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| Ani DiFranco |
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"I could wake up screaming sometimes, but I don't. I could step off the end of this pier, but I've got sh*t to do."
-Ani DiFranco
| Date of Birth: September 23, 1970 |
| Birthplace: Buffalo, New York |
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| With albums like Out of Range (1994), Not A Pretty Girl (1995) and Little Plastic Castle (1998), Ani was a cult heroine of the '90s whose fan base expanded with each successive release. |
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| Folk-punk singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco has fought against the major corporate record labels to emerge as one of the most successful and prolific independent artists of the past couple of decades. |
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Angela Marie DiFranco was born in Buffalo, New York, on September 23, 1970, but quickly became known as Ani (pronounced Ah-nee). Thanks to the support of her guitar teacher, she began her musical career when she was just 9 years old, performing Beatles covers at a local coffeehouse. She abandoned music to study ballet for a few years, then gave that up when she began writing her first songs at age 14.
She left home at 15, around the time her parents' marriage was ending, and started hanging around local folk clubs. By the time she was 19, she had already composed more than 100 of her own songs, prompting her to relocate to New York City to pursue her musical path more seriously. The first 500 copies of her demo cassette sold out rapidly as a significant word-of-mouth following was developing.
DiFranco started her own label, Righteous Babe Records, in 1990, to improve distribution of her recordings. She released Not So Soft in 1991, and toured the U.S. in her Volkswagen, playing solo gigs at any club that would book her.
Her cult following grew with each successive release, and musically ambitious albums such as Imperfectly (1992) and Puddle Dive (1993) caught the attention of some major labels who unsuccessfully tried to woo her to sign on with them. DiFranco adamantly rejected their offers as Righteous Babe evolved into a successful independent enterprise.
By the mid-'90s, DiFranco was performing over 200 concerts a year, and the mainstream press was beginning to take notice of the singer-songwriter. Like I Said (1993) and Out of Range (1994) were followed by Not A Pretty Girl, an album that garnered praise from mainstream media including the New York Times and CNN.
By this point, her albums were selling in the hundreds of thousands. Her 1996 effort, Dilate, debuted on Billboard's album charts in the Top 100, a rare accomplishment for an independent release. The album detailed a passionate love affair between a man and a woman, which surprised much of her lesbian fan base. |
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© Jason Squires
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