Liz Phair

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Liz Phair
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Liz Phair

Liz Phair is an American Indie feminist rocker. Her first album Exile In Guyville sold over 200,000 copies. Her songs were featured in Hollywood films like Higher Learning and Stealing Beauty.

Contents

About

Liz Phair or (Elizabeth Clark Phair) was born on April 17, 1967 in New Haven, CT. She was raised in Chicago suburb Winnetka as a child by her adopted parents who were wealthy. In college she studied art at Oberlin College in Ohio. There, she developed an interest in indie rock and became friends with Chris Brokaw (guitarist of Come). After graduation, Phair together with Brokaw moved to San Francisco to pursue their music career. Brokaw moved out and she went back to Chicago and started composing her own songs.

Under the name of Girlysound, she released her own independent tapes while selling her charcoal drawings on the streets of Wicker Park. She made a lot of connections in Chicago's alternative music scene namely, Urge Overkill, a drummer named Brad Wood, and John Henderson, head of Chicago-based indie label Feel Good All Over. Brokaw who had already joined Come had a copy of Girlysound's tape and gave it to Gerard Cosley, Matador record label.

In 1993, she released her debut album, Exile In Guyville. Her single "Never Said" was aired on MTV. Th single made it to the charts and the album sold over 200,000 copies. Phair's follow-up album, Whip-Smart was released in 1994. The single "Supernova" entered the Top Ten modern rock hit. By 1995, the album had already disappeared from the charts. Later that year, she married Jim Staskausas, a Chicago-based film editor. In 1996, she released "Rocket Boy", it was included in the Stealing Beauty soundtrack. On December 21, 1996, the singer gave birth to James Nicholas Staskausas, her first child. In 1998, her long awaited third album, whitechocolatespaceegg, was finally realeased. She returned with her self-titled album, Liz Phair, in 2003. Jimmy Chamberlin, Wendy Melvoin, and Pete Yorn worked with Phair for this album. In 2005, Somebody's Miracle appeared.

Awards & Certifications

Awards

Year Award Category
1995 Grammy Award Nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance Female for "Supernova"
1996 Grammy Award Nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance Female for "Don't Have Time"

Certifications

Year Album Certification
1993 Exile In Guyville Certified Gold in U.S.
1994 Whip-Smart Certified Gold in U.S.

Chart Toppers

Year Title Modern Rock Tracks Billboard Hot 100 Pop 100 Album
1994 Supernova 6 78 Whip-Smart
1995 Whip-Smart 24 Whip-Smart
2003 Why Can't I 32 Liz Phair (album)
2005 Everything To Me 99 Somebody's Miracle

News

Tours & Concerts

No upcoming tours and concerts for Liz Phair.

Announcements

  • You can get Liz Phair exclusively at iTUNES.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Single Label Album
1994 Supernova Matador Whip-Smart
2003 Why Can't I EMI Liz Phair (album)

Other artists

Similar artists

Influences

Contemporaries

Trivia

  • Her height is 5'2.
  • Most of her songs were recorded in her bedroom that are now known as Girlysound.
  • She worked as an intern in New York for political artists Nancy Spero and Leon Golub.
  • She married Jim Staskauskas, a film editor who had worked on her videos and they got seperated after how many years.

Reviews

External Links

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