Biography
There are, at least, two artists known by this name:
1) American band One Trick Pony
2) Dutch singer-songwriter One Trick Pony.
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1) American band One Trick Pony:
Randolph Williams III - guitar + vox
Jenny Teixeira - drums + background vox
with accompaniment by:
Charlene Huang - violin
Josh Solberg - bass
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Randolph Williams III formed One Trick Pony in 2003. For the next three years, he and then-manager, Jenny Teixeira, journeyed through a revolving door of band members, while the band played some of L.A.’s most influential independent music venues. In 2007, after years of filling in for absent drummers, Jenny put away her datebook and Rolodex to take her rightful place behind the drums.
One Trick Pony is known as much for its stripped down, eclectic arrangements as for its stark, straight-faced tales of drinking, loss, and lovers. The group has solidified a unique position in Los Angeles, as a band which is as comfortable performing with indie noise rock bands like Health and Death to Anders, as with experimental folk acts like U.K.’s David Thomas Broughton and soulful electronica artist Esthero.
Randolph’s voice is the star of the show: it ranges from a low, soft, almost velvety tone reminiscent of the great crooners to a barely restrained high alto, a perfect complement to the wry wit with which his lyrics paint their sombre portraits. Jenny’s simple but unorthodox rhythms and haunting soprano backing vocals pair with Randolph’s clanging guitar and a variety of loops and synth sounds to complete a unique and diverse mix of alt folk, indie rock, and even bossa nova. Classically trained violinist and L.A. indie scene habitué, Charlene Huang, frequently lends her beautifully delicate melodies to the group’s sound, adding a simple orchestrated quality. The band has drawn comparisons to Nick Drake, The Smiths, The Shins, and even Tom Waits. However, its sound is its own. “We aren’t music historians, we just try to make music that we think we would personally like to hear, whatever that is is for others to interpret as they will.”
One Trick Pony is a member of The Central Second Collective, a group of bands/friends whose members help each other navigate the sometimes chaotic music scene of Los Angeles. Diverse in sound but unified by friendship and a love for “The Cocaine” (a Little Tokyo dive at the corner of Central Ave and Second Street, where they all met and played), the collective is comprised of One Trick Pony, Death to Anders, The Transmissions, The Happy Hollows, Die Rockers Die, and The Henry Clay People. The collective’s unity and packed shows have brought the attention of the L.A. Weekly, L.A. Times, KXLU 88.9, KillRadio.org, and Radio Free Silver Lake.
One Trick Pony has finished their second self-release “Full of Life” released in Winter 2009.
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2) Dutch singer-songwriter One Trick Pony:
Romantic magical realism seems the best way to describe One Trick Pony’s music. The songs are all stories about fantastical things like shooting the sheriff, zombie apocalypse, or being in love with Wikipedia or Alan Rickman. With piano, vocals and the occasional ukulele the stories are brought to live, and they will try to take you with them to another planet. For people that like Regina Spektor and Florence and the Machine.
After playing on festivals like Lowlands, Into the Great Wide Open and Noorderslag, One Trick Pony spent four years studying music and writing songs. Her first EP "Lady by the River" is released July 2014.
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