Kim Gordon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kim Gordon | ||
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 Kim Gordon live in France 2005
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Kim Althea Gordon | |
| Born | April 28, 1953 (age 53) Rochester, New York, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Noise rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer Songwriter Record producer |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals Guitar Bass |
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| Years active | 1981 - Present | |
| Label(s) | Geffen | |
| Associated acts |
Sonic Youth Ciccone Youth Mirror/Dash Free Kitten Harry Crews CKM Anixious Rats |
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Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953, in Rochester, New York), is a musician, vocalist, and artist. She plays bass and guitar in the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. She also plays in the band Free Kitten with Julie Cafritz (of Pussy Galore), and she has collaborated with many musicians such as Ikue Mori, DJ Olive, William Winant, Lydia Lunch, Alan Licht, and Chris Corsano.
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[edit] Early Years
The daughter of a seamstress, Gordon grew up in LA and fell in love with art before attending UCLA's art school. After graduating she moved to New York and joined the short lived band CKM with Christine Hahn and Miranda Stanton. Through Stanton Gordon met her future bandmates Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore. The three, along with a stream of drummers, formed Sonic Youth in 1981, originally called "The Arcadians". In 1984, she married fellow Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore, and gave birth to their daughter, Coco Hayley Gordon Moore in 1994.
In 1989, Gordon, Sadie May, and Lydia Lunch formed the band Harry Crews and released the album Naked in Garden Hills. She also was one of the producers of Hole's first record, Pretty on the Inside, released in 1991, and co-directed The Breeders "Cannonball" video with Spike Jonze.
Gordon, Moore, and Coco currently reside in Northampton, Massachusetts. They are frequently sighted in the area, and played a benefit concert with Cat Power for the Greenfield Center School in 2005.
[edit] Art World
Gordon is also a well-established visual artist and curator. Her work has been widely exhibited across the U.S., Japan and Europe. She graduated form the Otis College of Art & Design in LA. In the early 1980s, Gordon wrote for Artforum and worked for several Soho art galleries. She curated an exhibition at White Columns gallery in 1982 in which Mike Kelley and Tony Oursler were among the participants. Dan Graham invited her to join in a performance of an all-female rock band, which marked the start of her first band CKM. In 1996 Gordon was involved in an exhibition entitled Baby Generation at Parco gallery in Tokyo.
Her exhibition titled Kim's Bedroom was shown at MU in the Netherlands and included drawing and paintings along with live music and special guests. This resulted in a limited-edition book and CD published by Purple Books. In 2003, Gordon was featured in the Gothenburg Biennale, and exhibited Club In The Shadow, a collaboration with artist Jutta Koether at Kenny Schachter's Contemporary Gallery in NYC. In 2005 she curated events for Her Noise in London and did another collaboration with Koether.
An artist's book titled Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 1 featuring photos of Kim throughout her life was published in 2005. In 2006 Kim Gordon Chronicles Vol. 2 featuring artwork by her was published.
[edit] Trivia
- Fellow rock band Rapeman recorded a tribute to her on their album Two Nuns and a Pack Mule entitled "Kim Gordon's Panties."
- In the 1999 Sony PlayStation psychological horror videogame Silent Hill, Kim, along with two other members of Sonic Youth, are mentioned in a teacher's directory in one of the levels. Later in the game, players can acquire a "K. Gordon" key and pass through her home. In a 2003 sequel, Silent Hill 3, Kim comes up again. Players pass through her classroom and learn a little more about the character.
- Gordon appeared in Gus Van Sant's Last Days, a fictionalized biopic of one of her close friends, Kurt Cobain. She is also the only close friend of Cobain's who has publicly claimed that he was murdered[1].
[edit] Notes
- ^ Dalton, Stephen. "Suicide Blond". Uncut Magazine August 2005. Beautifully Scarred. Accessed on August 24, 2005.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gordon, Kim |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gordon, Kim Althea |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Experimental musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 28, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Categories: 1953 births | Living people | American bass guitarists | American female singers | American female guitarists | Feminist artists | American rock guitarists | American rock singers | American songwriters | Indie rock musicians | Experimental musicians | People from Rochester, New York | Sonic Youth
