Vince Bell

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Vince Bell


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Vince Bell
Alias =
Born = birth date|1951|9|16|mf=y
Dallas, Texas
Origin =
Instrument = Singer, guitar
Genre = singer-songwriter, alternative country
Occupation = Solo artist, songwriter
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts = Stephen Bruton, John Cale, Guy Clark, Steve Fromholz, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Lyle Lovett, David Mansfield, Geoff Muldaur, Bob Neuwirth, Mickey Raphael, Bill Rich, Fritz Richmond, Eric Taylor, Lucinda Williams, Victoria Williams, Townes Van Zandt
URL = [http://www.vincebell.com Vince Bell official site]
Current_members =
Past_members =

Vince Bell is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the PBS television program "Austin City Limits" [IMdB, " [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1634849/ Vince Bell] ", retrieved 19 July 2008] along with NPR broadcasts such as "Mountain Stage", "World Café" and "Morning Edition". His songs have been performed and recorded by Little Feat, Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith.

Early career

During the mid 1970s at the Anderson Fair nightclub in Houston, Texas Bell met and became friends with Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, both of whom he later called his mentors. On 21 December 1982 he almost died from head and other severe injuries received during a car wreck in Austin, Texas. His recovery lasted more than six years. In 2004 Bell told an interviewer, "Learning the guitar the first time was a bitch. Learning the guitar the second time was cruel." [Boyd, Jinelle: "cite web|url=http://www.mytexasmusic.com/interviews/050304_vincebell.html|title=Jinelle Boyd Interview with Vince Bell" "MyTexasMusic.com", May 3, 2004.]

Recordings

Bell's first album "Phoenix" was produced by Bob Neuwirth and released in 1994. The tracks were recorded in San Francisco with session musicians including Geoff Muldaur, Fritz Richmond, David Mansfield, Mickey Raphael and John Cale. Lyle Lovett and Victoria Williams contributed background vocals. Rick Mitchell of the "Houston Chronicle" praised the album, writing, "Phoenix adroitly mixes elements of folk, blues and country in an acoustic setting. But it's Bell's alternatingly oblique and soul-baring lyrics that make the album a captivating listen." [cite news|first=Rick|last=Mitchell|title=Vince Bell's pain was real|publisher="Houston Chronicle"|page=3|date=1994-10-20] In the "New York Times", Neil Strauss wrote that the lyrics "were filled with images of misshapen monsters and twisted metal, paralysis and victory, loneliness and introspection". [cite news|first=Neil|last=Strauss|title=Poetry, Monsters and Metal in the Dark World of Vince Bell|publisher="New York Times"|page=C16|date=1995-06-27]

Bell's second album "Texas Plates" was released by Paladin/Warner in 1999 but was not a commercial success. In 2001 Bell independently released "Live in Texas" and in 2007 he released "Recado" through SteadyBoy Records.

Discography

*"Phoenix", Watermelon, 1994
*"Texas Plates", Paladin, 1999 [Steininger, Alex. [http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/20r04.html review of "Texas Plates"] ] , "In Music We Trust" 20, June 1999.
*"Live in Texas", VinceBell.com, 2001
*"Recado", SteadyBoy/VinceBell.com, 2007 [Dave Lifton, [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/07/165716.php review of "Recado"] , blogcritics.org.]

References

External links

* [http://www.vincebell.com Vince Bell official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/vincebellmusic Vince Bell's MySpace page]
* [http://www.darynkagan.com/celebrities/stories/ce_071112_vincebell.html Daryn Kagan profiles Vince Bell] Requires Flash.
* [http://www.haam.us/Artists/Vince%20Bel/Vince%20Bell.htm Vince Bell's artist bio at the H.A.A.M. (Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians) website] Dubious|date=September 2008
* [http://www.pawless.com/bell.html “Introducing the Vince Bell "Handmade Hardtop Acoustic Dreadnaught Line”] : lutier Vince Pawless describes custom-making a guitar for Vince BellDubious|date=September 2008