Liz Phair was born on April 17, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut. Soon after her birth, she was adopted by a wealthy couple. Thus, she grew up with her family in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois. After her high school graduation, Phair went to Oberlin College in Ohio. While at school, she became heavily influenced by indie, underground rock music. It was also in college where the singer met friend, Chris Brokaw. Brokaw, would later become a member of the group, Come. After graduation from Oberlin, the two moved to San Francisco in hopes of developing music careers. The two were not there very long however, before Brokaw decided to move back east and Phair decided to return home to Chicago. While in Chicago, she made money by selling charcoal painting in Wicker Park. Phair sent out demos to various people under the name, Girlysound. Eventually she was recognized and signed to Matador Records in the summer of 1992.
Phair’s debut album entitled Exile In Guyville was released during the summer of 1993. The album immediately received praise from critics. Sadly, even with heavy promotion and help from MTV, the album never allowed Phair to emerge into the mainstream. The title of the album was influenced by an Urge Overkill song. The album’s first single, “Never Said,” received some attention. In 1994, Phair embarked on her first United States tour. Throughout the tour, however, the singer suffered from immense stage fright. Exile In Guyville sold over 200,000 copies.
Phair’s sophomore album, Whip-Smart, was released in 1994 under very heavy promotion. The star even appeared in lingerie on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine. The album’s first single, “Supernova,” had heavy airplay on MTV, and eventually became a top ten hit. The singer, however, chose not to tour as a means of promoting the album and by the time the second single, “Whip-Smart,” was released; the album was no longer on the charts.
In 1995, Phair married the Chicago-based film editor, Jim Staskauskas. Later that year she released an EP entitled Juvenilia. The first single was called “Jealousy.” In 1996, her single, “Rocket Boy,” appeared on the Stealing Beauty soundtrack. The film starred Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv Tyler. On December 21, 1996, Phair had her first child whom she named James Nicholas Staskauskas. Her third LP was called whitechocolatespeaceegg.
In June 2003, Phair revamped and changed her image. She got with hit song writers, The Matrix (Avril Lavigne, Lillix) and created her self-titled album, Liz Phair. The first single, “Why Can’t I,” has been on the billboard charts. Although she is finally receiving mainstream success, many of the singer’s original fans feel she ‘sold out.’
Bio written by: bandhunt |
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