The male solo artist biography - ‘An interesting story’

Flicking through last weekends Sunday glossy I came across a ‘Ones to Watch’ article. It listed their pick of new actors, fashion designers, bands and artists tipped for the top in 2007. The next ‘hot’ solo artist they spoke of was a man by the name of Tim Pare. He is yet another sensitive singer-songwriter whom plays acoustic guitar and sings. However, what was most interesting was his biography, it made for a great story.

Having left behind his job, house and life in Britain Tim re-located to China to teach English, but it was on his way home via the Trans-Siberian Express when he met a group of inebriated soldiers that his adventure really began. He was forced to swap a bottle of vodka for a battered 4-stringed guitar, then held at knifepoint forced to play for them. After the fear of events and boredom of his mammoth journey began to settle in he then started writing songs while holed up in a small cabin with an Estonian war veteran. Using his MP3 player to record the rough demos, the basis of aptly titled debut album “Trans-Siberian Express” was written. The album is then reported to have lived to see its release by a series of twists of fate. He was later robbed in St. Petersburg and lost everything - except the fabled MP3 player, meaning when Tim finally disembarked from the train, he swore to finish and record the songs after bringing them so far under such testing circumstances. ‘Failure to do so would be to spit Lady Luck in the eye’ said his bio.

The story was so typical of the set model record companies employ in order to market a male solo singer-songwriter to a commercial audience. They must all come with an interesting story (to make up for the fact that it is just one bloke and his guitar) and his decision to become a musician must have come after a specific life-changing event or ‘epiphany’. Here is the supporting evidence:

James Blunt:
Blunt was unique in the fact that he was posh. But this wouldn’t in any way warm people to him. The fact he was a commissioned officer in the Life Guards regiment, a unit of the Household Cavalry of the British Army, who after rising to the rank of Captain, helped. Then he served as an officer in Kosovo. It was the fact that while on duty in Kosovo that he wrote his song "No Bravery" which spoke on the subject of war. It engaged the reaction that he really was qualified to speak on the subject. There was this image painted of an officer who had stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother who had, uniquely, switched the sound of gunfire for the sound of a guitar.

James Morrisson:
Labelled as the man who took Blunts crown in 2006. His bio spoke of his distinctive singing voice being the result of severe illness as a baby. But that wasn’t enough. His label made a lot over him having contracted whooping cough and almost died because he was coughing so much. This became a salient point in his early press. As was the fact he was given just a 30% chance of survival but surprise, surprise he confounded doctors who said he would be severely brain damaged if he did pull through. The result was an underdog story to warm the heart of all the young girlies and their mums.

Ray Lamontagne:
Although Ray has more natural talent than all of the aforementioned put together his bio still needed to be interesting. So, whilst working shifts in a shoe factory, depressed and lonely, keeping almost nocturnal hours he experienced a real ‘epiphany’ when the alarm sounded one morning at 4AM. He awoke to his clock radio playing "Tree Top Flyer" by Stephen Stills. It stopped him in his tracks: "I just sat up in bed and listened. Something about that song hit me. I did not go to work that day; I went to the record store and sought out that album “Stills Alone”. I listened to it, and was transformed." At that point he knew this is what he wanted to do, and doggedly followed the path for nearly a decade before he was discovered. This bio was an excellent talking point at interview and way to overcome the problem with his affliction of extreme shyness. However, that (coupled with his brilliant music) even turned him into a publicists dream giving him a real air of mystery as he’d never divulge any private information other than the fact he’d rather work on his woodland cabin alone than spend time with anyone else.

Devendra Banhart:
A real cult folk hero in the USA Devendra portrays the homeless, wandering, neo psych/folk hippie artist/musician to a tee. Born in Texas, and named by an Indian mystic whom his parents followed. He grew up in Venezuela, where he was raised amidst the shanties and sweatshops. “You don't go out after 8 because it's too dangerous. You don't wear nice sneakers because, while here you may get assaulted, there you just get killed” said Banhart in his bio. He then began life as a wondering minstrel moving between Los Angeles, San Francisco (living in the lower Castro, he was tapped by his roommates -- a gay couple whom Banhart refers to as "Bob the Crippled Comic and Jerry Elvis" - to play two classic songs at their wedding.) and Paris. He apparently had a second epiphany quarrelling about the Rolling Stones with his girlfriend when he realised he had the power to write about anything he wanted. “It was like being constipated and then taking a suppository” he said. You can also guarantee that his music and live shows are equally random as his life story.

So in conclusion, when comparing the biographies of bands against that of solo artists (specifically male) it is clear the importance the biography plays. Its role is not only to generate press interest but also to give the world something to really remember them for. It must be something vivid that sticks in the publics mind when they enter the record store or start up iTunes.

Links:
Tim Pare’s Biography: timpare.com
James Blunt Biography: jamesblunt.com
James Morrison Bio BBC Article: news.bbc.co.uk
Ray Lamontagne Independent Newspaper Article: enjoyment.independent.co.uk
Devendra Banhart Biography: younggodrecords.com