Alec Ounsworth

Alec Ounsworth
Background information
Born December 1, 1977
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres Indie rock, folk rock
Associated acts Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Flashy Python

Alec Ounsworth (born December 1, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and frontman of indie rock band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. He is also a member of The Pelican Picnic and Flashy Python. Alec's first solo album, Mo Beauty was released October 20, 2009, on Anti- Records.

Background and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Alec was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Mount Airy, Philadelphia.[1] Around his mid-teens, he started writing and recording music; a hobby that would stay near to him throughout his academic career at Connecticut College.[2] In college, he shared a dorm room with Lee Sargent during their freshman year. They would both graduate in 2000.[3] Lee, who had a special interest in Alec's songs, contacted him in 2004 via Friendster about starting a band. After several contacts, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was fully formed, and the band started playing live shows and recording demos. To date, the band has released two self-distributed, full-length studio albums: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Some Loud Thunder, as well as the internet-only live album release of Live at Lollapalooza 2007: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

Home demos

Prior to the success of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Alec released several home demos of his work onto the internet, many of them being early versions of songs that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would record. All ties from Alec to the files have been severed, as both flashypython.com and Alec's MySpace page have been deleted. All of the files are still distributed amongst fans over the internet.[4]

Musical equipment

Alec's collection of guitars includes, but is not limited to, two different Fender Telecaster guitars, a Fender Stratocaster, a Gibson Hummingbird, and a Gibson SG. He also has at least four acoustic guitars, two of which are made by Gibson. Alec employs the Vox AC30 amp to produce the sound he desires. On his recent tours with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, he has been playing through a 4x10 Fender Hot Rod DeVille. On April 4, 2007, Alec sported a Gibson Flying V guitar on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Personal life

On January 12, 2007, Alec married Emily Jean Stock, who is the inspiration behind the song of the same name, as featured on the album Some Loud Thunder. In 2008, they had a daughter, Rosemary.

Discography

Solo albums

with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

with Flashy Python

References

  1. ↑ "The Next Big Band?". WPVI-TV. April 4, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Alec Ounsworth: Clap Your Hands, Go Solo". National Public Radio. January 13, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Living on Rock 'N' Roll". Connecticut College Magazine. 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ Lanham, Tom (December 6, 2006). "Solitary Thunder: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Alex Ounsworth Walks Alone". Paste. Retrieved May 5, 2010.