Elliott Smith

Biography

Childhood

Steven Paul Smith is born the August 6th 1969 at the Clarkson hospital from Omaha, in the Nebraska. His/her mother is teacher and his/her father is still medical student at the time of his birth. Following the divorce of his parents, one year after, his/her father enters the US Air Force and is sent to the Filipino as a doctor.

Steven and its mother move quickly towards Duncanville with the Texas, in the suburbs of Dallas, where it remarie in 1973. Her new husband is of violent temperament, and often beats his wife and his son-in-law. This period marked apparently much Elliott Smith and he will tell it later through the words of Some Song : “ happy Charlie you up week after week, and when you grow up you' Re going to Be has freak ” (“Charlie beats you week after week and when you are tall, you will be damaged”). The name of Charlie will reappear thereafter in some songs, like Flowers For Charlie or No Confidence Man , and it is, according to Elliott Smith him even, the subject of the song Waltz #2 .

During all the childhood of Elliott Smith, his family, practicing catholic, often take it along to the church, which annoys it much and leaves it rather indifferent. However it will keep this period a fear of the Enfer, and this jusquà its death, according to the biographer Benjamin Nugent.

Smith begins the Piano and the Guitare at the nine years and four years age later, it writes its first song. Many family members on the side of his mother are or were musicians amateurs: his/her grandfather was Batteur and his/her grandmother belonged to a Chorale. Teenager, it listens to Bob Dylan, KIS, The Clash, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams, but especially the Beatles. Smith continued to be a fan of Beatles (just like of their careers solos) and frequently listened to them since it was four years old.

Is 14 years old, Elliott Smith moves with Portland in the Oregon, to live with his/her father, who is then installed like Psychiatre. It is at that time that it tries out for the first time the Drogue and the alcohol. It also starts to be familiarized with the techniques of recording after having borrowed from a friend a recorder four tracks.

With the college, Smith belongs to a group called “Stranger Than Fiction”. It is at this time that it changes first name to rename “Elliott”. June 3rd, 1987, it is graduate of its college and appears among the first.

Heatmiser and Romance Candle

See also: Heatmiser, Romance Candle

Elliott Smith is then graduate in Philosophie and Political science of the university of Hampshire in the Massachusetts, in 1991. On this subject, he declares in 2003: “I imagine that showed me that I could do during four years something of which I did not want absolutely, even if I appreciated some share what I learned. At the time, outward journey at the university seemed to me the chance of a life. But, I had especially gone there because of my boyfriend and we finally broke before the first day of the courses”. Its diploma out of pocket, it however starts to work in a Portland cement bakery.

In parallel, Elliott Smith forms the group Heatmiser with Neil Gust, Tony Lash, and Brandt Peterson. Their music is very quickly compared with that of Fugazi like to that of other groups punk, even Grunge. The group separates in 1995 after having signed a contract at Virgin Records which gives rise to the album Mic City Sons . In spite of the dissolution of the group, Elliott Smith remains dependant by contract on Virgin. This agreement, which involves, inter alia, the sale of the rights of Virgin to DreamWorks in 1998, will continue the type-setter until the end of his life.

Right before the dissolution of Heatmiser, Smith starts to be recorded in solo with his acoustic Guitare, using the recorder four tracks of his friend. Deprived of arrangements and electric guitars, its solo compositions strongly dissociate its preceding group and the topics of the dependence to drugs, depression, or of treason start to settle in its musical universe. Its first album, Romance Candle (1994), is at the base a collection of “demonstrations” which did not have their place with the other songs of Heatmiser. It is the boyfriend of Smith who at the time convinces it to send the cassette to the recording company Cavity Search Records. The owner of the label, Cristopher Cooper, falls immediately under the charm and asked so that it immediately be marketed.

The album is primarily composed of pieces to the acoustic guitar, accompanied by many vocal harmonies and occasionally by some fronts of electric guitar in its light or some light Beat S of battery. Only the last title (instrumental), Kiwi Mad Dog 20/20 (a reference to a cheap wine whose mark is “MANDELEVIUM 20/20”) has an arrangement more finished. Condor Avenue would have been written by Elliott Smith when it was only 17 years old. A few days afterwards, he plays, always only and vêtu of a white costume, a curtailed version of his song at the time of the ceremony of the Oscars, accompanied by the orchestra by the evening. The Oscar finally is gained by James Horner and Will Jennings for My Heart Will Go One , sung by Celine Dion and drawn from the film Titanic .

In 1998, Smith records a Reprise again has cappella Because of Beatles, for the film American Beauty . The song, which illustrate the credits of film, fact strong impression and makes it possible Elliott Smith to be made known more. Even if it is its only resumption of the Beatles to be published, Smith also recorded Revolution during the sessions of XO , and played of it much of others in concert, like Long, Long, Long , I Undermines Me , Black Bird , Yer Blues or I' m So Tired . It would have also recorded a version of Hey Jude for the film the Family Tenenbaum , replaced with final by an instrumental version. However, Needle in the Hay appears in film.

XO and Figure 8

Recording of From has Basement one the Hill

The years which follow just prove dark for Smith, become dependant with the Héroïne after the round on Figure 8 . Following this episode, Smith gets rid of the recordings, which represent more half of an album, by explaining that they would always point out bad memories to him.

Following this failure, DreamWorks request in Smith to be explained on the reasons of this abandonment. After some unfruitful discussions, the composer-songwriter sends to the leaders of the label a letter explaining that it would commit suicide if they did not release it from his obligations. The fans are shocked of his incapacity to remember songs that themselves knew by heart. With each concert which it gives after 2001, it often murmurs some not easily comprehensible sentences over the difficult period that it has just crossed, while explaining why it is now clean .

In the book Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing , it is reported that at the time where it records its last album, Smith also starts to show signs of Paranoïa, believing sometimes that a white van continues it everywhere where he goes. It starts to say that the people of DreamWorks return the impossible life to him. Smith does not eat practically any more, remaining sometimes waked up during days before losing conscience for one length of time being able to reach 24 hours.

Last years

Finally, after this black period, the things arrange a little in September 2002, when it agrees to follow a detoxification therapy in a center to Beverly Hills. In spite of some suspicions on the effectiveness of the center, the experiment is a success since Elliott manages to stop heroin and the ace.

In November 2002, Smith joins again with the problems when it is stopped by the police force of Los Angeles with his boyfriend, Jennifer Chiba, after being intervened in a disagreement between police officers and another person. The police officers will explain to have taken Smith for a tramp. He is wounded with the hand and the back during the incident, which obliges it to cancel several dates.

Wayne Coyne, friend of Elliott and singer of the Flaming Lips, worry about its appearance and its behavior, explaining why “it had completely lost the control of him even. It was never content and always made the mouth”.

However, Smith always resists his old demons since it does not touch any more with drugs since his stay in private clinic. Good news on the health of Smith then starts to be spread a little everywhere. At this time, it starts to make new projects for the future, tries out new styles of music and buys a IMac to familiarize itself with the MAO. But, with the image of its person, the balance which he manages to find is very fragile.

Elliott Smith dies on October 21st, 2003 in Los Angeles, at the 34 years age, two stabs carried to the chest during an argument with Jennifer Chiba. According to the testimony of the latter, they dispute and it is locked up in the bathroom. Chiba intends Smith to shout and by opening the door, finds Smith lengthened by ground with a knife planted in the chest. It withdraws the knife of the chest and it crumbles just before it calls the helps. Elliott Smith dies with 1:36 of the morning at the hospital of the continuations of its wounds. If it is often reported that this act was a Suicide, the report/ratio of autopsy leaves the open thesis of the homicide: If its problems of depression, just as the place and the angle of the blows carried to the chest, return the assumption of the plausible suicide, many elements of the file remain open however paradoxical have regard to the idea of a suicide and let consider the possibility of a homicide. Indeed, the absence of “wounds of hesitations”, the fact that the blows were carried through clothing, or the presence of small wounds to the right-hand man and the left hand (can be attempts at defense) constitute turbid points in the investigation. In addition, the shrinking of the knife by the boyfriend as her refusal to speak to the inspectors represent other elements having to be soulignés.

However, a message allotted to Elliott Smith and announcing his suicide and is well found on a post-it: “ I' m so sorry - coils, Elliot. Forgive God me ”. The bad orthography of “Elliott” discredits the thesis of the suicide initially, but is recognized later like an error on behalf of the police officer in charge of the report/ratio. Robin Peringer explains in addition that Elliott, at the end of its life, was devoted to the Automutilation, which could explain the wounds described like possible attempts at defense. As for Fritz Michaud which had worked with Elliott on the album From has Basement one the Hill , it declares that “Elliott would never have liked that one finds it without his Tee-shirt”, which would explain the stabs through clothing, apparently unusual thing in the cases of suicide to the knife).

At the present time, its death still is not officially recognized as being a Suicide and in spite of the absence of new elements since 2003, the investigation continues.

McConnell entrusts: “I do not think that it would have left this disc. album would have contained more songs to him and the mixing would have been different, a little gross”.

The May 8th 2007, a double posthumous compilation entitled New Moon was marketed by the label Kill Rock Stars. The album contains 24 songs recorded by Elliott Smith between 1994 and 1997, period during which it was under contract with the label. The pieces present on the disc are demonstrations, versions of work, faces B already left and even the unfinished titles. With the the United States, the album began 24th place in Billboard 200, running out with nearly 24.000 copies at the time of its first week of marketing. A significant share of the incomes generated by this album is intended to be transferred with Outside In , an association of assistance to the young people Without fixed residence and the adults with low incomes, based with Portland in the Oregon.

In May 2007, it was announced that Fall de Wilde was going to publish a work entitled Elliott Smith , containing handwritten photographs, words and revealing the contents of discussions with people of the entourage close to Elliott Smith, “much being expressed for the first time” Elliott Smith by Fall de Wilde.. A disc containing of the new versions live of five titles, played in an acoustic way by Elliott Smith with the club Largo of Los Angeles, will accompany the work. The foreword will be written by Beck and Chris Walla of the Death Cab for Cutie. The coming out date of this book is planned for the October 25th 2007 with the the United States.

Discography

Albums

Catalog of films

Lucky Three: Year Elliott Smith Portrait (1997), realized by Jem Cohen
Strange Parallel (1998), realized by Steve Hanft
Southlander (2001), realized by Steve Hanft and Ross Harris

References

Benjamin Nugent, Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing (2004)

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