Becky Stark

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Becky Stark
Birth_name = Rebecca Ann Stark

Background = group_or_band
Genre = indie rock, folk, punk
Born =
flagicon|USA Culver City, California
Origin = California, U.S.
Instrument = Vocals
Years_active = 2004 - present (Lavender Diamond)
Label = Matador, Rough Trade, Cold Sweat
Associated_acts = Mystical Unionists
Living Sisters
Current_members =

Becky Stark is an artist, singer, songwriter and entertainer from Los Angeles, California. She is the voice of the band Lavender Diamond. She was raised in Maryland where she began performing as a child. At the age of 13 she travelled to the former Soviet Union as part of a U.S. State Department- Sponsored Peace Mission, a travelling musical about peaceful ecology. For four years in junior high school she was the co-host and head reporter for the weekly children's television news magazine "KIds' Point of View Television-KPOV'TV" - a half hour show broadcast weekly between the WWF and the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. At 18 she starred in the feature film "Willa, An American Snow White" for PBS. Throughout high school she studied classical singing and learned an extensive repertoire of classical, popular and jazz songs.

She studied Comparative Literature (English and Russian) and Art/Semiotics at Brown University. In Providence she was part of the Fort Thunder art movement and formed a theater troupe with artist and filmmaker Xander Marro. The two created a travelling operetta called "Birdsongs of the Bauharoque", a fairytale fable about peace coming to planet Earth. They toured the U.S. and Canada for two months with their punk puppet opera.

After college she became a full-time student at the Merce Cunningham Dance Conservatory in Manhattan where she studied modern dance. Seeking a warmer climate she moved to Los Angeles and became immersed in the music, comedy, film and cabaret scenes. She performed a comical variety of jobs including magician's assistant. She appeared in "High School Record"- an underground favorite at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. In the film she plays the teacher of students from the LA bands No Age, Mika Miko, Silver Daggers and others. She has created and performed numerous folk story operettas, including an adaptation of the Little Match Girl. She appeared in the original production of acclaimed New Wave opera visionary Ruth Margraff's "The Cry Pitch Carols".

She is considered a luminary of the new folk movement and the LA underground punk/noise scene. She has performed extensively as a solo artist and leader of the Lavender Diamond band. She has shared a bill with Miranda July, Jenny Lewis, David Byrne, John Waters, Dave Eggers, yeah yeah yeah's, Decemberists, Beck, The New Pornographers, Devendra Banhart and hundreds of others. She has been compared to Linda Rondstadt, Joni Mitchell, Karen Carpenter, Julie Andrews, Kate Bush and Lucille Ball. She has received widespread critical acclaim, appearing in the November "Vanity Fair" "Folk Music Heroes" portfolio by Annie Leibovitz on the page between Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins. In addition to her work with Lavender Diamond she sings with The Living Sisters, a folk trio with Eleni Mandell and Inara George from Blue Note Records artist the Bird and the Bee.

The 2007 Lavender Diamond album "Imagine Our Love" was released on Matador and Rough Trade Records. A film to accompany the album is currently in production in IMAX format with director Maximilla Lukacs and art director Alia Penner. The film is an extravaganza featuring Busby Berkeley- style dance numbers, animation and interplanetary ballet.

This summer Becky wrote the Songs of the Believers for the upcoming film "City of Ember" starring Bill Murray, directed by Gil Kenan and produced by Tom Hanks. The film is a post-apocalyptic-action-adventure story for children. In the film Becky plays the Songmaster. She also stars in an upcoming short film version of a short story from Miranda July's book "No one Belongs Here More Than You." Kim Gordon and Liz Goldwyn also star in the film directed by Alia Raza. Most recently she appeared onstage as the musical guest in Daily Show creator Ben Karlin's new variety show, singing with Zooey Deschanel and accompanied by okgo. She is creating a new musical comedy variety show with Jim Drain, Miranda July, Jennifer Johnson, Paper Rad, Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio and many other artists.

She is co-author of the Peace Comics with cartoonist Ron Rege, Jr., the drummer in Lavender Diamond. She and Ron Rege have a band together, The Mystical Unionists.

Interviews

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/fashion/03nite.html?ref=fashion Article on Becky Stark in "New York Times"]
* [http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=2301Becky Stark interviewed for cover article in "Arthur" magazine]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2007-04-27-3719120128_x.htm Associated Press interview in "USA Today"]
* [http://anthemmagazine.com/story/213 Becky Stark and Miranda July interview each other for "Anthem" magazine]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/notebook/2007/03/12/070312gonb_GOAT_notebook_frerejones "New Yorker" azrticle]

References