David Van Tieghem
Encyclopedia
David Van Tieghem is an American
composer, musician, percussionist, drummer, keyboardist, performance artist
, video artist and actor, notorious for his philosophy of applying any available object as a percussion instrument and his collaborations with Experimental rock
artist Laurie Anderson
.
As a free-lance percussionist, he has worked with Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Pink Floyd, Steve Nicks, Nona Hendryx, Peter Gordon and the Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO), Arthur Russell, Howard Shore, Robert Fripp, Deborah Harry & Chris Stein of Blondie, Nick Rhodes & Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Adrian Belew, Chris Spedding, Robert Gordon, John Cale, Michael Oldfield, Tracy Bonham, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Arto Lindsay, Bill Laswell, Jon Gibson, Ned Sublette, Tony Williams, Lenny Pickett, Richard Peaslee, Michael Nyman, Jerry Marotta, John Zorn, Anton Fier, Elliott Murphy, Robert Ashley, Carson Kievman, Happy Traum, and NEXUS Percussion, among others.
As an actor/musician, he has appeared in music-theater with Keith Carradine
and Ellen Greene at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, in performance-art by Robert Longo
, in photographs by William Wegman, and in video art by John Sanborn & Kit Fitzgerald, and Nam June Paik. He also played several roles in Robert Ashley's
television operas, among other many collaborations.
From 1978 to 1983 he has been active in a great number of soundtracks and scores. In 1984 he released his first solo album, These Things Happen
, on the Warner Bros. Records
label. In 1981 he released a famous video work named "Ear To The Ground". In 1986, he received a Bessie Award
(NY Dance and Performance) Award for Music. 3 years after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album, Van Tieghem's second studio album, Safety In Numbers
, was released in 1987 under the label of Private Music Records. The music video from the song "Galaxy" was a minor hit. Van Tieghem's third studio album, Strange Cargo
, was released in 1989.
From 1989 to the present, Van Tieghem has been composing music for Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as a few film scores. In 1996 he received a 1996 Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Sound Design (for "The Grey Zone"), and was awarded a 1996 Obie for Sustained Excellence of Music. In 1998, How I Learned to Drive
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
for Drama, and the play completed a run in 1999 at the Mark Taper Forum
in L.A., starring Molly Ringwald
, with the original director and design team. Van Tieghem was also nominated for a 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design for Scotland Road
. Van Tieghem received two 1999 Drama Desk Award Nominations- Outstanding Music in a Play for The Turn of the Screw
and Outstanding Sound Design for Stop Kiss
.
Van Tieghem is currently an active musician and sound designer, most recently having scored the Broadway play "A Behanding In Spokane," starring Christopher Walken, and collaborating with choreographers Doug Varone and Elizabeth Streb. He just released his fourth studio album, "Thrown For A Loop."
In 2011, he was sound designer for the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia". He also composed original music and designed sound for the Broadway revivals of "Born Yesterday" (directed by Doug Hughes) and "The Normal Heart" (winner of the 2011 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, directed by George C. Wolfe and Joel Grey).
:
Talking Heads
Brian Eno
& David Byrne
Arcadia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer, musician, percussionist, drummer, keyboardist, performance artist
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, video artist and actor, notorious for his philosophy of applying any available object as a percussion instrument and his collaborations with Experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
artist Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
.
Biography
David Van Tieghem was born on April 21, 1955, in Washington, DC. He studied percussion with Justin DiCioccio, of NYC's LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. He later attended Manhattan School of Music as a student of modern percussion pioneer Paul Price.Career
Since 1977 he has been presenting his solo percussion-theater performances in venues throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Composers Showcase series and the Serious Fun! Festival at Lincoln Center.As a free-lance percussionist, he has worked with Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Pink Floyd, Steve Nicks, Nona Hendryx, Peter Gordon and the Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO), Arthur Russell, Howard Shore, Robert Fripp, Deborah Harry & Chris Stein of Blondie, Nick Rhodes & Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Adrian Belew, Chris Spedding, Robert Gordon, John Cale, Michael Oldfield, Tracy Bonham, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Arto Lindsay, Bill Laswell, Jon Gibson, Ned Sublette, Tony Williams, Lenny Pickett, Richard Peaslee, Michael Nyman, Jerry Marotta, John Zorn, Anton Fier, Elliott Murphy, Robert Ashley, Carson Kievman, Happy Traum, and NEXUS Percussion, among others.
As an actor/musician, he has appeared in music-theater with Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
and Ellen Greene at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, in performance-art by Robert Longo
Robert Longo
Robert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:...
, in photographs by William Wegman, and in video art by John Sanborn & Kit Fitzgerald, and Nam June Paik. He also played several roles in Robert Ashley's
Robert Ashley
Robert Ashley , is a contemporary American composer, best known for his operas and other theatrical works, many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. Along with Gordon Mumma, Ashley was also a major pioneer of audio synthesis.Ashley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
television operas, among other many collaborations.
From 1978 to 1983 he has been active in a great number of soundtracks and scores. In 1984 he released his first solo album, These Things Happen
These Things Happen
These Things Happen is the influential debut album by Electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1984. Although not his first musical work, it was his first proper album, notorious for Van Tieghem's use of percussion objects such as radio transmissions, a wine bottle, hair...
, on the Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
label. In 1981 he released a famous video work named "Ear To The Ground". In 1986, he received a Bessie Award
Bessie Awards
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, informally known as the Bessie Awards in honor of Bessie Schonberg, are awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances...
(NY Dance and Performance) Award for Music. 3 years after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album, Van Tieghem's second studio album, Safety In Numbers
Safety In Numbers (David Van Tieghem album)
Safety In Numbers is the second studio album by American electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1987. Tony Levin, the long time bassist for King Crimson, plays Chapman Stick on track 4...
, was released in 1987 under the label of Private Music Records. The music video from the song "Galaxy" was a minor hit. Van Tieghem's third studio album, Strange Cargo
Strange Cargo (David Van Tieghem album)
Strange Cargo is the third studio album by American electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1989.Strange Cargo's music has been described as more diverse by mixing funk, jazz, Asian music and progressive electronic styles, producing structured melodies and weird sounds,...
, was released in 1989.
From 1989 to the present, Van Tieghem has been composing music for Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as a few film scores. In 1996 he received a 1996 Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Sound Design (for "The Grey Zone"), and was awarded a 1996 Obie for Sustained Excellence of Music. In 1998, How I Learned to Drive
How I Learned To Drive
How I Learned to Drive is a play written by American playwright Paula Vogel. The play premiered on March 16, 1997 off-broadway at the Vineyard Theatre...
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Drama, and the play completed a run in 1999 at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
in L.A., starring Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
, with the original director and design team. Van Tieghem was also nominated for a 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design for Scotland Road
Scotland Road
Scotland Road or "Scottie Road" is the A59 and is situated near the docks in the Vauxhall area of north Liverpool, England.-History:Scotland Road was created in the 1770s as a turnpike road to Preston via Walton and Burscough. It became part of a stagecoach route to Scotland, hence its name...
. Van Tieghem received two 1999 Drama Desk Award Nominations- Outstanding Music in a Play for The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...
and Outstanding Sound Design for Stop Kiss
Stop Kiss
Stop Kiss is a play written by the American playwright Diana Son, and produced Off-Broadway in 1998 at The Public Theater in New York City. It focuses on the touching story of friends-turned-lovers, Sara and Callie, who are assaulted for kissing....
.
Van Tieghem is currently an active musician and sound designer, most recently having scored the Broadway play "A Behanding In Spokane," starring Christopher Walken, and collaborating with choreographers Doug Varone and Elizabeth Streb. He just released his fourth studio album, "Thrown For A Loop."
In 2011, he was sound designer for the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia". He also composed original music and designed sound for the Broadway revivals of "Born Yesterday" (directed by Doug Hughes) and "The Normal Heart" (winner of the 2011 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, directed by George C. Wolfe and Joel Grey).
Studio Albums
- These Things HappenThese Things HappenThese Things Happen is the influential debut album by Electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1984. Although not his first musical work, it was his first proper album, notorious for Van Tieghem's use of percussion objects such as radio transmissions, a wine bottle, hair...
(1984) - Safety In NumbersSafety In Numbers (David Van Tieghem album)Safety In Numbers is the second studio album by American electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1987. Tony Levin, the long time bassist for King Crimson, plays Chapman Stick on track 4...
(1987) - Strange CargoStrange Cargo (David Van Tieghem album)Strange Cargo is the third studio album by American electronica musician & percussionist David Van Tieghem, released in 1989.Strange Cargo's music has been described as more diverse by mixing funk, jazz, Asian music and progressive electronic styles, producing structured melodies and weird sounds,...
(1989) - Thrown For A Loop (2009)
Singles
- "These Things Happen - Remixes" (1984)
- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1986)
Major Collaborations
Laurie AndersonLaurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
:
- Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson AnthologyTalk Normal: The Laurie Anderson AnthologyTalk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology is a retrospective of the seven albums recorded by American experimental music composer Laurie Anderson for Warner Bros...
(2000, WEA/Rhino) - Strange Angels (1989, Warner Bros.)
- Home Of The BraveHome of the Brave (soundtrack)Home of the Brave was the fourth album release by Laurie Anderson, issued in 1986. Released by Warner Bros. Records, it was a partial soundtrack album of her concert film of the same title....
(1986, Warner Bros.) With Adrian Belew, William S. Burroughs, Nile Rodgers, Joy Askew - Mister HeartbreakMister HeartbreakMister Heartbreak is the second album by avant-garde artist, singer and composer Laurie Anderson, released in 1984.Considered more mainstream than its predecessor, Big Science, the album's lead track, "Sharkey's Day" formed the basis of a popular music video. Author William S...
(1984, Warner Bros.) With Adrian Belew, Bill Laswell, William S. Burroughs, Nile Rodgers, Peter Gabriel. - United States LiveUnited States LiveUnited States Live was the third album release by avant-garde singer-songwriter Laurie Anderson. Released as a 5-record boxed set , the album was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City in February 1983.United States was Anderson's magnum opus performance-art piece featuring...
(1984, Warner Bros.) - Big ScienceBig Science (album)Big Science is the 1982 debut album by avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and the first of a 7-album deal she signed with Warner Bros. Records. It is best known for the 8-minute epic "O Superman", which reached #2 in the UK. The album is minimalist and monochrome in sound, and like a great deal of...
(1982, Warner Bros.)
Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
- Speaking In Tongues (1983, Sire/Warner Bros.) With Nona Hendryx, Shankar, Bernie Worrell
Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
& David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
- My Life in the Bush of GhostsMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts (album)The album was recorded entirely with analogue technology, before the advent of digital sequencing and MIDI. The sampled voices were synchronized with the instrumental tracks via trial and error, a practice that was often frustrating, but which also produced several happy accidents.Also according to...
(1981, Sire/Editions E.G.) With Robert Fripp, Bill Laswell
Arcadia
Arcadia (band)
Arcadia were the pop group formed in 1985 by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran, during a break in that band's schedule. However, Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and in none of the music videos, and stated he was only to be involved in the recording side...
- So Red The RoseSo Red the RoseSo Red the Rose is the platinum-selling album by the Duran Duran-spinoff group Arcadia, which was released in 1985 — the only album the band ever released...
(1985, Capitol) With Sting, David Gilmour, Herbie Hancock