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Elisabeth Blair is a vaudevillian artist-musician based in the rainy city of Chicago, whose twisted dark fairy tales create an air of foreboding and peril balanced with romantic folk sensibilities.
Elisabeth hosted Purple Revolver writers Andy Johnson and Amber Tan on their 2007 True Romance road-trip pilgrimage across America in her home in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan.
The folk vocalist and songwriter of House & Bird cut her teeth in the video-art world by creating music videos using stop-motion and still-life photography and natural artefacts like seashells and ‘found objects’ such as antique photographs and paintings.
Elisabeth sells her animated music videos and Everyday Vintage Life art and collection of charming, creepy antique snap-shots on independent traders website Etsy.
Elisabeth uses medieval and futurist elements to inform her lyrics and themes. She said: “I use clay, found objects, shadows, seashells, cloth, blackboards, antique photographs, paintings and other bits and bobs. I describe them as moving still-life pictures. They tend toward the visually colourful but thematically dark, with some humorous edges.”
On the inspiration for her albums, she said: “I’ve released one home-made full-length album, Country of Origin which includes songs inspired by the Halifax Explosion of 1917, the martyrdom of Joan of Arc and the Futurist movement, among other bits and pieces.”
The Chicago native is collaborating with world-wide artists, puppeteers and a magician, and said: “I also write music for artists who perform in theatre, puppetry, art and magic. I wrote, recorded and mixed an album for kids, a collaboration with London-based magician Christopher Howell.”
“In addition to my own songs, I’ve performed classical, bluegrass, and traditional folk music, and co-formed a folk-noir band called House & Bird who put out a five-song EP, What do words know.”
Elisabeth has performed as lead vocalist in several performance art pieces at The Chicago Cultural Center and Chicago’s Links Hall.
She is proudly independent, giving old and new fans the opportunity to download her mini-albums for free or donate what they like to support independent, vibrant arts and music.
What do words know was Elisabeth’s first release, as part of the folk-noir duo House & Bird, (Elisabeth Blair and Ryan Gunzel).
Dear Kid: Songs Born from the Historical Archives of Traverse City is a mini-album of 5 songs inspired by antique postcards and photographs found in the archives in the History Center of Traverse City, Michigan.
Country of Origin is Elisabeth’s first solo album of 2010, featuring Michael Tracht on cello and appearances by Ryan Gunzel (formerly of House & Bird) on bass, dulcimer and banjo.
On her forthcoming projects, she added: “I’m studying composition and theory with hopes to begin composing more intricate works for multiple instruments.”
Elisabeth’s Etsy shop:
etsy.com/shop/EverydayVintageLife
elisabethblair.net/