Elvis Perkins

Elvis Perkins
Perkins performing in 2007
Born	Elvis Brooke Perkins (1976-02-09)February 9, 1976 New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Musician singer
Parents	Anthony Perkins(father) Berry Berenson(mother)
Relatives	Oz Perkins(brother) Osgood Perkins(grandfather) Marisa Berenson(aunt)
Musical career
Genres	Folk rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar harmonica
Labels	MIR XL
Website	www.elvisperkinssound.net

Elvis Brooke Perkins(born February 9, 1976) is an Americanfolk-rockmusician. He released his debut studio album,Ash Wednesday,in 2007. He subsequently toured in support of the album with his band Elvis Perkins in Dearland, composed of Perkins alongside multi-instrumentalists Brigham Brough, Wyndham Boylan-Garnett and Nick Kinsey. The band released its self-titled debut,Elvis Perkins in Dearland,in 2009.

The band formed inProvidence, Rhode Islandaround 2004 when Perkins moved to theEast Coastupon completingAsh Wednesday,although the members have been friends and collaborators for many years.

Early life

Perkins is the son of actorAnthony Perkins(1932–1992), and photographer and actressBerry Berenson(1948–2001) who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. He was raised in Los Angeles andManhattanwith his older brother, actor and directorOz Perkins.Perkins is a great-grandson of the fashion designerElsa Schiaparelli,who was a great-niece ofGiovanni Schiaparelli,the Italian astronomer who believed he had discovered the supposed canals of Mars, and a nephew of the actressMarisa Berenson,Berry's sister. His paternal grandfatherOsgood Perkins,was also an actor. His maternal great-grandfather was Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor, a theosophist and psychic medium. His mother was a great-grandniece of art expertBernard Berenson(1865–1959), whose sisterSenda(1868–1954) was an athlete and educator and one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Perkins was named afterElvis Presley,of whom his father was a fan.

Perkins attendedBrown University,inProvidence, Rhode Island,after graduating from high school at theHarvard-Westlake Schoolin 1994.

Perkins took to music at an early age, briefly learning the saxophone before picking up the guitar in high school and taking lessons with Prescott Niles, one-time bassist forThe Knack.While he played in rock bands, Perkins developed an interest in the classical guitar, and began to compose music in both idioms.

Career

Debut albumAsh Wednesdaywas produced and arranged by recording artist and composer Ethan Gold, independently released in 2006, and subsequently released February 20, 2007, byXL Recordings.

In 2007, he did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot byVincent Moon.

In 2008, Perkins in Dearland recorded a cover of theSacred Harpsong "Weeping Pilgrim" forAwake My Soul, Help Me to Singthe soundtrack to the movieAwake My Soul.

His band released its debut albumElvis Perkins in Dearlandon March 10, 2009.

His song "Doomsday" from theDoomsdayEP appeared on the second-season premiere of the HBO seriesEnlightened.

In 2009, he worked with theYellow Bird Projectto create a T-shirt to raise money for theWorld Wildlife Fund.In the same year, on September 2, he performed an acoustic benefit concert in New York City at theHousing WorksBookstore Café to help promote the project's first publication.

On February 24, 2015, Perkins released his third full-length album,I Aubade,on his newly established label MIR.It was manufactured and distributed by the music division of Isolation Network, INGrooves, and available outside the US on April 20, 2015. He toured in support ofI Aubadein 2015.

French indie label Microcultures released a session in October 2016 that was recorded for France Musique Radio's Label Pop, hosted by music journalist Vincent Theval. The album featured the first incarnation of his I Aubade touring band, multi-instrumentalists Mitchell Robe and Danielle Aykroyd, a songwriter who goes by the pseudonymVera Sola.Sola credits the launch of her career to Elvis' support and encouragement.

In recent years, Perkins has been collaborating with his brother, Osgood, on scores for the latter's films. The critically acclaimed score toThe Blackcoat's Daughterwas released on DeathWaltz Recordings in March 2017.The New York Times wrote: "The Blackcoat's Daughterbewitches with silky-smooth camera movements and a rolling, reverberating musical score (by Elvis Perkins, the director's brother). "Matt Fagerholm wrote of it that the score set the perfect atmospheric tone for the film.In 2024, Perkins wrote the score for the horror feature filmLonglegsunder thepseudonymZilgi.The soundtrack album was released by Milan Records on July 12, 2024.

Discography

Albums

• Ash Wednesday(February 20, 2007)
• Elvis Perkins in Dearland(March 10, 2009)
• I Aubade(February 24, 2015)
• Creation Myths(October 2, 2020)

Soundtracks

• The Blackcoat's Daughter(March 31, 2017)
• Longlegs(as Zilgi) (July 12, 2024)

Singles

• "While You Were Sleeping" (July 16, 2007)
• "All the Night Without Love" (November 20, 2007)

EPs

• "The Doomsday EP" (October 20, 2009)
• "Label Pop Session EP" (November 4, 2016)

External links

• Official Elvis Perkins website
• Elvis Perkinsdiscography atDiscogs
• Elvis PerkinsatIMDb