Thursday 22 July 2010

Amanda Palmer



another blog, another awesome female artist
who else but Amanda Palmer!
I'd known sort of about her for quite some time, as my best friend was a big fan of the Dresden Dolls and done me copies of their albums over the years but it wasn't until about two years ago that I really started to appreciate her sheer awesomeness.
She had not long released her superb solo album "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?" which I had heard a few songs from and liked, another of my best friends convinced me to come to the KOKO in Camden to see her live.
Well that night I fell in love..
it was an amazing show, she had a theatre company called "The Danger Assemble" with her who performed alongside her songs, she even had the fantastic writer Neil Gaiman (who she is now engaged to) play tambourine on the brilliant song "Oasis" and she also did a few Dresden Dolls songs and generally it was a fab night, we went to a good club night afterwards too.
I was so happy and positive about the gig that I actually went out and bought the album the following day and now when I go out djing, it's a permanent fixture :)
I was lucky enough to see her again last year and the gig was totally different, still amazing but a much more stripped down show, just Amanda and a piano for most of it.
But AFP is about more than her live shows, I've never known someone like her to have such a bond with her fans too. She updates her Twitter regularly and talks to fans personally through it as well as on her blog she's even been known to find places to crash at via her Twitter :)
She had some problems with her record label, specifically to do with the video for "Leeds United" apparently they thought in some shots, she looked too fat, so to show their support, fans took photos of their bellies and wrote messages on them and I believe a book was even published!
Miss Palmer has since been dropped by Roadrunner Records and she celebrated by releasing a pay what you like song "Do You Swear to Tell the Truth..." and a couple of days ago she has just released via her website her first independent EP "Amanda Palmer performs the popular hits of Radiohead on her Magical Ukulele" which the minimum you need to pay for it is 84cents which is a percentage going to Radiohead for the use of their songs and some to cover paypal fees. I highly suggest you go download it! <3
Oh,and one last fairly important thing, it was also partly down to her that I decided to learn to play the uke!















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