Jonathan Meiburg
| Jonathan Meiburg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Rock, Folk rock, Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals Guitar Piano |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Associated acts |
Okkervil River Shearwater (2001–present) Bill Callahan Blue Water White Death |
Jonathan Meiburg, born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 1st, 1976, is a multi-instrumentalist musician and the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater (2001–present), a band he co-founded with Will Sheff in Austin, Texas. He also shared duties with Sheff as a member of Okkervil River (1999–2008). Due to increased popularity and touring conflicts between the two acts, however, Meiburg left Okkervil River in May 2008. He first started his musical career with Whu Gnu in 1993.
Biography
Meiburg has a bachelor's degree in English, with a minor in Religion, from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and received a Thomas J. Watson fellowship to study daily life in remote human communities. After a year spent in such diverse places as the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, the Aboriginal settlement of Kowanyama in Australia, the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, and the Inuit settlement of Kimmirut in Baffin Island, Canada, he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a master's degree in Geography and wrote a thesis titled "The Biogeography of Striated Caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis)". He is an avid birder, and his love of birds shows itself in Shearwater's name, and in the titles of several of the band's albums and EPs.[1]
Meiburg has recorded some material as a solo artist, though he tends to only sell these records at Shearwater tour dates. He has also worked occasionally as a backing musician for singer Bill Callahan. His latest work is collaboration with Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, named Blue Water White Death. Debut album was released in October 2010 on Graveface Records.[2]
References
- ↑ Moores, Charlie (2009). "Interview: Jonathan Meiburg of ‘Shearwater’". 10,000 Birds. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ Breihan, Tom (2010). "Shearwater's Meiburg + Xiu Xiu's Stewart = Blue Water White Death". Retrieved 2010-07-21.