Mishkin Fitzgerald (born 10 February 1985) is an English musician from

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England, most widely known as the lead vocalist and pianist of the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

bands

Birdeatsbaby Birdeatsbaby is an English progressive rock band from Brighton, United Kingdom, formed in 2008. At their start, the band's music was considered to be within the dark cabaret genre, but later began to incorporate aspects of heavy metal, klez ...

and Crimson Veil.

Early life and career

Born on 10 February 1985 to a church minister and a math teacher, Fitzgerald has described her upbringing as "religious and conservative". She learned music at an early age by singing

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

at church and playing piano for the congregation, as well as learning the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

at school. Initially teaching herself to play the piano by ear, Fitzgerald was subsequently classically trained by three different teachers, including

Robert Orledge Robert Orledge (born 5 January 1948) is a British musicologist who specialises in French music from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. A Professor Emeritus at the University of Liverpool, Orledge has published book-length studies on the comp ...

. Fitzgerald soon discovered rock and metal, and decided to she wanted to pursue music as a career. While studying music at University in Brighton, Fitzgerald met and became friends with Garry Mitchell, and the two went on to found the group

. The original line up consisted of Fitzgerald on piano and vocals, Mitchell on guitar and bass, Keely McDonald on violin, Ella Stimey on cello, and Philippa Bloomfield on drums. They went on to release their first album '' Here She Comes-a-Tumblin''' in 2009. Fitzgerald and Mitchell have gone on to release five studio albums as well as 20 EPs and singles with the band, with various lineups of other band members, and have toured throughout the UK, Europe, and North America. In November 2012, a music video for the title track of Fitzgerald's then upcoming debut solo album, ''Present Company'', was published to the official Birdeatsbaby Youtube channel. The video, directed by Dominic William Stoate and Matthew Kinealy, features Fitzgerald as a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who gets knocked out in the ring. The full album was released in May 2013. Her second solo album, ''Seraphim'', was released in May 2017. In 2020, Fitzgerald released two instrumental albums: ''The Piano Conspires'', a reworking of the 2019 Birdeatsbaby album ''The World Conspires'' arranged for solo piano, in August, and ''Alkonost'' in December. Fitzgerald also wrote music for the 2019 musical ''Sex and Disability'' by Brighton based writer Damian Darkness. In 2021, Fitzgerald collaborated with fellow Brighton-based musician Georgia Train, of the band Bitter Ruin, on a new EP titled ''Mankind''. Fitzgerald also teamed up with fellow Birdeatsbaby member Hana Maria (under the name Hana Piranha) to form HVIRESS, self-described as an "electronic occult duo". Their debut single "Arrival" was released on May 28, 2021. Since 2010, Fitzgerald has also worked as a music teacher.

Personal life

Fitzgerald has suffered from depression for most of her life. She has said that the name "Birdeatsbaby" came to her in a dream after a particularly long bout of

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

in her teenage years, and that much of the material for the band's first album, ''Here She Comes-a-Tumblin'', came from the nightmares and

hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

she was experiencing at that time. Fitzgerald has also openly discussed being sexually assaulted in her teen years, and how this has influenced her songwriting, stating, "Many of my songs are based around experience, I couldn’t help but use it at a subject matter as that kind of trauma can consume you and if you don’t get it out, then it can destroy you." Fitzgerald is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, as well as a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist. She resides in Brighton with two

pugs The Pug is a breed of dog with the physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. An ancient breed, with roots dating back to 400 B.C., they have a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most ...

called Henry and George.

Selected discography

Solo *''Present Company'' - 2013 *''Ten Suitably Melancholy Pieces for the Gothic Piano Player'' - 2017 *''Seraphim'' - 2017 *''The Piano Conspires'' - 2020 *''Alkonost'' - 2020 With Birdeatsbaby *'' Here She Comes-a-Tumblin''' - 2009 *'' Feast of Hammers'' - 2012 *''

The Bullet Within ''The Bullet Within'' is the third studio album by English progressive rock band Birdeatsbaby, released on 14 July 2014 through the band's own label, Dead Round Eyes. Production of the album was largely funded via the crowdfunding platform Kickst ...

'' - 2014 *'' Tanta Furia'' - 2016 * ''The World Conspires'' - 2019 With CRIMSON VEIL *''HEX'' - 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Mishkin English women musicians Dark cabaret musicians Musicians from Brighton and Hove British rock singers British women rock singers 1985 births Living people