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{{short description|American musician (born 1956)}}

'''Thalia Zedek''' (born [[1961]]) is an [[United States|American]] singer and guitarist.

{{use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{BLP sources|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->

| name = Thalia Zedek

| image = Thalia Zedek live at the Buffalo Bar (London) on June 13th, 2013.jpg

| caption = Thalia Zedek live at the [[Buffalo Bar]] ([[London]]) on June 13, 2013

| image_size =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1961}}

| birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], United States

| background = solo_singer

| alias =

| origin =

| genre = [[Indie rock]]

| years_active = 1980–present

| label = Kimchee Records, [[Matador Records|Matador]], [[Thrill Jockey]], [[Low Transit Industries]]

| current_member_of = Dangerous Birds, [[Uzi (band)|Uzi]], [[Live Skull]], [[Come (American band)|Come]], Thalia Zedek Band

| occupation =

| website =

}}

'''Thalia Zedek''' (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable [[alternative rock]] groups, including [[Live Skull]] and [[Uzi (band)|Uzi]] both of which, according to ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine, "made big noise in the underground",<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PdiXT9xoRXQC&pg=PA19 | title = SPIN, "Platter du Jour," April 1988, p. 19| date = April 1988}}</ref> and [[Come (American band)|Come]]. Critic Heather Phares writes that Zedek's music can be defined by "the permanent, aching rasp in her voice, her guitar's bluesy bite, the startlingly clear-eyed lyrics about life and loss."<ref>{{cite web|author=Heather Phares |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/liars-and-prayers-mw0000783082 |title=Liars and Prayers - Thalia Zedek, Thalia Zedek Band &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |date=2008-04-22 |accessdate=2014-08-11}}</ref>

<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Thalia_01.jpg|thumbnail|300px|Thalia Zedek in 2001. Photo by Lana Caplan.]] -->

==Biography==

[[File:Thalia_Zedek_Band_at_Club_W71_10.jpg|thumb|Thalia Zedek Band at Club W71, Weikersheim 2019]]

Zedek grew up in a Jewish family in the metropolitan area of [[Washington, D.C.]] She attended [[Springbrook High School]] in [[Maryland]], where she played clarinet in the marching band under band director Charles Sickafus.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.classcreator.com/Silver-Spring-MD-Springbrook-1979/class_classmates_missing.cfm | title = Springbrook High School, Class Of 1979}}</ref> The early punk era of the late 1970s in which she came of age, and in particular [[Patti Smith]], contributed deeply to the formation of her musical aesthetic. While still at high school, she would travel to [[New York City]] with her brother, Dan Zedek, to see Smith perform.

Zedek moved to [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] in 1979, attending [[Boston University]] for one [[semester]] before deciding to pursue a musical career instead. Her first band, the all-female White Women, broke up after a couple of years, and she formed the Dangerous Birds.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d2IEAAAAMBAJ&dq=thalia+zedek+uzi&pg=PA86 | title = Out magazine, April 2000, Vol. 8, No. 10, p. 86.| date = April 2000| publisher = Here}}</ref> This group had somewhat more success, including a single, "Smile on Your Face/Alpha Romeo", which achieved airplay on college and alternative-commercial radio; but Zedek wanted a more "violent" sound in contrast to the somewhat "girlie pop" tendencies of her Dangerous Birds bandmates. Her next project, [[Uzi (band)|Uzi]], worked towards this aim, producing an EP, ''Sleep Asylum''. The EP was characterized by elusive yet subtly menacing lyrics superimposed upon lugubrious but driving instrumental tracks, featuring layers of dense, murky yet muscular guitar arrangements, blended with heady synthesizer and tape effects. However, despite the promise of "Sleep Asylum", Uzi dissolved, owing to tension between Zedek and the band's drummer, Danny Lee.

Zedek grew up in the [[Washington, D.C.]] metropolitan area, attending [[Springbrook High School]] in [[Maryland]], where she played clarinet in the marching band under band director Charles Sickafus. The early punk era of the late 1970s in which she came of age, and in particular [[Patti Smith]], contributed deeply to the formation of her musical aesthetic. While still in high school she would travel with her brother, [[Dan Zedek]] (currently the editorial design director at the [[Boston Globe]]), to New York to see Smith perform.

She next took the role of primary vocalist for [[New York City]]'s [[Live Skull]], a band already well established. While the album ''Dusted'', the first product of this collaboration, reflected an intense synergy between Zedek's vocal style and the complexly histrionic instrumental work of Live Skull, the follow-up ''Positraction'' floundered, and Live Skull also disbanded, due to conflicts, in 1990. Zedek soon co-founded [[Come (American band)|Come]], with [[Codeine (band)|Codeine]] drummer and guitarist [[Chris Brokaw]]. It was with them that she had her biggest successes, releasing four albums before the group disbanded in 2001. In that same year, she also released ''[[Been Here and Gone]]'', her first solo project. Since then she has released six further full-length solo albums and several EPs.

Zedek moved to [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] in [[1979]], attending [[Boston University]] for one [[semester]] before deciding to pursue a musical career instead. Her first band, the all-female White Women, broke up after a couple years, and she formed the [[Dangerous Birds]]. This group had somewhat more success, including a single, "Smile on Your Face/Alpha Romeo" that achieved airplay on college and alternative-commercial radio; but Zedek wanted a more "violent" sound in contrast to the somewhat "girlie pop" tendencies of her Dangerous Birds bandmates. Her next project, [[Uzi (band)|Uzi]], worked to this aim, producing an EP "Sleep Asylum." The EP was characterized by elusive yet subtly menacing lyrics superimposed over lugubrious but driving instrumental tracks that featured layers of dense, murky yet muscular guitar arrangements blended with heady synthesizer and tape effects. But despite the promise of "Sleep Asylum", Uzi dissolved due to tension between Zedek and the band's drummer, Danny Lee.

Zedek was also a participant in the 1998 [[Suffragette Sessions]] tour, organized by the [[Indigo Girls]]. In 2006, she performed at North East Sticks Together.

She next took the role of primary vocalist for [[New York City]]'s [[Live Skull]], a band already well-established. While the album "Dusted," the first product of this collaboration, reflected an intense synergy between Zedek's vocal style and the complexly histrionic instrumental work of Live Skull, the followup "Positraction" floundered, and Live Skull also disbanded due to conflicts in [[1990]]. By this time Zedek had also run into problems with regard to [[heroin addiction]]. Motivated to quit, she returned to Boston and the support of her friends. She soon cofounded [[Come (US band)|Come]], with former [[Codeine (band)|Codeine]] drummer [[Chris Brokaw]]. Here she had her biggest successes, releasing four albums before the group disbanded in [[2001]]. That same year she also released ''[[Been Here And Gone]]'', her first solo project. Zedek was also a participant in the [[1998]] [[Suffragette Sessions]] tour, organized by the [[Indigo Girls]].

DespiteIn spite of limited commercial success, Zedek has been highlyacclaimed criticallyby acclaimedmusic critics throughout her career, and has arguably been deeply influential within the [[indie-rock]] realm, particularly through her influence within the prolific Boston indie scene, thatwhich has spawned so many noteworthy artists. She is an "[[coming out|out-and-proud]] [[lesbian]]".<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/article.html?Down_dark_alleys_with_Thalia_Zedek&in_article_id=342027&in_page_id=206&in_a_source= |title=Down dark alleys with Thalia Zedek &#124; Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2008-10-06 |accessdate=2014-08-11}}</ref>

==Discography==

===Albums===

===Thalia Zedek Band===

*''[[Been Here And Gone]]'', 2001

====Albums====

*''[[Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch Of Madness]]'', 2004

*''[[Been Here and Gone]]'' ([[Matador Records|Matador]], July 31, 2001; [[Thrill Jockey]], forthcoming 2021 on vinyl)

*''[[The Nature of Drones]]'', 2006

*''Hell is in Hello'' (Return To Sender, August 2, 2004) <small>Limited edition of 2000 copies</small>

*''[[Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness]]'' ([[Thrill Jockey]], September 14, 2004)

*''[[Liars and Prayers]]'' (Thrill Jockey, April 22, 2008; [[Low Transit Industries]], 2008)

*''[[Via (Thalia Zedek album)|Via]]'' (Thrill Jockey, March 19, 2013)

*''[[Eve (Thalia Zedek album)|Eve]]'' (Thrill Jockey, August 19, 2016)

*''[[Fighting Season (Thalia Zedek album)|Fighting Season]]'' (Thrill Jockey, September 21, 2018)

*''[[Perfect Vision]]'' (Thrill Jockey, August 27, 2021)

*''The Boat Outside Your Window'' (Thrill Jockey, May 23, 2025)

====EPs====

*''You're a Big Girl Now'' (Acuarela/Kimchee Records, 2002) <small>CD only</small>

*''The Nature of Drones'' (Self-released, 2005) <small>7-song, 35-minute [[CD-R]] EP, home-recorded and self-released exclusively for the July 2005 Australian tour (remaining copies were available only through Thrill Jockey Mail Order). It contains four songs, one cover ("[[House of the Rising Sun]]") and two re-workings of older work ("Evil Hand", "JJ85").</small>

*''SIX'' (Thrill Jockey, February 24, 2014) <small>Six-song, 29 minute EP (CD and limited LP) including a cover of [[Freakwater]]'s "Flathand"</small>

====Live====

*''Live at Tonic, NYC 1/16/2000'' (Self-released, 2000)

===E===

* ''E'' (Thrill Jockey, 2016)

* ''Negative Work'' (Thrill Jockey, 2018)

* ''Complications'' (Thrill Jockey, 2020)

* ''Any Information'' EP (Self-released, 2022) limited edition of 335 copies on vinyl

* ''Living Waters'' (Silver Rocket, 2024)

===EPs=References==

{{Reflist}}

*''[[You're a Big Girl Now]]'', 2002

==External links==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060324062222/http://www.matadorrecords.com/thalia_zedek/biography.html Biography from Matador Records]

*[httphttps://membersthaliazedek.coxwordpress.netcom/inferioritybiography/thalia-zedek/bio.html Biography of Thalia Zedek]

*[https://thaliazedek.wordpress.com/ Thalia Zedek - A Different Girl]

*[http://www.wellroundedradio.net/thaliazedek Interview with Thalia Zedek on Well-Rounded Radio for 2008's Liars and Prayers album]

*[http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/thalia-zedek-corsica-studios-gig-review-11102008-1331.aspx Gig Review] at [[Corsica Studios]], London (5/10/08)

{{Live Skull}}

{{US-musician-stub}}

{{Come (American band)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1961 births|Zedek, Thalia]]

[[Category:American guitarists|Zedek, Thalia]]

[[Category:American female singers|Zedek, Thalia]]

[[Category:People from Boston|Zedek, Thalia]]

[[Category:Living people|Zedek, Thalia]]

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[[pt:Thalia Zedek]]

[[Category:1961 births]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:American rock guitarists]]

[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]

[[Category:21st-century American women guitarists]]

[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]

[[Category:American lesbian musicians]]

[[Category:Musicians from Boston]]

[[Category:Jewish American musicians]]

[[Category:LGBTQ people from Washington, D.C.]]

[[Category:LGBTQ people from Maryland]]

[[Category:Guitarists from Massachusetts]]

[[Category:20th-century American women guitarists]]

[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]

[[Category:Songwriters from Washington, D.C.]]

[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]

[[Category:Low Transit Industries artists]]

[[Category:20th-century American singers]]

[[Category:21st-century American singers]]

[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]

[[Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people]]

[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

[[Category:No wave musicians]]