Origin New York, NY | Years active 1998–present | |
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Genres Rock, alternative country Labels Lava Records/Atlantic Records
Hear Music
Blackheart Records Website Official Antigone Rising website Members Kristen Henderson
Cathy Henderson
Dena Tauriello
Nini Camps | ||
Antigone Rising is an all-female alt-country rock band. Their 2005 album From the Ground Up was the first to be promoted in Starbucks' Hear Music Series, created to discover and spotlight new music.
Contents
History
The band originally met at Bucknell University and was formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, with sisters Cathy (guitar) and Kristen Henderson (guitar/drums), Penelope "Peppy" Kokines as lead vocalist and Suzanne Obolsky on vocals and percussion.
In 1999 the band recruited Cassidy as lead singer.
Their first four albums were recorded mostly with independent labels and financed through fan donations. In 2003, they signed up with Lava Records, a label personally run by Atlantic Records Chairman/ CEO Jason Flom.
In 2005, they became the first artists to be promoted in Starbucks' Hear Music Series, created to discover and spotlight new music. The high visibility, exclusive sale, in-store promotion and airplay at Starbucks across the USA helped the band's acoustic album, From the Ground Up, sell over 450,000 copies by the end of 2005. The album's single, "Don't Look Back", gained popularity among country audiences after its video received heavy airplay on CMT.
Flom departed Lava in 2005. The band's deal with the label continued, but ended in 2008. A new album, Tales From Wonderland was recorded in 2007, but not released.
In 2008 Cassidy left the band to go solo. In 2009, she released Tales From Wonderland as Sink Or Swim under the name The Cassidy Project. Other Antigone Rising band members were not happy about this, with Kristin Henderson publicly voicing their displeasure. Cassidy herself later referred to this episode as "pooping" - so she could move on creatively.
Bass guitarist, Jen Zielenbach, also eventually left. In 2009 Nini Camps, having made several guest appearances with the band, officially joined as lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Kristin Henderson, now known as Kristin Ellis-Henderson, shifted from rhythm guitar to bass. Also in 2009 both Ellis-Henderson and Camps become mothers.
A studio CD 23 Red was released in 2011, distributed through Joan Jett's Blackheart Records Group.
The band line up as of 2013 was Kristen Ellis-Henderson on bass guitar and backing vocals, Cathy Henderson on lead guitar and backing vocals, Dena Tauriello on drums and Nini Camps on rhythm guitar and lead vocals.
The band's 2013 single, "That Was The Whiskey", was co-written with the Nashville songwriter Lori McKenna.
In 2014, the band released an EP, Whiskey & Wine Vol. I.
In 2015, the band released another EP, Whiskey & Wine Vol. II.
Touring
In their early years Antigone Rising toured widely, and have shared stages with The Bangles, Joan Jett, The Rolling Stones, moe., Rob Thomas, Aerosmith, and The Allman Brothers. They performed at Lilith Fair in 1998 and at SXSW in 2005.
Book
Kristen Ellis Henderson wrote a memoir about her same-sex marriage Times Two, Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made (Simon & Schuster) published on April 5, 2011. The book chronicles the journey she and her wife, Sarah Ellis-Henderson, took to start a family - eventually getting pregnant on exactly the same day and giving birth to their son and daughter. The book's success led to them being tapped by GLAAD as media spokeswomen advocating marriage equality, and the couple were featured on the cover of April 8, 2013 issue of Time Magazine - "Gay Marriage Already Won.""