Amanda Palmer is a famous American singer. She gained the greatest popularity by working in the duet "Dresden Dolls". In addition, the singer gives solo concerts and is a songwriter. At home, Amanda Palmer, the singer and author of Stop Whining, Start Begging, is very popular and controversial.
Childhood
Amanda Palmer is a native of New York. Her date of birth is April 30, 1976. After her parents divorced, the girl stayed with her mother, who moved to Lexington. Amanda was only one year old at the time. She saw her father very rarely, so she knew practically nothing about him. Studying in high school, Amanda Palmer was fond of dramatic art. Inspired by the work of the legendary "Pink Dots", the girl staged her own performances. Also, the books of children's writer Judy Bloom influenced the formation of Amanda's personality.
Students
After school, Amanda Palmer entered the Humanities University in Middletown. Here the singer joined the Eclectic Society fraternity, and also organized her own street theater troupe. To earn a living, Palmer participated in a living statue called "The Eight Legs of the Bride". The composition was exhibited at Harvard Square and Cambridge.
Dresden Dolls
When Amanda was twenty-four years old, she met drummer Brian Vigleone. The talented couple came up with the idea of creating a group. This is how the "Dresden dolls" appeared. Palmer invented a new genre for her duet, which she called "Brektan punk cabaret". Unusual costumes, bright make-up, theatrical performances and original music - all this favorably distinguished the duet from other performers.
Amanda Palmer began to invite students from her school to the performances of "Dresden Dolls". The show has turned into real performances. The duo released their first album in 2002. It bore the name of the group. In 2006, another major album of "Dresden Dolls" was released. It includes all the songs of the duet written by Amanda.
Disintegration of "Dolls"
In 2007, "Dresden Dolls" continued to tour successfully. They participated in the annual musical tour of Cyndi Lauper, debuted in the music club "Radio City". Photos of Amanda Palmer and her troupe appeared on the pages of "New YorkTimes". In 2008, a sequel to the 2006 album was released. From 2006 to 2007, the duo staged the musical "Onion Cellar" in conjunction with the American Repertory Theater of Cambridge. The very direction of the show, which the theater imposed, did not suit Palmer. The singer was carried away by the new project.
Evelyn Evelyn
In 2007, Amanda Palmer began collaborating with American musician Jason Webley. Together they created an unusual duet, which they called "Evelyn Evelyn". According to a fictional legend, it consisted of the Siamese twins Eva and Lina. Amanda and Jason dressed in intertwined costumes and wore the same make-up. The musicians released their first album in 2007. It was called "Elephant Elephant".
Solo performances
In 2008, Amanda Palmer began her solo career. She started off with a successful performance with the Boston Pop Band. In the same year, the singer recorded her first solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer. The title of the collection was borrowed from the TV series Twin Peaks, the thread of which was the phrase "Who killed Laura Palmer?". The album was accompanied by a book with stories by Neil Gaiman and photographs of the supposedly dead Amanda.
Since 2008, Palmer has toured Europe. In Northern Ireland, the singer had an accident. She broke her leg, but continued the tour anyway. In 2009, Amanda took part in the festival of music and arts in the city of Indio. After the festival, the singer began to play the ukulele, using it ontheir concerts.
In 2012, through her blog, the singer launched a fundraiser to create another solo album. She managed to raise over a million dollars. The money went to record the album "Theatre of Death". In 2013, Palmer performed on one of New York's most prestigious stages, the Lincoln Center.
Book by Amanda Palmer
In 2014, the singer began working with TED. It is a media organization that publishes online messages under the slogan: "Ideas worth spreading." The result of this collaboration was Amanda Palmer's book Stop Whining, Start Asking. This is an autobiographical story that tells about the life of street performers, about the origin and development of the "Dresden Dolls", about the personal experiences of the singer and actress. The book made the New York Times bestseller list.
Other activities
In 2015, Palmer took part in the Hay Literature and Art Festival. On it, the singer voiced the problems of motherhood. The interview with Palmer was broadcast on the BBC. In the same year, she was entrusted with judging at the 14th annual independent music award. In 2016, Amanda recorded the song "Machete" as a tribute to the legendary David Bowie. In the same year, the singer gave several duet concerts with her father, Jack Palmer. In 2017, Amanda recorded the album "I Can Spin the Rainbow" with Pink Dots frontman Edward Ka-With a spell.
Private life
Amanda Palmer lives in Boston at the Cloud Club co-op complex. It is inhabited exclusively by people of art. In 2007, Palmer admitted to the public that she is bisexual. She prefers an open relationship between partners and is calm about betrayal. Amanda also said that at the age of 20 she was sexually abused. She had a striptease experience in her life.
In 2011, Palmer married English short fiction writer Neil Gaiman. In 2015, the couple had a son, Anthony.
