Born in Chicago in 1959, Tate’s voyage into spoken word and performance started in the Lawndale neighborhood on the city’s westside. He would entertain friends, foes and strangers with poems by the late Chicago poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. He has since been heard on National Public Radio, This American Life, and HBO DefJam Poetry. He has released a book of poems through the Tia Chucha press. And he has performed with Amiri Baraka, the late Malachi Thompson, Annie Sprinkle, The Eternals, Ken Nordine, Tim Kinsella, Bernie Worrell, the late Oscar Brown Jr., among and many others.
For Family Swim, his first release since the breakup of his band D-Settlement, Tate returned to his long-time collaborator LeRoy Bach (Wilco, 5ive-Style.) With fifteen years working together, Bach’s insight and deft musicianship perfectly compliment Tate’s wit, imagery, and keen story telling.
Tate also enlisted musicians Ryan Rapsys (Euphone, The Sea and Cake,) and Emmett Kelly (Cairo Gang, Bonnie Prince Billy, Azita.) The album was recorded by Rapsys, Bach, and Graeme Gibson, and mixed in both Chicago and San Francisco.
|
Online Now!
