B. J. Snowden
Encyclopedia
B.J. Snowden is a singer, songwriter and performer based out of Massachusetts
. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music
, she earns her living as a school teacher, teaching music in schools from Boston to Philadelphia. She is currently a substitute teacher at Billerica Memorial High School
.
Snowden's work has been labeled outsider music
, and she was featured in Irwin Chusid
's Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music (2000) and her song America is was included on the second volume of music produced and annotated by Chusid to accompany the book. Her music was also frequently featured on Irwin Chusid's WFMU
show, though she is ambivalent about her spot alongside some of the musicians in Chusid's book http://www.bjsnowdenmusic.com/default.htm#About.
Her album Life in the USA and Canada, which debuted in the fall of 1996, received mention in the New York Press
, Magnet
and other alternative publications. Snowden has also appeared on MTV
's Oddville and Comedy Central
's The Daily Show
and she also counts among her more prestigious fans Fred Schneider
of the B-52's
, and Jello Biafra
of the Dead Kennedys.
She is currently a substitute teacher at Billerica Memorial High School.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, she earns her living as a school teacher, teaching music in schools from Boston to Philadelphia. She is currently a substitute teacher at Billerica Memorial High School
Billerica Memorial High School
Billerica Memorial High School is located at 35 River Street in Billerica, Massachusetts. It is one of two public high schools in the town. Kevin Soraghan is the principal of Billerica High. The school serves about 1,630 students in grades 9 through 12. An assistant principal oversees students in...
.
Snowden's work has been labeled outsider music
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
, and she was featured in Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid is a journalist, music historian, radio personality and self-described "landmark preservationist." His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history that I know don't belong there and salvage them." Those "things" have included such previously overlooked but...
's Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music (2000) and her song America is was included on the second volume of music produced and annotated by Chusid to accompany the book. Her music was also frequently featured on Irwin Chusid's WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
show, though she is ambivalent about her spot alongside some of the musicians in Chusid's book http://www.bjsnowdenmusic.com/default.htm#About.
Her album Life in the USA and Canada, which debuted in the fall of 1996, received mention in the New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, Magnet
Magnet (magazine)
Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...
and other alternative publications. Snowden has also appeared on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Oddville and Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
and she also counts among her more prestigious fans Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
of the B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
, and Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
of the Dead Kennedys.
External links
- Official website
- Venus Records
- Anxiety Obscura presents B.J. Snowden
- Suffolk Journal interview with BJ Snowden
She is currently a substitute teacher at Billerica Memorial High School.