Keith Caputo

One of the biggest voices (and smallest bodies) in rock music today belongs to former Life of Agony vocalist Keith Mina Caputo. After garnering a massive following with the world famous metal outfit, Caputo went solo in 1997 to pursue an alternative – but no less intense – musical direction.
The past ten years have seen Caputo record seven albums with a who's who of industry veterans, including bassist and trumpet player Flea (The Red Hot Chili Peppers), guitarist Craig Ross (Lenny Kravitz, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow), pianist Zac Rae (Fiona Apple, Miley Cyrus, Annie Lennox), producer Martyn Lenoble (Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros, The Cult), and mixer Greg Fidelman (Rage Against The Machine, Marilyn Manson, Johnny Cash). On the festival circuit, he has shared stages with titans like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Björk, David Bowie, Pixies, and Foo Fighters.
With influences ranging from Led Zeppelin and The Doors to Arthur Rimbaud and William S. Burroughs, Caputo is equal parts stalwart rocker and literary outlaw. Whether bellowed or whispered, her lyrics are equally disarming for their soul-baring menace, their palpable alienation, their vulnerability, and their grace. Caputo's reputation for touching listeners to the very depths of their souls with her poetry and heartrending live performances is well earned – within a single show; she is capable of inciting both arena-sized mosh pits and breathless silence. As evidenced by her two most recent releases – A Fondness for Hometown Scars and Dass-Berdache – Caputo is unafraid to mine new musical territory. Quieter numbers like "Bleed for Something Beautiful" and "Shivering Leafless and Hollowed-Out" evoke the cinematic stillness of Daniel Lanois, while balls-out rockers like "Devil's Pride" and "Attic Crawl Space" showcase not only Caputo's rage, but also her taste for eclecticism and unpredictability.
Obsessed with hard truths, Caputo remains an intrepid conquistador of her own pain. Orphaned by heroin-addicted parents, she was forced to grow up in a dark world of poverty, violence and crime. And while themes of abuse and abandonment may seem familiar to those who follow her work, Caputo is innovative enough to shed new light on these subjects with every song that she writes. But as shocking as her lyrical content can sometimes be, the most shocking thing about Caputo is her undying romanticism – her unwavering insistence on seeing the silver lining to every cloud. As Caputo herself says, "from my own feelings of displacement, dissatisfaction and yearning comes a vast sea of compassion."
Before returning to the studio to record her eighth solo album at the end of 2009, Caputo played a series of European engagements with her band The Sad Eyed Ladies in support of A Fondness For Hometown Scars. The highlight of this tour was a unique performance on October 15th, 2009, with a 15-piece orchestra at the historic Kulturekirche in Cologne.
After performing for more than 20 years as a man, Caputo came out in 2011 as transsexual – and announced that she would transition from male to female. She also began referring to herself with female pronouns. Her announcement was initially met with mixed feelings from fans and friends alike, but an overwhelming amount of support for Caputo has since taken hold. Caputo views her transition as the beginning of a whole new chapter in her continuum of musical and lyrical innovation.