Rachel Fannan

Rachel Fannan in 2017.

Born	Rachel Marie Williams March 20, 1986 (Age 32) Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Singer Songwriter Poet
Years active	2008 - present
Spouse(s)	Samuel Child (m. 2017; div. 2018)
Parents	Michael Williams (father) Marlene Longamore (mother)

Rachel Fannan (born March 20, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and poet from Los Angeles, California. She made her musical debut in 2008 with the release of a solo album entitled "Deeper Lurking" under the moniker Birds Fled From Me. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Only You,^[1] and formerly as co-lead vocalist of San Francisco psych-rockers Sleepy Sun, as well as for collaborations with UNKLE and progressive rock band Anywhere. She is currently singing for Canadian rock band Black Mountain and is the keyboardist and backing vocalist for pop-prog band Moon Honey.

As a solo artist, Fannan has shared the stage with other prominent musicians such as Hunter Burgan^[2] (AFI) Carla Azar (Autolux), Rich Good (Psychedelic Furs), Dash Hutton (Haim, Mini Mansions).

2012, a version of the classic parlor song "Beautiful Dreamer" featuring Fannan on vocals was used in a commercial by Canon,^[3] which went on to win the award for Outstanding Commercial at the 2012–2013 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys.^[4]

2016 released a rock EP "Everybody's Famous" as the Bomb^[5].

2017 published first book of original poetry "No One Wants to Give Up".

Early life

Fannan was born in Thousand Oaks, California. She is the eldest daughter of composer and pianist Michael Glenn Williams and Marlene Marie Longamore. She has a younger brother, Michael Gaelen Williams, a younger sister Caitlin Elizabeth Williams.

Fannan spent much of her childhood encouraged to sing and perform; she later recalls acquiring a key to her schools choir room where she would often eat her lunch and play the piano. She attended Ascension Lutheran, a private preparatory school in Thousand Oaks, and Banyan Elementary. She abstained from required performances throughout high school, devoting most of her time to extra curricular clubs and activities. She attended Santa Monica City college for 6 months before dropping out to move to Santa Cruz California.

Birds Fled From Me

Between 2006 and 2008, Fannan wrote and recorded solo material under the moniker Birds Fled From Me with the help of producer/engineer Maxwell Lewis Golding.^[6]

She self-released an album of this work entitled Deeper Lurking in 2008.^[7]

Sleepy Sun

In 2007 Fannan was invited to sit in with psych rockers Sleepy Sun and was quickly recruited to be their co-lead vocalist. Her vocals are featured on the band's first two albums Embrace (ATP Recordings, 2009) and Fever (ATP Recordings, 2010).^[8] However, Fannan left the band acrimoniously in late October of 2010 while the band was on tour.^[9]

Collaborations

During and soon after leaving Sleepy Sun, Fannan recorded with British trip-hop duo UNKLE. Her first collaboration "Follow Me Down" is credited as a Sleepy Sun feature but primarily features Fannan, her lyrics and melody. "Sunday Song", also featuring Fannan, was released as part of their 2011 Only The Lonely EP, and Where Did the Night Fall – Another Night Out album.

Following a short stint supporting Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis,^[10] Rachel was approached by Christian Eric Beaulieu (Triclops!) to collaborate on the musical project Anywhere which also included Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars Volta, At The Drive-in).^[11] Fannan sang lead vocals on their debut single "Dead Golden West" (Valley King Records, November 2011) and "Rosa Rugosa", Anywhere (ATP Recordings, 2012).^[12]

In late 2012 she toured as keyboard player and backing vocalist for The Fresh & Onlys.^[13]

Only You

Created in late 2010, Only You is Fannan's L.A.–based retro band whose lineup has included a rotating cast of backing musicians.

In early 2012, the band toured as an all-girl group, with Fannan being joined by bassist Micayla Grace (Bleached, Leopold and his Fiction), guitarist Cecilia Peruti (Gothic Tropic) and drummer Lia Braswell (Le Butcherettes).^[14] Only You released their first single "Applying Myself" through White Iris Records in October 2012.^[15] The B-side "Love Is Making Me Tired" was featured as a Daily Download on Rolling Stone's website.^[16] As of 2013, the Only You lineup features Fannan, backed by an all-male band including lead guitarist Brandon Intelligator (Slang Chickens),^[17] Jeff Lynne (Wires on Fire), and Patrick Taylor (Ceremonies).

Other musicians that have previously played with the group include Jon Sortland^[18] (Cigar, Broken Bells), Rich Good (Kings & Queens, Psychedelic Furs), Evan Weiss (Slang Chickens, Wires on Fire), Dash Hutton (Slang Chickens, Wires on Fire, Papa), John Carpenter, and Lucas Ventura.

References