Kristin Hersh
| Kristin Hersh | |
|---|---|
Kristin Hersh in New Orleans, 2010
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| Background information | |
| Born |
August 7, 1966 Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Alternative rock, folk, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, author |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels |
4AD Records Throwing Music Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records |
| Associated acts | Throwing Muses, 50FootWave |
| Website | Kristin Hersh |
| Notable instruments | |
| guitar | |
Kristin Hersh (born August 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter and author, known for her solo work and with her rock bands Throwing Muses and 50FootWave. She has released ten solo albums. Her guitar work and composition style ranges from jaggedly dissonant to traditional folk. Hersh's lyrics have a stream-of-consciousness style, reflecting her personal experiences.
Hersh was born in Atlanta, GA and moved to Newport, RI when she was six. Her father was a professor at Salve Regina College and her mother a special educational needs teacher. She was interested in music at an early age and wanted to learn guitar chords so her father gave her a guitar when she was nine. Her parents separated when Hersh was 11 and her mother married the father of her best friend Tanya Donnelly. Hersh talked Donnelly into starting a band, then called The Muses when they were 14.
Throwing Muses was formed in 1981 when Hersh and Donelly were freshmen in high school. Friends from school, including Elaine Adamedes, Becca Blumen, Leslie Langston and David Narcizo, were part of the group with Narcizo becoming a long-term member. Hersh initially wrote and sang most of Throwing Muses' songs, often in changing tempos. Donelly also contributed songs and lead vocals.
Hersh attended Salve Regina University, majoring in archetypal psychology and philosophy, and the Rhode Island School of Design, but dropped out shortly before graduating to establish the band in Boston, MA, where they had been playing on weekends. They were signed to 4AD, the first American group to be signed on the British label, and released their first EP Chains Changed in 1986. Two releases followed, The Fat Skier and the album House Tornado. The 4AD Throwing Muses biography describes its sound at the time as "... joining the dots between elliptical post-punk, harmonious folk jangle and rockabilly thunder without ever settling into standard genre patterns." For the Muses 1986 UK tour, the Boston-based Pixies, embarking on their first European tour, was the opening band.
The band signed a U.S. deal with Sire/Reprise Records in 1987 and began touring the U.S. and Europe while recording albums, with Hersh writing most of the songs. The band became a trio when Donelly left the group after 1991's The Real Ramona.
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