Biography
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Born In
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the grandson of Irish railroad workers (who seemed to be in the habit of leaping from trains), Jeff Finlin is a unique artist. His career has taken many twists and turns.
He started out traveling America in autos, trains, planes, and hitchhiking, before settling down to play in bands in Boston, Ohio and L.A. He finally wound up in Nashville with long-time mate Gwil Owen ("A Softer Place to Fall") to form the rock band the Thieves, which put out the Marshall Crenshaw produced "Seduced by Money" on Capitol Records.
In 1993, he went on to produce the self-released "Lonely Light" before going on to produce the Little Dog/ Mercury release, "Highway Diaries".
The Chicago Sun Times said:
"FINLIN writes with the minimalist grit of Sam Shepard and Raymond Carver - tune in and you will hear an elusive magic."
Next it was on to New York, where Jeff incorporated the likes of Mark Ribot (Tom Waits and Elvis Costello) and Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan), to produce Original Fin, which was released on BMG/Gravity in the UK and Ireland and NBFNY in the U.S.
Music Row called the record:
"A do it yourself piece of musical brilliance - Simply manna to the literate songwriter’s soul."
Uncut called Finlin - "A real find."
Then in 2002 "Somewhere South of Wonder” came out with a vengeance, garnering Finlin 'Album of the Year' accolades on Virgin Radio's Captain America show, and a tour opening for Steve Earle in the U.K. and Ireland.
"Epinonymous" followed in 2004 - a musical and spiritual foray into the heart of the everyman.
In 2005, Jeff's Song "Sugar Blue", from the 2002 album "Somewhere South of Wonder" was included in the Cameron Crowe feature film "Elizabethtown".
"Angels in Disguise" was released on Warner Brothers Records in the UK and then on Rykodisc in the United States in 2006.
Jeff released the final instalment of his trilogy, "Ballad of a Plain Man", in 2008.
Now comes "The Tao of Motor Oil", a foray into the mystical experiences of life itself, including such stellar tracks as East by West and My Maybelline.
Tune in for an elusive magic!!!
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