Biography
Laura Veirs grew up in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she often spent summers
camping with her family, which gave her much of her songwriting inspiration. Veirs has said that she didn't seriously listen to music until she was in her 20s; instead, she just heard what was in her environment. She listened to
folk,
country, classical and pop music around the house and on the radio during her youth.
Attending
Carleton College in rural
Minnesota, Veirs latched onto
feminist punk rock from the
Pacific Northwest, eventually starting an all-female punk band called "Rair Kx!". Laura studied
geology and
Mandarin Chinese. After college, she embraced older country and folk music. Her first foray into songwriting started with a geological expedition in
China, where she served as translator. She was miserable and immersed herself into writing lyrics as a way of coping.
She put out her own self-titled album
Laura Veirs
, recorded live and featuring just her and guitar, in 1999. She has since made five highly acclaimed records with producer
Tucker Martine. 2003 saw the release of
Troubled by the Fire
, a full-band effort that found the artist sharing the studio with such luminaries as
Bill Frisell and violist Eyvind Kang. She signed to
Nonesuch Records the following year with the atmospheric follow-up
Carbon Glacier
.
Year of Meteors
followed in August 2005. She collaborated with
The Decemberists on "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)", from their 2006 album
The Crane Wife
. Her sixth record,
Saltbreakers
, was released worldwide on Nonesuch Records in April 2007.
Veirs tours frequently in Europe, the US and Australia both solo and with her backing band Saltbreakers, consisting of
Karl Blau on bass, guitar, and backing vocals, keyboardist Steve Moore, and partner/producer
Tucker Martine on drums. She and Martine now live in
Portland, Oregon.
She is currently working on her upcoming album, titled July Flame.
Discography
Studio albums
- Laura Veirs
, Raven Marching Band Records, 1999
- The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae
, Raven Marching Band Records, 2001, Bella Union, 2005
- Troubled by the Fire
, Bella Union, 2003
- Carbon Glacier
, Bella Union (UK), February 2004, Nonesuch Records (US), August 2004
- Year of Meteors
, Nonesuch Records, August 2005
- Saltbreakers
, Nonesuch Records, April 2007
- July Flame
, 2009
E.P.s
- Two Beers Veirs
, Raven Marching Band Records, 2008
Live albums
- Lore of Ears
, Kelp Monthly, 2004
Compilation appearances
- "Black-Eyed Susan (demo)" on Remote Wing
, Knw-Yr-Own, 2001
- "The Water's Gone (But Life Is Long)" (with Danny Barnes) on Shipwreck Day
, Knw-Yr-Own, 2002
- "17" on ''Flotsam and Jetsam: 2005 What The Heck Fest Sampler", Kelp Monthly, 2005
- "Cast a Hook in Me" on ''The Sound the Hare Heard", Kill Rock Stars, 2006
- An exclusive version of "Nightingale" on "Paste Magazine Sampler 39", 2007
Also featured on
- The Young Rapture Choir
, RMB, 2006
- "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)," The Decemberists The Crane Wife
, Capitol, 2006
- Sailor System
CD by Your Heart Breaks, Don't Stop Believin Records, 2006