Devendra Banhart

Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. In 2002, Banhart released his debut album and is best known for his albums in the late 2000s such as '' Cripple Crow'' and '' Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon''. He has since expanded his career to incorporate his interest and training in the visual arts.

Early life

Banhart was born in Houston, Texas, to a Venezuelan mother, María Eugenia Rísquez, and an American father, Robert Gary Banhart. His mother worked as a model. His given name is a synonym for Indra, suggested by Indian religious leader Prem Rawat (whom Banhart's parents followed), and his middle name Obi takes after Obi-Wan Kenobi, a ''Star Wars'' character.

His parents divorced in 1983, after which Rísquez and he moved to Caracas, Venezuela. Rísquez later remarried and when Banhart was age 14, his stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, California.

In 1998, Banhart began studying at the San Francisco Art Institute on a scholarship while living in The Castro, San Francisco's "gay" district, though he would often busk instead of attending class. He played his first musical show in a church at a gay wedding, performing Elvis Presley's " Love Me Tender" and the hymn " How Great Thou Art".

Musical career

Banhart dropped out of college in 2000 and left San Francisco after the dot-com bubble bust worsened the city's economy. That summer, he moved to Paris and began opening shows for indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Banhart returned to the United States that fall and played music in San Francisco and Los Angeles, until he was discovered by Swans founder Michael Gira, owner of Young God Records, after Siobhan Duffy, Gira's wife, bought a copy of Banhart's demo CD '' The Charles C. Leary'' and gave it to Gira.

Banhart and Gira compiled an album from Banhart's recordings, and in 2002, '' Oh Me Oh My'', which was made up of short fragments, was published by Young God Records and received favorable reviews. He recorded two other albums and an EP for the label: '' Rejoicing in the Hands'', '' Niño Rojo'', and '' The Black Babies''; the releases had a simple acoustic sound. Banhart changed to XL Recordings in 2005 and released '' Cripple Crow'', which was recorded in Bearsville Studios, New York, and had a more elaborate sound.

Banhart's albums offer a variety of musical sounds, and he is often called the leader of the musical movement termed "Freak Folk." His lyrics are fantastical, idealistic, and poetic with the occasional trace of innuendos.

In 2005, Banhart collaborated with Antony and the Johnsons on the album '' I Am a Bird Now''. He sings the introduction to the song "Spiraling" and plays guitar on "You Are My Sister" in which Boy George also appears. In 2005, Banhart was in a relationship with Bianca Casady of the band CocoRosie, with Banhart living with Casady and her mother Christina Chalmers at Chalmer's farm in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a Romani village in southern France. Banhart's relationship with Casady ended in 2006. Banhart's 2007 album ''Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon'' detailed his break up with Casady.

Banhart was the first artist to design a T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project, in 2006. He chose to donate the profits from the sale of his T-shirt to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

From 2007 to 2008, Banhart was romantically linked to actress Natalie Portman, who is featured in the video for Banhart's song "Carmensita".

He recorded his second album for XL Records, '' Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon'', at his home studio in Topanga, California. The album charted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 115. The album's song "Lover" was featured in the soundtrack of the movie '' Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'', which included a cameo appearance by Banhart.

Banhart has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl opening for Gilberto Gil, as well as at Bonnaroo and Coachella music festivals. He founded a record label, Gnomonsong, with Andy Cabic of Vetiver, in 2005. In 2007, he signed with Neil Young's manager Elliot Roberts, who also contributed vocals to ''Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon''.

Banhart released an album in 2008 entitled ''Surfing'', with Megapuss – a collaborative project with Gregory Rogove and Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes and Little Joy.

In 2009, he signed to Warner/Reprise and released, '' What Will We Be''. Later that year, at the band's request, he produced a remix of Oasis