{"key":"5008","name":"Taylor Swift","bio":"Taylor Swift is a singer-songwriter and producer known for her signature narrative-style songs. Some of her most famous singles include \u201cBlank Space,\u201d \u201cLover,\u201d \u201cI Knew You Were Trouble,\u201d \u201cMine,\u201d and \u201cLove Story\u201d. Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed with label Big Machine Records and became the youngest artist signed by the Sony\/ATV Music publishing house. Her 2006 eponymous debut album was the longest-charting album of the 2000s in the US, where it peaked at number five. The album's third single, \"Our Song\", made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart. She received a Best New Artist nod at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles \"Love Story\" and \"You Belong with Me,\" Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 and was supported by an extensive concert tour. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Swift released two more albums, Speak Now and Red, in the country-pop sphere before her 2014 pop crossover album, 1989. For 1989, she received three Grammys and became the first woman and fifth act overall to win Album of the Year twice. Its singles \"Shake It Off,\" \"Blank Space,\" and \"Bad Blood\" reached number one in the US, Australia, and Canada. The first two made Swift the first woman in the Billboard Hot 100's history to succeed herself at the top spot. After a public feud and fallout with married couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West over a lyric of West's that refers to Swift, Swift laid low for a while. She re-emerged in 2017 with Reputation, which largely focuses on the feud and its ensuing drama. In 2019, she released her seventh album, Lover, which focuses largely on her relationship with Joe Alwyn. Lover featured singles including \"Lover,\" \"Cruel Summer,\" \"You Need to Calm Down,\" and \"The Man.\" As a songwriter, she has received awards from the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame and was included in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015. In 2019, Billboard declared Swift as the most successful artist of the 21st century.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/www.aaemusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Taylor-Swift-2.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"5969","name":"Sufjan Stevens","bio":"Sufjan Stevens (pronounced \"SOOF-yahn\"; born July 1, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Petoskey, Michigan. He is known for his lyrically focused and instrumentally rich songs that often relate to faith and family. He has enjoyed wide critical success in the United States. He is considered part of the folk revival through indie pop, but his influences are very broad, including experimental electronic music, the jazz of Vince Guaraldi, and the academic minimalism of Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Though Stevens had announced plans to make an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, beginning the series with the albums 'Michigan' (2003) and Come On Feel The Illinoise!' (2005, officially named just 'Illinois'), he has since then somewhat retracted the statement. \"Sufjan Stevens is not going to write a record for each of the 50 states after all\" was the original text included on the online liner notes for 'Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation' , a disc released on February 7, 2006. This statement was possibly included as a joke, as the text has since been removed and the current liner notes related to Sufjan Stevens reads: \"Sufjan Stevens can fold a fitted-sheet (he once worked as a professional folder in a commercial Laundromat).\" BackgroundStevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the city of Petoskey in that same state. He attended Hope College on the west coast of Michigan.The name Sufjan is an Arabic\/Persian name that predates Islam and most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure from early Islamic history. It has been mentioned in the press that the name was given to Stevens by the leader of Subud, a spiritual sect to which his parents belonged when he was born. Stevens has stated that the name is of Armenian origin and means \"comes with a sword,\" and that it is \"a charming militaristic Muslim name.\" In fact the name is not Armenian, and Armenia is a predominantly Christian country.Sufjan is also the plural form of Sufi in Persian . Sufi is a practitioner of Sufism .This word is frequently used in the old Persian literature ,specially Sufi poetry . His brother, marathonist Marzuki Stevens, has trained to compete in the 2008 Olympic trials, and has played on two of Sufjan's albums.A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens plays the banjo, guitar, drums, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multi-tracking. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums; he is one of the few musicians in popular music to use these instruments.CareerSufjan Stevens began his musical career as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan. He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for Danielson Famile. While in school at Hope College, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, A Sun Came, which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records, a record label he founded with his step-father in 1999. He later moved to New York City, where he was enrolled in a writing program at the New School for Social Research.While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, a song cycle based around the animals of the Chinese Zodiac that ventured into electronica.Stevens followed this with the first of his 50 states albums, a collection of folk songs and instrumentals inspired by his home state of Michigan. The result, the expansive Michigan, included odes to cities including Detroit and Flint, the Upper Peninsula, and vacation areas such as Tahquamenon Falls. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith in God, sorrow, love and the regeneration of Michigan.Following the release of Michigan, Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the Christian folk album Seven Swans, which was released in March 2004.Next he released the second in the 50 states projects, entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among the subjects explored on Come On Feel The Illinoise! are the cities of Chicago, Decatur and Jacksonville, the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the poet Carl Sandburg, and Mississippi Palisades State Park.He has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer, Soul Junk, Half-handed Cloud, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile, Serena Maneesh, Castanets, and Liz Janes. He played piano on for fellow Brooklyn musician's The National's album 2007 Boxer. A cover of \"She Is\" is included on the album Dream Brother, released in the United States on January 31, 2006.Sufjan contributed a lot to the sound of the 2001 Liz Janes album Done Gone Fire as he engineered, recorded, produced and arranged it as well as playing many addition instruments.Sufjan recently recorded with Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer playing banjo and providing vocals. It is unknown how this record will be released. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, but were forced to print a retraction. Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank.The Fifty States ProjectBeginning with Michigan, Stevens announced an intent to write an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, although in interviews he wavers between utter sincerity and self-deprecating irony when describing the idea.Stevens spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the second of these projects, this time focusing his efforts on Illinois. As with Michigan, Stevens used the state of Illinois as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location. The widely acclaimed Come On Feel The Illinoise! was the highest rated album of 2005 on the Metacritic review aggregator site, based on glowing reviews from Pitchfork, The Onion A\/V Club, Spin, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards awarded Stevens with the Album Of The Year, Best Album Art\/Packaging, and Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media and Paste Magazine named Come On Feel The Illinoise! as the editors' choice for best album of 2005 and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to albums selling 500,000 copies or fewer, for Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April of 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the Come On Feel The Illinoise! recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called The Avalanche. The album was released on July 11, 2006.The next states to be taken on in the project have been reported as Oregon and Rhode Island. Minnesota may be another candidate; in late 2005 and early 2006 Stevens played a new instrumental track titled \"The Maple River.\" The Maple River mentioned in the title of the song runs through several counties in southern Minnesota. Sufjan also recorded \"The Lord God Bird\"\u2014a song about the ivory-billed woodpecker rediscovered in Arkansas (known as the 'lord god' or 'great god' bird because of its breathtaking appearance)\u2014in connection with a National Public Radio piece in which \"independent radio producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister were curious about how Stevens writes his songs.\"Religious themesMany of Stevens' songs have religious and spiritual allusions, but his album Seven Swans has the most direct religious references. Stevens has expressed that he is Christian, but does not overtly advertise this aspect of himself in his music. Stevens has also stated that he does not try to make music \"with a message\", or music for the sake of preaching. \"I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions,\" says Stevens. \"I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood.\"The songs 'Abraham', 'Seven Swans', 'To Be Alone With You', 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' and 'The Transfiguration' directly address Christianity on the album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham', Sufjan recounts the Old Testament story in the Book of Genesis when Abraham, ordered by God as a test of faith, leads his son, Isaac, up a mountain and prepares to kill him, as commanded (but before God sends an angel to intervene). The lyrics of 'The Transfiguration' follow the Biblical accounts of Jesus' Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9: 1-8, and Luke 9:28-36.Michigan and Come On Feel The Illinoise! are packed with Christian references and metaphors. Michigan contains \"Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie\", which implores \"Oh Lamb of God! Tell us Your perfect design and give us the rod\" (\"Lamb of God\" being a Biblical name for Jesus Christ). The song \"Oh God, Where Are You Now?\" asks God to \"hold me now\", to \"save somehow\", searching for God in the midst of personal turmoil. \"There's no other man who could save the dead,\" the song states. The album closer, 'Vito's Ordination Song', was apparently originally written for Sufjan's friend Vito Aiuto, and its lyrics allude directly to Psalm 139 (\"I always knew you. In your mother's arms, I have called your name\", \"I've made a crown for you\"). The song speaks of \"When the bridegroom comes\" - the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ as being the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride, finally being united together at the End of Time.Come On Feel The Illinoise! features the song 'Chicago' with its refrain of \"You came to take us, to recreate us\", and 'Decatur' has the chorus of \"It's the great I Am\" (\"I Am\" being the name the Lord reveals Himself by to Moses in Exodus 3:14). \"Casimir Pulaski Day\" speaks of \"All the glory that the Lord has made\" in the midst of personal pain and loss. \"The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!\" has the lyrics: \"Lamb of God, we sound the horn. Hallelujah!\" One instrumental passage has the title of \"In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth\". \"The Seer's Tower\" speaks of Emanuel, \"With His sword, with His robe He comes dividing man from brothers\" (an interesting side note is that \"Sufjan\" actually means \"comes with a sword\"). Indeed, the vast majority of songs of Come On Feel The Illinoise! contain lyric lines which can be readily identified as having a basis in Stevens' faith in Christ.Sufjan's second, electronic album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, contains a song cycle based on of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, culminating with the song \"Year of our Lord\". Stevens released the original, Christian-themed song \"God'll Ne'er Let You Down\" on the \"To Spirit Back the Mews\" compilation on Asthmatic Kitty. The officially unreleased Christmas albums Sufjan Stevens made and then compiled into Songs for Christmas feature suitably Christmas and Christian themed music, both originals and covers of hymns and traditional songs.TriviaOn Snow Patrol's 2006 album Eyes Open there is a reference to Sufjan and the song \"Chicago\" in the song \"Hands Open\" - \"Put Sufjan Stevens on and we'll play your favorite song\/\"Chicago\" bursts to life and your sweet smile remembers you.\"The film \"Little Miss Sunshine\" featured pieces of two songs from Come on Feel the Illinoise in its soundtrack.Sufjan has twice been featured on the FOX television show \"The OC\". \"To Be Alone With You\" and \"For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti\" can be heard on episodes 202 and 315, respectively.Sufjan Stevens' music has appeared twice on the Showtime dark comedy \"Weeds\". \"All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands\" appears on S1E02 over the end credits, and \"Holland\" appears near the end of S2E10.Two of Sufjan's songs appear on the soundtrack to \"Little Miss Sunshine\": \"Chicago\" and \"No Man's Land\"The song \"John Wayne Gacy, Jr.\" appears on the 3rd season of the tv show \"Nip\/Tuck\". Several song can be heard on the movie \"Driving Lessons\"You can also hear snippets in between CSI shows on 5USIn the TV show \"Austin City Limits\", he mentioned that when he was a kid, he and his best friend saw something in the sky which they couldn't figure out. They thought it was a spaceship or UFO first, then an eagle or a dragon. Finally they realized it was a giant wasp. He wrote the song \"The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!\" about the incident and mentioned that the reason they (the band) all have wings on stage is to overcome his fear of flying things.The song \"Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)\" is heard in the 2012 \"World of Red Bull\" television commercial. he is quoted as saying \"selling out never looked so good.\" and \"somebody had to pay for all of that Christmas confetti.\" referring to his recent Christmas album and supporting tour. Website:http:\/\/sufjan.com","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/5969_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"6016","name":"Bon Iver","bio":"Bon Iver is an indie-folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was recorded while Vernon spent three months isolated in a cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. In 2012 the band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album for their eponymous album Bon Iver. They released their third album 22, A Million to critical acclaim in 2016, which was followed by their fourth album i,i in 2019. The name \"Bon Iver\" derives from the French phrase \"bon hiver\" (\"good winter\"), taken from a greeting on Northern Exposure. As their career has continued, Bon Iver has become known for being sonically diverse and experimental, moving from the largely acoustic setting of For Emma to a more diverse and electronic soundscape.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/6016_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"64490","name":"Mt. Desolation","bio":"An alt-country band lead by songwriters Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin from Keane.Tim Rice-Oxley - Vocals, Piano (Keane)Jesse Quin - Vocals, Guitar (Keane), (Jesse Quin & The Mets) Andrew Lowe - BassFimbo - DrumsJohn Roderick - BVs, Guitar (The Long Winters)Pete Roe - Keys, BVsTom Hobden - Fiddle (Noah And The Whale)Jessica Staveley-Taylor - BVs, Guitar (The Staves)John-William Scott - Bass, GuitarPhil Renna - Fiddle, KeysAlso featuring:-Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (Also incorrectly known as just Ronnie Vannucci) - Perc, good vibes (The Killers)Country Winston Marshall - Banjo (Mumford & Sons)Charity Quin - BVsJayne Rice-Oxley - BVsFrancois Deville - Pedal SteelPlus lots of other nice people doing lots of other nice things.Mt. Desolation website Those who have visited Dublin will know that sipping Guinness by a fire in a nice old pub while it's chucking it down outside is one of life's great pleasures. It's also, as you can probably imagine, the perfect setting for eagerly hatching wild ideas and schemes. And so on one such blustery and cold night in September two friends, Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin decided (whilst in wildly animated conversation about music and probably also well on their way to needing a taxi home) that they would make a country album. As with so many ideas that come about on a belly full of Jameson's, in the cold light of day it did not seem like such a good plan. Two English men trying to sing like Hank Williams was definitely a recipe for disaster. The whole thing was forgotten about in the time it took to recover from the headache that morning. But the headache was to return.Out of the blue a couple of months later Tim emailed Jesse a rough demo of 'Mt. Desolation - Departure'. Not wanting to be outdone, Jesse vollied back a demo of 'Mt. Desolation - Annie Ford'. Before they knew it there were half a dozen songs and without really putting much planning into it, the idea to make a record was resurrected.Enlisting the help of friends from various other bands the newly formed group went into Eastcote studios in London at the snowy start of this year. With production wizard Emery Dobyns patiently manning the controls, the idea was to record as much of the album live as possible, in true country style. For the finishing touches, they experimented with whatever extra noises they felt like (cue dustbin lids, anvils, bullhorns and heavily distorted theremins) and a supporting cast of friends who would regularly stop by and add their ideas, whether invited or not.The end of the recording sessions marked the end of the first chapter of the story. The band had revelled in the joy of making music without any motive other than just doing what they loved. As Mt Desolation begins its second chapter, the fun and excitement of making the music remains, except now instead of being confined to a recording studio it's being taken on the road to share with anyone who wants a part of it.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/64490_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"5451","name":"Wilco","bio":"Wilco is a rock band which formed in 1994 in Chicago, Illinois, United States by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure from that group. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. The other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released e\u20e5i\u20e5g\u20e5h\u20e5t\u20e5 nine studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5.Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay and Television, and has in turn influenced music by The National and Cherry Ghost. The band continued in the alternative country of Uncle Tupelo on its debut album A.M. (1995), but has since introduced more experimental aspects to their music.Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed \"how screwed up the music business in the early twenty-first century.\" Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album.The I Might Songfacts reports that Wilco's eighth album, The Whole Love (2011), marked the first ever release on the band's own label dBpm.FormationWilco was formed following the breakup of the influential alternative country music group Uncle Tupelo. Singer Jay Farrar quit the band in 1994 supposedly because of a soured relationship with co-singer Jeff Tweedy. Both Tweedy and Farrar sought to form bands immediately after the breakup. Tweedy was able to keep the entire Uncle Tupelo lineup sans Farrar, including bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer, and multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston. The band was tempted to keep the Uncle Tupelo name, but ultimately decided to rename the band. The group named itself \"Wilco\" after the CB radio voice procedure for \"I Will Comply\". A.M. and Being ThereAfter collaborating with Syd Straw on a cover version of the Ernest Tubb song, \"The T.B. is Whipping Me\" (released in September 1994 on the Red Hot + Country compilation), Wilco began recording tracks for A.M., their first studio album, at Easley studio in June 1995. A demo tape from these recordings was sent to executives at Reprise Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, and the label signed Tweedy to a contract. Although Tweedy stated that he wanted a more collaborative project than Uncle Tupelo, only his name appeared on the Reprise contract. Tweedy requested songwriting submissions from other members, but only one submission\u2014John Stirratt's \"It's Just That Simple\"\u2014appeared on A.M.. It was the last song Wilco ever released that was solely written by a member besides Tweedy.Stylistically similar to Uncle Tupelo, the music on A.M. was considered to be straightforward alternative country rock in what Tweedy later described as \"trying to tread some water with a perceived audience.\" A.M. peaked at number twenty-seven on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, considerably lower than the debut album of Jay Farrar's new band, Son Volt. The album was met with modest reviews though it would rank thirty-fourth in the Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critically and commercially paling in comparison to the reception of Son Volt's album, the Wilco members perceived A.M. to be a failure. Shortly after the release of the album, multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett joined the band, providing the band with a keyboardist and another guitarist.Wilco made its live debut on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar in St. Louis, Missouri (the band was billed for the occasion as \"Black Shampoo\").During the two hundred-date tour supporting A.M., Tweedy began to write songs for a second album. The lyrical theme of the songs reflected a relationship between musical artist and a listener; Tweedy chose this topic because he sought to eschew the alternative country fan base. Ken Coomer elaborated:\"The whole No Depression thing was funny to us because people seemed to forget that Jeff was a bigger punk-rock fan than a country fan. It led to things like us all switching instruments on 'Misunderstood,' where I'm playing guitar.\"A number of songs were recorded with this theme, including \"Sunken Treasure\" and \"Hotel Arizona\", however, Wilco also recorded a number of songs in the style of A.M. Wilco named the album Being There after a Peter Sellers film of the same name. The band went through some personnel changes during the recording sessions. Max Johnston left the band because he felt that his role in the band had diminished in favor of Bennett; he had also been replaced by violinist Jesse Greene on one track because the band felt that Johnston was unable to play the part. Bob Egan of Freakwater briefly joined the band in the studio, playing pedal steel guitar on \"Far, Far Away\" and \"Dreamer in My Dreams\", and then became an official member in September 1996.Unlike the A.M. recording sessions, the band had no vocation for producing a hit song from their second effort. The recording sessions produced nineteen songs, too many for a single album release. Tweedy was concerned about the high retail price that a double album would be sold for (at least $30), so he asked Reprise Records to release it as a double album at a single album price ($17.98 or less). Reprise agreed to this on the terms that they received Wilco's share of the album royalties. It was estimated in 2003 that the band lost almost $600,000 on the deal, but Tweedy was satisfied. Being There was well-received by critics from several major media outlets, including Rolling Stone. The album reached #73 on the Billboard album charts, a significant improvement from A.M., and placed fourteenth on the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1996.Summerteeth and the Mermaid Avenue sessionsIn November 1997, Wilco entered Willie Nelson's recording studio in Spicewood, Texas to record a third studio album. The album was lyrically inspired by the marital problems of Tweedy and his wife, as well as by twentieth-century literature. Tweedy relied heavily on Bennett to provide music for the singer's \"bold, but depressing\" lyrics. Wilco recorded several songs, including \"Via Chicago\" and \"She's a Jar,\" but began working on another project before assembling the tracks into an album.Nora Guthrie contacted singer-songwriter Billy Bragg in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singer Woody Guthrie. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie's life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments of Huntington's disease. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a \"relic\" to the MTV generation, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was \"the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody.\" Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.Bragg contacted Tweedy and Bennett about co-recording the album while Wilco was on the European segment of their Being There tour. Bragg was particularly fond of Being There because their influences extended farther back than the 1950s. Although Tweedy was indifferent to the offer, Bennett was enthused about recording songs of one of his idols\u2014Bennett's previous band Titanic Love Affair was named after a Billy Bragg lyric. A recording contract between Bragg and Wilco was signed after a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Bragg mostly recorded the politically-charged lyrics, while Tweedy preferred to record lyrics that showcased Guthrie as a \"freak weirdo.\" The recording of Mermaid Avenue began on December 12, 1997, and was the topic of BBC's Man in the Sand documentary film.Tempers flared between Bragg and Wilco after the album was completed. Bennett believed that Bragg was overproducing his songs, a sharp contrast to Wilco's sparser contributions. Bennett called Bragg about the possibility of remixing Bragg's songs, to which Bragg responded with \"you make your record, and I'll make mine, fucker.\" Eventually Bragg sent copies of his recordings to Chicago for Bennett to remix, but Bragg refused to use the new mixes on the album. The two parties were unable to establish a promotional tour and quarreled over royalties and guest musician fees.Despite these conflicts, the album was released on June 23, 1998, and sold over 277,000 copies. The album received rave reviews from Robert Christgau and Rolling Stone, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. It also placed fourth on the Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1998. After the album was released, Bob Egan was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach.After the completion of the Mermaid Avenue sessions, Wilco returned to Spicewood to complete their third studio album, Summerteeth. Unlike previous Wilco and Uncle Tupelo recordings, the album featured a lot of overdubbing with Pro Tools. Stirratt and Coomer were concerned with the production, since it reduced their involvement in the music. According to Stirratt:\"The story of Summerteeth is Jay bought a Mellotron and he was going to use it, no matter what. It was lovely, but it was overdone. Once they got going on the overdubs, they didn't stop. And nobody in the band stepped up to stop the madness \u2026 It reminds me of Heart of Darkness, where you knowingly extend the creative process for the purpose of exploration or redemption, or whatever it is you're looking for.\"During 1999, Warner Brothers was looking to help repay a $16 billion debt acquired during the recent merger of parent company Warner Communications with Time Inc.. As a result, Warner's imprints were under pressure to produce musical acts that would yield hit records. The head of Reprise, Howie Klein, who had previously authorized the release of Being There as a double album, was willing to let Wilco produce Summerteeth without label input. When Klein played the album for Reprise's A&R department, however, they demanded a radio single for the album. Wilco agreed to do this \"once and once only\" and recorded a radio-friendly version of \"Can't Stand It\" at the request of David Kahne, the head of the A&R department. The single version of \"Can't Stand It\" failed to cross over from Triple-A radio to alternative rock stations. Consequently, the album sold only 200,000 copies, significantly less than Being There. This was despite critical acclaim; the album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1999.After the release of Summerteeth, the band resumed the Mermaid Avenue sessions. Although they had recorded enough material for a second release in 1998, Wilco recorded a few new songs for Mermaid Avenue Vol. II. \"Someday Some Morning Sometime,\" featuring a vibraphone filtered through a space echo, was identified by Tweedy as being the \"piece to the puzzle\" towards the creation of their fourth studio album. The album was released on May 30, 2000, and was the last release from the sessions.Yankee Hotel FoxtrotShortly after the recording sessions for Mermaid Avenue Vol. II, Wilco purchased a studio in Irving Park, Chicago, which they named the Wilco Loft. The band recorded some tracks in the studio in early 2000 for a fourth studio album. In May 2000, Jeff Tweedy requested to perform with Jim O'Rourke at a festival in Chicago; Tweedy was a fan of O'Rourke's Bad Timing. O'Rourke introduced Tweedy to drummer Glenn Kotche, and the trio enjoyed working together so much that they decided to record an album as a side project named Loose Fur. Wilco had recorded an entire album of music at this point, but Tweedy was unhappy with the drum parts. He enjoyed Kotche's contributions to Loose Fur so much that Tweedy brought him into the studio to re-record some demos. Some believe that Tweedy sought to make Wilco sound like Loose Fur after officially replacing Ken Coomer with Kotche in January 2001.Although Bennett sought to act as both mixer and engineer for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Tweedy was unsure of Bennett's abilities against those of O'Rourke. Tweedy and Bennett frequently argued over whether the album should be accessible to a general listener, or attempt to cover new musical ground. Unbeknownst to Bennett, Tweedy invited O'Rourke to remix \"I Am Trying to Break Your Heart\", and the results impressed the other band members\u2014even Bennett. Tensions grew between Bennett and O'Rourke because Bennett wanted to mix every song on the album. O'Rourke cut the contributions of other members on several of the songs; some songs, such as \"Poor Places\", only featured the Loose Fur trio. The album was completed in 2001, and Bennett left the band immediately afterwards. The recording of the album was documented by Sam Jones and released in 2002 as the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.Time Warner, which owned Warner Brothers, merged with America Online in 2001, leading to more pressure on Warner's record labels to cut costs. Over 600 employees of Warner Music Group were fired, including Howie Klein, the president of Reprise Records. In absence of Klein, David Kahne became the interim head of Reprise. Kahne assigned Mio Vukovic to monitor the progress of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and to offer suggestions. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that Vukovic disdained the album and was unhappy that Wilco ignored his suggestions. He brought the album to Kahne, who felt that there was no single on the album. In June 2001, the album was rejected by Reprise and Wilco was asked to leave the label.Wilco managed to negotiate terms to a buy-out from Reprise. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that instead of financial compensation, the band agreed to leave the label with the master tapes of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The label was already receiving bad publicity for its treatment of the band and were willing to accommodate Wilco's request. However, Allmusic claims that Wilco \"bought the finished studio tapes from Warner\/Reprise for a reported $50,000 and left the label altogether\" after Wilco was \"unwilling to change the album to make it more 'commercially viable.'\" To curb the negative publicity, Reprise began to invest more in bands such as The Flaming Lips. Lead singer Wayne Coyne once remarked: \"We are benefiting from the label's regret over Wilco. We are living in the golden age of that being such a public mistake. The people on Warners said, 'we'll never have a band like Wilco feel we don't believe in them again.' They'd tell me that it would never happen to us. And what a great day for me!\"As the band searched for a new label to release the album, they decided to stream it at their official website to discourage illegal trading of low-quality MP3s. The band signed with Nonesuch Records, another Time Warner subsidiary, and the album was released in the spring of 2002. When it was released, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot reached number thirteen on the Billboard 200, Wilco's highest chart position to that date. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sold over 590,000 copies, and to date remains Wilco's best selling album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was met with wide critical acclaim: it topped 2002's Pazz & Jop critics' poll, was named one of the 100 greatest albums of all time by Q Magazine, and was named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone.Down with Wilco, A Ghost Is Born, and Kicking Television: Live in ChicagoWhile waiting for the commercial release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco agreed to support R.E.M. collaborator Scott McCaughey for an album release by The Minus 5. They scheduled a recording session for September 11, 2001, but were distraught about the 9\/11 terrorist attacks that day. Later that day, Wilco and McCaughey agreed to \"create something good in the world right now\" and record some material. Influenced by Bill Fay's Time of the Last Persecution, The Minus 5's Down with Wilco was released in 2003.In November 2003, Wilco traveled to New York City to record their fifth album. Unlike Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born featured songs that were created with Pro Tools before ever performing them live. The album featured the song \"Less Than You Think\", which included a fifteen-minute track of electronic noises and synthesizers, which Tweedy called \"the track that everyone will hate\". Tweedy justified the inclusion of the song: \"I know ninety-nine percent of our fans won't like that song, they'll say its a ridiculous indulgence. Even I don't want to listen to it every time I play through the album. But the times I do calm myself down and pay attention to it, I think it's valuable and moving and cathartic. I wouldn't have put it on the record if I didn't think it was great \u2026 I wanted to make an album about identity, and within that is the idea of a higher power, the idea of randomness, and that anything can happen, and that we can't control it.\"Leroy Bach left the band immediately after the album's completion to join a music theatre operation in Chicago. Like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco streamed the album online before its commercial release. Instead of using their own web page, the band streamed it in MPEG-4 form on Apple's website. Wilco sought to substantially change their lineup after Bach's departure, and added Mikael Jorgensen, who had engineered Down with Wilco, Pat Sansone of The Autumn Defense, and avant-garde guitarist Nels Cline to the lineup. Just as the band was about to tour to promote the album, Tweedy checked himself in to a rehabilitation clinic in Chicago for an addiction to painkillers. As a result, tour plans for Europe were canceled, and the release date for the album was set back several weeks. A Ghost Is Born was released on June 22, 2004, and became Wilco's first top ten album in the U.S. The album earned Wilco Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. It also placed thirteenth on 2004's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.In 2004, the band released The Wilco Book, a picture book detailing the creation of A Ghost Is Born. The book also contains writings and drawings from band members, as well as a CD with demos from the A Ghost Is Born recording sessions. Also that year, Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot released a biography of the band entitled Wilco: Learning How to Die. The new six-piece Wilco lineup debuted on Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, a two disc live album recorded at The Vic Theater in Chicago. Released on November 15, 2005, the album received high accolades from Spin, Billboard, and Entertainment Weekly. As of 2007, it has sold over 114,000 copies.Sky Blue SkyWilco returned to their loft in Chicago to record a sixth studio album in 2006. Influenced by The Byrds and Fairport Convention, the band considered Sky Blue Sky to be less experimental than previous releases. Also unlike previous albums, the songs were created as collaborations.Wilco streamed the album online on March 3, 2007, and offered the song \"What Light\" as a free MP3 download. To further publicize the album, Wilco licensed several songs from the Sky Blue Sky recording sessions for use in a Volkswagen advertising campaign. The move was criticized by both critics and fans; Wilco responded by noting that they had previously done advertising campaigns with Apple Computers and Telef\u00f3nica M\u00f3viles (Movistar). The album was released on May 15, 2007, and was a commercial success: it sold over 87,000 copies in its first week and peaked in the top five in the U.S. album charts. It also was a top forty hit in seven other countries.Reviewer James Brubaker states that Wilco \u201cshines on a handful of the songs\u201d on Sky Blue Sky, such as the \u201clight, and straightforward\u201d songs. While he calls the album \u201cgreat traditional rock and folk album at times\u201d, he states that \u201conce you get past the handful of masterful and lovely performances\u2026 the rest of the record comes off at times as dull, and forced\u201d. The allaboutjazz review also had mixed comments. While praising the album as \u201cdeceptively insinuating, almost intoxicating to listen to\u201d and noting its \u201cimpeccable sound quality\u201d, the reviewer claimed that \u201cSky Blue Sky becomes the first Wilco album that sounds too careful for its own good.\u201dPabs Hernandez, a reviewer for Lost at Sea praised the album\u2019s \u201cbreezy atmosphere and pacing\u201d, and noted that it is not \u201ceasily judged upon first listen.\u201d Overall, Hernandez stated that it \u201cmay be no masterpiece, but at worst it's a more than worthy entry into Wilco's laudable catalogue.\u201d Reviewer Greg Locke praised the record as \u201cone of the best albums of the year\u201d, calling it a \u201ctimeless record, full of sweet, hopeful sophistication and class\u201d and \u201ca lean, mean, soulful album.\u201d Like Hernandez, Locke acknowledged that the album could not be properly judged just on the first listening. The NPR review also had a positive take on the record. While the NPR reviewer stated that the recording \u201cisn't groundbreaking\u201d, they praised its \u201ccoherent musical expression\u201d and emphasis on \u201csolid songcraft without pretense\u201d which created a \u201csatisfying and melodically sound albu.\u201dMusical style and influenceWilco's music is typically categorized as alternative rock and alternative country. Despite their career long association with a major record label, they are generally associated with indie rock. Wilco draws influence from bands from a variety of musical genres, but primarily from music created between 1966 and 1974. John Cale's Paris 1919 was credited by the band as providing a musical parallel. According to Tweedy, \"It was eye-opening that I wasn't the only person that felt like these worlds had a lot more in common than they'd been given credit for\u2014that experimentation and avant-garde theory was not directly opposed to beauty, y'know?\"Other recording artists from that timespan appreciated by the band include John Lennon, Neil Young, and Brian Wilson. For his thirty-fourth birthday, Tweedy received a private guitar lesson from Richard Lloyd of Television; Tweedy was a big fan of the group and was particularly fond of the guitar work, which he wanted to incorporate into his music. Uncle Tupelo was inspired by bands such as Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen, influencing the recording of Wilco's A.M.. Tweedy and O'Rourke enjoyed free jazz artists such as Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Derek Bailey; they also listen to mainstream jazz by artists such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. The lyrical structure of Wilco's songs were dictated by classic literature and cadavre exquis\u2014an exercise where band members take turns writing lines on a typewriter, but are only allowed to see the previously written line. Among the books that the band has cited as being stylistically influential include William H. Gass's In the Heart of the Heart of the Country, Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, and Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry.Some critics have dubbed Wilco the \"American Radiohead\", due to their stylistically diverse catalog. A critic from the New York Times argues that Wilco has a \"roots-rock\u2026 reached back to proven materials: the twang of country, the steady chug of 1960s rock, the undulating sheen of the Beach Boys, the honky-tonk hymns of the Band and the melodic symmetries of pop.\"Rolling Stone described Wilco as \"one of America's most consistently interesting bands\" and \"America's foremost rock impressionists.\" Despite critical acclaim, Wilco's influence on modern rock has been limited. Bands that have been influenced by Wilco include Derek Webb (of Caedmon's Call), The National, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. English indie rock band Cherry Ghost took its name from a lyric from the Wilco song \"Theologians\" (from A Ghost Is Born)\u2014lead singer Simon Aldred is a self-proclaimed \"massive Wilco fan\". Pete Yorn's song \"Crystal Village\" was influenced by Wilco's \"She's A Jar.\" On his 2004 album Live From New Jersey he introduces the song by saying, \"Someone accused me of ripping off Cat Stevens. And I was like, 'That's bullshit, man. I would never rip off Cat Stevens.' I ripped off Wilco on that song.\"http:\/\/www.wilcoworld.net","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/5451_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"5338","name":"Miley Cyrus","bio":"Miley Cyrus is a singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. Her music has spanned a range of styles, including pop, country-pop, classic rock, and hip-hop. She is widely considered to be one of the most successful entertainers in adulthood that originated as a child star. Among numerous awards and nominations, Cyrus was included on the Time 100 list in both 2008 and 2014, named MTV's Artist of the Year in 2013, and was ranked 62nd on Billboard's Top 125 Artists of All Time list in 2019. Cyrus, who is the daughter of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus, emerged as a teen idol while portraying the title character of the Disney Channel television series \"Hannah Montana.\" As Hannah Montana, she attained two #1 and three top five soundtracks on the Billboard 200. Her discography includes the #1 albums Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Breakout (2008), and Bangerz (2013), as well as Can't Be Tamed (2010), Younger Now (2017), Plastic Hearts (2020), and the free SoundCloud album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz (2015). Her 2020 album, Plastic Hearts, became her first entry on the Billboard Rock Chart, debuting atop the chart. Plastic Hearts sees Cyrus explore classic rock music a la Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks. Its lead single \"Midnight Sky\" ignited her commercial resurgence. Her other singles include the top 10 hits \"See You Again,\" \"7 Things,\" \"The Climb,\" \"Party in the U.S.A.,\" \"Can't Be Tamed,\" \"We Can't Stop,\" \"Malibu,\" and \"Wrecking Ball.\" \"Party in the U.S.A.\" was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), one of the rare songs in history to achieve this milestone. Cyrus' filmography includes the 2008 animated film Bolt, and the feature films Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) and The Last Song (2010). On television, she was the host of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and has hosted Saturday Night Live three times since 2011. Cyrus has been featured as a coach on the singing competition television series \"The Voice\" and made an appearance on the television series \"Black Mirror.\" Her appearance as the character Ashley O in \"Black Mirror\" earned her the distinction of being the first female to enter the Billboard charts under three different names, which she achieved in 2019. Cyrus is an outspoken animal rights advocate and she adopted a vegan lifestyle in 2014. That year, she founded the non-profit Happy Hippie Foundation, which focuses on youth homelessness and the LGBTQ community.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/www.aaemusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Miley-Cyrus.png","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"232655","name":"The Eagles","bio":"The Eagles were formed in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. They recorded their first album Eagles (1972) with producer Glyn Johns. Johns guided them towards a country-rock sound that they would become famous for, producing the hits \"Take It Easy,\" \"Peaceful Easy Feeling\" and \"Witchy Woman\". It was their third album On the Border (1974), however, that produced their first number one hit: \"Best of My Love\". That song would start a trend of number ones over the next six years. It was also during the making of On the Border when the Eagles switched producers from Johns to Bill Szymczyk, who gave them more freedom in their approach and was open to making the albums more \"rocking\". One of These Nights (1975) garnered them their first Grammy for the song \"Lyin' Eyes\" and the title track was their next number-one hit. \"Take It to the Limit\" from the album was their first gold record. The group moved even closer to a hard rock sound with Hotel California (1976). The album was a massive success, second only to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours as the highest selling album of its time. With its inspired vocals, brilliant musicianship, and pop-culture appeal, it spawned hit after hit after hit and guaranteed them a place in music history. Unfortunately, the decadence of Hotel California was being enacted by the band in their everyday lives. Their \"third encore\" parties after shows became infamous carnivals of sex, drugs and booze. The Eagles were inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. All seven Eagles past and present performed. In 1999, the Eagles made plans to play several \"Millennium\" shows at the turn of the century. They recorded the shows and released them as part of a Selected Works Box Set (2000), which they toured to promote. In 2007, The Eagles finally put out a new studio album, their first in 28 years, called Long Road Out of Eden. The hugely popular 1970s band is still able to draw stadium-sized crowds.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/www.aaemusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Eagles.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"6022","name":"The Tallest Man on Earth","bio":"Behind the name The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson (born April 30, 1983). He has released four full length albums, the first entitled Shallow Grave and the second entitled The Wild Hunt. His most recent album, Dark Bird Is Home, was released May 12th 2015 via Dead Oceans. He has also released a self-titled 5-track EP on the Swedish label Gravitation, as well as a second 5-track EP entitled Sometimes The Blues Is Just a Passing Bird, recently released on Dead Oceans.The Tallest Man On Earth is known for his very charismatic raw voice. He is often compared to Bob Dylan, who shared his raw vocal style and folk-based musical style.He was formerly the front man in Montezumas.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/6022_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"68166","name":"Aaron Lewis","bio":"There are two artists with the name Aaron Lewis: 1. Aaron Lewis, born April 13, 1972 in Rutland, Vermont, USA, is the lead vocalist of the hard rock\/post-grunge group Staind . According to the Country Boy Songfacts, growing up in rural Vermont, Lewis spent summers with his World War II veteran grandfather hunting and fishing. \"Country was the background music to my childhood,\" said the singer. \"My grandfather listened to Merle Haggard , Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr. and all of the greats. When Staind did our first tour with Kid Rock in 1999, I rode the bus with him on a couple occasions, and we bonded over this music. I haven't been able to let go of it since then.\"Aaron Lewis was, before Staind, in an acoustic band known as JCATLewis is renowned for his songwriting skills and has been nominated for 3 Grammys. His hobbies include fishing, golf and riding his mini dirt bike. He has worked in landscaping, cleaned hotel rooms, and played solo acoustic sets in bars around Atlanta. He is married to Vanessa Lewis and has three daughters, Zoe Jane, Nyla Rae and Indie Shay, as well as two sisters Yvette and Rachel.He has been guest vocals for several songs by the band Cold and he also remixed Crawling for Linkin Park's album Reanimation.2. Aaron has been a fan of music his entire life. It started out by dancing with his 10 records that played on his plastic record player when he was a toddler. Aaron bought his first album at the age of five when other kids were buying toys. In the third grade for the what do you want to be when you grow up assignment Aaron saw himself as a rock and roll star. It was a vision Aaron held until 1996 performing in 3 bands Insanity (hard rock) Agen Wicked (Heavy Metal) and Liquid Bread (blues).In 1996 Aaron found the love of his life Paula and helped her in raising her 3 sons Bryan, Jeff, and Nathan so much so that they are now Aaron's 3 sons as well. From 1996 through 2006 Aaron did all the things necessary to raise a healthy family. He attended Colorado State University and received a bachelors degree of music. Upon graduation Aaron moved to Albuquerque with Paula and sons and began teaching music in the public schools. In the spring of 2006 CD Aaron observed his CD Gemini was selling in the United States and abroad in the UK with no promotion, combined with a sense of unexplained unhappiness and encouragement from loving wife who was following her dreams drove Aaron to make the decision to follow his dreams of being a well known musician.Aaron quit his day job and started composing his third self released CD \"Space Travel\" with 9 original compositions for solo guitar and 1 composition for piano. Aaron had the CD professionally manufactured and is gaining momentum with the release. It is maintaining a steady position on the Inide-Music.com charts on both the instrumental and the experimental charts. The CD is about to be reviewed by Progression Magazine out of Massachusetts, and it is receiving requests from all over the states, Germany, and the UK for radio play. Aaron plays regularly around the state of New Mexico and is currently planning tours of Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico for the spring of 2009. Since Aaron has been performing some notable gigs for him were the Sunport Serenades at the Albuquerque International Sunport, the City of Albuquerque Lunchtime on the Plaza, Duke City Fix Craftacular Spectacular, Grandmas Music, Albuquerque Library lunchtime performance, New Mexico State Fair happy hour stages, The Go Festival in downtown Albuquerque, private parties for the Albuquerque Economic Development Group, A private party for The Turquoise Trail Preservation Society, a Target corporate event in Pueblo, Colorado, and a lunchtime performance on the campus of Colorado State University Pueblo. Aaron also performs for house concerts, weddings, and other unique events.Aaron and his wife Paula also recently fulfilled a dream they had of opening up artist studios and a gallery and performance space Art Center in Albuquerque.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/68166_h_1.jpg","feeRange":"75,000 - 150,000"}