Tracy Bonham

Tracy Kristin Bonham (born March 16, 1967) is an American alternative rock musician. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, she is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and a self-taught guitarist. Her father was the city editor of The Eugene Register-Guard, and her mother was a music teacher; the two had met while Leach was attending the University of Oregon.

Bonham was trained as a classical musician; she began singing at the age of five, and playing the violin at nine. When she was 16 years old, she enrolled at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, but was expelled after three weeks for smoking cigarettes. Thereafter, she sent a four-song demo tape (featuring "The One") to Brett Milano, music critic of The Boston Phoenix, in June 1994; Milano praised the demo, and a major label bidding war occurred shortly thereafter. In 1995, Bonham issued her debut EP, The Liverpool Sessions, through the CherryDisc label, which brought her additional local acclaim; after its release, she signed to Island Records. The song's music video won the award for Best Video at the 1996 Boston Music Awards, and also received nominations at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1997 for Best New Artist in a Video. Bonham hoped to make an album that would better reflect her classical influences and serve as a more mature outing.

However, in May 1998, Island Records' parent company, PolyGram, was purchased by beverage giant Seagram for $10.6 billion; as part of Seagram's purchase, PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group, and Island Records was reconsolidated into The Island Def Jam Music Group umbrella label. The restructurings delayed the release of the album to 1999. The album received generally positive reviews, but struggled to find an audience in a musical climate dominated by nu metal, and experienced virtually no radio airplay.

Other activities and Bee EP (2001–2003) She then left studio recording behind and began to tour in support of other groups such as the performance group Blue Man Group and even rock band Aerosmith. In 2003 she recorded and released an independent EP titled Bee. It included early versions of "Shine" and "All Thumbs" and a live version of "Freed" (from Down Here), and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog", where she substituted violin solos for the signature lead guitar line in the original.

She had only pressed 1,000 hoping to sell 500, but she eventually sold over 12,000 of the EP's while on the various tours. With the money made from the EP she returned to the studio to start work on her third full-length LP in Los Angeles, California. in which Bonham and then-manager Darren Paltrowitz were interviewed about Masts of Manhatta.

In celebration of Paul McCartney's 70th birthday on June 18, 2012, Bonham, Mike Viola and Danish singer Tim Christensen performed the Ram album with The Damn Crystals at Vega in Copenhagen.

Wax & Gold and Modern Burdens (2015–present) After 2015's Wax & Gold, Bonham released a re-recorded version of her debut album entitled Modern Burdens in 2017.

Personal life Between 1998 and 2001, Bonham was married to Steve Slingeneyer of the band Soulwax. As of 2010, she lives in Brooklyn, New York City. Between 2006 and 2021 she was married to Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine.

Discography Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figuresTitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertificationsUS USHeat. AUS NLD Label: Island Format: CD, CS, LP5493126274648 RIAA: Gold Down Here Released: April 18, 2000 Label: Island Format: CD, CS———————Blink the Brightest Released: June 21, 2005 Label: Zoë Records Format: CD, DD———————Masts of Manhatta Released: July 13, 2010 Label: Engine Room Format: CD, DD———————Wax & Gold Released: August 21, 2015 Label: A Woody Hollow Format: CD, LP, DD———————Modern Burdens Released: June 16, 2017 Label: A Woody Hollow Format: CD, LP, DD———————"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs +TitleAlbum detailsThe Liverpool Sessions Released: March 7, 1995 Label: CherryDisc Format: CD, CS, LPBee Released: November 20, 2003 Label: Self-released Format: CDSomething Beautiful Released: 2005 Label: Zoë Records Format: CD+DVDIn the City/In the Woods Released: April 26, 2007 Label: Self-released Format: CDAll I Wish Every Christmas Released: December 10, 2013 Label: Self-released Format: DDMy Big Red Heart Beats for You Released: February 6, 2015 Label: Self-released Format: DD

Live Pure McCartney (2013)

Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positionsCertifications Album USMain. US Mod. AUS CAN NOR NLD NZ UK "Dandelion"1995 — — — — — — — — —The Liverpool Sessions"Sunshine" — — — — — — — — —"Mother Mother"1996 18 1 32 5 77 6 32 13 138 ARIA: Gold The Burdens of Being Upright"The One" — 23 — — — — 92 — —"Sharks Can't Sleep" — — — — — — — — 93"Behind Every Good Woman"2000 — — — — — — — — —Down Here"Something Beautiful"2005—————————Blink the Brightest"Shine"—————————"Eyes"—————————"Big Red Heart"2010—————————Masts of Manhatta"Luck" 2015—————————Wax & Gold "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Digital releases "Carry Me Home" – 2008 (Website download) "Your Night Is Wide Open" – 2008 (Website download) "The Size of My Fist" – 2008 (available on iTunes) "The Indelible Man" – 2008 (available on iTunes) "In My Heart (Bill Withers cover)" – 2009 (available on iTunes and the compilation album "Before The Goldrush") "The Hugger, The Screamer, and Me" – 2009 (Website download) "In The Pines (Leadbelly cover)" – 2011 (Website download)

Appears on album Pure McCartney Live with Tim Christensen and The Damn Crystals

Awards and nominationsThe Boston Phoenix/WFNX Best Music Poll

YearNominee / work AwardResult 1997The Burdens of Being Upright Best Alternative Music Performance"Mother Mother" Best Female Rock Vocal Performance