Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy in Atlanta, Georgia
Background information
Birth name	Colin Patrick Henry Meloy
Born	October 5, 1974 (1974-10-05) (age 37) Helena, Montana
Genres	Indie rock, Baroque pop, Folk rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Bouzouki, Percussion
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Kill Rock Stars Capitol
Associated acts	The Decemberists, Tarkio, Happy Cactus
Website	Decemberists.com

Colin Meloy in Brussels (2006)

Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.

Early life and education

Meloy was born in Helena, Montana.^[1][2] His sister is Maile Meloy, an author often published in The New Yorker reported in 2009 to be living in Los Angeles.^[3]

Meloy attended the University of Oregon in Eugene for two years, studying English, before returning to Montana and enrolling in the creative writing program at the University of Montana in Missoula. He graduated in 1998.^[3]

Musical career

While in high school, Meloy was in Happy Cactus, and when in college, in Missoula, he was the lead singer and songwriter for Tarkio. Both were indie/folk/alternative country bands. Soon after graduation, Meloy left Tarkio and moved to Portland. There he found, to his disappointment, that he pretty much had to start again, "going to open mics, ... sometimes with no one else in the room save the bartender. [... However, w] When I was in that position, with nobody to appeal to or scare away, I thought, ‘I might as well do whatever I want to do,’ Meloy [said in 2009]. 'And that created a new thing.'"^[3]

In Portland, he met future bandmates Jenny Conlee and Nate Query.

In 2005, he went on his first solo tour to support the self-released six-song EP, Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey, consisting of six Morrissey covers. Only 1000 copies of the album were made and they were sold only on this tour. Meloy did a second solo tour in January 2006, playing with Laura Veirs and Amy Annelle. On this tour, he sold an EP featuring covers of British folk artist Shirley Collins. 2006 tour performances were recorded for a live release.

Meloy contributed an online bonus track for Lavender Diamond on their Imagine Our Love album. He performed a solo version of "Oh No."

Meloy began another solo tour in April, 2008. This coincided with the release of his debut solo album, Colin Meloy Sings Live!, on the Kill Rock Stars label. Singer-songwriter Laura Gibson was the supporting act for the full tour. As with previous EPs, Meloy sold an EP only available on this run: Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke, a collection of five Sam Cooke songs, arranged and performed by Meloy, with Laura Gibson singing harmonies.

Personal life

On February 24, 2006, Carson Ellis, Meloy's wife, gave birth to a son, Henry "Hank" Meloy. Ellis shares the same birthday with Meloy, and is a graphic artist for the Decemberists.^{[citation needed]} In about 2010, Meloy revealed that Hank has high functioning autism.^[4]

Solo discography

• Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey (2005)
• Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins (2006)
• Colin Meloy Sings Live! (2008)
• Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke (2008)

In 2003 Meloy contributed vocals to the track "The Lady From Reims" on Reclinerland's The Ideal Home Music Library. Meloy contributed vocals on the tracks "Cemetery Row" and "Twilight Distillery" on The Minus 5's 2006 Yep Roc release. Meloy also covered the Elliott Smith song "Clementine" for a compilation of Portland, Oregon artists to support a children's charity. In mid-2006, he contributed the track, "Lazy Little Ada" on the Kill Rock Stars compilation, The Sound the Hare Heard. In 2007, Meloy lent his voice to an episode of Lil' Bush. He has appeared with Charlie Salas-Humara in the music video for "A Pillar of Salt" by The Thermals (2:16).

Other work

In 2004, Meloy wrote a 100-page book on The Replacements' third album, Let It Be, released as part of the 33⅓ series.^{[citation needed]}

Meloy is making his debut as a children's writer with Wildwood illustrated by wife, Carson Ellis. He will be kicking off their book tour as the keynote of the AJC Decatur Book Festival on September 2, 2011.^[5]

Notes

1. ^ "Colin Meloy". Montana Kids. Montana Office of Tourism. http://montanakids.com/cool_stories/famous_montanans/meloy.htm. Retrieved September 5, 2011. 
2. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Biography: Colin Meloy". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p552250. Retrieved September 6, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Schweber, Nate, "The Making of Meloy", The Montanan, Winter, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
4. ^ "The Decemberists - Meloy Opens Up About Autistic Son", contactmusic.com, 28 January 2011 19:01. "Meloy tells Britain's Uncut magazine, 'My son... is autistic. So that song ["Rise To Me"] is about mine and Carson's challenges.'" Retrieved 2011-04-08.
5. ^ "AJC Decatur Book Festival". AJC Decatur Book Festival. http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/2011/authors/detail.php?id=91. Retrieved 21 June 2011. 

External links

• Decemberists Official Website
• Colin Meloy's Twitter

Persondata
Name	Meloy, Colin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 5, 1974
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death