Claudia Gonson
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| Claudia Gonson | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Claudia Gonson | |
| Born | Boston, Massachusetts, 1968 | |
| Genre(s) | Indie pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, drums | |
| Years active | 1985-present | |
| Associated acts |
The Magnetic Fields, Tender Trap, Future Bible Heroes, Honey Bunch | |
Claudia Gonson, (born 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American musician best known for her efforts with The Magnetic Fields. She occasionally provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums. She is also currently the band's manager.
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[edit] Career
The first band Gonson performed in was a high school outfit called the Zinnias in which Stephin Merritt wrote or co-wrote most of the band's material. The band broke up when Gonson attended Harvard University. Gonson then joined the 3-piece Boston girl group Lazy Susan.
She has since performed on many of Merritt's albums subsequent of the critically-acclaimed 1999 69 Love Songs and frequently appears with him live as part of the usual quartet that comprises The Magnetic Fields.
As well as her work with Stephin Merritt, Claudia also plays drums in the cult band Tender Trap. She has written and performed her own music with Shirley Simms and has collaborated with author Rick Moody. She has also played drums in Providence, Rhode Island-based cult band Honey Bunch and performs duty as an occasional singer in Merritt's Future Bible Heroes project.
[edit] Sexuality
Gonson is a lesbian, which, combined with the openly gay singer and song-writer of the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, has led some fans to humorously dub The Magnetic Fields's genre as "gay synth-pop." In an interview with The Advocate, she famously remarked:
- "I was straight when Stephin met me, and I'm gay now, which may have been influenced by the openness of hanging around with so many gay people," she reflects. "When we started Magnetic Fields we purposely had one lesbian, one gay guy, one straight woman, and one straight man. The audience could identify with whomever they wanted. I hang out with more gay women now, but I guess I'm more of a fag hag than a lezzie hag."
In that interview, Gonson noted that she feels that Merritt's songs are predominantly about "Loneliness, isolation, and the need to be recognized by another person." She believes that if homophobia were not so prevalent, these experiences "would be less rampant instead of being so associated with the gay personality." Gonson believes that many LGBT youth and straight young females turn to The Magnetic Fields for "words of wisdom."
[edit] Trivia
Claudia tried out as a drummer for the Pixies in 1986. She opted to attend college instead, and drumming duties went to David Lovering.
[edit] External links
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