Neilson Hubbard
| Neilson Hubbard | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 27, 1972 |
| Origin | Jackson, Mississippi, Mississippi |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1992 - present |
| Associated acts | Strays Don't Sleep |
| Website | www.straysdontsleep.com |
Neilson Hubbard is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. His first band was called This Living Hand formed with Clay Jones (now known as a producer/engineer). They signed to Adam Duritz's label, E Pluribus Unum. After the band split up, Hubbard went on to record three solo albums, The Slide Project, Why Men Fail and Sing Into Me. He also collaborated with Matthew Ryan to form the band Strays Don't Sleep.
Spoon
Childhood friends from Jackson, Mississippi, Hubbard and Clay Jones both moved to Oxford to study literature at the University of Mississippi, where they subsequently met violinist Helena Lamb. The three began working on songs that Hubbard had written that didn't fit into their previous bands. Neilson, Clay Jones and Helena Lamb adopted the name Spoon and recorded their first effort, "Say Something Warm", in one day. Soon after, they began playing live as a trio in bars, coffee houses, college lunch rooms and restaurants.
During that first year of shows, Spoon recorded the tracks that make up their second album, Holding Flowers, produced and recorded by Justin Martin, and released it on their own Lunch Pale label in the fall of 1993. The group added a rhythm section to their lineup, including Garrison Starr playing the snare and ride cymbal, and Clay Jones picked up the bass for the quartet's live shows. Near the end of 1994 Lamb left the group, leaving Hubbard and Clay Jones to continue through 1995 with a two-guitar, drums and bass lineup.
This Living Hand
The name is taken from the title of one of Clay's favorite poems by John Keats, the band is based on the songwriting of vocalist/guitarist Hubbard and the arrangements and production of guitarist Clay Jones. In the summer of 1995 the band signed with E Pluribus Unum Recordings in Los Angeles and released their full-length Consolation Prize in October, with a national tour following. Their debut Consolation Prize was recorded over four days at Easley Studios in Memphis, home to The Grifters, Wilco, Pavement and Guided by Voices. In order to fund the recording session, Hubbard sold off a valuable baseball card collection.
Neilson moved to Nashville, opened Mr. Lemons’ Studio and continued producing records for the likes of Garrison Starr, Glen Phillips, Matthew Ryan, Amelia White, Strays Don't Sleep, Michelle Malone, Kate York, Jeremy Lister, Matthew Perryman Jones, and others.
Strays Don't Sleep
Matthew Ryan approached Neilson Hubbard in 2004 about a collaboration. The collaboration was successful and Strays Don't Sleep was formed with Neilson Hubbard, Brian Bequette, Billy Mercer and Steve Latanation.
In the Autumn 2005 Strays Don't Sleep's debut self-titled was released in the UK on One Little Indian. The release includes a DVD of short films that were directed and shot by professional filmmakers and friends, including Gorman Bechard, The Barnes Brothers, Martin Glenn, Matt Boyd and Jared Johnson. Matthew Ryan and Neilson Hubbard also directed three of the short films with the help of Nashville film student, Matt Riddlehoover. A 5.1 Surround Sound mix of the entire record and films, by Paul PDub Walton of Björk and Sneaker Pimps fame, is available on the DVD.
Strays Don't Sleep was released to great reviews from Time Out, Uncut, The Sunday Express and The Times. The success helped secure a US release, which was helped further by a placement in the hit CW (former WB) drama One Tree Hill. "For Blue Skies", a song concerning the sentencing of Matthew Ryan’s brother to 30 years in prison, was made available on the One Tree Hill soundtrack. Strays Don't Sleep toured the UK with Josh Rouse to support the album, and was officially disbanded in mid-2006. In April 2006, their video album "Strays Don't Sleep" won the Grand Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for Best Music Video, and the band performed for 500+ international filmmakers from 33 countries to a standing ovation. WorldFest gave first award to Spielberg, Lucas, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott and The Coen Brothers.
Neilson last recording was a new solo record, I Love Your Muscles, released in 2008.
Discography
Spoon
- Say Something Warm (1992)
- Holding Flowers (1993)
This Living Hand
- Consolation Prize (1996)
Solo
- The Slide Project (1997)
- Why Men Fail (2000)
- Sing Into Me (2003)
- I Love Your Muscles (2008)
Strays Don't Sleep
- Strays Don't Sleep (2006)
Production
- The Apache Relay - American Nomad
- Glen Philips - Mr. Lemons
- Garrison Starr - The Sound Of You And Me
- Strays Don't Sleep - Strays Don't Sleep
- Matthew Ryan - From A Late Night High-Rise
- Matthew Perryman Jones - Throwing Punches in the Dark
- Tyler James - It Took The Fire
- Kate York - Sadly Love
- David Knopfler - America
- Amelia White - Black Doves
- Mack Starks - Blind Spot
- Tariq - Goodbye Lonely
- Newton Dominey - Heater
- Clare Burson - Idaho
- Emily Deloach
- Carter Little - Dare To Be Small
- Aaron Robinson - We Are Racing Ghosts
- crash into june - Another Vivid Scene