Jenny Conlee | |
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Background information | |
Born | Seattle, Washington, U.S. [1] | December 12, 1971
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Accordion, piano, organ, keyboard, vocals, glockenspiel, melodica |
Jennifer Lynn Conlee-Drizos (born December 12, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the accordionist, pianist, organist, keyboardist, melodica player, and occasional backup singer and harmonicist for the indie rock quintet The Decemberists. [2]
Aside from her work with the Decemberists, Conlee has made guest appearances on several records by other artists, including Hush Records artist Reclinerland, Lewi Longmire, Jerry Joseph, Buoy LaRue and many others. Before the Decemberists, she played piano for the 1990s Portland, Oregon, band Calobo. She is also a member of Portland-based Casey Neill & The Norway Rats where she plays keyboards, accordion, and glockenspiel. Her most recent project is the acoustic band Black Prairie, in which she plays with a number of other Portland artists. She also founded the band KMRIA (Kiss My Royal Irish Arse), a The Pogues cover band. [3]
Conlee's accordions include a Paolo Soprani, which was on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [4] and a Petosa Futura, which she described as her "regular axe". [5]
Her solo debut Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano was released in 2023. [6]
In 2011, she appeared on Portlandia in comedic skits with Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. She played a musician who unsuccessfully tries to play at every venue at Blunderbuss, a fictional citywide Portland, Oregon festival, as a member of the band Sparkle Pony, and is turned away as she is not on the line up of any of them. [7]
She also appeared on Parks and Recreation when The Decemberists performed at the Unity Concert.
She is married to drummer Steve Drizos. [8] In May 2011, Conlee was diagnosed with breast cancer. [9] Colin Meloy said that a full recovery was likely, but that she would miss some concerts. [9] On October 20, 2011, Meloy announced via his Twitter that Conlee's cancer was in remission. [10]
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query (bass), and John Moen (drums).
Castaways and Cutouts is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade".
Picaresque is the third studio album from The Decemberists. It was released in 2005 on the Kill Rock Stars record label. The word "picaresque" refers to a form of satirical prose originating in Spain, depicting realistically and often humorously the adventures of a low-born, roguish hero living by their wits in a corrupt society.
Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and percussion instruments.
5 Songs is a six-track EP by the Decemberists initially self-released in 2001. It is the first record the band released. The misleading title owes to the fact that the final track, "Apology Song", was written after the original self-produced CD was released. Meloy liked it so much that it was added to the album when it was re-released by Hush Records in 2003.
Carson Friedman Ellis is a Canadian-born American children's book illustrator and artist. She received a Caldecott Honor for her children's book Du Iz Tak? (2016). Her work is inspired by folk art, art history, and mysticism.
Rachel Chaiya Blumberg is an American musician, artist, and filmmaker, best known for her tenure as the drummer for the indie rock band The Decemberists.
The Crane Wife is the fourth album by the Decemberists, released in 2006. It was produced by Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter inspired by William Shakespeare's The Tempest. National Public Radio listeners voted The Crane Wife the best album of 2006.
Blanket Music is a jazz-influenced indie-rock band from Portland, Oregon. Led by Chad Crouch, the owner/operator of Hush Records.
Her Majesty the Decemberists is the second full-length album by The Decemberists, released on September 9, 2003, by Kill Rock Stars. The song "Song for Myla Goldberg" was written years earlier, after Colin Meloy had been a media escort for the novelist Myla Goldberg during a tour following the publication of her first book, Bee Season.
The Hazards of Love is the fifth album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released through Capitol Records and Rough Trade in 2009. The album was inspired by an Anne Briggs EP titled The Hazards of Love. According to the band, frontman Colin Meloy had set out to write a song with the album's title, which eventually developed into an entire album. Becky Stark, Shara Nova, and Jim James provide guest vocals throughout the album, while Robyn Hitchcock makes a cameo guitar appearance on "An Interlude".
Casey Neill is an American musician. He leads Portland, Oregon-based band Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, singing with a raspy vocal quality and playing electric and acoustic guitars. Neill's style, folk-punk, mixes influences from punk, Celtic and folk music, and has been compared to R.E.M. and The Pogues.
Killingsworth is the eighth studio album by The Minus 5, released by Yep Roc Records in 2009. The album was a collaboration with the Portland, Oregon–based indie rock band The Decemberists.
The King Is Dead is the sixth studio album by The Decemberists, released on Capitol Records on January 14, 2011. Described as the "most pastoral, rustic record they've ever made" by Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone, the album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 5, 2011. The song "This Is Why We Fight" reached number 19 on the U.S Alternative Songs Chart, while the song "Down by the Water" also charted in the United States. In November 2011, the band released an EP of album out-takes, entitled Long Live the King.
Jerry Joseph is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
The first season of the television comedy Portlandia premiered on IFC in the United States from January 21 to February 25, 2011 for six episodes.
Florasongs is an EP by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on October 9, 2015, on Capitol Records. The release is composed of five out-takes from their seventh studio album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.
I'll Be Your Girl is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on March 16, 2018 on Capitol and Rough Trade. Produced by John Congleton, the band experimented with new instrumentation during the album's recording sessions, including several synth-based compositions inspired by New Order and Depeche Mode. The album was preceded by the singles "Severed" and "Once in My Life".
Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano is a 2023 studio album by American singer-songwriter Jenny Conlee.
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again is the ninth studio album by the American indie rock band the Decemberists, it was released on June 14, 2024, on YABB Records. It is a double album, produced by Tucker Martine, who the band has frequently collaborated with.