Summer XO
Summer XO | |
|---|---|
 Summer XO Performing in Paris in July 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Summer Rose Virshup |
| Genres | Pop, Indie Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician Songwriter Visual Artist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocal, Guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 2002-present |
| Labels | LossLess Records |
| Website | www.SummerXO.com |
Summer XO, (born Summer Rose Virshup on August 12, 1985[1]) is a Los Angeles-based American singer-songwriter who plays guitar and piano. She is also a visual artist who creates poster-size pastel drawings of abstract emotive female faces, which she sells direct from her website.
Musical Career Biography
Before renaming herself Summer XO in 2013, she performed under the names "Summer" and "Summer The Artist."
In May 2013, Summer began digitally releasing one song per month under the artist name "Summer XO." The first song, "Invented The Word" was accompanied by an official music video and an official lyric video. It was produced by Henry Strange and Uri Djemal.
In August, 2012, Summer digitally released a cover of the Cyndi Lauper song, True Colors, produced by Henry Strange and Jess Stroup.
Summer released the album Timing And Lighting on LossLess Records in September, 2008. It was produced by Henry Strange, with the exception of the song, "Messed Up," which was produced by Jess Stroup.
In October, 2006, Summer was recognized as one of the “Top Ten Songwriters of 2006” by the Portland Songwriting Association.[2]
Summer exclusively plays handmade Wechter brand acoustic guitars that have a visually unique double cutaway body style. She owns three Wechter Pathmaker Elite series.[3] She often performs with all three on stage because of her use of different guitar tunings.
Visual Art Biography
Since 2005, Summer has been regularly continuing her work on a series of pastel drawings comprised of abstract female faces that depict a clear emotion. She releases ten new drawings each month for sale from her website. Due to the subject matter, Summer XO refers to the pieces in this series as "The Girls." She also often displays her drawings on stage during music performances.
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"Francesca" Painting by Summer, 2009 -
"Perdita" Painting by Summer, 2008 -
"Sophia" Painting by Summer, 2009
Personal life
From December 2011 to January 2012, Summer lived in Paris, France. While there, she busked in the Paris metro and played live shows[4].
Originally from West Virginia, Summer has taken up residence in Tampa, FL, Aix-En-Provence, France, Los Angeles, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, Portland, OR, Miami, FL, and Paris, France.
From 2002-2006 and 2009-2011, Summer worked seasonally as a Marketing Tour Manager representing a variety of products and traveling across the United States for her work.
Summer is just over 6' tall.
Summer's marital status as of 2013 is unmarried.
Early life
Summer XO is the eldest of five children. She spent most of her youth in the small town of Bridgeport, WV. Her father is an engineer and her mother is a homemaker. In her song “Pink Elephants,” Summer alludes to the fact that her mother has a mental illness.[5] Though her mother is not known to be diagnosed with a mental illness, Summer believes her mother has a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder called compulsive hoarding.[citation needed]
Discography
Singles
- Invented The Word (2013)
- True Colors (2012)
Studio albums
- 'Timing and Lighting (2008) LossLess Records
- Summer EP (2005)
- Summer Demo (2002)
References
- ^ "UBL: artist profile - Summer". Ubl.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29. [dead link]
- ^ "psa_newsletter_spring2007.FH10" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ "photo of Summer's live performance with Wechter Guitars". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ "Summer to offer Paintings in Online Store". Fanbridge.com. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
- ^ "Pink Elephants". Sonicbids.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.