Duncan sheik biography

Singer, songwriter

For the Record&#x;

Pursued Stardom in California

Left Romance for Social Commentary

Moved from Studio to Stage

Selected discography

Sources

Duncan Sheik&#x;s career came to life in with the hit single Barely Breathing from his self-titled debut. He received critical and professional accolades for the album, but took his style in a different, more socially conscious direction with his later work. Sheik has cited artists such as Talk Talk, Blue Nile, David Sylvian, and the Cocteau Twins as influences.

Sheik was born in Montclair, New Jersey, and spent much of his first five years with his maternal grandparents. At the time, his mother, Zonnie Sheik, was a jewelry designer and a single mom. Sheik&#x;s interest in music began at a very young age through his grandmother&#x;s influence. My grandmother had been a piano student at Juilliard, and she&#x;s really the one who got me interested in playing music, Sheik said in his record company biography. He began by learning to play the family piano. But I pestered them to get me an electric guitar for years, he continued, and when they finally did, it completely took over. Sheik later discovered that he had musical roots on his father&#x;s side as well. His paternal grandfather had played trumpet in a s big band.

Before he reached school age, Sheik and his mother moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. His mother later owned a jewelry store and antiques stores there. As Sheik grew up, his interest in music never lost momentum. During the summer, he played classical and jazz music at music camps, and played rock music the rest of the time. When he was just 12 years old, Sheik joined his first band, Slightly Off, as a guitar player. Slightly Off played cover songs, and the other members of the band were all in high school.

Once Sheik entered high school in , he transferred to Andover boarding school in Massachusetts. The school&#x;s a

Alternative singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik premiered in mid when Atlantic released his self-titled debut album. With an appearance on the soundtrack to the TV hit ER, Sheik became somewhat well known in alternative circles. Born in , Duncan Sheik grew up in South Carolina but spent many of his early years living with his grandparents in New Jersey. Inspired to play the piano while there, he later moved to electric guitar and performed in bands throughout high school. While studying at Brown University, he played with Lisa Loeb, but began shopping his own demo tape around soon after graduation. Later, he appeared with His Boy Elroy on a album for Epic, and spent several years writing songs before he signed a solo deal with Atlantic.
With Rupert Hine in the producer&#;s chair, Sheik recorded his debut album and released it in June By the end of the year, &#;Barely Breathing&#; had become a modest hit, and he resurfaced in with Humming. For Phantom Moon, Sheik paired up with dramatist/poet Steve Sater. This particular record, which appeared in early , showcased a more orchestral construction from Sheik. The next year, Sheik continued with these experimental orchestrations &#; but with his signature rock style, too &#; for Daylight. He and Sater also prepared for the opening of their musical, Spring Awakening. White Limousine was released in   White Limousine didn&#;t chart in the U.S. but Sheik was already pouring himself into the launch of Spring Awakening. The play became a high-water mark for Sheik: the original cast album won a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album in and the production won two Tonys, including Best Original Score (Music). In , Sheik released Whisper House, an album that offered his own version of highlights from Spring Awakening; it reached on the Billboard Top Sheik then released a collection of covers called Covers 80s in that he was intending to support with a tour, but as the album was released, he entered rehab for alcohol-related addiction.

Duncan Sheik (born November 18, in Montclair, NJ) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor.

Establishing himself in the mid-'90s as a singer/songwriter with a knack for literate adult pop songs with hazy surfaces and a touch of alt-rock grit, Duncan Sheik had a Top 20 hit with the song "Barely Breathing" from his eponymous debut. He had three more albums land on the Billboard by the end of the next decade, including his fourth full-length, 's Daylight. Featuring intricate production and multiple overdubs, it was co-produced with frequent Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard. After scoring his first feature-length film, 's A Home at the End of the World, Sheik's career turned toward Broadway with the success of 's Spring Awakening, a hit rock musical. It won him the Tony for Best Original Score as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album, both with lyricist Steven Sater. Sheik continued to juggle adult-alternative albums, film scores, and musical theater in the years to follow, issuing his eighth solo album, the ranging, over-hour-long Legerdemain, in and moving his musical American Psycho to Broadway in For that show, Sheik served as composer, lyricist, and orchestrator. Following off-Broadway excursions including 's The Secret Life of Bees, he issued the studio album Claptrap in It sought out a more positive state of mind.

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, in , Duncan Sheik grew up in South Carolina but spent many of his early years staying with his grandparents in New Jersey. Inspired to play the piano while there, he later switched to electric guitar and performed in bands throughout high school. A fan of musical theater from a young age, he also acted in school plays and attended the occasional Broadway show with his mother. While studying at Brown University, he played in a band with Lisa Loeb but began shopping his own demo tape soon after graduation. After moving to Los Angeles, he appeared with His B

American singer-songwriter and composer (born )

Musical artist

Duncan Sheik (born November 18, ) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Sheik is known for his debut single "Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed music for motion pictures and Broadway musicals, winning the Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations for his work on the musical Spring Awakening.

Early life

Sheik is a native of Montclair, New Jersey. Following his parents' divorce, he split time between his father's house in New Jersey and his mother's home in South Carolina. He is the half-brother of Broadway actress Kacie Sheik. Sheik's Juilliard-trained grandmother introduced him to the piano, and he later took up the electric guitar. By age 12, he was playing guitar with high school students in a cover band. After graduating from Phillips Academy, Andover in , Sheik studied semiotics at Brown University; while at Brown, he played guitar in a band with fellow Brown student Lisa Loeb. Following his graduation from Brown in , he moved to Los Angeles.

Career

Early in his musical career, Sheik played guitar for other artists, including Liz and Lisa (with Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb). Sheik also played on His Boy Elroy's album through his connections from a fellow Brown alum, Tracee Ellis Ross.

Singer-songwriter

In , Sheik released his self-titled debut album, which was certified gold. The album featured the hit single "Barely Breathing", which peak