Hello and thank you for visiting my myspace. My name is Ann W. Driscoll. The W stands for Wood, the middle name of my father, maiden name of my grandmother, and last name of my great-great-uncle, Gar Wood, a long-deceased Michigan speedboat racer whose name graces the maroon, flat-billed hat I wear all of the time.
Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you a little bit about the details of my life. I was born in Cincinnati in 1987. I recently turned 23, which is an age with no distinctive characteristics.except that it's an introduction to the insanity of being an adult.
In May of this past year, I graduated from music school in Boston, where I lived for 3 years. Boston is a great place, and I go there just about every other weekend. In October, I moved to New York City, Brooklyn to be specific, Bushwick to be even more specific. I'm seeking fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.
When I first started writing songs, I was around 7. I always had lots of instruments in my house which I played incessantly. The guitars, keyboard, and drum-set in my house tended to respond well to my misplaced, often-unpleasant energies. I still play my first electric guitar, a Fender Strat. I got it for Christmas when I was eight.
My influences as a kid (and still largely to this day) were the Beatles, Nirvana, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Fiona Apple's When the Pawn was also a great big deal to me, largely because of Jon Brion's production, and when I was around twelve, I bought every record he had produced, every film score he had composed. It helped that I had a concurrent obsession w/ the films of Paul Thomas Anderson as well as Aimee Mann.
Around the same time, I got really into Radiohead. I'm pretty sure they're the best band since The Beatles, but I can't verify the accuracy of that statement 100percent. Along the same lines of Radiohead, for me, is Blur. I listened to their album, 13, nonstop. It's a lot like Kid A, but weirder. What can I say- I just love British music. I'm also a big Supergrass fan. I feel like Brits just know how to write good melodies.
When I was in high school, I listened to a lot of Riot Grrl stuff, like Sleater-Kinney, The Butchies, and Bikini Kill. I channeled my awe and admiration for ass-kicking all-female bands two years ago when I started MRS DANVERS, in Boston. It was a thrill when MRS DANVERS recently opened for Corin Tucker.
My first record, Young Tracks, is a compilation of all of my best high school basement recordings as well as 3 recordings I did in Cincinnati at a studio that primarily produces commercial jingles. All of the songs on Young Tracks are 100percent from the heart. No bullshit. If the 60's retro influences are apparent, it's unconscious.
Going to music school was all about being conscious all the time. Which can pose a problem. There's gotta be a balance of the unconscious, the inexplicable, the spontaneous along with the craft, the knowledge, the expertise. I'm keeping this idea in mind (or out of mind?) as I proceed with songwriting.
My current favorite songwriters are Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), and Redding Hunter (Peter and the Wolf). I'm also drawing a lot of inspiration from Nine Inch Nails (for their dirty/beautiful beats) and Air (for their synth orchestrations) and The Knife (for their pure, giddy grasp of the pop sublime).
An important influence to me is moves. I have a movie blog which I occasionally update: horromoviesetc.blogspot.com My favorite movies of all time are Mulholland Dr, The Shining, Psycho, The Evil Dead, and Cache. I'm also going to give an honorable mention to Picnic at Hanging Rock, Silence of the Lambs, The Thing, I Am Curious: Yellow, and Heavenly Creatures. I can watch Jaws anytime anywhere, and it always makes me feel better. Little Mermaid is another one. Chicken soup for the soul.
Right now, I'm working on music that's from the heart. I'm recording all of it in my tiny closet-sized bedroom with my rudimentary gear, using Reason and Garageband. I think a lot of it sounds lovely, and I look forward to releasing it soon.
