St. Vincent (musician)

• 1. Childhood In Dallas

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  Anne Erin Clark arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 28th of September 1982. Her parents divorced when she was three years old. She moved to Dallas with her mother and two older sisters at age seven. A red plastic guitar from a Target store became her first instrument at five years old. She began taking real lessons at twelve with Tony Hyatt. He worked for a local guitar shop. Clark also worked as a roadie for Tuck & Patti during her teenage years. They were a jazz duo consisting of her aunt and uncle. She graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2001. Mark Salling attended the same school.

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• 2. Leaving Berklee And First Album

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  Clark studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston under professor Lauren Passarelli. She left after three years because she felt schools focused too much on grading systems. She returned home to Texas and joined the Polyphonic Spree before their European tour. In 2006 she recorded Paris Is Burning while touring with Sufjan Stevens. The name St. Vincent came from a Nick Cave song about Dylan Thomas dying in a hospital. It also referenced her great-grandmother's middle name. Marry Me released the 10th of July 2007 through Beggars Banquet Records. Critics compared her sound to Kate Bush and David Bowie. Pitchfork noted how she twisted structures into something natural and easy to listen to. Songs written when she was eighteen and nineteen represented an idealized version of love.

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• 3. Writing Actor From Films

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  After touring for over a year Clark felt mentally exhausted. Her brain became like circuit boards that were fried. She started watching films to feel human again. Disney movies inspired the writing process for her second album. She wrote songs using GarageBand and MIDI software in her apartment. Noise complaints from neighbors prevented her from using a studio. Scenes from Snow White and The Wizard of Oz influenced the lyrics. Actor released the 5th of May 2009 via 4AD Records. Spin magazine gave it eight out of ten stars. Entertainment Weekly called it a potent cocktail of sounds and moods. The album peaked at number nine on Billboards Independent Albums chart. Music videos aired on several channels including one featuring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.

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• 4. Strange Mercy And Byrne Collaboration

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  Clark spent October 2010 alone in Seattle writing her third album. She stayed at the Ace Hotel downtown with a shared bathroom. Her days involved running, caffeinating, and working twelve hours in a studio. Strange Mercy arrived the 13th of September 2011 after she teased tracks on Twitter. It peaked at number nineteen on the US Billboard 200. Critics praised its complex arrangements and dark currents. In June 2012 she released Who with David Byrne of Talking Heads. Their collaborative album Love This Giant came out the 11th of September 2012. Clark received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts in November 2013. She signed to Loma Vista Recordings that same month. Her fourth self-titled album followed in January 2014. Rolling Stone ranked it number four best album of the year.

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• 5. Masseduction And Swift Partnership

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  St. Vincent made her film directorial debut helming a segment of XX in April 2016. Masseduction released October 2017 through Loma Vista Recordings. It debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 selling twenty-nine thousand units first week. The album won Best Rock Song at the 2019 Grammy Awards. That summer she co-wrote Cruel Summer with Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff. Swift's seventh studio album Lover featured the track. St. Vincent performed at Coachella during her I Am a Lot Like You! Tour in April 2018. She also produced Sleater-Kinneys ninth studio album The Center Won't Hold which released the following year. A collection of remixes called Masseduction Rewired arrived December 2019 curated by Nina Kraviz.

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• 6. Daddys Home And Film Work

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  Clark announced her sixth studio album Daddy's Home on the 15th of December 2020. It released the 14th of May 2021 after posters appeared on streets earlier that month. The album won Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Her father was convicted of wire fraud and securities fraud in May 2010. His eventual release inspired parts of this record. She starred in The Nowhere Inn alongside Carrie Brownstein. The script came from Clark herself about making a documentary on her career. The soundtrack released the 17th of September 2021 to digital streaming services. She contributed a cover of Sad but True to The Metallica Blacklist charity album. In February 2023 she joined Yoshiki at Royal Albert Hall for an orchestral version of New York.

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• 7. Guitars And Equipment Choices

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  Clark has played various instruments including bass piano organ and theremin. She primarily uses her signature Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent guitar now. The model originally released March 2016 as the HHH with three mini-humbuckers. A paint color called Vincent Blue was hand-mixed by Clark herself. Four additional colors arrived in 2017 including Polaris White and Heritage Red. Rosewood necks were replaced by roasted maple due to trade restrictions. Jack White used the three pickup version during his Boarding House Reach tour in 2018. Other notable users include Tom Morello and J Mascis. Her playing style features melodic lines and heavy distortion.

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