Ron Sexsmith
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| Ron Sexsmith | ||
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 Ron Sexsmith live in Bochum, July 10th, 2004
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Ronald Eldon Sexsmith | |
| Born | 1964 | |
| Genre(s) | Pop-folk | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Piano | |
| Years active | 1991 - Present | |
| Label(s) | Warner | |
| Website | Official website | |
Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born 8 January 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto.
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[edit] Career
Sexsmith started his first band at 14.
After moving to Toronto he formed the Uncool and released his cassette Out of the Duff, and a year later, There’s a Way.
Meanwhile, he worked as a courier, and released Grand Opera Lane in 1991. On the strength of this album he earned a contract which led to the self-titled album of 1995. Between 1997 and 2001, Sexsmith released three more albums before the acclaimed Cobblestone Runway in 2002. Retriever, a more pop-oriented album than those before, is dedicated to Elliott Smith and Johnny Cash. In 2004 he was invited by Grammy-Award-Winner Bill Frisell to perform at the German RuhrTriennale in the renowned concert series Century of Song together with songwriter Jesse Harris.
In 2005, he released a collection of songs recorded with drummer Don Kerr during the production of Retriever, called Destination Unknown. The same year, he also won a Juno Award for songwriter of the year, for the song "Whatever it Takes".
Sexsmith has two children, a son and a daughter.
[edit] Style
His first five albums are generally melancholic pop-folk with simple, elegant melodies, accentuated use of guitars and economic application of other instruments. On his sixth album, Cobblestone Runway, producer Martin Terefe changed the style to include a more lavish use of synthesizers. Retriever is considered his most “poppy” album. With his latest release, however, he has proven that he hasn’t forgotten his roots as a folky singer-songwriter. His admirers include Elvis Costello, Sarah McLachlan, Radiohead, Bill Frisell, Gordon Lightfoot, Elton John, John Hiatt, Rod Stewart, Chris Martin, Paul McCartney, Leslie Feist and Bob Dylan[citation needed].
[edit] Discography
- Grand Opera Lane (independent, 1991, produced by Bob Wiseman, with The Uncool)
- Ron Sexsmith (self-titled, Interscope/Warner, 1995, produced by Mitchell Froom)
- Other Songs (album) (Interscope/Warner, 1997)
- Whereabouts (Interscope/Warner, 1999)
- Blue Boy (2001, produced by Steve Earle)
- Cobblestone Runway (2002, produced by Martin Terefe)
- Rarities (2003)
- Retriever (2004, Warner)
- Destination Unknown (2005, V2) (Production with Don Kerr, released as "Sexsmith & Kerr")
- Time Being (2006, Warner)
Side project:
- The Kelele Brothers, Escape from Bover County (Gas Station Recordings)
- The Kelele Brothers, Has- Beens & Wives (Gas Station Recordings)
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1964 births | Living people | Canadian pop singers | Canadian male singers | Canadian singer-songwriters | Juno Award winners | Ontario musicians | Ontario writers | Music from the Niagara Region | People from St. Catharines | People from Toronto | Scottish Canadians
