Summer (singer)

, best known for the singles, “Have to Leave,” “Not a Love Song,” and "Pink Elephants." [http://www.garageband.com/user/singersummer] Her first full-length album, "Timing and Lighting", was released in September 2008. [http://www.timingandlighting.com.]

Career Biography

Summer is an American singer-songwriter who plays guitar and piano. She has been playing guitar since 1991 and piano since 2006. She played her first live performance in Tampa, FL in June of 2002. [citation needed]

Her first demo, entitled "Summer", was released in summer 2002 and showcased four original songs and a folk-rock style. She followed this up with a second four-song EP, recorded in Los Angeles in February of 2005. Both were produced by electronic music composer Henry Strange. Three songs from these demos were later re-recorded for her 2008 release, "Timing and Lighting". They are “Timing and Lighting,” “Messed Up,” and “Truth.”

In 2003, Summer acquired the trademark to the name, “Summer” in the classes of live musical performance and prerecorded cd's. [http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=umm2k8.5.1] As a result, she is legally able to perform under the sole name “Summer.”

Summer had no formal training in music until 2006. [citation needed] To brush up on fundamentals, she attended the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago in the winter of 2006, where she took a record 12 classes in one term. [citation needed] Summer began studying piano at this time. It was in Chicago that she penned some of her best known songs, including “Have to Leave,” “Not a Love Song,” and “Home.” In Chicago, she also began painting and revived a style and subject matter that she had begun in 2001 when she was grieving from her boyfriend’s suicide. The pastel-on-paper paintings are poster-size, colorful, abstract renderings of female faces in various states of emotion.

Previously, on a tour with Tampa-based performer, Jeremy Gloff in December 2004 [http://www.jeremygloff.com/westcoast04.html] , Summer had a chance meeting with a young Philadelphia-based businessman named Bill Bauman at a performance in Portland, OR. [http://www.portlandmercury.com/music/live_music_listings/Content?oid=32717] The two kept in touch and upon hearing the musical and artistic growth she had undergone during her time in Chicago, he signed her as the founding artist to a record label he was starting, called LossLess Records. [http://www.losslessrecords.com/artists.html]

At the time, Bauman owned a second house in Portland, OR and the decision was made to move Summer into it as a place to develop her music and painting projects. There, she began studying voice with opera singer, Claire Rupard, whose instruction Summer has repeatedly asserted was instrumental in her development. She thanks Claire in her album liner notes with this phrase, “Claire-- Your expertise changed my life. You taught me to sing in multiple senses of the word.” [http://www.tunecore.com/albums/87512] She also completed 350 paintings in Portland between summer 2006 and fall 2007. [citation needed] The series of paintings was intended as a complement to the "Timing and Lighting" album and swelled in size to 500 paintings total by the album’s release in fall of 2008.

In summer 2006, Summer began working with renowned producer/composer Henry Strange to record the album "Timing and Lighting," which features more of a pop music style than her previous recordings. Henry Strange is an LA-based electronic music composer and longtime personal friend of Summer's. In Tampa, FL in 2002, Summer did Public Relations work for Strange's recording studio, Pure Tone Productions. [http://www.puretoneproductions.com/] The union of an experimental electronic music-oriented producer and an artist whose songs lean toward piano pop and folk yielded an album that was a unique mix of the two styles.

The recording process was aided by composer and musician Jess Stroup, who contributed various instrumentation and produced the song, “Messed Up.”

In October, 2006, Summer was recognized as one of the “Top Ten Songwriters of 2006” by the Portland Songwriting Association. [http://www.portlandsongwriters.org/newsletters/psa_newsletter_spring2007.pdf]

In spring 2008, Summer began performing as a duo with Eric “Q” Danskine for live performances in the Pacific Northwest.

Summer released the album "Timing And Lighting" on LossLess Records in September, 2008.

Summer exclusively plays handmade Wechter brand acoustic guitars that have a visually unique double cutaway body style. As of 2008, she owns three Wechter Pathmaker Elite series. [citation needed] She often performs with all three on stage because of her use of different guitar tunings.

Summer displays her paintings on stage during music performances, often discussing why she chose to bring those particular pieces to the performance.

It has been noted that Summer only wears bright white-colored clothes when she performs. She has refused to comment about this. [citation needed]

Personal Life

Summer is the eldest of five children. She spent most of her youth in the small town of Bridgeport, WV. Her father is an engineer and her mother is a homemaker. In one of her most popular songs, “Pink Elephants,” Summer alludes to the fact that her mother has a mental illness. [http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/lyrics_view.asp?lyrics_id=139451&epk_id=21228] Though her mother is not known to be diagnosed with a mental illness, Summer believes her mother has a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder called compulsive hoarding. [citation needed]

Other than West Virginia, Summer has taken up residence in Tampa, FL, Aix-En-Provence, France, Los Angeles, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, and Portland, OR.

From 2002-2006, Summer worked seasonally as a Marketing Tour Manager representing a variety of products and traveling across the United States for her work.

Summer is just over 6' tall.

Summer has openly stated that she is bisexual. Her marital status as of 2008 is unmarried.

Discography

"Timing and Lighting", LossLess Records, September 2008

"Summer EP", self-released, April 2005

"Summer Demo", self-released, June 2002

Awards

2006 “Top Ten Portland Songwriters of 2006” Portland Songwriting Association

2005 “Pink Elephants” Honorable Mention, Billboard World Songwriting Contest

2005 “Cream: Best of Philly Contest” Winner

2007 “Not A Love Song” Honorable Mention, UK's Singer/Songwriter Awards [http://wearelistening.com]

2007 “Have to Leave” Honorable Mention, “Song of the Year” Songwriting Competition [http://songoftheyear.com/winners/2007/runners/dec/hon.htm]

References

External Links

* [http://www.timingandlighting.com Summer's Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/timingandlighting Summer's Myspace Page]
* [http://www.losslessrecords.com LossLess Records]
* [http://www.henrystrange.com Henry Strange's Official Website]