Cat Power

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Cat Power
Cat Power at Lee's Palace, Toronto, Sept. 4th 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Charlyn Marie Marshall
Also known as	Cat Power
Born	January 21, 1972 (age 35) Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Origin	United States
Genre(s)	Indie rock, singer-songwriter
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1995-present
Label(s)	Runt Matador Smells Like Plain

Cat Power is the stage name of American singer/songwriter Charlyn "Chan" Marshall (born Charlyn Marie Marshall, January 21, 1972), known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano playing, and ethereal vocals.

1 Biography
2 Performance Style
3 Trivia
4 Discography
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Official sites
- 6.2 Databases

[edit] Biography

The daughter of divorced parents, Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall was born in Georgia. Her childhood involved much upheaval, with Marshall living throughout the Southern United States (Greensboro, North Carolina; Bartlett, Tennessee; and Georgia and South Carolina,) back and forth between parents. In interviews she has openly discussed her childhood and stated that the constant travelling prepared her for the touring life of a professional musician.

After dropping out of high school, she started performing under the name Cat Power while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. While in Atlanta, Marshall played her first live shows as support to her friends bands including Magic Bone and Opal Fox Quartet. Due to her close relationships with the various people involved she has stated that her involvement in music at this time was primarily due to the sense of community. She also stated in a 2007 interview for Soft Focus that the music itself was more experimental and that playing shows was often an oppurtunity to get drunk and for her friends to take drugs.[1]

In 1992 she moved to New York City with Glen Thrasher. It was Thrasher who introduced her to New York's free-jazz and experimental music scene. In particular she cites a concert by the avant-garde jazz composer Anthony Braxton with giving her the confidence to perform in public. Her first New York show was at a warehouse in Brooklyn and she has described her early New York shows as "more improvisational."[2] One of her shows during this period was as the support act to Man or Astro-man? and consisted of her playing a two string guitar and singing the word "no" for 15 minutes.[3] Around this time she made the acquaintance of God Is My Co-Pilot, a relationship that resulted in them releasing her first single Headlights in a limited run of 500 copies on their Making of Americans label.

In 1994 she opened for Liz Phair in New York. In attendance were Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee. Both albums were recorded in New York on the same day in December 1994 and display a lack of conventional song structures possibly influenced by the experimental music that Thrasher had introduced her to. In 1996 she was signed to Matador Records, and released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News".

Following a three-month tour in late 1996, with the band Guv'ner and in support of the release of What Would the Community Think, Marshall disappeared from the music scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with then boyfriend Bill Callahan (who performs under the name Smog). The plan was to permanently retire from music but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs. These songs would make up the bulk of Moon Pix. The record was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne in eleven days with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three.[4] The album was well-received by critics, and gained her recognition in the indie rock scene. However, during subsequent tours Marshall states that she had grown tired of her own material. This resulted in a series of shows during 1999 where Marshall provided musical accompaniment to the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and many covers, many of which would later see release on The Covers Record, a collection of cover songs recorded at various sessions in 1998 and 1999. A selection of covers that didn't make it on to the album were recorded at Peel Acres, home of the highly influential and legendary British DJ John Peel. The session was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show and featured Marshall's own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" amongst others.

Image:P2catpowerad.jpg

Cat Power's spay and neuter ad on peta2.com

In 2003 she resumed releasing original material with You Are Free, a diverse and critically applauded album which featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and the Dirty Three's Warren Ellis. A music video directed by Brett Vapnek, was released for the song "He War" and found moderate exposure on MTV2's Subterranean.

The year 2004 saw the release of the critically polarizing DVD Speaking for Trees, which featured a single, nearly 2-hour static shot of Marshall performing in a woodland, and was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", featuring M. Ward on guitar. 2005 found Marshall out on the road again, touring the world and playing sold-out solo shows, including an Australian tour supporting Nick Cave. The shows largely consisted of material that would appear on her next album.

Her latest record, The Greatest, was released in January, 2006. This was not a greatest hits record but rather the Matador Records-arranged collaboration with Al Green's guitarist Teenie Hodges and many other talented musicians.

Early in 2006, Marshall announced the cancellation of her upcoming United States Tour, citing "health-related issues". A few days later, Matador announced the cancellation of her two shows in London and Paris. She resumed touring in April 2006, playing some of the most well received shows of her career both with the Memphis Rhythm Band and as a solo performer.

In the winter 2006 edition of Venuszine Cat Power was the cover story, giving a candid yet heartfelt interview about the cancellation earlier in the year. What results is a detailed, blow-by-blow account of a mental breakdown that resulted in a stay in Miami's Mount Sinai Medical Center psych ward. During this time Marshall was abusing alcohol, as well as contemplating suicide.

An intervention finally came when close friend Susanna Vapnek, a painter from New York, flew down to Miami and checked Marshall into Mt. Sinai. This led to a huge turnaround: "On the fourth day, I forced myself to look in the mirror... I was telling myself that it was going to be OK- that, either way, I could accept whatever I was going to see. And I opened my eyes and I was myself, who I was... I saw my freckles, brown eyes, messed-up teeth... but I was so happy to see those fucked-up teeth and those freckles. I was like 'It's me!' I was so fucking happy. It was like, damn, I was back. I realized that I am sane, smart, funny, friendly, nice, and that I've got a lot of things I want to share with my friends. I realized that being in there wasn't me."

Besides returning to touring, Marshall has two new projects in the works. One is a covers record due sometime in early 2007. The other is an album of new material tentatively titled Sun for which she has given a spring 2008 release date.[5]

Marshall has also agreed to be the celebrity spokesperson for a line of jewelry from Chanel as of October 2006. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld said that Cat Power was perfect for the campaign because "only a woman—she—can look glamorous while smoking."[6] In January 2007, she and her band were - to everyone's pleasant surprise - the live performers at the Chanel haute couture spring/summer 2007 fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris.

A possible acting career is also on the horizon, with rumored collaborations with Wong Kar-Wai and Vincent Gallo.[7] She also appears in Doug Aitken's MOMA installation Sleepwalkers alongside Tilda Swinton, Donald Sutherland, Seu Jorge and Ryan Donowho.[8] IMDB also lists her in the cast of a five hour odyssey titled American Widow, which may also have a 2007 release.[9] Marshall has also mentioned that she is interested in sending an audition tape to Saturday Night Live through Molly Shannon, although the idea is referred to jokingly.[10]

[edit] Performance Style

Cat Power May 1st, 2006 at the Showbox in Seattle.

Traditionally, Marshall’s live shows have been notorious for their chaotic and unpolished nature, with songs beginning and ending abruptly or blending into one another without clear transitions. Marshall has in the past spoken of her severe stage fright. She has been known to stop playing in order to apologize for a self-perceived flaw in her performance. She has even cut short a few of her performances without explanation.[11][12] These events have had a polarizing effect on Marshall’s fan base. Some have been alienated by what they perceive as Marshall’s lack of professionalism, while others have enjoyed what they see as a candid, honest, and spontaneous performance. Marshall is often very talkative during performances, usually cracking jokes.

Recently, Marshall's performance style has been said to be much more enthusiastic and professional. An article in Salon magazine [13] called The Greatest "polished and sweetly upbeat", stating that Marshall was finally "delivering onstage." In the article, Marshall states that her newfound musical collaborators and sobriety are largely responsible for her increased confidence onstage.

Marshall is notable both as a songwriter and as an innovative interpreter of other artists' songs. Her cover versions often ignore the melodies and lyrical hooks of the originals, as evidenced by her renditions of Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", or alter the mood of the song altogether, as with her exclusive performance of Oasis' "Wonderwall" at a John Peel BBC Radio One session on July 20th, 2000. The music is similarly stripped down, often to little more than an electric guitar with a clean tone and her voice.

She often performs unreleased covers at her live shows. Her choice of covers over the years has revealed a widespread and eclectic taste in both new and old music, incorporating artists as diverse as Gnarls Barkley, the White Stripes, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, and Jessie Mae Hemphill. She is constantly introducing new covers into her live performances though the unpredictability of her live shows has made the performance of certain songs a rarity, as is the case with her rarely performed version of "Wolf Among Wolves" by Will Oldham among others. In addition, her highly personalized version of "The House of the Rising Sun" is particularly notable in that it is an example of a traditional folk song being performed in the tradition of folk music, that of adding new lyrics to an old song to make it a more personal expression. Despite being popular for many years with artists such as Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, this adaptation and personalizing of old folk songs is largely absent in modern music.

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.

Marshall is of Cherokee, Irish, Dutch, and Jewish descent.^{[citation needed]}

Marshall's father, Charlie, was a blues musician and itinerant pianist.

Marshall has done advertisements for GAP [14], Cingular [15], and De Beers' "A Diamond Is Forever" marketing campaign.[16]

She has supported numerous charitable causes, including "The Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian Parents' Circle" and PETA, and appeared at the "Fuck Cancer Benefit". In November 2006 she performed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York with all proceeds going to the Music For Youth Foundation.

Marshall lent her vocals to the track "I've Been Thinking" from the 2004 Handsome Boy Modelling School album, White People. She also sang on the song "Great Waves", from the 2005 Dirty Three album Cinder. In 2006, she duetted with model Karen Elson on an English cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime... moi non plus" under the title "I Love You (Me Either)." It was released on the compilation Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited in 2006. The same year she also contributed vocals on one track of Ensemble's self-titled album, "Disown, Delete". In 2007 she reworked Yoko Ono's "Revelations" (from her 1995 album "Rising) on the album "Yes, I'm a Witch.

Marshall has admitted to abusing alcohol in the past. According to a recent BBC interview, she is now sober. [17]

In 2006 Blender Magazine named her one of the hottest women in rock along side Joan Jett, Courtney Love, and Liz Phair.^[1]

Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard recorded the song (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan for Dntel which eventually led to their collaboration and the beginning of The Postal Service, where Evan is a reference to Evan Dando of the The Lemonheads and Chan is a reference to Cat Power. It's been confirmed that the song was written based on a strange dream that Ben Gibbard had involving the two musicians.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Discography

Main article: Cat Power discography

[edit] Albums

	Dear Sir CD/LP(10") (1995, Runt Records) (reissued CD/LP(12") 2001, Plain recordings)
	Myra Lee (1996, Smells Like Records)
	What Would the Community Think (1996, Matador Records)
	Moon Pix (1998, Matador Records)
	The Covers Record (2000, Matador Records)
	You Are Free (2003, Matador Records) US #105, UK #157
	The Greatest (2006, Matador Records) US #34, UK #45, CAN #63, AUS #26

[edit] Singles & EPs

Headlights (7", 1994, The Making of Americans)

Tracks: "Headlights", "Darling Said Sir"
Guv'ner in Catpowerland / Catpower Goes to Guvnerville (7", split single, 1996, Wiiija Records)

Tracks: Guv'ner - "Great Expectations" (Cat Power), Cat Power - "Clear the Room" (Guv'ner)
Nude as the News (7" / CD5, 1996, Matador Records)

Tracks: "Nude as the News", "Schizophrenia's Weighted Me Down" (Thurston Moore / Alexander Spence)
Undercover (7", 1996, Undercover Records)

Tracks: "Psychic Hearts" (Thurston Moore), "We Dance" (Stephen Malkmus), "Johnny's Got a Gun" (Dead Moon)
He War (CD5, 2002, Matador Records)

Tracks: "He War", "Good Woman", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)
The Greatest (7", 2006, Matador Records)

Tracks: "The Greatest", "Hate"
Could We (7", 2006, Matador Records)

Tracks: "Could We", "Dreams" (Felice & Boudleaux Bryant's All I Have to Do Is Dream)
Living Proof (2006, Matador Records)
eMusic Session EP (2006, eMusic/Matador Records)

Tracks: "The Greatest", "Remember Me" (Otis Redding), "Ramblin' Man" (Hank Williams), "Good Woman"

Special release only for eMusic [18]
Live Session EP (2006, iTunes/Matador Records)

Tracks: "Love & Communication" (acoustic version), "House of the Rising Sun" (traditional), "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiompkin & Ned Washington), "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (Sandy Denny)

Special release only for iTunes

[edit] Appears on

God Is My Co-Pilot - Puss 02' (1995, Dark Beloved Cloud / The Making of Americans)

"Pocketful of Sugar" (vocals with Sharon Topper), "Pretty Spoiled" (id.), "Numbness & Tingling" (id.), "Teenage Boyfriend" (id. & Yoshimi P-We)
Various Artists - New Voices Vol. 10 (1996, Rolling Stone Deutschland)

"Nude As The News"
Various Artists - Un Automne 96 (1996, Les Inrockuptibles)

"Nude As The News"
Various Artists - Musikexpress 12 - Matador Records (1997, Musikexpress)

"Nude As The News"
Various Artists - Spunk: Issue 6 (1997, Spunk)

"Nude As The News"
Various Artists - What's Up Matador (1997, Matador Records)

"Nude As The News", "Back Of Your Head"
Various Artists - ADA Sampler September '98 (1998, Alternative Distribution Alliance)

"Cross Bones Style"
Various Artists - Drinking From Puddles: A Radio History (1999, Kill Rock Stars)

"We Dance" (Stephen Malkmus)
Various Artists - Everything Is Nice - The Matador Records 10th Anniversary Anthology (1999, Matador Records)

"Cross Bones Style", "Sea of Love" (John Phillip Baptiste & George Khoury), "Cross Bones Style" (video), "Nude As The News" (video)
Matmos / DJ Eclipse - This CD Is Not Nice (1999, Matador Records)

Matmos - "Archive Fever" (uses portions of "In This Hole", "Fate of the Human Carbine" and "American Flag"), DJ Eclipse - "Matador Megamix" (uses portions of "Back of Your Head")
Various Artists - Desert Blue: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (1999, Razor & Tie)

"Metal Heart"
Various Artists - Llama Ranch Compilation (1999, Polys)

"Cross Bones Style"
Various Artists - Comes With A Smile Vol. 1 - All the While... (2000, Comes With A Smile)

"Metal Heart"
Various Artists - New Voices Vol. 36 (2000, Rolling Stone Deutschland)

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)
Various Artists - All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1: Sonic Youth Curated (2001, ATP Recordings)

"Come On In My Kitchen" (Robert Johnson)
Various Artists - Jackpot: Original Soundtrack Album (2001, Milan Records)

"Naked, If I Want To" (Jerry A. Miller Jr.) (as "Naked If I Want To Be")
Various Artists - Live & Direct (2001, Spunk)

"Good Woman" (as "To Be A Good Woman"), "Troubled Waters" (Sam Coslow & Arthur Johnston) (both tracks recorded live for Sydney's 2SER radio)
Various Artists - Gimme Shelter Vol. 1 (2002, UNCUT)

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)
Various Artists - Hard Rain Vol. 1: A Tribute to Bob Dylan (2002, UNCUT)

"Paths of Victory" (Bob Dylan)
Various Artists - Destiny (The Hi-Lo Tunez Plan: 2nd Step) (2003, Hi-Lo Tunez)

"He War"
Sigmatropic - Sixteen Haiku & Other Stories (2003, Hitch-Hyke Records)

"Haiku Ten" (vocals, original Greek lyrics by George Seferis)
The Band of Blacky Ranchette - Still Lookin' Good To Me (2003, Thrill Jockey)

"My Hoo Haa" (vocals)
M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent (2003, Matador Records)

"Sad, Sad Song" (vocals)
Various Artists - Comes With A Smile Vol. 8 - Like Others Need Oxygen (2003, Comes With A Smile)

"The Party"
Various Artists - Hear Music Vol 10: Reveal (2003, Warner Special Products)

"I Don't Blame You"
Various Artists - You Can Never Go Fast Enough (2003, Plain Recordings)

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)
Handsome Boy Modeling School - White People (2004, Elektra Records)

"Are You Down With It" (backing vocals, main vocals by Mike Patton, scratches by Rob Swift), "I've Been Thinking" (vocals)
Various Artists - Matador at Fifteen (2004, Matador Records)

"Free", "The Party", "He War" (video)
Various Artists - FabricLive. 24 - Diplo (2005, Fabric)

"Free"
Various Artists - Festival Les Inrocks Black XS (2005, Les Inrockuptibles)

"The Greatest"
Various Artists - Music From the Motion Picture 'North Country' (2005, Sony Music Soundtrax)

"Paths of Victory" ("Bob Dylan")
Various Artists - Sunday Nights: The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough (2005, Fat Possum Records )

w/ Entrance - "Do The Romp" (Junior Kimbrough)
Dirty Three - Cinder (2005, Touch and Go Records)

"Great Waves" (Jim White) (vocals)
Various Artists - Music from 'Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus' (2005, Luaka Bop)

"Cross Bones Style"
Various Artists - Les Inrockuptibles Présentent Gainsbourg (2006, Les Inrockuptibles)

w/ Karen Elson - "I Love You (Me Either)" (Serge Gainsbourg)
Various Artists - Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (2006, Barclay Records)

w/ Karen Elson - "I Love You (Me Either)" (Serge Gainsbourg)
Various Artists - Music from the Motion Picture 'V for Vendetta' (2006, Astralwerks)

"I Found a Reason" (Lou Reed)
Various Artists - Trax Sampler 091 (2006, Trax)

"The Greatest"
Various Artists - Rausch (2006, Persona Non Grata)

Dirty Three - "Great Waves" (Jim White) (vocals)
Various Artists - 2003: Ein Jahr und seine 20 Songs (2006, Süddeutsche Zeitung)

"I Don't Blame You"
Various Artists - Chill 'Em All (The Hi-Lo Tunez Plan: 6th Step) (2006, Hi-Lo Tunez)

Dirty Three - "Great Waves" (Jim White) (vocals)
Ensemble - Ensemble (2006, Fat Cat Records)

"Disown, Delete" (Olivier Alary & Mileece) (vocals)
Faithless - To All New Arrivals (2006, Cheeky Records/BMG)

"A Kind of Peace" (vocals)
Ono - Yes, I'm a Witch (2007, Astralwerks)

w/ Yoko Ono - "Revelations" (Yoko Ono)

[edit] Videos

[edit] Films

Speaking for Trees: A Film by Mark Borthwick (2004, Mark Borthwick)

In addition, she appears in two documentary films: Fearless Freaks (2005, Bradley Beesley) and Two Headed Cow (2006, Tony Gayton).

[edit] Promos

"Nude As The News" (1997, Brett Vapnek)
"Cross Bones Style" (1998, Brett Vapnek)
"He War" (2003, Brett Vapnek)
"From Fur City" (2003, Jem Cohen)
"Maybe Not" (2004, Mark Borthwick)
"Free" (2004, Mark Borthwick)
"Half of You" (2004, Mark Borthwick)
w/ Dirty Three - "Great Waves" (2005, Braden King)
"Maybe Not" (2005, Oliver Pietsch)
"Living Proof" (2006, Harmony Korine)
"Lived In Bars" (2006, Robert Gordon)
w/ Ensemble - "Disown, Delete" (2006, Karina Garcia Casanova)
"Where Is My Love?" (2006, Anne-Laure Keib)

[edit] Television

Austin City Limits, December 30, 2006

"The Greatest"

"Living Proof"

"Lived in Bars"

"Could We"

"I Don't Blame You"

"Cross Bones Style"

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

[edit] Songs used in movies

"Maybe Not"

The Quiet (2005, Jamie Babbit)

"Naked, If I Want To" (Jerry A. Miller Jr.)

New Rose Hotel (1998, Abel Ferrara); Jackpot (2001, Michael Polish) (as "Naked If I Want To Be")

"Metal Heart"

Desert Blue (1998, Morgan J. Freeman)

"Rockets"

Trance (1998, Michael Almereyda)

"I Found a Reason" (Lou Reed)

Habibti min elskede (2002, Pernille Fischer Christensen); The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002, Alan Rudolph); Saving Face (2004, Alice Wu); Dandelion (2004, Mark Milgard); V for Vendetta (2005, James McTeigue)

"Sea of Love" (John Phillip Baptiste & George Khoury)

Subrosa (2000, Helen Lee)

"In This Hole"

Jackpot (2001, Michael Polish)

"Paths of Victory" (Bob Dylan)

North Country (2005, Niki Caro)

"Cross Bones Style"

Searching For The Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2005, Andrew Douglas)

Unknown which song(s)

Vern (2004, Suzi Yoonessi)

[edit] References

Errico, Mike. "Hottest Women of. . .Rock", Blender Magazine Online, December 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.^[2]

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] Databases

Discography
v • d • e Cat Power
Chan Marshall
Studio albums: Dear Sir \| Myra Lee \| What Would the Community Think \| Moon Pix \| The Covers Record \| You Are Free \| The Greatest
EPs & live albums: eMusic Session EP \| Live Session EP \| Speaking for Trees
Singles: "Nude as the News" \| "Free" \| "He War" \| "The Greatest" \| "Could We" \| "Living Proof"
Related articles
Dirty Three \| Cat Power Albums \| Cat Power Songs

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