of his early output was instrumental, a stark contrast to the lyrical focus of his later work. His use of lo-fi techniques was not primarily an aesthetic preference, but stemmed from his lack of resources to make and record music. Once he sig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |