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Vic Chesnutt (born on November 12, 1964[Vic Chesnutt (born 1964) on New Georgia Encyclopedia]) is a singer-songwriter living in Athens, Georgia. He has been writing songs since he was five years old. Injured in a car accident in 1983, the paraplegic artist's first big breakthrough to commercial success came with the release of the ""Sweet Relief II"" tribute album.
CareerAround 1985, Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band, The La-Di-Da's
In 1992, Chesnutt was the subject of a PBS documentary, Speed Racer. He also had a small role in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie Sling Blade which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.
In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins (with Red Red Meat), Madonna, R.E.M. and Live.
He has several times recorded with other groups and artists
. Most notably he has made two albums with a fellow Athens, Georgia group Widespread Panic, under the name of brute. Chesnutt's album The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was recorded with alt-country group Lambchop as the backing band. The album Merriment was a collaborative effort between Chesnutt and Kelly and Nikki Keneipp, with Vic writing and singing the songs, and the Keneipps playing the music. The 2005 album Ghetto Bells features famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Chesnutt met in 2004 at the renowned Century of Song concert series at the German festival RuhrTriennale. Ghetto Bells also features the legendary eccentric lyricist and composer Van Dyke Parks on accordion and keyboards. Chesnutt's wife, Tina Chesnutt, frequently plays bass on his albums. His niece, and fellow songwriter, Liz Durrett also appeared on the Ghetto Bells album.
Chesnutt's first four albums were released on the independent Texas Hotel label. He then recorded About to Choke (1996) for Capitol, which was his first and only major record label recording. The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was on PolyGram; Merriment (2000) was on the Backburner Records label; spinART was the label for the self performed and recorded Left to His Own Devices (2001). Vic then found a new home at the New West Records label, who have released two albums for him so far. In 2004 New West also re-released the early Texas Hotel recordings, including expanded liner notes and extra tracks.
In the winter of 2006, he recorded North Star Deserter at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal. It was released on September 11, 2007 by Constellation Records. The record includes contributions from Constellation artists Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. The album was produced by documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen. [ title= Vic Chesnutt's Star Power] He also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album Trinity Revisited, a 20th anniversary edition of their classic album The Trinity Session.
Chesnutt has also been a supporter of medical marijuana, which he claims helps with his medical problems. He contributed the track Weed to the Rescue to the 1998 Hempilation II charity album, with proceeds going to NORML, the national organization for the reform of marijuana laws.
Elf Power (also from Athens, Georgia) collaborated with Chesnutt as The Amorphous Strums. The Amorphous Strums recently released the album Dark Developments, and are currently on tour in the United States.
Discography- 1990 Little
- 1991 West of Rome
- 1993 Drunk
- 1995 Is the Actor Happy?
- 1996 About to Choke
- 1998 The Salesman and Bernadette
- 2000 Merriment
- 2001 Left to his Own Devices
- 2003 Silver Lake
- 2005 Ghetto Bells
- 2005 Extra Credit EP
- 2007 North Star Deserter
- 2008 Dark Developments
- 2009 At the Cut
- 2009 Skitter on Take-Off
As brute.
- 1995 Nine High a Pallet
- 2002 Co-Balt
Personal lifeAn adoptee, Chesnutt was raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of five. At 18, a car accident left him partially paralyzed, though it wasn't long afterwards that he realized he could still play guitar.
Quotations- ''"Other people write about the bling and the booty. I write about the pus and the gnats. To me, that's beautiful."
Copyright Citations
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Photo by: www.wolvescivic.co.uk
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