Rosie Thomas (singer-songwriter)

Rosie Thomas
Thomas staring at the ceiling while singing into a microphone
Rosie Thomas at Roots of Heaven VIII, Patronaat, Haarlem, Netherlands on May 13, 2007
Background information
Also known asSheila Saputo
Bornc. 1978[1] (age 44)
OriginLivonia, Michigan, U.S.
GenresAlternative, indie folk[2]
OccupationMusician
LabelsSub Pop, Sing-A-Long
Websitewww.rosiethomas.com

Rosie Thomas is an American singer-songwriter and comedian, originally from Michigan.

Career

Raised in Detroit, Thomas learned piano and guitar as a child.[1] She attended Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, California, for a year before studying Theatre at Cornish College in Seattle.[1][3]

Through mutual friends she met Trey Many and began playing shows with Velour 100.[1][4] They recorded one EP together and played a few short tours, where she met Damien Jurado and David Bazan.

Thomas' appearance on the song "Parking Lot", from Damien Jurado's album Ghost of David, brought her to the attention of Sub Pop Records, who signed her in 2000.[1] Her first recording for the label was a duet with Jurado on "Wages of Sin" on Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska.[4][5] Her debut album When We Were Small was released on January 22, 2002. The album featured Eric Fisher (who Thomas met at Cornish College) on guitar and keyboards and Andy Myers on drums. Fisher and Myers returned for 2003's follow-up, Only with Laughter Can You Win.

Thomas released her third album, If Songs Could Be Held, in 2005. In March 2006, her song "Faith's Silver Elephant" appeared on the Paper Bag Records compilation See You on the Moon! .[4]

In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously reported that Thomas and American musician Sufjan Stevens were having a baby together, but later published a retraction.[4][6][7] Denison Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank.[8]

Thomas' album These Friends of Mine was released on December 12, 2006, through her record label Sing-A-Long Records, which also released a holiday album called A Very Rosie Christmas in November 2008. Thomas acted in the 2009 film Calvin Marshall[9] and was the subject of the 2009 documentary All the Way from Michigan Not Mars.[10] She suffered from a thyroid condition that affected her for two years, leading to a gap of four years until her next album With Love (2012).[11] She married folk singer Jeff Shoop in August 2008.[12]

Thomas toured with Sufjan Stevens in his 2012 Surfjohn Stephanopolous Seasonal Affective Disorder Disaster on Ice tour, opening the show as her Sheila Saputo character as well as performing as a member of his band.

Comedy

Thomas performs as a comedian as the character Sheila Saputo, an accident-prone pizza delivery person.[1][13][14] She has performed stand-up as this character as part of her music shows.[3]

Discography

Albums

EPs

  • In Between (2001)
  • Paper Airplane (2002)
  • Lullabies for Parents, Vol. 1 (2022)

Singles

  • "Pretty Dress" (2005)

Compilation appearances

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Breimeier, Russ (2003). "Glimpses of God: Rosie Thomas, Only With Laughter Can You Win". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  2. ^ "With a Little Help from Her Friends — and Alter Ego — Rosie Thomas Moves On". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. April 13, 2007. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Rosie Thomas; It's a Family Affair", Pittsburgh City Paper, September 28, 2005.
  4. ^ a b c d Wilson, MacKenzie "Rosie Thomas Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved January 23, 2014
  5. ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony (2003) "Rosie Thomas ; Whelans, Dublin", Irish Times, August 8, 2003.
  6. ^ "Sufjan Stevens Hypothetical Tracklists". Stereogum. April 13, 2006. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  7. ^ Crock, Jason (May 15, 2006). "Interview: Sufjan Stevens". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 29, 2006. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  8. ^ [1] Archived April 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Calvin Marshall (2009)". IMDb.vom. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  10. ^ Dombal, Ryan (August 12, 2009). "Sufjan Featured on New DVD". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  11. ^ Sullivan, Laura (2012) "Rosie Thomas: Restarting A Musical Life "With Love"", NPR, April 8, 2012.
  12. ^ Durbin, Kelly (2008) "Rosie Thomas: Sing, Laugh, Love ... Then Get Knocked Up", 'Real Detroit Weekly, December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2014
  13. ^ Foster, Patrick (2004) "Pop Music", The Washington Post, April 20, 2004.
  14. ^ "Drunk By Noon; Roots & Americana", The Stranger, December 17, 2003.
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