A Short Biography Of Ani DiFranco
(b. September 23, 1970, in Buffalo, New York)
Ani DiFranco (a.k.a. "The Folksinger") began her
career at the age of nine, playing in bars. She was born to
Elizabeth and Dante DiFranco. Both of her parents graduated from
M.I.T. Her father was a research engineer, her mother an
architect. Her parents separated when she was 11, and she went to
live with her mother in a little apartment in Buffalo. When Ani
was 15, her mother moved to Connecticut but Ani chose to stay
behind in Buffalo and fend for herself, eventually getting her
own apartment and living unofficially as an emancipated minor
while she finished high school. It was around this time she
started writing her own songs, and by the time she was 20 she had
around 100 original compositions.
She released her first album in 1990, on her label Righteous
Babe Records. It was an immediate college-radio success, and the
grassroots response to that album and the ones that followed led
to lots of offers for shows. Within a few short years Ani went
from playing coffeehouses to large theaters and major folk
festivals. Offers came for recording contracts, but Ani refused
them all, preferring to conduct her career completely on her own
terms.
As a result, she's not just a singer, guitarist, and
songwriter; she also produces each album, oversees cover art,
selects artists she wants to work with (from touring musicians
Sara Lee and Andy Stochansky to video directors and t-shirt
designers) and sets her own release schedule. Since her first
album, Ani has released nine full-lenth albums and a double live
CD, as well as lending her talents to many other projects.
Here are her releases on Righteous Babe Records:
RBR 001 ANI DIFRANCO (1990)
RBR 002 NOT SO SOFT (1991)
RBR 003 IMPERFECTLY (1992)
RBR 004 PUDDLE DIVE (1993)
RBR 005 LIKE I SAID (SONGS 1990-91) (1993)
RBR 006 OUT OF RANGE (1994)
RBR 007 NOT A PRETTY GIRL (1995)
RBR 008 DILATE (1996) -- Made news for debuting in the Top
100, which is very uncommon for an indie release.
RBR 009 (UTAH PHILLIPS/ANI DIFRANCO) THE PAST DIDN'T GO
ANYWHERE (1996) This is a collaboration she did with a
storyteller Utah Phillips, where he speaks and she provides the
"background noises" of guitar, vocal stylings and
beats. It is quite interesting...
RBR 010 MORE JOY, LESS SHAME EP (1996)
RBR 011 LIVING IN CLIP DOUBLE LIVE CD (1997) Very good, packed
full of wacky stage antics and good raw songs from her previous
albums, and a few new "zygotes". The powerful version
of "In Or Out" is the highlight of this album.
RBR 012 LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE (1998) Not quite as good as
Living In Clip but it has it's quirky, funky moments, with
driving lyrics and some ska and jazzy horn riffs. My favorite
song is "Deep Dish."
Since the release of "Little Plastic
Castle," Ani has recieved more mainstream success, and is
now gracing the covers of magazines such as Spin and Rolling
Stone regularly. Whether this is a good or bad thing remains to
be seen, as she has been losing some of her more
"hardcore" fans. She remains adamant against selling
out, however, and continues her position as the indie label
pioneer.
If you like Ani, you might want to check out
these other artists:
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa
Ferrick
Tell me about your Ani page, or if
one of my links no longer works.
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