Iron & Wine

Infobox musical artist
Name = Iron & Wine


Img_capt = Beam at a 2006 concert at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool.
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Samuel Beam
Alias =
Born = South Carolina
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Vocals, Guitar, Banjo
Genre = Indie folk
Folk rock
Singer-songwriter
New folkcite news
url = http://altmusic.about.com/od/genresstyles/p/new_folk.htm
title = What Is New Folk? A Genre Profile
author = Michael Keefe
work = About.com
date =
accessdate = 2008-07-7 ]
Label = Sub Pop Records
Associated_acts =

Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer-songwriter, Samuel Beam. He has released three studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Florida to attend school, but now resides outside of Austin, Texas. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film. [ [http://www.sctas.com/iron.html A childish wish for snow] ]

Early life

Beam was born July 26, 1974. He was raised outside Columbia, South Carolina, where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. When he was a child, his family took regular trips to the country where his grandfather ran a farm. He attended Seven Oaks Elementary, Irmo Middle School, and Chapin High School. While home from college, Beam was a waiter at California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia.

Beam graduated from the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Until the first Iron & Wine album, Beam's main source of income was as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design. [cite web|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-04-10/music/iron-and-wine/a | title= "Iron and Wine", Jason Ferguson, Miami New Times, April 10, 2008] He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. His friends handed out copies of demos that he had made, and the owner of Sub Pop Records personally contacted Beam and proposed a deal. [cite web|url=http://www.splendidezine.com/features/iron/ | title="Iron and Wine", Georgiana Cohen, splendidezine.com]

Musical career

Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, "The Creek Drank the Cradle", on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake, [cite web | last=Kearney | first=Ryan | title=Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank the Cradle | publisher=Pitchfork Media | date=2002-10-02 | url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/i/iron-and-wine/creek-drank-the-cradle.shtml | accessdate=2006-05-14 ] Simon and Garfunkel, [cite web | last=Bickford | first=B.R. | title=Iron & Wine: "The Creek Drank the Cradle" | publisher=Salon.com | date=2003-02-19 | url=http://dir.salon.com/story/audio/music/2003/02/19/iron_wine/index.html | accessdate=2006-05-14 ] Elliott Smith, and John Fahey. The debut album was followed in 2003 by "The Sea & The Rhythm", an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam's second album, "Our Endless Numbered Days" (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, Beam recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film "In Good Company".In February 2005, Beam released an EP titled "Woman King", which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP and added electric guitars. Each track featured a spiritual female figure and had subtle Biblical undertones.

The EP "In the Reins", a collaboration with the Arizona-based rock band Calexico, was released in September 2005. Beam wrote all of the EP's songs years earlier, but Calexico added their trademark fusion of dusty southwestern rock, traditional Mexican music and jazz to the songs' arrangements. Several tracks feature brass instruments, a first for Beam's music.

The third full-length Iron & Wine album, titled "The Shepherd's Dog", was released September 25, 2007. This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by "Paste" magazine. ["Paste" magazine issue #38] Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger.cite web | author= Khanna, Vish | title= Iron and Wine's Guiding Light| work= Exclaim.ca | url=http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=4&fid1=27544 | date= October 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-26] When asked to describe the album to "The Independent", Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected." [cite web | last=Gill | first=Andy | title=Sam Beam: Love, God, death and a tree of bees | publisher=The Independent | date=2006-11-17 | url=http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article1988182.ece]

In 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service's then-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially only included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. In 2004, Beam's version was featured in an advertisement for M&M's and in the film "Garden State" and its popular soundtrack. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement. A single of the Iron & Wine version of "Such Great Heights" was released in 2006, backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked As We Came" made for Radio Vienna.

Beam has released all of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The "Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP" features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The "Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP" features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.

Discography

Albums

* "The Creek Drank the Cradle" (2002)
* "Our Endless Numbered Days" (2004)
* "The Shepherd's Dog" (2007)

EPs

* "Iron & Wine Tour EP" (2002)
* "The Sea & The Rhythm" (2003)
* "Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP" (2004)
* "Woman King" (2005)
* "In the Reins" with Calexico (2005)
* "Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) EP" (2006)

ingles

* Sub Pop Singles Club: "Call Your Boys" b/w "Dearest Forsaken" (CD + Clear 7" Vinyl) (2002)
* "No Moon" b/w "Sinning Hands" (Limited 7" Vinyl Bonus with first Pressing of "Our Endless Numbered Days") (2004)
* "Passing Afternoon" (CD Only) (2004)
* "The Trapeze Swinger" (iTunes Only) (2005)
* "Such Great Heights" (UK Only CD) (2006)
* "Boy with a Coin" (CD + 10" Vinyl) (2007)
* "Lovesong of the Buzzard" (2008)

Other

* "Garden State" soundtrack (2004)
* "In Good Company" soundtrack (2004)
* "Iron & Wine Live Bonnaroo" (2005)
* "KCRW Sounds Eclectic volume 3"
* "I'm Not There" soundtrack (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.ironandwine.com/ Iron & Wine official website]
* [http://www.passingafternoon.com/ Iron & Wine fansite & forum]
* [http://www.showmethesetlist.com/search2.php?artist=Iron_&_Wine Iron & Wine Setlists]