Mishkin Fitzgerald

Last updated

Mishkin Fitzgerald
Born (1985-02-10) 10 February 1985 (age 36)
Genres Dark cabaret, progressive rock, alternative rock
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano, vocals, accordion
Years active2008–present
LabelsDead Round Eyes Records, Leesta Vall, Dr. Music Records
Associated acts Birdeatsbaby, Georgia Train, Hana Piranha
Website www.birdeatsbaby.co.uk

Mishkin Fitzgerald (born 10 February 1985) is an English musician from Brighton, England, most widely known as the lead vocalist and pianist of the progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby.

Contents

Early life and career

Born on 10 February 1985 [1] [2] to a church minister and a math teacher, [3] Fitzgerald has described her upbringing as "religious and conservative". She learned music at an early age by singing hymns at church and playing piano for the congregation, as well as learning the flute at school. Initially teaching herself to play the piano by ear, Fitzgerald was subsequently classically trained by three different teachers, including Robert Orledge. [4] Fitzgerald soon discovered rock and metal, and decided to she wanted to pursue music as a career. [5]

While studying music at University in Brighton, Fitzgerald met and became friends with Garry Mitchell, and the two went on to found the group Birdeatsbaby. [6] The original line up consisted of Fitzgerald on piano and vocals, Mitchell on guitar and bass, Keely McDonald on violin, Ella Stimey on cello, and Philippa Bloomfield on drums. They went on to release their first album Here She Comes-a-Tumblin' in 2009. Fitzgerald and Mitchell have gone on to release five studio albums as well as 20 EPs and singles with the band, with various lineups of other band members, and have toured throughout the UK, Europe, and North America.

In November 2012, a music video for the title track of Fitzgerald's then upcoming debut solo album, Present Company, was published to the official Birdeatsbaby Youtube channel. The video, directed by Dominic William Stoate and Matthew Kinealy, features Fitzgerald as a boxer who gets knocked out in the ring. [7] The full album was released in May 2013. Her second solo album, Seraphim, was released in May 2017. In 2020, Fitzgerald released two instrumental albums: The Piano Conspires, a reworking of the 2019 Birdeatsbaby album The World Conspires arranged for solo piano, in August, [8] and Alkonost in December. [9]

Fitzgerald also wrote music for the 2019 musical Sex and Disability by Brighton based writer Damian Darkness. [10] [11] In 2021, Fitzgerald collaborated with fellow Brighton-based musician Georgia Train, of the band Bitter Ruin, on a new EP titled Mankind. [12] Fitzgerald also teamed up with fellow Birdeatsbaby member Hana Maria (under the name Hana Piranha) to form HVIRESS, self-described as an "electronic occult duo". Their debut single "Arrival" was released on May 28, 2021. [13]

Since 2010, Fitzgerald has also worked as a music teacher. [4]

Personal life

Fitzgerald has suffered from depression for most of her life. [5] She has said that the name "Birdeatsbaby" came to her in a dream after a particularly long bout of insomnia in her teenage years, and that much of the material for the band's first album, Here She Comes-a-Tumblin', came from the nightmares and hallucinations she was experiencing at that time. [6] [14]

Fitzgerald has also openly discussed being sexually assaulted in her teen years, and how this has influenced her songwriting, stating, "Many of my songs are based around experience, I couldn’t help but use it at[ sic ] a subject matter as that kind of trauma can consume you and if you don’t get it out, then it can destroy you." [14]

Fitzgerald is a feminist, [15] as well as a vegan and animal rights activist. [5] [16]

She resides in Brighton with two pugs called Henry and George. [17]

Selected discography

Solo

With Birdeatsbaby

Related Research Articles

Joni Mitchell Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. Drawing from folk, pop, rock, classical, and jazz, Mitchell's songs often reflect on social and philosophical ideals as well as her feelings about romance, womanhood, disillusionment and joy. She has received many accolades, including nine Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century".

Melora Creager American musician

Melora Creager is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, performing artist and founder of the cello rock group Rasputina.

Helen McCookerybook British musician and singer-songwriter

Helen McCookerybook is a British musician and singer-songwriter, who was the bass player and co-singer with The Chefs, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She went on to form Helen and the Horns in the mid 80s. Both bands were admired by John Peel, recording six BBC Radio 1 sessions between them. After a long break from her music career, Helen McCookerybook started again as a solo artist in 2005. She regularly plays live gigs, releases recordings, and promotes occasional revivals of Helen and the Horns.

Adalita Srsen Australian singer

Adalita Srsen is an Australian rock musician who is a founding member of the rock band Magic Dirt and a solo artist. She released her first solo album, Adalita in 2011 and her second solo album, All Day Venus, in September 2013. She is known simply as Adalita.

Alkonost (band)

Alkonost is a Russian epic folk metal band formed in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia in 1995.

Charlotte Wessels Dutch singer-songwriter (born 1987)

Johanna Charlotte Wessels is a Dutch singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain.

The discography of American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission consists of twelve studio albums, one compilation album, two releases issued for free download, five EPs, seventeen singles, ten music videos, and numerous appearances on soundtrack, tribute and sampler albums. The band have had their songs included on over a hundred different compilations and soundtracks, with many of those including the same select few songs. Therefore, only compilations and soundtracks which featured exclusive or otherwise rare content have been included. Also included on this list are their various solo albums and collaborations with other recording artists.

Michelle Chamuel American singer, songwriter and producer

Michelle Jacqueline Chamuel is an American singer, songwriter and producer. She has released several works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. She was the lead singer of the band Ella Riot and the runner-up on season four of The Voice. Influenced by Imogen Heap and Max Martin, she is also known by her producer moniker The Reverb Junkie. Her most recent album titled Couldn't Stay was released in 2020.

Bitter Ruin are an English "experimental pop" duo from Brighton, UK, formed in 2007 by Georgia Train and Ben Richards.

Sóley Icelandic musician

Sóley Stefánsdóttir, better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter.

Emma Ruth Rundle American singer

Emma Ruth Rundle is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist based in Portland, Oregon. Formerly of the Nocturnes and Marriages, she has released five solo albums and is a member of Red Sparowes.

Nubus (musician) Musical artist

Paddy Mulcahy is an Irish composer and producer based in Limerick City. Classically trained in piano from the age of 5, Paddy found his love for electronic music growing in his early teens. In 2011 he was signed to Canadian label Limbic Records.

Leah McHenry Smith, mononymously known as Leah, is a Canadian heavy metal musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, who records both as a solo artist and, since 2018, as a member of Dragonlord. Sometimes called the "Enya of heavy metal", she performs a mixture of symphonic and Celtic metal with folk and world music. As a solo artist, she has released four full-length albums, Of Earth & Angels in 2012, Kings & Queens in 2015, The Quest in 2018, and Ancient Winter in 2019; two EPs, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence in 2012 and Otherworld in 2013; and twenty singles, both as part of album releases and as stand-alone recordings. She is a frequent artistic collaborator with Eric Peterson of Testament and Dragonlord, Timo Somers from Delain and Vengeance, Sander Zoer from Delain, Barend Courbois from Blind Guardian and Vengeance, and Troy Donockley of Nightwish. McHenry and Peterson released a collaborative single, "Winter Sun", in 2015. She joined Dragonlord for its 2018 studio album Dominion. She also has participated in the charity group Project Aegis.

Birdeatsbaby is an English progressive rock band from Brighton, United Kingdom, formed in 2008. At their start, the band's music was considered to be within the dark cabaret genre, but later began to incorporate aspects of heavy metal, klezmer and other musical styles. Their music is noted for its orchestral elements, complex rhythms and exotic instrumentation, with lyrics referencing themes such as religion, alienation, sexual orientation, obsession and animal rights. According to group members, their influences include Chopin, Mozart, Debussy, Queen, Muse and Nick Cave. Since the release of their 2015 album Tanta Furia, their influences have also come from progressive metal artists such as Tool and Opeth.

Caroline Jones Musical artist

Caroline Jones is an American country music singer, songwriter and radio host. Jones has released a number of albums, the most successful one being Bare Feet. Her most recent album, Antipodes, was released on November 12, 2021.

<i>Here She Comes-a-Tumblin</i> 2009 studio album by Birdeatsbaby

Here She Comes-a-Tumblin' is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, first released on June 1, 2009.

<i>Feast of Hammers</i> 2012 studio album by Birdeatsbaby

Feast of Hammers is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, first released on February 20, 2012, through the band's own label, Dead Round Eyes.

<i>The Bullet Within</i> 2014 studio album by Birdeatsbaby

The Bullet Within is the third studio album by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, released July 14, 2014 through the band's own label, Dead Round Eyes. Production of the album was largely funded via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

<i>Tanta Furia</i> 2016 studio album by Birdeatsbaby

Tanta Furia is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, first released November 7, 2016 through the band's own label, Dead Round Eyes.

<i>Bigger Teeth</i> 2010 EP by Birdeatsbaby

Bigger Teeth is a 2010 EP by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, released through their own label, Dead Round Eyes.

References

  1. ↑ Birdeatsbaby (10 February 2013). "Morning!!! Today is Mishkin Fitzgerald's birthday!". Facebook. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ↑ @mishkinbird (10 February 2019). "This is how it looks to be 34" – via Instagram.
  3. ↑ "Mishkin Fitzgerald - Biography". Birdeatsbaby. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 "MISHKIN FITZGERALD". Piano Lessons Brighton. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Friedman, Michael (15 December 2016). "How Mishkin Fitzgerald Emerged From the Darkness". Psychology Today. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 "About". Birdeatsbaby. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Mishkin Fitzgerald (Birdeatsbaby) - Present Company". Youtube. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Piano Conspires by Mishkin Fitzgerald". Bandcamp. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Alkonost by Mishkin Fitzgerald". Bandcamp. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Damian Darkness: Sex & Disability". Together!2012. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Hewitt, Phil (7 November 2019). "Sex and disability in the spotlight in new Brighton musical". Brighton and Hove Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  12. ↑ @TheGeorgiaTrain (12 March 2021). "🌟INTRODUCING "MANKIND" The EP by MISHKIN FITZGERALD & GEORGIA TRAIN" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "Arrival by HVIRESS". Bandcamp. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  14. 1 2 Gray, Neil (2019). "The Music Spotlight: Birdeatsbaby - A Chat with Mishkin Fitzgerald". 25 Years Later. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Trueman, Gary (11 July 2018). "Interview: Mishkin Fitzgerald (Birdeatsbaby) "Anger or putting someone down has never solved anything."". Devolution Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Brighton couple join naked vegan demo". ITV News. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  17. ↑ @mishkinbird (7 October 2020). "One of my favourite things about pugs is their hilarious expressions" – via Instagram.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.