Laura Veirs (vocals, guitar) and
Current members: Kate O'brien-Clarke (vocals, violin, shaker), Nelson Kempf (vocals, guitar, balalaika, drums), Keeley Boyle (vocals, balalaika, tambourine) and Eric Anderson (vocals, bass, keyboards)
Sometimes members: Tucker Martine (percussion) Steve Moore (piano, organs), Karl Blau (bass, guitar, vocals), Eyvind Kang (viola) and Alex Guy(viola)
Influences
the sky—stars, meteors, galaxies—and a lot of stuff from the sea: birds floating in the air or on water, eels and sea grass at the bottom of the sea.
Sounds Like
“Veirs' songs qualify as poems: careful, word-conscious, narrative, neither foggy nor overwritten, and tend to give you a take on regular life experience that you don't quite expect.”
—The New York Times
..
Pre-Order July Flamehere. Out Jan 12 in US. Jan 11 in EU.
BIO
Laura Veirs grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she often spent summers camping with her family, which gave her much of her songwriting inspiration. Veirs has said that she didn't seriously listen to music until she was in her 20s; instead, she just heard what was in her environment. She listened to folk, country, classical and pop music around the house and on the radio during her youth.
Attending Carleton College in rural Minnesota, Veirs latched onto feminist punk rock from the Pacific Northwest, eventually starting an all-female punk band called "Rair Kx!". Laura studied geology and Mandarin Chinese. After college, she embraced older country and folk music. Her first foray into songwriting started with a geological expedition in China, where she served as translator. She was miserable and immersed herself into writing lyrics as a way of coping.
She put out her own self-titled album Laura Veirs, recorded live and featuring just her and guitar, in 1999. She has since made five highly acclaimed records with producer Tucker Martine. 2003 saw the release of Troubled by the Fire, a full-band effort that found the artist sharing the studio with such luminaries as Bill Frisell and violist Eyvind Kang. She signed to Nonesuch Records the following year with the atmospheric follow-up Carbon Glacier. Year of Meteors followed in August 2005. She collaborated with The Decemberists on "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", from their 2006 album The Crane Wife. Her sixth record, Saltbreakers, was released worldwide on Nonesuch Records in April 2007.
Veirs' seventh album, July Flame, will be released in January 2010 on her own record label, Raven Marching Band Records (in North America) and on Bella Union (in Europe and the rest of the world).
Veirs tours frequently in Europe, North America and Australia both solo and with a backing band consisting of a rotating cast including Karl Blau, Steve Moore, Tucker Martine, Keeley Boyle, Nelson Kempf, Eric Anderson, Kate O'Brien-Clarke and Alex Guy.
Veirs lives in Portland, Oregon.
NEW VIDEO CONTEST
Our Saltbreakers fan video contest was such a success that we've decided to hold another one, this time for a song called "I Can See Your Tracks" off the upcoming album July Flame. You can download the song here and view the lyrics here. The song features the amazing howling of My Morning Jacket's Jim James.
To see the winning videos of our last contest, click here.
All submissions must be postmarked December 31st, 2009. View contest rules here. Winners will be announced and winning videos posted on January 12, 2010 (the street date of the album).
First, second and third place winners will receive the following in prizes:
• Free promotion of your mad video skills on Laura's myspace and webpages
• Laura's complete signed back catalog (4 vinyl records (including the new album) 8 signed cds, 2 t-shirts and a signed limited edition "July Flame Songbook")
• 4 backstage passes to a show near you
• A hand-sewn thank you note from Laura and band mates
We're looking forward to seeing what you creative people do with this song!
Great show this evening in Indianapolis at Radio Radio! Too bad that the crowd was so noisy.... despite that... it was a great time. Thanks also for signing my CD!
My Dear Laura Veirs, I want you to know that your music and your songs are my passion. I am addicted to Laura Veirs. There is something that pulls me towards them. Fi PS:Follow Me Twitter at http://twitter.com/iaent
Hope you know your brother is working for you! I was playing your music at my coffee shop the other week and he tipped me off to the two new album downloads. Lovely! They sound like a perfect amalgam of everything unique thing I've loved about your previous records. I can't wait for the album release. Looking forward to seeing you at Neumos with Blind Pilot.
Whoa, check out the tour dates! Give yerself a day off once in awhile. Hardest working woman in show biz? Safe travels, thanks for posting new stuff, we love it. Drink lotsa tea, we want you to still have a voice when you get to Seattle.
See you in January!!! Look forward to your gig and new album! I've narrowly missed a few opportunities to see you live in london, but this time I got the tickets!!!It's a happener!!! ACHA OOHH!!! xxDr.R
You're music is wonderful Laura! Please come to Virginia sometime. Theres a great venue in Vienna, VA (Northern Virginia) called Jammin Java. I know lots of people around here that would LOVE to see you play :)
