SJ Tucker
Encyclopedia
S. J. Tucker is an Arkansas
-born North American
female singer-songwriter
. Originally inspired by alternative
folk rock
artists like Joni Mitchell
, Jeff Buckley
and Ani DiFranco
, Tucker – also called "Sooj" or "Skinny White Chick" – soon branched out to assume a more diverse identity. Like The Beatles
– another cited influence – Tucker prefers an eclectic approach to songcraft. Since her debut album in 2004, Tucker’s work has integrated elements of electronica
, filk, spoken word
, world music
and – with the troupe Fire & Strings – fire-spinning.
" model, Tucker’s work originally featured acoustic guitar
, multitracked
vocals, and low-key bass guitar
and hand drum
parts. In concert, Tucker often appears with a hollow-body guitar and a microphone
. However, her third album, Sirens, featured backup
musicians, a diverse musical approach, and elaborate vocal harmonies. Subsequent releases have favored a world
fusion
approach over guitar folk
arrangements. Stylistically, Tucker has been compared to Ani DiFranco
, Fiona Apple
, and Joni Mitchell
, among other singer-songwriters.
Gay and Lesbian Community Center.
After performing as a featured artist at a string of festivals in 2002, Tucker recorded an EP called Skinny & the Semi-pros with the members of Memphis band Stout. Collecting funds from the sale of that EP and from concert earnings, Tucker next decided to self-produce her first LP. The result, Haphazard, was recorded in the studio over a handful of days and released on March 27, 2004. That album was later cited as one of the "albums no Pagan should be without" in newWitch magazine. From then on, Tucker began touring full-time, living on the road, in hotel rooms, and in space provided by friends, managers and fans.
In 2004, Tucker met fire-spinner Kevin Wiley during an outdoor festival in Colorado. After a minor accident in which Wiley "hit her in the eye with a flaming ball of Kevlar", the two became lovers, partners and fellow performers. Combining their respective skills and talents, the couple formed the Fire & Strings troupe in 2004, and began performing at the Burning Man
festival and across the United States in 2005.
Since beginning her career, Tucker has recorded, appeared and performed with numerous writers, musicians, activists and bands
. Sharing stages with Phyllis Curott
, Gaia Consort
, Wendy Rule
, Selena Fox
, Catherynne M. Valente
, Incus
, Emerald Rose
, Rev. Barry W. Lynn
, Alexander James Adams
, SONA
, Celia
, and many others, Tucker has incorporated elements of social activism, neopagan spirituality and mythpunk fantasy
into her repertoire. A 2006 rally in Washington to protest the Sgt. Patrick Stewart case was later portrayed in the song "Mandolin Holy Man." More recently, Tucker performed several songs from her neopagan album Blessings at the 2007 Samhain
festival in Salem
, Massachusetts
.
for the Best Writer/Composer award. Tucker won the Pegasus Award for Best Writer/Composer in 2011.
, Incus
and Celia
, Tucker has collaborated on several book/CD crossovers with author Catherynne M. Valente
. Inspired by Valente’s novel The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden, Tucker recorded the album For the Girl in the Garden and the songs "The Girl in the Garden" and "Shipful of Monsters" as "official companions" to that novel. The two also collaborated on the song "The Drowning" from Sirens, and–with K Wiley - performed selections from the novel at various fantasy
conventions
. Tucker’s fire-spinning inspired Valente to include a fantasy version of her–the Fire-Dancer - in the 2007 follow-up novel The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice. This, in turn, inspired Tucker’s song "Firebird’s Child" on the album Blessings, released that same year. The two artists further collaborated on the album Solace & Sorrow, released in conjunction with In the Cities of Coin and Spice, on the same publication day.
Tucker and Valente toured the East Coast together in 2007 to promote Tucker's albums and The Orphan’s Tales.
Another collaboration of sorts appeared by way of "The Wendy Trilogy" –"Wendy on Board," "Red-Handed Jill" and "Green-Eyed Sue/Sue's Jig." A three-part saga inspired by J. M. Barrie
’s Peter and Wendy
, this trio of songs follow Wendy Darling
in her career as a pirate. Taken from the album Sirens, the Wendy Trilogy assumes that Wendy took Captain Hook
up on his offer to turn buccaneer
. The saga sees Wendy join the crew, grow strong, fall out with Peter Pan
, and finally attack Hook after hearing him plot to marry her off to Bluebeard
. In the ensuing fight, Peter drops Hook into the waiting mouth of the Crocodile
–a coincidental fate, given that the trilogy shares an album with the song "Alligator in the House" (see below). From there, Wendy takes command of the pirate ship, trains an all-girl crew, and becomes a Fairyland
celebrity. Eventually she retires, handing the captaincy off to first mate Green-Eyed Sue. An illustration by artist Amy Brown
was made for a single release of the Wendy Trilogy - yet to be released as a full EP of pirate songs entitled Pirate Girls, and the songs also appear on the album Tricky Pixie–Live!, a release from Tucker’s West Coast project Tricky Pixie.
and Alexander James Adams
–formerly folk
artist Heather Alexander. Tinney and Tucker also collaborated on several other songs, including one of Tucker’s "signature songs," "Alligator in the House". The band made their debut at Soulfood Books in Redmond, WA. The recording of this first performance would become the Tricky Pixie - Live! album. The band also appeared–with Celia
- at the 2007 FaerieWorlds
festival, but due to the divergent careers of the three band members, as of 2008 Tricky Pixie performs only in the winter and summer months.
of the joke song "I'm So Sorry" caused a minor dispute on YouTube
and Live Journal. Recorded at the birthday party of fantasy
author Phil Brucato
, the video poked fun at fans of Firefly
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5
and Doctor Who
. Supporters of those shows responded with both amusement and vitriol. Despite the controversy, the video garnered over a thousand viewings in one day, and became a brief sensation among fans of Joss Whedon
. This song was debuted at the February 3rd, 2008 house concert at Sidhehaven, a household and healing center near Yelm, WA, and the performance of said song was originally purported to be the one and only time Tucker would perform it. Tucker did, in fact, change her mind, thus bringing the frequently-viewed recording into existence.
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
-born North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
female singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Originally inspired by alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
artists like Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
and Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Tucker – also called "Sooj" or "Skinny White Chick" – soon branched out to assume a more diverse identity. Like The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
– another cited influence – Tucker prefers an eclectic approach to songcraft. Since her debut album in 2004, Tucker’s work has integrated elements of electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, filk, spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
, world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and – with the troupe Fire & Strings – fire-spinning.
Musical style
Based around the "guitar troubadourTroubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
" model, Tucker’s work originally featured acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, multitracked
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
vocals, and low-key bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and hand drum
Hand drum
A hand drum is any type of drum that is typically played with the bare hand rather than a stick, mallet, hammer, or other type of beater. The simplest type of hand drum is the frame drum, which consists of a shallow, cylindrical shell with a drumhead attached to one of the open ends.-Types:The...
parts. In concert, Tucker often appears with a hollow-body guitar and a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. However, her third album, Sirens, featured backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
musicians, a diverse musical approach, and elaborate vocal harmonies. Subsequent releases have favored a world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
approach over guitar folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
arrangements. Stylistically, Tucker has been compared to Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...
, and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, among other singer-songwriters.
Career
Raised in an art-oriented family, Tucker began singing during childhood. Disgusted by "mainstream" employment, she began performing as a singer and guitarist while at college 1997, formed her first band, Skinny White Chick, in 1999, recording one self-produced EP over the subsequent years. Tucker, who identifies as bisexual, also found a home in the Gay and Lesbian community, performing monthly at the Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
Gay and Lesbian Community Center.
After performing as a featured artist at a string of festivals in 2002, Tucker recorded an EP called Skinny & the Semi-pros with the members of Memphis band Stout. Collecting funds from the sale of that EP and from concert earnings, Tucker next decided to self-produce her first LP. The result, Haphazard, was recorded in the studio over a handful of days and released on March 27, 2004. That album was later cited as one of the "albums no Pagan should be without" in newWitch magazine. From then on, Tucker began touring full-time, living on the road, in hotel rooms, and in space provided by friends, managers and fans.
In 2004, Tucker met fire-spinner Kevin Wiley during an outdoor festival in Colorado. After a minor accident in which Wiley "hit her in the eye with a flaming ball of Kevlar", the two became lovers, partners and fellow performers. Combining their respective skills and talents, the couple formed the Fire & Strings troupe in 2004, and began performing at the Burning Man
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
festival and across the United States in 2005.
Since beginning her career, Tucker has recorded, appeared and performed with numerous writers, musicians, activists and bands
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
. Sharing stages with Phyllis Curott
Phyllis Curott
Phyllis Curott is a Wiccan priestess, attorney, and author .- Early life :Her parents were agnostic-atheist, socially liberal intellectuals who encouraged her to make her own decisions regarding theology but taught her to adhere to the Golden Rule...
, Gaia Consort
Gaia consort
Gaia Consort is the original incarnation of Seattle-based folk rock music-group Bone Poets Orchestra. The group, popular in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, was founded as Gaia Consort by Chistopher Bingham and Sue Tinney in 1997. Their first performance was at Nudestock 97...
, Wendy Rule
Wendy Rule
Wendy Rule is an Australian musical artist. She was born in Sydney, but now lives in Melbourne.She performs regularly, including several recent tours of the USA and Europe.-Musical style:...
, Selena Fox
Selena Fox
Selena Fox is a Wiccan priestess and activist, psychotherapist, self-published author and lecturer in the fields of Neopaganism, Wicca, New Age and comparative religion.- Circle :Rev...
, Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente , is a Tiptree–, Andre Norton–, and Mythopoeic Award–winning novelist, poet, and literary critic. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the World Fantasy Award–winning anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with numerous Year's Best volumes...
, Incus
Incus
The incus or anvil is the anvil-shaped small bone or ossicle in themiddle ear. It connects the malleus to the stapes. It was first described by Alessandro Achillini of Bologna.The incus transmits sound vibrations from the malleus to the stapes....
, Emerald Rose
Emerald Rose
Emerald Rose is a Celtic folk rock band from Georgia of the United States. The band consists of four members: Brian Sullivan , Larry Morris, Arthur Hinds and Clyde Gilbert. Emerald Rose plays a mix of Celtic, folk, and Pagan tunes.- Biography :...
, Rev. Barry W. Lynn
Barry W. Lynn
Barry W. Lynn, Esq. has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and a prominent leader of the American religious left...
, Alexander James Adams
Alexander James Adams
Alexander James Adams is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the Celtic and World music genres. He blends mythical, fantasy, and traditional themes in performances, switching between instrumental fiddle and songs accompanied by guitar, bodhrán, and fiddle playing...
, SONA
SONA (band)
SONA was a Neo-Pagan music band that toured and performed at Neo-Pagan gatherings and other events throughout the Midwest during the first decade of the 21st century. SONA, with its three members, was popularly known as “the Peter, Paul and Mary of Pagan music”.The three members of SONA were...
, Celia
Celia
Celia may refer to:*Celia , a 1988 Australian drama film*Celia , a Spanish TV-series based on Elena Fortún's novels*Hurricane Celia, which hit Texas and Cuba in 1970*Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex- Fiction :...
, and many others, Tucker has incorporated elements of social activism, neopagan spirituality and mythpunk fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
into her repertoire. A 2006 rally in Washington to protest the Sgt. Patrick Stewart case was later portrayed in the song "Mandolin Holy Man." More recently, Tucker performed several songs from her neopagan album Blessings at the 2007 Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
festival in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Awards
Tucker was nominated for both the Best Performer and Best Writer/Composer Pegasus Awards for 2010. She won the Best Performer award, finishing behind Heather DaleHeather Dale
Heather Dale is a Canadian Celtic recording artist and touring musician. She records and performs primarily her own original songs, which draw their inspiration from the mythology, folklore and history of various Celtic and non-Celtic cultures...
for the Best Writer/Composer award. Tucker won the Pegasus Award for Best Writer/Composer in 2011.
Collaborations
Aside from appearances on albums by Gaia ConsortGaia consort
Gaia Consort is the original incarnation of Seattle-based folk rock music-group Bone Poets Orchestra. The group, popular in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, was founded as Gaia Consort by Chistopher Bingham and Sue Tinney in 1997. Their first performance was at Nudestock 97...
, Incus
Incus
The incus or anvil is the anvil-shaped small bone or ossicle in themiddle ear. It connects the malleus to the stapes. It was first described by Alessandro Achillini of Bologna.The incus transmits sound vibrations from the malleus to the stapes....
and Celia
Celia
Celia may refer to:*Celia , a 1988 Australian drama film*Celia , a Spanish TV-series based on Elena Fortún's novels*Hurricane Celia, which hit Texas and Cuba in 1970*Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex- Fiction :...
, Tucker has collaborated on several book/CD crossovers with author Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente , is a Tiptree–, Andre Norton–, and Mythopoeic Award–winning novelist, poet, and literary critic. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the World Fantasy Award–winning anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with numerous Year's Best volumes...
. Inspired by Valente’s novel The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden, Tucker recorded the album For the Girl in the Garden and the songs "The Girl in the Garden" and "Shipful of Monsters" as "official companions" to that novel. The two also collaborated on the song "The Drowning" from Sirens, and–with K Wiley - performed selections from the novel at various fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
conventions
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
. Tucker’s fire-spinning inspired Valente to include a fantasy version of her–the Fire-Dancer - in the 2007 follow-up novel The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice. This, in turn, inspired Tucker’s song "Firebird’s Child" on the album Blessings, released that same year. The two artists further collaborated on the album Solace & Sorrow, released in conjunction with In the Cities of Coin and Spice, on the same publication day.
Tucker and Valente toured the East Coast together in 2007 to promote Tucker's albums and The Orphan’s Tales.
Another collaboration of sorts appeared by way of "The Wendy Trilogy" –"Wendy on Board," "Red-Handed Jill" and "Green-Eyed Sue/Sue's Jig." A three-part saga inspired by J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
’s Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up...
, this trio of songs follow Wendy Darling
Wendy Darling
Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character, the female protagonist of Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie, and in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the original play or novel by Barrie, though she is implied to be 12 or 13 years old or younger, as she is "just...
in her career as a pirate. Taken from the album Sirens, the Wendy Trilogy assumes that Wendy took Captain Hook
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most...
up on his offer to turn buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
. The saga sees Wendy join the crew, grow strong, fall out with Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, and finally attack Hook after hearing him plot to marry her off to Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
. In the ensuing fight, Peter drops Hook into the waiting mouth of the Crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
–a coincidental fate, given that the trilogy shares an album with the song "Alligator in the House" (see below). From there, Wendy takes command of the pirate ship, trains an all-girl crew, and becomes a Fairyland
Fairyland
Fairyland commonly refers to the land of fairies, in folklore.Fairyland may also refer to:* Álfheimr, the abode of the elves in Norse mythology* Elfhame or Elfland, the abode of the elves in English and Lowland Scottish folklore...
celebrity. Eventually she retires, handing the captaincy off to first mate Green-Eyed Sue. An illustration by artist Amy Brown
Amy Brown
Amy Brown is a popular fantasy and fairy artist. Her career began in the 1990s, and today her watercolor designs appear on t-shirts, calendars, and buttons; and people have been using her images for tattoos. Two books of her artwork have been published, The Art of Amy Brown and The Art of Amy...
was made for a single release of the Wendy Trilogy - yet to be released as a full EP of pirate songs entitled Pirate Girls, and the songs also appear on the album Tricky Pixie–Live!, a release from Tucker’s West Coast project Tricky Pixie.
Tricky Pixie
Founded in 2006, Tricky Pixie combines music and songwriting from Tucker, Betsy Tinney of Gaia ConsortGaia consort
Gaia Consort is the original incarnation of Seattle-based folk rock music-group Bone Poets Orchestra. The group, popular in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, was founded as Gaia Consort by Chistopher Bingham and Sue Tinney in 1997. Their first performance was at Nudestock 97...
and Alexander James Adams
Alexander James Adams
Alexander James Adams is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the Celtic and World music genres. He blends mythical, fantasy, and traditional themes in performances, switching between instrumental fiddle and songs accompanied by guitar, bodhrán, and fiddle playing...
–formerly folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
artist Heather Alexander. Tinney and Tucker also collaborated on several other songs, including one of Tucker’s "signature songs," "Alligator in the House". The band made their debut at Soulfood Books in Redmond, WA. The recording of this first performance would become the Tricky Pixie - Live! album. The band also appeared–with Celia
Celia
Celia may refer to:*Celia , a 1988 Australian drama film*Celia , a Spanish TV-series based on Elena Fortún's novels*Hurricane Celia, which hit Texas and Cuba in 1970*Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex- Fiction :...
- at the 2007 FaerieWorlds
Faerieworlds
The Faerieworlds Festival is an annual music and arts festival currently held annually in Oregon. The festival's primary theme is the "realm of the faerie"...
festival, but due to the divergent careers of the three band members, as of 2008 Tricky Pixie performs only in the winter and summer months.
Controversy
In early 2008, a live videoVideo
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
of the joke song "I'm So Sorry" caused a minor dispute on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and Live Journal. Recorded at the birthday party of fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
author Phil Brucato
Phil Brucato
"Satyr" Phil Brucato is an American writer and game designer. He is best known for his work with White Wolf, Inc., including role-playing games such as Mage: The Ascension, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade...
, the video poked fun at fans of Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Supporters of those shows responded with both amusement and vitriol. Despite the controversy, the video garnered over a thousand viewings in one day, and became a brief sensation among fans of Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
. This song was debuted at the February 3rd, 2008 house concert at Sidhehaven, a household and healing center near Yelm, WA, and the performance of said song was originally purported to be the one and only time Tucker would perform it. Tucker did, in fact, change her mind, thus bringing the frequently-viewed recording into existence.
Albums
- Haphazard (2004)
- Tangles (2005)
- Tales from the Road (Live, 2005)
- SirensSirens (SJ Tucker album)Sirens is an album by American singer-songwriter S. J. Tucker, released in 2006 .-Track listing:#"The Drowning" - 1:56#"Go Away Godboy" - 4:46#"Lady Vagabond" - 5:27...
(2006) - For the Girl in the Garden (2006)
- Blessings (2007)
- Tricky Pixie–Live! (2007)
[with Tricky Pixie] - Solace & Sorrow (2007)
- Mythcreants (2008)
[with Tricky Pixie] - Mischief (2010)
- Rootless (2011)
EPs
- The Nathan Session (2001)
- Skinny & The Semi-Pros (2003)
- To Black Rock with Love: Burning Man 2005 (2005)
- Fire, Hope, Fear: Burning Man 2006 (2006)
Singles
- "Go Away, God Boy!" (2006)
- "The Wendy Trilogy" (2007)
- "Rootless" (2011)