Rae Spoon | |
|---|---|
 Rae Spoon in November 2013 | |
| Born | Calgary, Alberta |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, short story writer |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Period | 1990s–present |
| Notable works | First Grass Spring Fire, superioryouareinferior, My Prairie Home |
| Website | |
| www | |
Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician and writer. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk. [1]
Spoon grew up as a transgender person in Calgary, Alberta. They were raised in a Pentecostal household by a paranoid-schizophrenic father. Their father's religious beliefs caused anxiety to a teenage Rae. Spoon now lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
In 2003, Spoon said they identified as a trans man. [2] In 2012, during an interview with fellow advocate for the gender-neutral pronoun and cartoonist, Elisha Lim, Spoon noted a preference for the pronoun "they", [3] and has identified as non-binary since then. [4] They explained to Now Magazine , "after years of fighting to be called 'he,' the idea of coming out again made me tired. But now I feel kind of rejuvenated, ready to fight on some more. I think the 'they' pronoun is a pretty cool thing. It's letting a lot of people not have to identify as a man or a woman. Whatever it means to them." [5]
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which forced them to cancel a series of tours, Spoon was diagnosed with cervical cancer. They said they did not know what the prognosis was at that point. [6] They underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, and at one point were suffering so much that they considered seeking medical assistance in dying; however, by October 2020, they were declared cancer-free. [7]
How do you become a transgender country singer? For some, it's easier to be transgender from the start, and then work towards becoming a singer. For others it is better to play music first, and then come out as transgender. About ten years ago, I managed to do both in the space of a few months.
Rae Spoon [8]
Spoon started performing before they started recording. They decided they wanted to become a songwriter while performing at the age of seventeen. [9] They emerged as a country and roots singer. Their early music features country imagery to the sound of acoustic string instruments such as banjo, guitar and mandolin. [10]
Spoon has performed with such artists as Annabelle Chvostek, Ember Swift, Kinnie Starr, Melissa Ferrick, The Be Good Tanyas, Bitch & Animal, Natalie Merchant and Earl Scruggs. [11] They have performed at festivals including North Country Fair, South Country Fair, Under the Volcano Festival, and the Vancouver, [11] Regina, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival and Winnipeg folk festivals.
Spoon's breakthrough album, 2008's Superioryouareinferior, was recorded in Calgary and introduced some electronic music elements into Spoon's style. [1] Superioryouareinferior includes themes previously used by Spoon like Canadian history and culture such as the commentary on colonialism in their song "Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down". [12] Superioryouareinferior was a longlisted nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize. [13]
While touring Europe Spoon met Alexandre Decoupigny in Berlin. Decoupigny and Spoon collaborated in the album Worauf Wartest Du? [14] Decoupigny taught Spoon how to create music with a computer which inspired the musician to further experiment with electronic music. [15] The experimentation with electronic music influenced their subsequent albums and culminated in I Can't Keep All Our Secrets. [16]
They have also published First Spring Grass Fire, a book of short stories about growing up in Alberta. Arsenal Pulp Press released the book in the fall of 2012. [5] The book was a nominee for the 2013 Lambda Literary Awards in the Transgender Fiction category, [17] and Spoon was awarded an Honour of Distinction from the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT writers in 2014. [18]
Spoon has stated that First Spring Grass Fire was written to help them prepare for the production of a National Film Board of Canada documentary about their life and music, My Prairie Home , directed by Chelsea McMullan. The film was released in the fall of 2013. [19] [20] My Prairie Home , the album of music that Spoon composed for the film, was a longlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize. [21]
In 2012, Spoon and Ivan Coyote collaborated on Gender Failure, a touring multimedia show in which both artists performed music and spoken word pieces about their failed attempts at fitting into the gender binary. [22] A book based on the show was published by Arsenal Pulp in 2014. [23] Gender Failure was nominated for the ALA's Over the Rainbow Project List in 2015. [24]
In 2014, Spoon composed music for the feature film The Valley Below . [25]
Spoon began the music label Coax Records "out of a love for indie music and as an answer to under representation for many groups in the music industry." [26] The album "Armour" was released on Coax in 2016. [27]
In 2017, Spoon published a manual in the How To series, entitled How to (Hide) Be(hind) Your Songs. [28]
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.
Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian musician, animator, and artist from Calgary, Alberta.
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
The 2009 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto at the Masonic Temple and broadcast live online for the first time in its short history. The award's eligibility period for 2009 covered albums released between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.
Ghostkeeper is a Canadian experimental pop/rock band led by Shane Ghostkeeper, who writes most of the songs, and includes members Sarah Houle, drummer Eric Hamelin and bassist Ryan Bourne. Their songs combine elements of '60s girl-group melodies, country music, ‘90s indie rock, African pop, and traditional Aboriginal pow wow music.
Ivan E. Coyote is a Canadian spoken word performer, writer, and LGBT advocate. Coyote has won many accolades for their collections of short stories, novels, and films. They also visit schools to tell stories and give writing workshops. The CBC has called Coyote a "gender-bending author who loves telling stories and performing in front of a live audience." Coyote is non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Many of Coyote's stories are about gender, identity, and social justice. Coyote currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.
This is a summary of the year 2012 in the Canadian music industry.
The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the group consists of Tim "2oolman" Hill, and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas. Former members include co-founder DJ Jon Deck and Dan "DJ Shub" General, who left the band for personal reasons in spring 2014, and was replaced by Hill. Co-founder Ian "DJ NDN" Campeau left the band for health reasons in October 2017, with the band opting to remain a duo for the time being.
This is a summary of the year 2013 in the Canadian music industry.
My Prairie Home is a 2013 Canadian documentary film about transgender singer/songwriter Rae Spoon, directed by Chelsea McMullan. It features musical performances and interviews about Spoon's troubled childhood, raised by Pentecostal parents obsessed with the Rapture and an abusive father, as well as Spoon's past experiences with gender dysphoria. The film was shot in the Canadian Prairies, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller. My Prairie Home was produced by Lea Marin for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Chelsea McMullan is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, best known for their 2013 film My Prairie Home, a film about transgender musician Rae Spoon.
The 2014 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 22, 2014, at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario. Actor Jay Baruchel was the host of the ceremony.
My Prairie Home is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Rae Spoon, released in 2013. Written and recorded as a soundtrack to the documentary film My Prairie Home, the album was a longlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.
This is a summary of the year 2015 in the Canadian music industry.
Dilly Dally were a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto. The band consisted of Enda Monks, Liz Ball, Annie Jane Marie (bassist) and Benjamin Reinhartz (drummer). They announced their breakup on March 2, 2023.
Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, performer and activist, who previously lived in Toronto, Ontario and currently lives in Montréal, Québec. He became widely known for his first album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards.
Yves Jarvis is the stage name of Jean-Sébastien Yves Audet, a Canadian experimental musician, singer and producer who also previously released music under the stage names Un Blonde and Faux Fur.
Cindy Lee is the performance and songwriting vehicle of Canadian musician Patrick Flegel, former guitarist and lead singer of Women.
It's close to 20 years since I came out as transgender and eight since I came out as non-binary.
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