Description
Our highly-renowned musician bio writer will craft a Signature Story that will become the cornerstone of your PR and Marketing efforts. A compelling musician biography is essential in catching the eyes of media makers and potential fans.
Your musician bio, which we call a signature story here at Cyber PR, is one of the most important aspects of your brand.
Today more than ever before having a compelling story may even be the thing that attracts a potential fan to you (before even hearing your music)
Musician Bio Writing: What To Expect
We will first introduce you to our writer who holds a master’s degree in Journalism from NYU and has written for theVillage Voice, SPIN, Alternative Press, CMJ, among many others. He will email you within the next business day to setup a time to talk on the phone and get to know you better. You can send him your old bio, a draft, a story or notes and your music so he can better get to understand you. You will arrange one conversation of (approx 30-45 minutes); all members of your band/team that wish to be part of this conversation will need to be available at the scheduled time. Within 10 business days following the phone conversation, he will send you a draft for your feedback and edits. Once you’ve replied to with your feedback, he’ll incorporate your edits, get your final approval, and you have your new official Signature Story. Our signature stories are approximately 1 typewritten page.
We Hope these guidelines help!
“Working with Lorne was a holistic experience, as he delved deep into not only the practicalities of my career, but also the deeper motivations and emotions behind my art. The result was a powerfully insightful, inspiring biography, with which I can proudly tell the world, ‘This is who I am, this is what I believe in, this is how I bring value to my community.'”
– Nate Maingard
I felt comfortable opening up and telling my story to a complete stranger. I chalk this up to the fact that Lorne would ask me questions that made me reflect on my past, and really appreciate how far I have come as a musician. The end result was a bio that totally encompassed who I am.
– Timothy Dark
Musician Biography/Signature Story Examples
On January 31st, 2012 Lana Del Rey released the darkly glamorous Born To Die (Interscope). Her album debuted at #1 on iTunes in eighteen countries and has totaled over a million in sales worldwide, achieving great reviews such as “stunning” (NME) and “brilliantly realized” (BBC).
Many of her fans’ initial encounter with the singer-songwriter was through her DIY video for “Video Games.” But Del Rey—who filmed and edited the video on her Macbook—had already been recording music and making moody homespun videos for eight years when “Video Games” was posted on YouTube. Its distressed and disquieting Americana imagery and the vintage sophistication of Del Rey’s style was iconically resonant, and “Video Games” has since garnered over 32 million views.
Music blogs took to “Video Games” and influential BBC Radio One DJ Fearne Cotton became enamored with the track. Within weeks the video soared to a million views and by the end of July of 2011 she landed a worldwide deal with Universal Music.
Lana Del Rey was born Lizzy Grant, the oldest of three children, in the quietly rustic environs of Lake Placid, in Upstate New York. “It has an epic, nostalgic feel. It’s in the middle of a National Park,” she says of her home, Growing up she sang in the church choir. Her formative soundtrack included such diverse sounds as Nirvana, The Beach Boys, Daniel Johnston and Bruce Springsteen
As a teen she discovered the literate irreverence of beat-poet Allen Ginsberg. His lush wordplay made an indelible impression and remains a keystone conceptual influence on Del Rey’s music. She told SPIN magazine, “The way I ended up having relationships and living life, it sometimes mimics those more wild relationships.” At 15, she found Ginsberg’s epic poem “Howl.” “It was one of the first pieces of literature that ever resonated with me. The fact that I related so closely to Ginsberg’s manic, drug-fueled rantings was a sign of very dark but creative times to come,” she said in Fader.
At eighteen, Del Rey moved to New York City to study philosophy at Fordham University and began honing her lushly romantic sound. “When I first got to New York City I was playing acoustic sets. Stylistically, I think my music has kind of stayed the same since then,” Del Rey revealed to Papermag. “My songs have always had a darker undertone just because…it came naturally.” Her first break was singing in a songwriting competition, which landed her a record deal with the indie 5 Points label. She used the recording advance to move into a New Jersey trailer park where she lived for a year and a half while she made her first record with David Kahne.
Del Rey made her performance debut when she was 19 at an open mic night in Williamsburg. The interlocking sounds of her mesmerizing, hushed voice and the bruised luxury of her music made an impression that night. “Somebody ran out after me and said ‘You should come to a night I’m doing next week and play some songs for me.’ I was afraid of everything. If they had laughed at me that night I would have never come back on stage. Ever,” she reveals. Around this formative period she changed her name. “It’s nice to be able to try and build the life you want for yourself. All the things you start off with are given to you by somebody else,” she says. “You have to be brave and try to start again. It might be a little scary. Not many people say ‘let’s start life over and do it again the way I want to.’”
“I wanted a name I could shape the music towards,” she specified in a UK Vogue interview. “I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba –Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.”
In addition to her visual flair, Born To Die’s cinematic quality is also due to Del Rey’s affinity for classic arrangements. Her ability to fuse mannered torch song balladry with hip-hop bravado imbues the music with a sense of drama that feels familiar yet new. The 12-track Born To Die is dynamically expansive, from the rugged hip-hop flavor of “Off To The Races” to the mesmerizing grandeur of “National Anthem.” Del Rey’s producers and conceptual co-conspirator Emile Haynie helped her realize her musical vision, with Haynie capturing her sound in his intimate studio filled with vintage vinyl and recording equipment. Born To Die is rife with such contrasts as organic spy-movie guitars and swooning strings, grimy samples and juicy hip-hop beats.
In recent months, Del Rey revealed her gorgeous “Born To Die” video, directed by Yoann Lemoine, a tragic epic with the distinction of being the first ever video the French allowed to be filmed at the majestic Fontainebleau. After making her TV debut on the UK’s Later With Jools Holland to great acclaim, she won Q Magazine’s Next Big Thing Award and has since appeared on top programs across Europe and the US, including Saturday Night Live, Late Show With David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, American Idol, Tonight with Jonathan Ross, twice on France’s Le Grand Journal, and Germany’s Echo Awards. Her refreshingly eclectic style has been praised in UK Vogue and New York Times’ T Style Magazine, and she’s graced a dozen covers including Billboard, Complex, Q, NME, UK Vogue, Wonderland and Interview Magazine (Germany). By January 2012, Lana won Best International Breakthrough Artist prize at the Brit Awards.
Her next single, “Blue Jeans,” was an alternate video to the signature montage-style one her fans discovered last year on YouTube along with “Video Games,” this one shot in LA is a beautiful film noir style black and white video. Acting as a prequel to Born to Die, it represents the dangerous beginnings of the relationship that she is reflecting back to in the video for ‘Born to Die.’ She’s currently finalizing her 2012 tour plans, as her loyal fan base grows worldwide. For the 25-year old it’s an overnight success eight years in the making.
Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon’s sensitive and poetic vision of life courses through his exquisite photography, philanthropic pursuits, and his acclaimed music. On June 4th he returns with his first album in 15 years, the stunning Everything Changes (Music From Another Room), a masterwork of powerfully vulnerable and sophisticatedly accessible adult pop.
Julian’s melding of uplifting introspection and thoughtful social commentary with refined hooks has made for a compelling six-album body of work. His debut, Valotte (Atlantic), yielded two top ten hits—the title track and “Too Late for Goodbyes”—and was nominated for a Grammy for “Best New Artist.” He went on to have #1 singles on the U.S. album rock charts. Internationally, one of his most popular songs “Saltwater” charted successfully around the world, topping in Australia for four weeks and reached #6 in the UK. In advance of its June 4th U.S. release, his latest, Everything Changes (Music From Another Room), is already receiving national airplay and press plaudits nationally and internationally. The Sunday Press calls it a “revelation” and Herald Standard gushes Julian has “returned stronger and better than ever.”
Since 1998, Julian has devoted himself to altruistic concerns. He produced the compelling documentary whaledreamers that was shown at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and earned 8 International Film Festival Awards. In 2007, Julian founded The White Feather Foundation whose mission “embraces environmental and humanitarian issues and in conjunction with partners from around the world helps to raise funds for the betterment of all life, and to honor those who have truly made a difference.”
He has emerged a renowned photographer, applying the warm candor of his vision in music to producing iconic images. Julian has worked extensively with U2, his brother Sean, and photographed his friend Charlene Wittstock, exclusively for Vogue, prior to her civil wedding to Prince Albert II of Monaco. His debut exhibition at the esteemed The Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City garnered many outstanding reviews. He has followed this with two successful exhibitions at Art Basel Miami 2010 and 2012, among other venues internationally. He is currently preparing for a collaborative opening with Chinese artist Simon Ma, for the Venice Biennale 2013.
Everything Changes is a stunning achievement. It’s stately and intimate, and thoughtfully paced. Lyrically, it covers romance, introspection, and humanitarian concerns with artistic concision, mixing clever wordplay with emotional directness. The poignancy and poise of “Everything Changes” opens the album and sets a universally spiritual tone. The beautifully crafted lead off single “Someday” features mystical Eastern melodic motifs and boasts guest vocalist Steven Tyler. It engagingly combines Julian’s lifework as a philanthropist and gifted songwriter. Here, Julian sings pristinely with earnestness the timeless message: “We’re all in it together / One love, now and forever.” Other album standouts are the mesmerizing piano pop ballad “Lookin’ 4 Luv” and the euphoric rocker “Just For You.”
Besides Steven Tyler, also guesting on the album is musician/producer Peter Vettese (Jethro Tull, Annie Lennox, Pet Shop Boys), singer-songwriter Paul Buchanan (Blue Nile), legendary songwriter Mark Spiro (Heart, Laura Branigan, Lita Ford), singer/producer/composer Tim Ellis, as well as longtime friends Justin Clayton, Gregory Darling, Matt Backer and Guy Pratt. Julian and Grant Ransom jointly produced the album.
Julian recently sang backing vocals on Aerosmith’s critically acclaimed comeback album. He returns to his music fans with new confidence and renewed purpose. Everything Changes has all the hallmarks of Julian Lennon’s classic, sublime lifestyle music, yet glows with tender wisdom gleaned from his many life explorations.
Five-time Grammy nominee Joe Jackson began his career in the fertile late 1970s new wave scene scoring hits with “Is She Really Going Out With Him” (1979), “Steppin’ Out” (1982), and “You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” (1984). Early on the English singer-songwriter was positioned alongside Elvis Costello and Graham Parker as pioneering artists cultivating a sophisticated pop-infused successor to punk before Joe Jackson distinguished himself by delving into jazz and classical music.
The smart hooks of 1979’s Look Sharp! (A&M)—punk euphoria tempered by a uniquely rich harmonic depth—would be his big break; the album boasted his first single “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” and quickly went gold. But Jackson hit his stride with the refined pop of 1982’s Night And Day (A&M). It was a tip of the fedora to Gershwin, Cole Porter, and the classic American songbook. With tunes like “Real Men” about 1980s NYC gay culture and the charting “Steppin’ Out” and “Breaking Us In Two”, it was both progressive and populistic. The album hit #4 in the U.S. and became a template for his later work—crisp, catchy, jazz-informed tunes with lyrics that balanced wry wit with vulnerability. His next release, 1984’s Body And Soul (A&M), featuring the buoyant ““You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want),” further mined this richly soulful songcraft. The album’s cover was a play on the classic monochromatic Blue Note Records aesthetic and the music celebrated the label’s trademark post-bop groove within Jackson’s infectious compositional sense. Another highpoint occurred in 1999 when Jackson set his sights on classical music, signed with Sony Classical, and won a Grammy for his Symphony No. 1 release.
While his career trajectory has been admirably introspective and “music first,” his impact has been widespread. The thrash band Anthrax covered “Got The Time,” Tori Amos covered “Real Men,” the pop-rock band Sugar Ray covered “Is She Really Going Out With Him,” jazz singer Kurt Elling covered “Steppin’ Out,” and Inara George of the Bird and the Bee covered “Fools In Love.” His career-spanning live records put into perspective the scope of his career and tie all the music together with one Joe Jackson constant—his devotion to jazz and it’s playfully mercurial nature. Besides Joe’s first live album, Big World (1986)—which he went without a net and recorded – – right in front of an audience— the live-album medium has been a forum for him to revisit and reimagine his catalog.
His latest Live Music will be released June 7th on the NYC-based indie Razor & Tie. It’s an elegant trio outing featuring longtime Joe Jackson Band collaborators Graham Maby (bass/vocals) and Dave Houghton (drums/vocals) opening up chestnuts like Night and Day’s “Another World” and Look Sharp’s “Sunday Papers,” as well as evergreens like “Steppin’ Out” and “Got The Time.” Joe throws in a few surprises, an achingly gorgeous piano and voice version of the Beatles’ “Girl,” a reverent version of Ian Dury’s “Inbetweenies” with a crystalline piano solo, and a playful go at David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters.” Joe’s method of operation is fastidious in the studio and liberated onstage—all twelve of these tracks are purely live with no after-the-fact studio cosmetics. Despite this being Joe’s sixth live album, no two tour snapshots are alike. Joe’s a thoughtful artist, carefully tweaking arrangements, exploring harmony, rhythm and sharing his explorations and experiments with his fans. This is the latest photo album from his 2008 European tour.
The Kickback’s debut, Sorry All Over The Place (Jullian Records), is an invigorating 10-song collection that fuses ‘60s bubblegum sentimentality with modern indie rock’s quirky confessionals and wiry musicality.
The album also represents vocalist/guitarist Billy Yost’s seven-year odyssey, as he shifted from being a small town songwriter living with his parents to writing music on his own terms, putting together an acclaimed band, and earning the respect of one of his primary influences.
The story begins in 2009 when Billy, a recent college graduate, decided to leave his rural South Dakota home and move to Chicago. “I was terrified about making the move,” Billy confides. “I loved where I grew up. I spent a lot of time there writing songs for this record, and figuring out what I had to offer. But I needed a bigger pool of musicians who I had things in common with musically.”
The Kickback have released a clutch of EPs and singles and have garnered praise from Rolling Stone, esteemed tastemaker Jim DeRogatis (Sound Opinions, SPIN, Chicago Sun Times), You Ain’t No Picasso, the Chicago Tribune, among many other outlets. The Chicago-based quartet has built a robust and respected live profile through incendiary gigs and tours with artists such as White Rabbits, Smith Westerns, Here We Go Magic, Tapes ‘n Tapes, and Telekinesis.
The band furthered their reach and appeal with their podcast DISASTOUR, which, with barbed wit, self-deprecating candor, and warmth, peels back the shiny veneer of the rock n’ roll life, revealing the humor and struggles of what it means to be a contemporary musician. Since 2010, the group has aired over 100 episodes of the popular series.
The Kickback, composed of Billy Yost (vocals, guitar), Eamonn Donnelly (bass), Jonny Ifergan (guitar), and Ryan Farnham (drums), is influenced by a broad array of irreverent, cerebral, and sometimes outlandish, cultural references. They cite Hunter S. Thompson, post-post-modernism, an inflated sense of self-importance, large families, David Foster Wallace, The Wire, big sounds and then quiet sounds, David Lynch, harmonies, Michael Keaton, and entitlement, as their conceptual inspirations.
Upon arriving in Chicago, Billy assembled the band through Craigslist ads, weathering a series of changes until the band solidified with the current lineup. Despite Billy’s status as the founding member and primary songwriter, The Kickback is a truly collaborative effort built around each member’s artistic vision.
A milestone moment came when the band, with humor and bravado, sent their demos to Jim Eno from Spoon (one of Billy’s primary modern artistic inspirations). Jim responded favorably and got in touch with the band. “I remember I was standing in a friend’s kitchen when I got his message,” Billy recalls, laughing. “I called him and I was breathing so heavy, and I talked at him for 10 minutes about every song he’s done. He mercifully let me finish my diatribe before asking about my music.”
To record Sorry All Over The Place, the four-piece decamped to Jim Eno’s studio, Public Hi-Fi, in Austin, Texas. “We spent three weeks sleeping body to body to body to body. It was like trauma bonding,” Billy says laughing good-naturedly. “We bonded together through making a lot of sacrifices, working hard, and navigating everyone’s feelings to make something we all feel really good about.”
The Kickback’s debut album is named after a fictional footnote in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. In a similar spirit to Wallace’s multi-layered literary tour de force (which includes 388 endnotes), Sorry All Over The Place is rife with a fascinating array of references and revelations. “I like the idea of contrasts. Like with David Letterman you had a late night personality that seemed unhappy to be there, or with the Muppets—they can warm your heart as puppets or terrify a child as monsters,” Billy explains.
It’s this infatuation with juxtaposition, beamed through the lens of Billy’s life, that makes the album both comforting and disquieting. “The rule I make for myself is that the more disconcerting a song is, the more upbeat and dancey it should be,” Billy says.
“Scorched Earth Brouhaha” lops along with catchy, propulsive guitar riffs and balmy power-pop passages. It recalls a summer when Billy returned home from college to work at a summer camp, and his parents ended up getting a divorce at the same time. The dreamy “When I Die” is a torch song for the megalomaniac terrified of death, who even in his fearful obsessions seeks to control everything. Here Billy sings, Without me there, you just live a life decayed/Press and fold all my clothes but don’t give them away/I’m coming back someday just to spite my enemies.
The new-wavey “Sting’s Teacher Years” sonically alludes to The Police and Sting’s former life as a teacher, while more directly citing Billy’s prior path as a college graduate with a teacher’s degree confronting the next era of his life. “It’s a scary time after you graduate and it took me a long time to learn ‘normal people’ adult things,” Billy says candidly.
The song epitomizes the band’s journey from South Dakota to the driven days in Chicago. “I’m really grateful for how everything has turned out. I’ve never felt stronger about a batch of songs I’ve written. We felt so strongly about sharing this music that we were going to hand out albums on street corners. I’m glad it didn’t come to that,” Billy says laughing.
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