Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician and writer. Their musical style has varied from

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

to electronic-influenced

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

and

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...

.Rae Spoon's Long View
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', October 2008.

Personal life

Spoon grew up as a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

person in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

, Alberta. They were raised in a Pentecostal household to a paranoid-schizophrenic father. Their father's religious beliefs caused anxiety to a teenage Rae. Spoon now lives in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, British Columbia. In 2003, Spoon said they identified as a

trans man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inc ...

. In 2012, during an interview with fellow advocate for the

gender-neutral pronoun A third-person pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener. Some languages with gender-specific pronouns have them as part of a grammatical gender system, a system of agreement where most or all nouns have a va ...

and cartoonist, Elisha Lim, Spoon noted a preference for the pronoun "they", and has identified as

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

since then. They explained to '' Now Magazine'', "after years of fighting to be called 'he,' the idea of coming out again made me tired. But now I feel kind of rejuvenated, ready to fight on some more. I think the 'they' pronoun is a pretty cool thing. It's letting a lot of people not have to identify as a man or a woman. Whatever it means to them.""Rae Spoon: Powerful album reignites the pronoun debate"
'' NOW'', 26 January 2012. During the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, which forced them to cancel a series of tours, Spoon was diagnosed with

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

. They said they didn't know what the prognosis was at that point.

Career

Spoon started performing before they started recording. They decided they wanted to become a songwriter while performing at the age of seventeen. They emerged as a

and

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

singer. Their early music features country imagery to the sound of acoustic string instruments such as

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, guitar and

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

. Spoon has performed with such artists as Annabelle Chvostek,

Ember Swift Ember Swift (born in Woodstock, Oxford County, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She has released 11 studio albums in English and Mandarin. Career Swift graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree i ...

Kinnie Starr Alida Kinnie Starr (born 1970) is a Canadian multidisciplinary recording artist. Early life Starr was born and raised in Calgary, where she attended Western Canada High School. Her ancestry is French, German, Irish and indigenous, specifically ...

Melissa Ferrick Melissa Ferrick (born September 21, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. Her song "Drive" (2000) is considered a lesbian anthem. She is a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music. Early life Ferrick was ra ...

The Be Good Tanyas The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian folk music group formed in Vancouver in 1999. Their influences include folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they perform can be referred to as alt-country or Americana. History The Be Good Tanya ...

, Bitch & Animal,

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

and

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

."Rae Spoon offers an affectionate homage to another era"
''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', 7 July 2005. They have performed at festivals including North Country Fair, South Country Fair,

Under the Volcano Festival Under the Volcano Festival of Art & Social Change was an activist, grassroots cultural gathering held at Whey-Ah-Wichen/Cates Park on the traditional lands of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver, Canada. The festival was held each August ...

, and the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Regina,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

folk festivals. Spoon's breakthrough album, 2008's ''Superioryouareinferior'', was recorded in

and introduced some

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

elements into Spoon's style. ''Superioryouareinferior'' includes themes previously used by Spoon like

Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

such as the commentary on

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

in their song "Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down". ''Superioryouareinferior'' was a longlisted nominee for the

2009 Polaris Music Prize The 2009 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto

. While touring Europe Spoon met Alexandre Decoupigny in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Decoupigny and Spoon collaborated in the album ''Worauf Wartest Du?'' Decoupigny taught Spoon how to create music with a computer which inspired the musician to further experiment with

. The experimentation with

influenced their subsequent albums and culminated in ''I Can't Keep All Our Secrets''. They have also published ''First Spring Grass Fire'', a book of short stories about growing up in Alberta.

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

released the book in the fall of 2012. The book was a nominee for the 2013 Lambda Literary Awards in the Transgender Fiction category, and Spoon was awarded an Honour of Distinction from the

Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...

for LGBT writers in 2014. Spoon has stated that ''First Spring Grass Fire'' was written to help them prepare for the production of a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

documentary about their life and music, '' My Prairie Home'', directed by

Chelsea McMullan Chelsea McMullan is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, best known for their 2013 film '' My Prairie Home'', a film about transgender musician Rae Spoon. '' My Prairie Home'', the album of music that Spoon composed for the film, was a longlisted nominee for the

2014 Polaris Music Prize The 2014 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 22, 2014 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario."Polaris Music Prize announces 2014 long list"
. '' Aux'', 19 June 2014. In 2012, Spoon and

Ivan Coyote Ivan E. Coyote (born August 11, 1969) is a Canadian spoken word performer, writer, and LGBT advocate. Coyote has won many accolades for their collections of short stories, novels, and films. They also visit schools to tell stories and give writin ...

collaborated on ''Gender Failure'', a touring

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

show in which both artists performed music and

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

pieces about their failed attempts at fitting into the gender binary. A book based on the show was published by Arsenal Pulp in 2014. ''Gender Failure'' was nominated for the ALA's Over the Rainbow Project List in 2015. In 2014, Spoon composed music for the feature film ''

The Valley Below ''The Valley Below'' is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas,

''. Spoon began the music label Coax Records "out of a love for indie music and as an answer to under representation for many groups in the music industry." The album "Armour" was released on Coax in 2016. In 2017, Spoon published a manual in the How To series, entitled ''How to (Hide) Be(hind) Your Songs''.

Discography

* ''Honking at Minivans'' (2001) * ''Throw Some Dirt on Me'' (2003) * ''Your Trailer Door'' (2005) * ''White Hearse Comes Rolling'' (2006) * ''Trucker's Memorial'' (2006, with Rodney Decroo) * ''superioryouareinferior'' (2008) * ''Worauf wartest du?'' (2009, with Alexandre Decoupigny) * ''Love Is a Hunter'' (2010) * ''I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets'' (2012) * '' My Prairie Home'' (2013) * ''Armour'' (2016) * ''Jump With Your Eyes Closed'' (2016) * ''They with Plastik'' (2016) * ''My Side of the Mountain'' with

Clyde Petersen Clyde Petersen is an artist based in Seattle, working in film, animation, music, and installation. As a director he is most renowned for ''Torrey Pines'' (2016), an autobiographical stop-motion animated feature film, which toured the world with ...

(2016) * ''bodiesofwater'' (2018) * ''Rae Spoon With Jesus and His Judgemental Father'' (2019) * ''Mental Health'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Rae Spoon
at

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spoon, Rae Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian folk guitarists Canadian folk singer-songwriters Living people Non-binary musicians Canadian indie rock musicians Musicians from Calgary Writers from Calgary Folk punk musicians 21st-century Canadian short story writers Musicians from Montreal Writers from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian film score composers Canadian LGBT singers 21st-century Canadian singers Canadian non-binary writers