Damien Rice
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| Damien Rice | ||
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 Damien Rice at The Troubadour, 2003
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Damien Rice | |
| Born | December 7, 1973 (age 33) | |
| Origin |  Celbridge,County Kildare, Ireland |
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| Genre(s) | acoustic, folk, indie | |
| Website | www.damienrice.com | |
Damien Rice (born December 7, 1973) is an Irish folk singer most famous for his two albums 'O' and '9'.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Damien Rice was born in Dublin, Ireland to George and Maureen Rice and grew up in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. He was originally in the band Juniper, a rock band which released the singles "The World Is Dead" and "Weatherman". On the eve of recording their first full album for Polygram in 1999, Rice became disenchanted with the commercial label and quit. His Juniper bandmates became Bell X1. He moved to rural Italy where he played acoustic guitar, wrote songs, and busked around Europe until he was able to form a band and get coffeeshop gigs in the Dublin area. Exploiting a lucky connection to David Arnold, his second cousin, Rice was able to record O, for which he won the Shortlist Music Prize in 2003. The other members of the band are cellist Vyvienne Long; percussionist Tom Osander (aka: Tomo) a member of the 90's jam band God Street Wine; and bassist Shane Fitzsimons. Lisa Hannigan on vocals and ocassionally guitar and bass, has recently left the band.
Rice recorded an old Juniper track, "Crosseyed Bear" (originally titled "Jewellery Box"), for the new War Child album. He spent 2004 and 2005 recording the follow-up to O. The new album, 9, was released in Ireland on November 3, 2006 [1] and North America on November 14, 2006 [2].
Rice's songs "The Blower's Daughter" and "Cold Water" featured prominently in the 2004 film Closer.
In recent years, with the increase of digital cameras and mobile phone cameras, Rice has stopped mid-song to ask the audience members to simply watch the concert rather than record it. At a gig in Toronto in 2006, he changed the lyrics of his song, "I remember" from "I remember it well, taxied out of a storm, to watch you perform, and my ships were sailing" to "I remember it well, when we used to watch concerts, not through a camera, please turn, them off please".[[3]]
His songs "Cold Water" and "Cannonball" have featured in The Black Donnellys.
After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are - Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander & Vyvienne Long.
[edit] Activism
Rice is involved in a human rights campaign to free Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is presently being subjected to her third term of house arrest in Rangoon by the Burmese military junta. Aung San Suu Kyi has been confined to her home since September 2003. Rice and Hannigan recorded a charity song, campaigning for her release, called "Unplayed Piano". [4]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 1 February 2002 |
 3 November 2006(ROI) |
[edit] EPs
- Live From The Union Chapel (EP), 2003
- B-Sides (EP), 2004 #143 UK
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Album | UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "The Blower's Daughter" | O | 27 |
| 2002 | "Cannonball" | O | 32 |
| 2002 | "Volcano" | O | 29 |
| 2003 | "Woman Like a Man" | Woman Like a Man | 43 |
| 2004 | "Moody Mooday/Lonelily" (Vinyl only) | Moody Mooday/Lonelily EP | 143 |
| 2004 | "Lonely Soldier" | Lonely Soldier | 142 |
| 2004 | "Cannonball (Re-released)" | O | 19 |
| 2004 | "The Blower's Daughter (Re-released)" | O | - |
| 2005 | "Volcano (Re-released)" | O | - |
| 2005 | "Unplayed Piano" | Unplayed Piano single | 24 |
| 2006 | "9 Crimes" feat. Lisa Hannigan - uncredited | 9 | 29 |
| 2007 | "Rootless Tree" | 9 | 50 |
| 2007 | "Dogs" (Netherlands only) | 9 | - |
| 2007 | "Elephant" | 9 | - |
| 2007 | "The Animals Were Gone" | 9 | - |
[edit] Collaborations
- Be Yourself, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club (September 2002)
- Skylarkin', Mic Christopher (November 2002)
- Burn the Maps, The Frames (September 2004)
- The Beekeeper, Tori Amos (February 2005)
- Don't Explain, Herbie Hancock, Lisa Hannigan (August 2005)
- Live At The Olympia Aslan (2005 - official bootleg)
- The Swell Season, Glen Hansard (April 2006)
[edit] Tour Dates
April 25, 2007 - Seattle
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Label Website
- Damien Rice at WikiMusicGuide
- Damien Rice Trading Site
- An early career profile and interview
- Fabchannel.com - free Paradiso concert
- Damien Rice collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
Categories: Irish songwriters | Irish male singers | Irish folk singers | Irish pop singers | Irish singer-songwriters | Irish musicians | Irish buskers | Taper-friendly musicians | 1970 births | Singer-songwriters | Winners of the Shortlist Music Prize | Living people | Buskers | People from County Kildare | European Border Breakers Award winners
