Keegan DeWitt

Keegan DeWitt

DeWitt performing with Wild Cub at Lambert's BBQ in 2014
Background information
Born April 8, 1982
Origin Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation(s) Composer, singer-songwriter, actor
Years active 2000–present
Labels Izumi Records
Associated acts Roman Candle, Wild Cub
Website www.keegandewitt.com, www.wildcubmusic.com

Keegan DeWitt (born April 8, 1982) is an American film composer, singer-songwriter and actor raised in Oregon now residing in Brooklyn and Nashville.

Early life

Keegan was born in Bend, Oregon.

Film composing career

DeWitt premiered two films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: "Unexpected" (dir. Kris Swanberg) and "I'll See You In My Dreams" (dir. Brett Haley). He also premiered his second collaboration with Alex Ross Perry, "Queen of Earth", at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival.

In 2013, DeWitt composed the score for the Oscar Award Winning documentary short "Inocente", directed by Sean & Andrea Fine (War/Dance). In the same year he would also attend the Sundance Film Festival with 2 films. The first, This is Martin Bonner by Chad Hartigan, was the winner of the NEXT Audience Award and the second "Life According To Sam" was produced in conjunction with HBO to air in the fall of '13.

2014 sees DeWitt taking two films to Sundance for a second year in a row. The first, "Land Ho!" (from executive producer David Gordon Green) reunites him with close friend and director Aaron Katz (filmmaker), alongside "Pilgrim Song" director Martha Stephens. The second, "Listen Up Philip" teams him with director Alex Ross Perry and producers Washington Square Films and Sailor Bear, the latter composed of David Lowery and the team behind 2013 Sundance stand-out "Ain't Them Bodies Saints".[1]

In 2005 DeWitt composed the score for New York Times Critic's Pick Dance Party USA and in 2007 he scored Quiet City, which was also a NY Times Critic's Pick and Independent Spirit Awards nominee.[2]

DeWitt completed the score for Cold Weather, which premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest film festival and was bought and released by IFC Films.[3] He also took part in the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with two films.[4] The first, a documentary titled "The Good Life" [HBO], directed by Sean Fine and his wife Andrea Nix-Fine. The second, a narrative titled "This Is Martin Bonner", directed by close friend Chad Hartigan.

He has also done commercial work for Facebook, Merrell, Lincoln, Amtrak, Country Time Lemonade, Save The Children and others. He is also known in cycling world for his scores of the viral Rapha Cycling videos.[5]

Often collaborators include: Barry Jenkins, Aaron Katz, Chad Hartigan, Facebook, Sean Fine, Cherie Saulter (producer of The Myth of the American Sleepover), Rapha and others.

In 2013, DeWitt was nominated for an Academy Award for his work scoring the film Inocente, which he also directed and co-produced.[6]

Recording career

Most recently, DeWitt has teamed with fellow Nashville, TN artist Jeremy Bullock to form Wild Cub. They released a debut LP in August (January UK release) of "Youth", a 13 song full length. Wild Cub has been part of SXSW, Bonnaroo, CMJ and other prominent festivals and has received coverage from PASTE,[7] MTVHive.com,[8] Wall Street Journal,[9] SPIN,[10] IFC.com,[11] RCRDLBL,[12] The Line of Best Fit(UK),[13] Clash Music (UK)[14] and more.

While working as an actor and composer in New York, DeWitt also began working as a performing songwriter in New York's Lower East Side. During this time he was developing demos and recording regularly with Roman Candle, a band featuring his sister Timshel, as well as her husband Skip Matheny and his younger brother Logan Matheny (also of The Rosebuds) on drums.[15]

In 2010, Keegan released Nothing Shows under the Daytrotter label. Paste named him one of the 10 best solo artists of 2010 as well as Best of What's Next.[16][17]

Keegan's "Two Hearts" is the theme song to MTV's Friendzone series [18]

He has songs featured in "How I Met Your Mother", "Hart of Dixie" and "Revenge" as a solo artist. His song "Say La La" was featured on a JC Penney and Joe Fresh ad during the 2013 Oscars telecast.

References

  1. ↑ "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2014 Spotlight Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  2. ↑ Holden, Stephen (2007-08-29). "Quiet-City - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  3. ↑ http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/movies/04cold-weather.html
  4. ↑ "Sundance Film Festival | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews". Indiewire. 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  5. ↑ "Rapha Continental – Andy Hampsten | Rapha". Rapha.cc. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  6. ↑ "Twitter / keegandewitt: "I'm a tangentially sorta Academy". Twitter.com. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  7. ↑ Nadia Chaudhury (2012-10-19). "CMJ Day Three - Photos and Recap :: Blogs :: 1000 Words :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  8. ↑ Marissa G. Muller. "Wild Cub’s ‘Youth’ Is for Your Late-Night Drive Home". MTV Hive. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  9. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (2012-10-16). "CMJ Music Marathon: 12 Acts to Watch - Speakeasy - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  10. ↑ "Wild Cub Embark On Moonlit Adventure In 'Drive' Video | SPIN | SPIN Mix | Premieres". SPIN. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  11. ↑ "Exclusive premiere: Wild Cub “Jonti” – IFC". Ifc.com. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  12. ↑ http://rcrdlbl.com/2012/07/26/premiere_wild_cub_straight_no_turns
  13. ↑ Thane, Rich (2012-11-20). "Wild Cub x Kisses - Straight No Turns [Best Fit Premiere]". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  14. ↑ "Wild Cub - Running | Videos | Clash Magazine". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  15. ↑ Roman Candle. "Roman Candle Official | New Album 'Debris' Out Now". Romancandlemusic.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  16. ↑ Published at 7:00 AM on December 21, 2010 By Josh Jackson (2010-12-21). "The 10 Best New Solo Artists of 2010 :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  17. ↑ "Best of What's Next: Keegan DeWitt :: Music :: Features :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  18. ↑

External links