Caroline Kennedy (singer)
Encyclopedia
Caroline Kennedy-McCracken {aka Caroline Kennedy} is an Australia
n artist born in Melbourne
. She is a painter
, sculptor and singer-songwriter. She is married to fellow musician Pete McCracken
.
As a musician, she has been a member of several bands, including indie band The Plums, pop/rock band Deadstar
and country-tinged duo The Tulips.
As a visual artist she incorporates a range of methods in her approach to making, including drawing, painting, installation, collage, recording, performance, and sculpture using found objects.
In 2009 she graduated from the Master of Fine Art program at RMIT University
.
Regarded as a colourist, most of Kennedy-McCracken’s work, including her lyrics and installations, investigate the world from a painting perspective. She uses both small and monumental scales in her work, and explores themes to do with values, nostalgia, memory, culture, representation and nature.
She was shortlisted for The Siemens RMIT awards in 2009, for her piece ‘Notation’, made from clothes horses and pegs.
She has written songs with, or for, many other artists including Pete McCracken, Kim Salmon
, Vika and Linda Bull, Penny Ikinger, Charlie Marshall
, Angie Hart
and Mark Seymour
. As a songwriter she has been nominated for several ARIA awards.
She has sung on records by Crow
, Charlie Marshall and The Body Electric, and on Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
’ record ‘Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing’. She collaborated in 2009 with Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three
, on their Tren Brothers single, ‘Sometimes’, which she co-wrote and sang.
as The Sundays
, the band were fiercely independent and subcultural, despite their pop sound. Live, the band were unpredictable and patchy, with flashes of brilliance.
The band were signed to Mushroom's temptation label soon after they recorded their first ep Au Revoir Sex Kitten. They went on to record an ep Read All Over, followed by an album Gun which was picked up and played by national broadcaster JJJ. Their last recording was an ep Heavenly, which was released as the band broke up.
for the main article on the topic
Deadstar
was initially a side-project for Caroline Kennedy and Hunters and Collectors
guitarist Barry Palmer, who invited Caroline into the studio to write melodies and lyrics over tracts of guitar music he had recorded for a short film. The collaboration worked immediately and what had been film music became, with the addition of Kennedy-McCracken’s lyrics and melodies, the band's first album. The band released three albums and a "best of" compilation, with mixed success and broke up in 1999.
Other members of the band were (at different times) Pete McCracken (bass), Michael den Elzen
(guitar; ex-Schnell Fenster
), and ex-Crowded House
members Peter Jones
(drums) and Nick Seymour
(bass).
, which was never commercially released. Other early members of The Tulips included Jane McCracken and Graeme Cameron.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. She is a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor and singer-songwriter. She is married to fellow musician Pete McCracken
Pete McCracken
Pete McCracken is an Australian composer, guitarist and singer-songwriter, living and working in the Melbourne area. He is married to the artist Caroline Kennedy-McCracken....
.
As a musician, she has been a member of several bands, including indie band The Plums, pop/rock band Deadstar
Deadstar
Deadstar was an Australian band from Melbourne based around the songs of singer Caroline Kennedy and guitarist Barry Palmer ....
and country-tinged duo The Tulips.
As a visual artist she incorporates a range of methods in her approach to making, including drawing, painting, installation, collage, recording, performance, and sculpture using found objects.
Art
Kennedy-McCracken studied at Melbourne University in the arts department during the early nineties, before she left to pursue a career in bands and as a painter.In 2009 she graduated from the Master of Fine Art program at RMIT University
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
.
Regarded as a colourist, most of Kennedy-McCracken’s work, including her lyrics and installations, investigate the world from a painting perspective. She uses both small and monumental scales in her work, and explores themes to do with values, nostalgia, memory, culture, representation and nature.
She was shortlisted for The Siemens RMIT awards in 2009, for her piece ‘Notation’, made from clothes horses and pegs.
Music
Caroline performs under her own name but through the nineties also performed in a number of other short-lived bands, including The Kicksilvers, The Caroline Kennedy Conspiracy and Salon Baby (with Penny Ikinger), to name a few.She has written songs with, or for, many other artists including Pete McCracken, Kim Salmon
Kim Salmon
Kim Leith Salmon is an Australian indie rock musician and songwriter, who attained fame in June 2004, when he was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Association Hall of Fame....
, Vika and Linda Bull, Penny Ikinger, Charlie Marshall
Charlie Marshall
Charles Macdonald "Charlie" Marshall is a Bermudian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium pace bowler. He has played 16 List A matches in the Red Stripe Bowl for Bermuda, and also represented Bermuda in four ICC Trophy tournaments and the 2004 ICC Americas Championship...
, Angie Hart
Angie Hart
Angie Hart is an Australian pop singer best known for her role as lead vocalist in the band Frente!.Hart was a founding member of Frente! in 1989. She is renowned for her delicate songcraft, lyrics, and her breathy vocals....
and Mark Seymour
Mark Seymour
Mark Seymour is an Australian musician and vocalist best known for his work as the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors...
. As a songwriter she has been nominated for several ARIA awards.
She has sung on records by Crow
Crow (band)
Crow is a Minneapolis-based blues rock band, that was first active from 1967 to 1972. They are best known for the song "Evil Woman ," which was notably covered by Black Sabbath.-History:...
, Charlie Marshall and The Body Electric, and on Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists were an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists...
’ record ‘Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing’. She collaborated in 2009 with Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three
Dirty Three
Dirty Three are an instrumental trio consisting of Warren Ellis , Mick Turner and Jim White , originating from Melbourne, Australia. Since the Dirty Three formed in 1992, they have spent a lot of time overseas...
, on their Tren Brothers single, ‘Sometimes’, which she co-wrote and sang.
The Plums
Formed in 1992 The Plums were an independent four-piece group based around the songwriting of Caroline Kennedy and guitarist Steve Moffat. The epic effected guitars, driving drums of Shamus Goble and inventive melodic bass of Pete McCracken supported the sweetly leftist delivery of Kennedy. Influenced as much by Sonic YouthSonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
as The Sundays
The Sundays
The Sundays were an English alternative rock band. The band formed in the late 1980s and released three albums in the 1990s.-Career:The band's beginnings came with the meeting of Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin at university. Wheeler had played gigs with 'Cruel Shoes' an early...
, the band were fiercely independent and subcultural, despite their pop sound. Live, the band were unpredictable and patchy, with flashes of brilliance.
The band were signed to Mushroom's temptation label soon after they recorded their first ep Au Revoir Sex Kitten. They went on to record an ep Read All Over, followed by an album Gun which was picked up and played by national broadcaster JJJ. Their last recording was an ep Heavenly, which was released as the band broke up.
Deadstar
See DeadstarDeadstar
Deadstar was an Australian band from Melbourne based around the songs of singer Caroline Kennedy and guitarist Barry Palmer ....
for the main article on the topic
Deadstar
Deadstar
Deadstar was an Australian band from Melbourne based around the songs of singer Caroline Kennedy and guitarist Barry Palmer ....
was initially a side-project for Caroline Kennedy and Hunters and Collectors
Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors were an Australian rock music band formed in Melbourne in 1981, fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk...
guitarist Barry Palmer, who invited Caroline into the studio to write melodies and lyrics over tracts of guitar music he had recorded for a short film. The collaboration worked immediately and what had been film music became, with the addition of Kennedy-McCracken’s lyrics and melodies, the band's first album. The band released three albums and a "best of" compilation, with mixed success and broke up in 1999.
Other members of the band were (at different times) Pete McCracken (bass), Michael den Elzen
Michael den Elzen
Michael den Elzen is a musician and music producer based in Melbourne, Australia. He has performed for over 25 years with many well-known Australian and New Zealand artists, principally as a guitarist, and has contributed music for several Australian movie soundtracks.-Early career:Den Elzen spent...
(guitar; ex-Schnell Fenster
Schnell Fenster
Schnell Fenster was a Melbourne-based band, formed in 1986 by members of Split Enz after the breakup of that band. Tentatively named "The Wanx", the band selected their name, which is German for "fast window" , because it "appealed to [their] perversity".The band also formed the core of the members...
), and ex-Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
members Peter Jones
Peter Jones (drummer)
Peter Jones is a Liverpool-born Australian session drummer, who replaced Paul Hester in Crowded House. After the band split up, he played in Deadstar with Caroline Kennedy and Nick Seymour. Other bands he has been in are, Harem Scarem, Stove Top and is currently the durmmer for the Melbourne rock...
(drums) and Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
(bass).
The Tulips
A collaboration with husband Pete McCracken, The Tulips were formed in 2002, and made one ep [self-titled] and two albums, 2003’s In the Honeycone and 2005's Free Like a Bird recorded with Tony CohenTony Cohen
Tony Cohen is an acclaimed Australian record producer and sound engineer based in Melbourne, best known for his work with The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the 1980s...
, which was never commercially released. Other early members of The Tulips included Jane McCracken and Graeme Cameron.