Inara George | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Inara Maryland George |
Born | Towson, Maryland, U.S. | July 4, 1974
Origin | Los Angeles, California |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instruments |
|
Years active | 1990s–present |
Labels | Bluenote |
Inara Maryland George (born July 4, 1974) [1] is an American singer-songwriter and musician, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark.
George was born in Towson, Maryland. She is the daughter of Lowell George, the founder of the rock and roll group Little Feat, and Elizabeth George. Jackson Browne wrote the song "Of Missing Persons" for Inara George after the death of her father, who died just before her fifth birthday. She has three half brothers named Luke, Forrest and Jed. [2]
George was involved with theatre at a young age, especially Theatricum Botanicum a Shakespeare company, in Topanga Canyon, a community in the Santa Monica mountains. She later relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to study acting in the classical theater tradition. [3]
While visiting home one summer, George and several high-school friends launched a band named Lode. To their surprise, the bandmates landed a deal with Geffen Records and released the 1996 album Legs & Arms. Later, George joined Bryony Atkinson to form Merrick, an indie rock duo that released two albums before disbanding in 2002.
Three years later, George struck out on her own by issuing her solo debut All Rise on Everloving Records. All Rise was produced by Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko, Freaks and Geeks) and featured musical contributions from Greg Kurstin. The two formed the Bird and the Bee and released a self-titled album in 2006, followed by several EPs. While preparing for the duo's second full-length release, George also found time to return to her own project, teaming up with veteran producer and family friend Van Dyke Parks for 2008's An Invitation. [3]
George is married to director Jake Kasdan, with whom she has three children, including twins. [4]
Van Dyke Parks is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album Song Cycle and for his collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. In addition to producing or arranging albums by Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, Little Feat, Happy End, Ry Cooder and Joanna Newsom, Parks has worked with performers such as Syd Straw, Ringo Starr, U2, Grizzly Bear, Inara George, Kimbra, Suzy Williams, Bob Dylan and Silverchair.
Michael Andrews, also known as Elgin Park, is an American multi-instrumental musician, producer, and film score composer. He is best known for a cover version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World", which he recorded with Gary Jules for the Donnie Darko soundtrack, and which became the 2003 UK Christmas number one. He is a founding member of the San Diego soul-jazz band The Greyboy Allstars, where he goes by the moniker Elgin Park.
Lowell Thomas George was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Before forming Little Feat, he was for a short while a member of Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention.
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne, drummer Richie Hayward and bassist Roy Estrada in 1969 in Los Angeles. The band's classic line-up, in place by late 1972, comprised George, Payne, Hayward, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving members re-formed Little Feat in 1987 and the band has remained active to the present.
Monica "Moony" Bragato is an Italian singer. She is best known as the vocalist on DB Boulevard's hit single "Point of View", as well as for her own single "Dove ".
Valerie Gail Zakian Carter was an American singer.
Fredrick O. Tackett is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat.
The Bird and the Bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of Inara George and Greg Kurstin. Kurstin is a nine-time Grammy Award–winning producer and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists including Sia, Adele, Beck, Kendrick Lamar, and the Foo Fighters. George and Kurstin met while the two were working on her debut album and they decided to collaborate on a jazz-influenced electropop project. Their debut EP, Again and Again and Again and Again, was released on October 31, 2006, followed by their self-titled debut album on January 23, 2007.
The Bird and the Bee is the debut studio album by American indie pop duo the Bird and the Bee, released on January 23, 2007, by Blue Note Records. Containing three tracks which appeared on the band's 2006 EP Again and Again and Again and Again, the album received positive reviews from music critics. The first single, "Fucking Boyfriend", reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 2006.
Becky Stark is an American artist, singer, songwriter and entertainer from Los Angeles, California. She is the voice of the band Lavender Diamond.
Please Clap Your Hands is the second EP by American indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee, released on September 25, 2007 by Blue Note Records. It contains four original tracks and a cover of The Bee Gees' 1977 song "How Deep Is Your Love", which features backing vocals from Australian singer Sia.
Gregory Allen Kurstin is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to four songs which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Join the Band is a 2008 album recorded by Little Feat. Their first studio album in five years, it features no new original songs but is a set of collaborations with other artists such as Bob Seger, Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews and Inara George. It was released on July 1, 2008.
Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future is the second studio album by American indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee, released on January 27, 2009, by Blue Note Records. The album contains the two lead-off tracks from the duo's last two studio EPs: "Polite Dance Song" from Please Clap Your Hands and "Birthday" from One Too Many Hearts.
A Sideman's Journey is the first solo album by German musician and artist Klaus Voormann, released in July 2009. Voormann is best known as the creator of the cover art for The Beatles' album Revolver as well as for being a much-in-demand session musician during the 1970s. He played bass on a large number of well-known albums by ex-Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr − including All Things Must Pass, Imagine and The Concert for Bangladesh − and by artists such as Harry Nilsson, Doris Troy, Lou Reed, Gary Wright, Carly Simon and Randy Newman. Before then, Voormann had been a member of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann. A Sideman's Journey is notable for including performances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yusuf Islam, among others.
Dianna Marie St. Hilaire, better known as Opāru, is an American actor, singer and composer from Los Angeles, California. She was born in Modesto, California and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her genre is Dark Electro Pop, Pop, and Ethereal.
Recreational Love is the fourth studio album by the American indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee, released by Rostrum Records on July 10, 2015. The first single, "Will You Dance?" was released on May 5, 2015.
Tim Aaron is an American musician, composer, and sound designer. He is a multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a guitar player, and is active in indie rock and post-punk revival through performance and the establishment of the music label, Missing Records. As a founding member of the band GobbleHoof, he played a role in the psychedelic punk grunge scene in early-1990s. He also performed extensively in other music groups, including Skunk, Model/Actress, Merrick, H.P. Zinker, and for Lisa Marie Presley. He is currently the frontman for the Los Angeles band, The Brite Sides.
Don Heffington was an American drummer, percussionist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles alternative country band Lone Justice, which he performed with from 1982 to 1985. Heffington was also a member of the bluegrass band Watkins Family Hour, recorded three solo albums, and was a session and touring musician for various artists, including Lowell George, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Victoria Williams, the Wallflowers, the Jayhawks, and Joanna Newsom.
Alexandra West Lilly is an American singer-songwriter. She has played in the touring bands for Beck, Lorde, Ry Cooder, and The Bird and the Bee. Since 2010 she has played in The Living Sisters, a supergroup featuring The Bird and the Bee's Inara George, Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark, and solo performer Eleni Mandell.