Synth-pop is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s.
The Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including rock, hip hop, reggae, salsa, heavy metal and bluegrass.
James "Kermit" Driscoll is an American jazz bassist. He is known for his long association with guitarist Bill Frisell in the 1980s and '90s. Driscoll has worked in many genres and music settings: Broadway, classical, jazz, folk, rock, film, and television. He has taught at SUNY Purchase College and Sarah Lawrence College.
Gillian Howard Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."
Rebecca is a 1938 Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier. The novel depicts an unnamed young woman who impetuously marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, the title character.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. It also features Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, and Lucile Watson.
Tracy Ferrie is an American musician, who is the current bass player for the classic rock band Boston and is the former bass player of Christian metal band Stryper.
Melissa Ferrick is an American singer-songwriter. She is a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music.
Blondfire is an American indie pop band from Los Angeles, California, United States. It started as a duo of brother and sister Bruce and Erica Driscoll, under the name Astaire, and since 2015 has been a solo act with Erica Driscoll.
The culture of Boston, Massachusetts, shares many roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the Eastern New England accent popularly known as Boston English. The city has its own unique slang, which has existed for many years. Boston was, and is still, a major destination of Irish immigrants. Irish Americans are a major influence on Boston's politics and religious institutions and consequently on the rest of Massachusetts.
Gregory A. Hawkes is an American musician who is best known as the keyboardist and founding member of the American new wave band the Cars. Hawkes is credited with helping popularize new wave and synth-pop in American popular music as a member of the Cars.
The United States Air Force Band of Liberty was a United States military band of forty-five active duty members, based at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. It entertains audiences in New England, New York, and New Jersey. The band was inactivated in summer 2013. Some of its personnel joined the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band, which took up some of its functions.
Phillips Elder Wilson, Jr. is a jazz trombonist, arranger, and teacher. He has taught at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and New England Conservatory.
The Cliks are a Canadian rock band consisting of Lucas Silveira (vocalist/guitarist), with rotating members. The Cliks' major label debut album, Snakehouse was released on April 24, 2007 by Warner Music in Canada and by Tommy Boy Records in the United States.
Rachael Cantu is an American singer-songwriter. She was born and grew up in Orange County, California. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist.
Justin Drew Tranter is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Citizen Queen, Kesha, Imagine Dragons, The Knocks, Fifth Harmony, 5 Seconds of Summer, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Raye, Bea Miller, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Måneskin, and Fall Out Boy. From 2004 to 2014, Tranter was the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, a rock band based in New York. Since February 2017, they have been a board member of GLAAD, an organization that promotes LGBT acceptance in the entertainment and news industries. Tranter's songs have garnered over 50 million single sales and 40 billion streams on Spotify and YouTube as of May 2021.
Passion Pit is an American indie pop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts, formed in 2007 by band members Michael Angelakos, Ian Hultquist (Guitar/Synth), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth), Thom Plasse (bass), and Adam Levinsky (drums).
Elizabeth & The Catapult is a Brooklyn–based project by the American singer-songwriter Elizabeth Ziman. They have released five studio albums.
Jessica Wolfe is an American singer, songwriter, bass synth player and actress from Los Angeles, California. She is a founding member along with Holly Laessig of the indie pop musical group Lucius.
