Ezra Koenig
Encyclopedia
Ezra Koenig is the lead singer and one of the guitarists of New York-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend
.
. Ezra's grandmother is Romania
n. His mother is a psychoanalyst. His father is a set supervisor on film sets and has worked on several Spike Lee
movies. His parents lived on the Upper West Side
of Manhattan
before moving to New Jersey
. Ezra has a younger sister, Emma Koenig. He began writing music around the age of ten or eleven, and his first song ever was titled "Bad Birthday Party." He attended Columbia University
where he majored in English
. Ezra's maternal grandfather is philosopher Richard McKeon
.
band Dirty Projectors
on a European tour, worked as an intern for The Walkmen
, and was an eighth-grade English teacher in Junior High School 258 in Brooklyn, New York, until 2007.
Koenig met the members of Vampire Weekend while attending Columbia University and started the group in their senior year. The name of the group comes from the movie of the same name that Ezra and his friends made over summer vacations. Ezra plays the main character, Walcott, who has to go to Cape Cod to tell the mayor that vampires are coming. They self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs. In 2010, they released their second album, Contra
. It reached number one on the US and British album charts, among others.
Koenig provides vocals on the song "Carby" on LP
, the debut album of Discovery
, a group which features Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij
and his childhood friend, Ra Ra Riot
Vocalist, Wes Miles. He's also featured on "Warm Heart of Africa
" by The Very Best, "Pyromiltia" by Theophilus London
and "I Could Be Wrong" by Chromeo
. He also recently appeared and provided brief vocals in the music video for Duck Sauce
's Barbra Streisand
.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City that formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings. The Band has four members: Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. The band released its first album Vampire Weekend in 2008, which produced the singles "Mansard...
.
Background
Koenig grew up in a Jewish background in Northern New Jersey and attended Glen Ridge High SchoolGlen Ridge High School
Glen Ridge High School is a comprehensive six-year public high school serving students in grades 7-12 in Glen Ridge, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Glen Ridge Public Schools. GRHS is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.Excellence in academic...
. Ezra's grandmother is Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n. His mother is a psychoanalyst. His father is a set supervisor on film sets and has worked on several Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
movies. His parents lived on the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
before moving to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Ezra has a younger sister, Emma Koenig. He began writing music around the age of ten or eleven, and his first song ever was titled "Bad Birthday Party." He attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
where he majored in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Ezra's maternal grandfather is philosopher Richard McKeon
Richard McKeon
Richard McKeon was an American philosopher.-Life, times, and influences:McKeon obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1920, graduating at the early age of 20 despite serving briefly in the U.S. Navy during the First World War...
.
Musical career
Prior to forming Vampire Weekend, Koenig formed the "serious" rap band L’Homme Run with Andrew Kalaidjian, and fellow band member, Chris Thomson, played saxophone for the indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Dirty Projectors
Dirty Projectors
The Dirty Projectors aka David Longstreth includes Amber Coffman , Angel Deradoorian , Brian McOmber , Nat Baldwin , and Haley Dekle during live performances...
on a European tour, worked as an intern for The Walkmen
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are an American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia. The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater—Paul Maroon , Walter Martin , and Matt Barrick —and two from The Recoys, Peter Bauer and Hamilton Leithauser . All but Bauer...
, and was an eighth-grade English teacher in Junior High School 258 in Brooklyn, New York, until 2007.
Koenig met the members of Vampire Weekend while attending Columbia University and started the group in their senior year. The name of the group comes from the movie of the same name that Ezra and his friends made over summer vacations. Ezra plays the main character, Walcott, who has to go to Cape Cod to tell the mayor that vampires are coming. They self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs. In 2010, they released their second album, Contra
Contra (album)
Contra is the second album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released in January 2010 on XL Recordings. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 200...
. It reached number one on the US and British album charts, among others.
Koenig provides vocals on the song "Carby" on LP
LP (Discovery album)
LP is the first album by the band Discovery, released July 7, 2009 on vinyl and July 14, 2009 on CD via XL Recordings.-Reception:Initial critical response to LP was generally favorable...
, the debut album of Discovery
Discovery (band)
Discovery is the American indie rock, electronic, funk recording project of Rostam Batmanglij, the keyboardist from Vampire Weekend, and Wesley Miles, the vocalist from Ra Ra Riot, friends who began recording together in the summer of 2005.-History:...
, a group which features Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij
Rostam Batmanglij
Rostam Batmanglij is a producer and multi-instrumentalist of New York-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend and co-founder of electro-soul group Discovery.-Background:...
and his childhood friend, Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot
Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band from Syracuse, New York, consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, cellist Alexandra Lawn , violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Kenny Bernard.-History:...
Vocalist, Wes Miles. He's also featured on "Warm Heart of Africa
Warm Heart of Africa
Warm Heart of Africa is the official debut for The Very Best. The album was released digitally on August 25, 2009 and physically on October 6, 2009.Rhapsody deemed it the 18th best album of 2009...
" by The Very Best, "Pyromiltia" by Theophilus London
Theophilus London
Theophilus London is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City.-Early life:London was born on the island Trinidad, on February 23 of 1987 and was raised in Brooklyn briefly, then moved to the suburbs of the Poconos.-Records:...
and "I Could Be Wrong" by Chromeo
Chromeo
Chromeo is an electrofunk duo formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2004.-History:Chromeo is composed of P-Thugg on keyboards, synthesizers, and talk box, and Dave 1 on guitar and lead vocals...
. He also recently appeared and provided brief vocals in the music video for Duck Sauce
Duck Sauce (band)
Duck Sauce is an American-Canadian DJ duo consisting of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak. The duo are signed to Fool's Gold Records.-History:The pair aim to produce disco house tracks that will appeal to club DJs....
's Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand (song)
“Barbra Streisand” is a disco house song by American-Canadian DJ duo Duck Sauce. It was released on 10 September 2010. The song peaked at number one in Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland and Austria...
.