Andrew Shapiro | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, New York, United States | September 5, 1975
Genres | Synthpop, Classical, Minimalism, Ambient |
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano, Synthesizer, Woodwinds |
Years active | 1999-present |
Website | andrewshapiro |
Andrew Shapiro is an American composer and songwriter. He has characterized his music as having been primarily influenced by "80's new wave pop and Philip Glass minimalism." [1]
From 2004 to 2013 Shapiro regularly performed his solo piano compositions and improvisations at a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in downtown Manhattan for which he was profiled in The New York Times . [2] He was described as the “Best Pianist in a Fast-Food Restaurant” in the Village Voice. [3] Performance highlights include The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, [4] the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, TED, Bard College, Joe's Pub, Gracie Mansion, Bargemusic and the Wordless Music series at Le Poisson Rouge, New York. [5]
Shapiro's music has been played on the radio worldwide and his music has been mentioned in The New Yorker, ABC News, CNN, Gramophone and Daily Candy. [3] His most popular piece, the solo piano track Mint Green, has been played over eight million times on Pandora Radio. [6]
His synth-pop debut album, Invisible Days EP, was chosen as one of the "Top 12" independently produced recordings of 2003 by Performing Songwriter magazine. [3] Shapiro's three solo piano albums, Numbers, Colors and People (2009), Intimate Casual (2012) and Piano 3 (2016) were created with the help of Philip Glass producer Michael Riesman.
Pink Jean Mint Green, a synth-pop album featuring a collaboration with author Neil Gaiman, was released in 2016. [7]
He has written original music for film and theater projects, and his pieces have been licensed for use in television projects worldwide, ranging from reality TV to a Clio Award-winning spot for cancer awareness. [6]
Shapiro's music is published by Airbox Music (ASCAP), a label he founded in 2002. [8]
Shapiro is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio where he studied musical composition. [9] Raised in Larchmont, New York, he lives in with his wife and son in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. [1]
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He co-created the TV series adaptations of Good Omens and The Sandman.
Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She had to leave at the age of eleven when her scholarship was discontinued for what Rolling Stone described as "musical insubordination". Amos was the lead singer of the short-lived 1980s pop group Y Kant Tori Read before achieving her breakthrough as a solo artist in the early 1990s. Her songs focus on a broad range of topics, including sexuality, feminism, politics, and religion.
Vertigo Comics was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
American Gods (2001) is a novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow.
Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter from Greensboro, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the eponymous frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. He has recorded a number of solo albums – the most recent of which, What Matters Most, was released in June 2023. He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Since May 2017, he has been the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
"Money" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original album. Released as a single, it became the band's first hit in the United States, reaching number 10 in Cash Box magazine and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Amanda MacKinnon Palmer is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a member of the duo Evelyn Evelyn and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. She has gained a cult fanbase and was one of the first musical artists to popularize the use of crowdfunding websites.
Andrew Ross McMahon is an American singer-songwriter. He was the vocalist, pianist and primary lyricist for the bands Something Corporate and main songwriter for Jack's Mannequin and performs solo both under his own name as well as his moniker, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. On April 30, 2013, he debuted his first solo work, an EP titled The Pop Underground, which was followed by his debut album Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, released on October 14, 2014. His second album, Zombies on Broadway, was released on February 10, 2017. He released his third album, Upside Down Flowers, on November 16, 2018. His fourth album, Tilt at the Wind No More, was released on March 31, 2023. His memoir, Three Pianos, was published by Princeton Architectural Press on October 26, 2021.
Douglas Scott Gillard is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde.
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and activist Neil Young. It has been covered by many other artists.
Gene "Sxip" Shirey is an American electric-acoustic composer, performer, and story-teller. Currently based in New York City, he is known for working with found objects, traditional and rare modified instruments, as well as computers and other electronic instruments. Shirey has released three solo albums, including Sonic New York in 2010. Shirey is a member of The Daredevil Opera Company and is a founding member of the band Luminescent Orchestrii, as well as the band Gentlemen & Assassins. He is the host and producer of Sxip's Hour of Charm, a variety show of cabaret acts.
Anton Batagov is a Russian pianist and post-minimalist composer. "One of the most significant and unusual figures of Russian contemporary music", according to 'Newsweek's Russian edition in 1997, Batagov is an influential Russian composer and performer.
Rosie and the Goldbug are a British indie-rock trio.
Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the former drummer for hardcore punk and metal bands Fighting Shit, Celestine, and others.
Renny Wilson is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, record producer, recording engineer, and director. He has recorded as a solo artist, performed as a member of The Subatomics, and as a member of other bands such as Michael Rault, Faith Healer and Brazilian Money.
The Pop Underground is an EP by Andrew McMahon, marking his first official debut as a solo artist separated from his prior bands Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin. It is produced and mixed by Tony Hoffer. It was released on April 30, 2013. The EP received a mainly positive response from music critics, with reviewers praising the release for its upbeat, poppy sound.
Jherek Bischoff is an American composer, arranger, producer, and multi-instrumental performer based in Los Angeles. His credits include over seventy albums and compositions for orchestra, opera, film, theater, and ballet. Utilizing orchestral, electronic and rock instrumentation, Bischoff blends contemporary classical, ambient and experimental rock music.
Christopher Cerrone is an American composer based in New York City. He was a 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a 2014 Fromm Foundation commission recipient, a 2015 Rome Prize winner in Music Composition, and has received numerous awards from ASCAP.
Patrick Meaney is a film director, screenwriter, producer, comic book writer, and editor, best known for his work as a director of documentaries about the world of comics books, including Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods, Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, She Makes Comics and Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously. He also directed the horror film House of Demons, and his most recent film is the musical romance The Brink Of.
There Will Be No Intermission is the third solo studio album by American musician Amanda Palmer. It was released on March 8, 2019, through Cooking Vinyl. It was crowdfunded through Patreon and recorded by Palmer in collaboration with John Congleton over the course of a month. It was supported by a 2019–2020 tour. The vinyl version of the album was released on March 29, 2019.