| Born
in Cleveland, Ohio, the grandson of Irish railroad workers (who seemed
to be in the habit of leaping from trains), Jeff Finlin is a unique
artist.
His career has taken many twists and turns.
He
started out traveling America in autos, trains, planes, and
hitchhiking,
before settling down to play in bands in Boston, Ohio and
L.A.
He finally wound up in Nashville with long-time mate Gwil Owen ("A
Softer
Place to Fall") to form the rock band the Thieves, which put out the
Marshall
Crenshaw produced "Seduced by Money" on Capitol Records.
In
1993, he went on to produce the self-released "Lonely Light" before
going
on to produce the Little Dog/ Mercury release, "Highway Diaries".
The
Chicago Sun Times said:
"FINLIN
writes with the minimalist grit of Sam Shepard and Raymond Carver -
tune
in and you will hear an elusive magic."
Next
it was on to New York, where Jeff incorporated the likes of Mark Ribot
(Tom Waits and Elvis Costello) and Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan), to produce
Original Fin, which was released on BMG/Gravity in the UK and Ireland
and
NBFNY in the U.S.
Music
Row called the record:
"A
do it yourself piece of musical brilliance - Simply manna to the
literate
songwriter’s soul."
Uncut
called Finlin - "A real find."
Then
in 2002 "Somewhere South of Wonder” came out with a vengeance,
garnering
Finlin 'Album of the Year' accolades on Virgin Radio's Captain America
show, and a tour opening for Steve Earle in the U.K. and Ireland.
"Epinonymous" followed in 2004 - a musical and spiritual
foray into the heart of the everyman.
In 2005, Jeff's Song "Sugar Blue", from the 2002 album
"Somewhere South of Wonder" was included in the Cameron Crowe feature
film "Elizabethtown".
"Angels in Disguise" was released on Warner Brothers Records
in the UK and then on Rykodisc in the United States in 2006.
Jeff released the final instalment of his trilogy, "Ballad
of a Plain Man", in 2008.
Now comes "The Tao of Motor Oil", a foray into the mystical
experiences of life itself, including such stellar tracks as East by
West and My Maybelline.
Tune in for an elusive magic!!!
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