Lee Ranaldo

Lee Ranaldo

Lee M. Ranaldo (born February 3 1956) is an American singer, guitarist, writer and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth.

Biography

Ranaldo was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, and graduated from Binghamton University. He has three sons, Cody Linn Ranaldo, Sage Ranaldo and Frey Ranaldo and is married to the experimental artist Leah Singer, with whom he has performed many live installation pieces with improvised music under the name Drifting.

Among Ranaldo's solo records are Dirty Windows, a collection of spoken texts with music, Amarillo Ramp (for Robert Smithson), pieces for the guitar, and Scriptures of the Golden Eternity. His books include Bookstore, Road Movies, and Jrnls80s (published by Soft Skull Press). A full-length book of writings on Moroccan travels and music, as well as a book of poems, Lengths & Breaths. His most recent book, "Hello From the American Desert," was published by The Silver Wonder Press in November 2007. Recent visual work has been included in exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery in London, the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art and Mercer Union in Toronto.

Ranaldo has produced albums for artists including Babes in Toyland, You Am I, Magik Markers, Deity Guns, and Dutch art rock-ensemble KLEG. He has edited a volume of tour journals from the 1995 Lollapalooza Tour written by Thurston Moore, Beck, Stephen Malkmus, Courtney Love, and others. Ranaldo has also worked with jazz drummer William Hooker on improvised music, and reading and improvising poetry.

In 2007 Ranaldo collaborated with British punk rock band The Cribs on their third album Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever. The track "Be Safe" is a Ranaldo spoken word piece performed by the artist, and backed with The Cribs music.

Equipment

Moonlander

Ranaldo usually uses Fender Jazzmaster, Telecaster Deluxe electric guitars and sometimes Gibson Les Paul's, with radically alternate tunings, and modifications. One of his guitars (built by a fan in 1990 when he described the design) has a single coil pickup installed between the bridge and the tailpiece to exploit the resonating chiming third bridge sounds on that area of string.

In 2007 Yuri Landman built for Ranaldo the Moonlander, a biheaded electric guitar with 18 strings: 6 normal strings and 12 sympathetic strings.

Top 100 best guitarist

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth, the 33rd and 34th best guitarists of all time. Both are known for their extensive use of extended techniques, such as their 3rd Bridge screwdriver technique.

Printed works

"Hello from the American Desert" at http://www.silverwonderpress.com

Discography - solo recordings

• Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson) (2000)
• Clouds (1997)
• East Jesus (1995)
• Scriptures Of The Golden Eternity (1995)
• Broken Circle / Spiral Hill EP (1994)
• A Perfect Day EP (1992)
• From Here To Infinity (1987)