Amber Rubarth

Amber Rubarth
Background information
Birth name Amber Kristine Rubarth
Born (1982-09-21) September 21, 1982
California
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Guitar
Years active 2004–present
Website www.amberrubarth.com

Amber Rubarth (born September 21, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and composer who has independently released seven albums, with her new album "Wildflowers in the Graveyard" coming in February 2017. Rubarth has toured extensively throughout Europe, the US, Japan, and South Africa and has been the support act for many artists on tour including Emmylou Harris, Kenny Loggins, Marc Cohn, Richie Havens, Ralph Stanley, and a special Carnegie Hall performance with Jason Mraz. Winner of the NPR Mountain Stage New Song Contest, her sixth studio album, A Common Case of Disappearing, was produced by Grammy Award winning producer Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Norah Jones) and debuted at No. 13 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter charts. It features duets with Jason Reeves, and Jason Mraz. In 2012, audiophile label Chesky Records released a live HD Binaural recording featuring Rubarth with solo cellist Dave Eggar to great acclaim. Rubarth's performance for TED Talks was chosen as a TEDx Global Music Project feature.[1]

In addition to her solo work, Rubarth co-founded the Brooklyn based indie band the Paper Raincoat with long-time collaborator Alex Wong. They are currently expanding this project into a full musical theater production.

Rubarth has also written songs for films, including collaborations with Paul Brill for Sundance Film Festival winner Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and the end credit song for award-winning documentary Desert Runners. In 2016 she made her acting debut, co-starring with Joe Purdy in an upcoming feature film to be released in early 2017.

Biography

Rubarth was born in California. At age 17, she graduated high school and moved to Carson City, Nevada to apprentice at a chainsaw sculpting shop.[2] After three years, she quit the apprenticeship to pursue music.[3] She taught herself to play guitar and began performing at local open mic nights and coffee shops.[4] Phil Ramone in The Huffington Post describes her style as "part of the new old-soul generation." [5] Rubarth soon began touring throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan.[3] She tours with a 1956 Gibson ES-125 hollow body electric guitar, and also plays piano. In her side project The Paper Raincoat she sings and plays keyboard, guitar, glockenspiel, and occasionally drums.[6]

Tours

Amber Rubarth playing at the Hotel Cafe in May 2016

Amber Rubarth has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, and Japan, sharing the stage with Emmylou Harris, Jason Mraz, Kenny Loggins, John Oates, Loudon Wainwright III, Richie Havens, Martin Sexton, [Ethan Johns]], Lisa Loeb, Roger McGuinn, Dave Eggar, Sara Bareilles, Joshua Radin, Gary Jules, Brett Dennen, and Colbie Caillat.

In May 2009 Rubarth joined Jason Reeves and Brendan James to create "The Vespa Experiment," a musical tour along the California coast in which the three artists traveled on Vespa mopeds, camped, and did community awareness activities for 13 days to spread the message of environmental awareness.[7] In September 2009, she toured America and Canada supporting Gary Jules and Joshua Radin.[8]

The Paper Raincoat

In addition to her solo work, Rubarth formed a band with songwriter Alex Wong, called the Paper Raincoat. Rubarth explained in an interview with The Boston Globe that her solo work tends to be more personal, whereas the Paper Raincoat's songs are more imaginative, involving fictional characters.[9] Their debut EP (Safe in the Sound) was featured as an iTunes Indie Spotlight Artist.[10]

In the fall of 2009, they toured the U.S. as support for Vienna Teng,[11] and their music was the subject of CNET's 'The 404' podcast.[12] The album The Paper Raincoat was released in October 2009. The band was named "Best of What's Next" by Paste Magazine who said "We think the world might be a little better if everyone heard this record." Their songs have been featured in Disney's The Last Song, One Tree Hill and Google and Aquafina commercials.

Movies

Rubarth played the lead role of Joni and composed for the feature film September 12th which is due out next year. [13]

Awards and honors

Rubarth was awarded Grand Prize in the NPR Mountain Stage New Song Contest for "Letter from My Lonelier Self" (2010). The prize included recording with Jacquire King and a performance on NPR's Mountain Stage. The album was released September 30, 2011 through the contest organizer NewSong Recordings.[14]

Rubarth's song "Washing Day" (co-written with Adam Levy) won 1st Place in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition in the Lyrics Only category, judged by Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, and Robert Smith. The music video was screened at the 2007 SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.[15][16]

On May 8, 2008, Bob Boilen chose "You Will Love This Song" from her second album New Green Lines for his NPR show All Things Considered. He said he was "attracted by her honesty and humor".[17] On August 26, 2009, Tom Robinson featured the song on his BBC Radio show Fresh on the Net in the UK.[18] She was recently listed No. 16 in the UK "Music to Die For's Top 100 Favourite Female Vocalists of the Decade"[19] between No. 17 Gillian Welch and No. 15 Tori Amos.

Many of her early fans discovered her music on MySpace where she received over 1.7 million plays and was featured in the Top 100 Independent Artists.[20]

Recordings

Something New (2005) - Full-length album recorded in Brooklyn, NY, produced by The Animators.

Unfinished Art EP (2007) - Limited edition handmade version of her "Unfinished Art" EP consisted of an original blind contour painting by Rubarth pressed onto a hanging handmade canvas with the album and liner notes inserted in the back.

New Green Lines (2008) - full-length album featuring "You Will Love This Song"

The Church EP (2009) - collaboration EP with Adam Levy, recorded upstate New York in an old church.[21]

Good Mystery (2009) [8] to sold out audience at Joe's Pub in New York City. The collectors edition is a hand-crafted birch wood box with red wax hummingbird seal on a sliding lid top. Limited edition of 1000 handmade boxes sold out almost immediately through pre-order. #1 Best seller on Amie Street on release day and for two additional weeks.[22]

The Paper Raincoat (2009) - collaboration with Alex Wong and Kevin Rice. Full-length album for the band the Paper Raincoat

A Common Case of Disappearing (2011) - "New and Noteworthy" release on iTunes, debuted at #13 on the Singer Songwriter charts. NewSong Recordings. Produced by Jacquire King, features duets with Jason Reeves and Jason Mraz. Band included Adam Levy (guitar), Marco Giovino (drums), Frank Swart (bass) and Zac Rae (keys).

Sessions from the 17th Ward (2012) - Live HD Binaural recording featuring Dave Eggar (cello), Tim Snider (violin), and Chuck Palmer (percussion). Chesky Records.

Applewood Road (Applewood Road) (Feb 2016) Trio harmony collaboration with Emily Barker and Amy Soeace, released on Gearbox Records (UK)

Scribbled Folk Symphonies (April 2016) Live album released on Chesky Records, featuring string and oboe arrangements. Includes string and vocal arrangement of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" among other original and cover songs.

Discography

Solo

Others

References

  1. ↑ Amber Rubarth Trio: ft Dave Eggar & Max ZT at TEDxKC. YouTube. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Amber Rubarth - Indie / Acoustic / Soul Artist". unsigned.com. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Success Stories : Amber Rubarth (how to be a full-time touring musician)". sivers.org. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Peter, "Local musician making 'Something New': Ex-Carson wood sculptor releases first CD," Nevada Appeal, June 15, 2005, accessed October 24, 2009
  5. ↑ Ramone, Phil, and Evin, Danielle, "Dog Ears Music (Deserves to be Heard): Volume 82," The Huffington Post, July 24, 2009, accessed October 24, 2009
  6. ↑ http://www.indieguitarists.com/rubarthmaloneinterviews.htm
  7. ↑ "The Vespa Experiment". Myspace. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 http://www.amberrubarth.com/GoodMysteryCOLLECTORS.html
  9. ↑ Rodman, Sarah, "Raincoat’s a good fit," Boston Globe, July 25, 2009, accessed October 14, 2009
  10. ↑ "Fitchburg Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic". sentinelandenterprise.com. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Featured Content on Myspace". Myspace. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Yu, Justin, "The 404 434: Where we don our Paper Raincoat," CNET, September 29, 2009, accessed October 24, 2009
  13. ↑ "September 12th (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Brooklyn Singer and Multi-Instrumentalist Amber Rubarth Takes the Top Honor in This Year's Mountain Stage Newsong Contest". PRWeb. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "2006 ISC Lyrics Only Winners," International Songwriting Competition, accessed October 26, 2009
  16. ↑ "World Music Central". worldmusiccentral.org. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "All Things Considered: A Great Unknowns Showcase: Bowerbirds, Bell, Port O'Brien, Okay, AU, and More," NPR, accessed October 24, 2009
  18. ↑ "Tom Robinson's Introducting Track Listing". Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
  19. ↑ "100 Extraordinary women – Favourite female vocalists 2000 – 2009 - Music to die for". Music to die for. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "ambeR rubarth". Myspace. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "Welcome to Amazon MP3". amiestreet.com. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "Welcome to Amazon MP3". amiestreet.com. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Amber Rubarth | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

External links

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