Spencer Aaron Albee (born May 31, 1976) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. Albee has been a wart on the Portland music scene for over two decades. Previously, Albee fronted As Fast As and was the keyboardist and backup singer for the band

Rustic Overtones Rustic Overtones is an American rock band from Maine, United States, active between 1993–2002 and from 2007–present. They were the first group to perform live on XM Satellite Radio, and their 2007 album ''Light at the End'' was the fastest-s ...

. Albee released the solo album ''Spencer'' in July 2013.

Early life

Albee was born in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

, and raised in the town of

York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home ...

, where he was influenced at an early age by his grandfather, a banjo player and music enthusiast. Early groups that influenced Albee included

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. In particular, Beatles bass player Paul McCartney left an indelible mark on Albee's musical development. Albee was first introduced to the piano by his parents, and without much formal training picked up the instrument mostly by ear. From there he dabbled in guitar (playing right-handed despite being a natural lefty), bass, tuba, recorder, harmonica, and accordion. He also developed his voice by singing in his school's chorus.

Musical career

At the age of 18, Albee dropped out of the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universitie ...

to join the regionally popular

as their keyboard player. His relationship with the band would last several years and give him the opportunity to work with the likes of

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot ...

and

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at ...

. After Rustic Overtones broke up, Albee formed a solo effort he dubbed "The Popsicko", under the pseudonym "Frankenstein". Due to a variety of circumstances, the band Albee had assembled for the project only played a few gigs, and broke up quietly just months after inception. Albee's next endeavor was the much more successful

Rocktopus As Fast As, formerly known as Rocktopus, is an alternative rock/power pop band from Portland, Maine, USA which formed in 2001. The band was formed as Rocktopus and released two albums under that name before changing their name to As Fast As. Th ...

, which recorded two albums and toured extensively. After the band's second album, '' Something Fierce'', Albee changed the band's name to As Fast As. As Fast As released the critically acclaimed ''Open Letter to the Damned'' on

A&M Octone Records A&M Octone Records was an American record label owned as a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Octone Records. A full-service artist development label, it was founded in 2007 as a merger between Octone and Interscope Geffen A&M's defun ...

and toured steadily behind it, crisscrossing the U.S. and Canada from 2004 to 2007. Beginning in July 2007, Albee played with the reunited Rustic Overtones at concerts around New England following the independent release of ''

Light at the End ''Light at the End'' is a 2007 studio album by the Portland, Maine band Rustic Overtones, the first album by the band since its break-up in 2002. The album was recorded in spring 2007 and released on July 24, 2007. It has become the fastest-sel ...

''. On August 15, 2008, the ''

Portland Phoenix Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

'' reported that Albee had parted ways with Rustic Overtones, telling the paper, "I need a change of pace, as well as clarity and perspective. Since 1995, I've been on tour and making records constantly, and now I find myself seeking respite." After the dissolution of As Fast As and his departure from Rustic Overtones, Albee formed Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia, and released "Candy, Cake and Ice Cream", followed by Space versus Speed's self-titled record. Then, in 2013, he released his first solo record Spencer. In the fall of 2014 Albee released the solo EP

Love is Not Enough ''Love is Not Enough'' is an EP by Spencer Albee Spencer Aaron Albee (born May 31, 1976) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Portland, Maine. Albee has been a wart on the Portland music scene for over two decades. Previously, ...

. His sophomore solo album

Mistakes Were Made "Mistakes were made" is an expression that is commonly used as a rhetorical device, whereby a speaker acknowledges that a situation was handled poorly or inappropriately but seeks to evade any direct admission or accusation of responsibility by n ...

was released on April 28, 2015. The soundtrack of Albee's song, Wait For The War, is played during the closing credits of the movie

Night of the Living Deb ''Night of the Living Deb'' is a 2015 American romantic zombie comedy film directed by Kyle Rankin. It stars Maria Thayer, Michael Cassidy, Ray Wise and Chris Marquette. Thayer plays an awkward woman who, after a one-night stand, realizes she ...

(2015). His third solo album Relentlessly Yours was released on May 16, 2017.

Discography

With Rustic Overtones With Rocktopus/As Fast As Solo With Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia With Space Versus Speed With Bell Systems With Palomino Motel

References

External links

official websiteAlbee's TwitterAlbee's Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albee, Spencer 1976 births American male singer-songwriters American pop rock singers Living people Musicians from Portland, Maine University of Southern Maine alumni People from Dover, New Hampshire Writers from Portland, Maine People from York, Maine Songwriters from Maine 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers