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Biography
Primary sources|date=August 2008 Slaid Cleaves (born June 9, 1964Henkle, Doug, http://www.folklib.net/index/discog/birth2days.shtml "FolkLib Index") is a singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine . An alumnus of Tufts University , http://www.tufts.edu/alumni/magazine/spring2005/features/cover.html Ferguson, Laura, ''Rounder's Fellow Rebels where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Austin, Texas .
His full name is Richard Slaid Cleaves but Slaid is the name that he has used his entire life.
Slaid is now a full-time touring musician, but like most musicians has held many day jobs: janitor, warehouse rat, ice cream truck driver, rope-tow operator, film developer, groundskeeper, meter reader, and pizza delivery driver. He was even a human guinea pig. He was paid to be a subject in drug studies by a pharmaceutical company.
Slaid's musical roots extend back prior to his days playing in a high school "garage band" with his childhood friend Rod Picott . The two shared a love of music, especially Bruce Springsteen and named their band The Magic Rats, after a character in Springsteen's song "Jungleland."
He brought his love of American artists like Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, CCR, and more with him to Cork, Ireland where he spent a semester of his junior year of college. To help pass the time he learned how to play the songs on guitar and on November 18, 1985 he made his debut as a busker - a street singer - in Cork City, Ireland.
After several false starts he started to gain notice around Portland, Maine and in 1990 released his debut cassette, The Promise . Only a few songs off this album, "Sweet Summertime", "Lonesome Highway" and "Wrecking Ball" still occasionally get played in concert. The original tape has unfortunately been lost, and only copies remain.
That was followed a year later by Looks Good from the Road , recorded with his rock band, The Moxie Men, which featured Slaid on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, his brother J. on bass, drummer Mark Cousins and Pip Walter on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and vocals. By the end of the year they were the darlings of the Portland press and touted as one of the bands "most likely to succeed"
However, Slaid's solo acoustic side took over and in 1991 he moved with his wife Karen to Austin, Texas. In 1992, he was a winner of the prestigious New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival , an award previously given to such artists as Nanci Griffith , Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle .
He continued to work hard in Austin, playing various clubs around the city, touring, and continuing to hone his craft as a songwriter. In 1997, he recorded and released his first national album, No Angel Knows for the Rounder-Philo label, which has been his home ever since.
In 2000, he gained national prominence when he had an Americana charts hit with his album and song Broke Down . The title track was co-written with his childhood friend Picott.
He continued to gain notice http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story? oid=oid%3A220162 Caliguri, Jim Meet the New Boss with his follow-up album, 2004's Wishbones , appearing on the ESPN2 show Cold Pizza
In 2006 he released Unsung , a collection of songs written by other singer-songwriters including Graham Weber, J.J. Baron, Michael O'Connor (who often tours with Cleaves), and Adam Carroll.
He tours nationally performing solo and with a band in many configurations.
The Promise/Looks Good From the Road (1998 CD rerelease)
''Life's Other Side (1992 cassette, rerelease 1997 CD)
For the Brave and Free (1993 cassette, rerelease 2001 CD)
No Angel Knows (1997)
Broke Down (2000)
Holiday Sampler EP (2001)
Wishbones (2004)
Unsung (2006)
Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away (2009)
Sorrow & Smoke/Live at The Horseshoe Lounge" (2011)
Other contributions
Eklektikos Live (2005) - "Won't Get Fooled Again"
References
reflist
External links
official| http://www.slaidcleaves.com/
http://www.rounder.com/? id=artistHome.php& musicalGroupId=1126 Slaid Cleaves page at Rounder Records
myspace|slaidcleaves Slaid Cleaves
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p42653
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/AMDB/Profile? oid=oid:53345 Slaid Cleaves in the Austin Music Database
http://austinnewsstory.com/Interviews/SlaidCleaves/slaid.htm Interview with Paul Johnston, November 2000
Persondata | NAME = Cleaves, Slaid | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = June 9, 1964 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Cleaves, Slaid Category:American male singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Kerrville New Folk Competition finalists Category:Musicians from Maine Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Music of Austin, Texas Category:Tufts University alumni Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:People from York County, Maine
