Neko Case

Neko Case

Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter from Alexandria, Virginia. Born in 1970, she spends much of her childhood in Tacoma, Washington, after moving around frequently as a child. She leaves home at 15, and three years later begins playing drums in several bands in the Northwest punk rock scene.

Career

In 1994, Case moves to Vancouver, British Columbia, to attend art school. At the same time, she joins the punk group Maow, which releases a record on Mint. She also plays with the roots rock band the Weasles and later forms her own backing group, the Boyfriends, whose early line-up includes musicians from the Softies, Zumpano and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

Her solo debut, The Virginian, arrives in 1997 and uses a mix of traditional country covers and original songs. In 1998 she completes her studies and returns to Washington after her student visa expires, then starts work on a second solo album.

Case also performs with Carolyn Mark in the old-time project the Corn Sisters, and records with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers, of which she remains a member. She is also associated with cub, Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, case/lang/veirs and Jakob Dylan & Three Leg.

Albums and collaborations

Furnace Room Lullaby is released by Bloodshot Records in 2000. Her home-recorded EP Canadian Amp follows in 2001. Blacklisted appears in 2002, is recorded at Wavelab Studio in Tucson, Arizona, and leads to a support slot opening for Nick Cave. In 2004, she signs to Anti- in the United States and releases the live album The Tigers Have Spoken, recorded during several performances with the Sadies.

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is released in 2006 and includes contributions from Calexico members Joey Burns and John Convertino, who play guitar, cello, bass and drums. Middle Cyclone follows in 2009 and becomes her first album to reach the top ten on the US Billboard charts. The album The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You is released in 2013.

Style

Case works across alternative country, americana, folk, indie rock, rock and singer-songwriter material, with early work rooted in punk and later records drawing on country, alt-country and more eclectic arrangements. She lives on a farm in Vermont.