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Devendra Banhart
Background information
Birth name	Devendra Banhart
Born	May 30, 1981 (1981-05-30) (age 27) Houston, Texas, US
Origin	Caracas, Venezuela. (From 1983 to 1996).
Genre(s)	New Weird America Psych folk Freak folk
Instrument(s)	Vocals Guitar
Years active	2002 - present
Label(s)	hinah Young God XL Recordings
Associated acts	Vetiver Megapuss

Devendra Banhart (born May 30, 1981, Houston, Texas) is an American/Venezuelan folk rock singer-songwriter and musician. Banhart's music has been classified as indie folk, psych folk, Naturalismo, and New Weird America; his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Personal life 1.2 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 EPs 2.3 Singles 3 Collaborations 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Born in Texas on May 30, 1981, Banhart's unusual first name was chosen by an Indian spiritual teacher whom his parents admired. When his parents divorced, Banhart and his mother relocated to Caracas, Venezuela, where he grew up (since he was 2 to 13 years old). After his mother remarried, Banhart moved again, this time to Los Angeles. He had been composing songs since his early teens, but never performed in public. Art, it seemed, was Banhart's true passion throughout childhood, and he won a scholarship to the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute to continue his studies. During his education, Banhart lived with a gay couple, whom he nicknamed Jerry Elvis and Bob the Crippled Comic. It was their faith in him that gave Banhart his first public performance–the couple's wedding.

[edit] Career

Banhart was "discovered" by Michael Gira of Swans, who released his Oh Me Oh My... and a few subsequent albums on his own Young God Records label beginning in 2002. In 2005, Banhart (along with Andy Cabic and Revolver USA) created Gnomonsong record label. In 2006 he helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival.

Banhart is considered to have an eclectic style, with many of his songs seemingly following a stream-of-consciousness vein, being hard to decipher and non-literal. He gained some underground notoriety in New York City for performing several of his early shows with underwear on his head for the duration of the performance.

Banhart's most recent tour of the United States saw him perform with his full band, Power Mineral. The group included Andy Cabic (Vetiver), Greg Rogove (Priestbird), Noah Georgeson, Luckey Remington, Pete Newsom, Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Currituck Co., Espers, Nick Castro), Kevin Barker (Currituck Co.), and others. The band claims to rechristen itself when a name comes to them, and has previously been known as Fried Hummingbird, Vagina Burglars, Hairy Fairy Band, Las Putas Locas, Stoner Boner, Spiritual Boner, Bummer Hummer, Brain Taint, Love Fart and Bathhouse Of The Winds, among other names. Banhart and his bandmates have been known to unwind by playing pickup football or basketball games with their fans while on tour.

Banhart was the first artist to contribute a design for the Yellow Bird Project.

In 2007, Sacramento-born singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau included a song about Banhart on his album The Automatic Door called "Who's The Pony Now?", which mentions his name eleven times.

A collection of original artwork by Banhart was exhibited alongside the works of the late Swiss painter Paul Klee through February 24, 2008, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The show was titled "Abstract Rhythms".^{[citation needed]}

Devendra had a brief cameo in the 2008 romantic comedy Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. His song "Lover" is also featured in the movie and on its soundtrack CD.

According to the headline on his Myspace profile, Devendra has finished recording his new album and is in the mixing stage. [1]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• The Charles C. Leary (2002)
• Oh Me Oh My (2002)
• Rejoicing in the Hands (2004) France #157
• Niño Rojo (2004) France #166
• Cripple Crow (2005) France #42
• Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007) US#115

[edit] EPs

• The Black Babies (2003)
• Devendra Banhart/Jana Hunter (2005)

[edit] Singles

• Heard Somebody Say (2005)

[edit] Collaborations

• "Rejoicing in the Hands" with Vashti Bunyan on The Golden Apples of the Sun; Banhart was also the "oral curator" for the album (2004).
• UNICEF benefit song with various artists on "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" (2005).
• "Spiralling" with Antony and the Johnsons on I Am a Bird Now (2005).
• The Black Swan with Bert Jansch (2006)
• The second "Water Piece" project with Yoko Ono.
• The song "The Century Trilogy III: The Fall" with Tarantula AD on their album, Book of Sand.
• The song ""Rosa" on his album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, with Rodrigo Amarante from Los Hermanos.
• Gael García Bernal sings with him on Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, on the first track, "Cristobal."
• "Brazilian Sun" with CocoRosie on their second album, Noah's Ark.
• "Houses" with CocoRosie on their third album, The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn.
• A cover of Caetano Veloso's "London, London" with Cibelle.
• "Who Loves" on Matteah Baim's album "Death of the Sun," with Jana Hunter.
• Surfing by Megapuss with Gregg Rogove of Priestbird and Fab Moretti of The Strokes
• appears as Angry God on "Act IV: Come Down Like a Man" on VII Acts of an Iron King by Moon and Moon.
• Released a split 7" with Xiu Xiu, with Banhart covering Xiu Xiu's "Support Our Troops OH!" and Xiu Xiu peforming Banhart's "The Body Breaks".

[edit] See also

• New Weird America

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Devendra Banhart

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Devendra Banhart

Record labels

• XL Recordings
• Young God Records (Includes Biography)
• hinah
• Manimal Vinyl Records

Articles and reviews

• Interview from Joshua Klein Pitchfork (10/22/2007)
• Interview from Dennis Cook Signal To Noise (Winter 2008)
• Interview from A.D. Amorosi Harp Magazine (November 2007)
• Interview from Jennifer Kelly Popmatters (10/1/2007)
• Interview from Alex Wagner The Fader (September 2007)
• Interview from Alex Mar MTV News (September 2007)
• Interview London Guardian (2007)
• Interview from David Dye World Cafe ( November 2007)
• Interview from Richard Cromelin Los Angeles Times (9/9/2007)
• Interview with L.A. Record (10/06/2005)
• Interview from Brian M. Palmer (October 2005)
• "As the Crow Flies..." from Filter Magazine (June 2005)
• "The Soft Revolution" from Los Angeles Times Magazine (August 2005)
• "Devendra Banhart paired with Paul Klee at SF MoMA" from ImposeMagazine.com
• "Review Toulouse, November 2007" from rawinvestigations.com
• http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20071102-OPINION0502-71102031 THE CULLING By D. Allan Kerr "A Devendra Who Ain't a Diva"

• Interview by Kevin Serra of kevchino.com (October 22, 2004)

Other

• Official website
• Devendra Banhart at MySpace
• Devendra Banhart Photographs by Lauren Dukoff
• Interview by Jennifer Kelly of splendidzine.com
• Beck with Devendra Banhart

v • d • e Devendra Banhart Studio albums The Charles C. Leary · Oh Me Oh My · The Black Babies · Rejoicing in the Hands  · Niño Rojo · Cripple Crow · Devendra Banhart/Jana Hunter · Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon · Nila, Nila or Why the Kids Don't Stand a Chance Other discography The Golden Apples of the Sun Associated acts CocoRosie · Vetiver