Richie Birkenhead (born Richard James Birkenhead; August 23, 1965) is an American rock musician and creative director. He was a singer, songwriter and guitarist of late '80s

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. The scene established many aspects that are fixtures of hardcore ...

bands

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

and

Youth of Today Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the " Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies ...

, and went on in the 1990s to become vocalist for the American rock band, Into Another.

Early life

In his early teens, while living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and attending the

McBurney School McBurney School was a boys (later co-educational) college-preparatory school in Manhattan run by the YMCA of Greater New York. Its name commemorates Robert Ross McBurney, a prominent New York YMCA leader during the late 19th century. History ...

, Birkenhead started a neo-rockabilly band, the Bel-Airs, with members of Buzz and the Flyers and

Tav Falco's Panther Burns Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to (The) Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco. They are best known for having been part of a set of bands emerging in the late 1970s an ...

. Birkenhead was the Bel-Airs' guitarist, songwriter and occasional vocalist. Although they never officially released any recorded material, the band played regularly in many New York venus, including

Mudd Club The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for post punk underground music and no wave counterculture events. It was opened ...

Peppermint Lounge The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many cla ...

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from May 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous l ...

, The Ritz and

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

and opened for

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to i ...

The Rockats Levi and the Rockats are a British rockabilly revival band originally from Essex. They are recognised as one of the pioneering neo-rockabilly groups of the 1980s. History Levi & the Rockats were founded in 1977 by Levi Dexter, a Teddy Boy fr ...

and

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Music career

During the mid-to-late '80s, Birkenhead fronted the hardcore bands Numskuls (1983–1985) and Underdog (1985–1989). In 1986 he joined the straight edge hardcore band

on guitar. He spent time touring with the band, as well as recording the band's first full-length offering, 1986's ''Break Down the Walls''. Birkenhead, along with

drummer, Drew Thomas, left the band in 1990 to form the band, Into Another, with guitarist Peter Moses and bassist Tony Bono. Into Another released its first self-titled full-length album in 1990 on

Revelation Records Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side, Chain of Strength, Sh ...

, followed by two EPs and another full-length before signing with

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

in 1995. During the band's stint on Hollywood Records, Into Another released "Seemless" in 1996, in which Birkenhead and the band entered the ''Billboard'' 200 for the first time with the song "T.A.I.L.", peaking at number 39 on the mainstream rock chart. Conflict between Birkenhead and

, as well as internal tensions led to the dissolution of Into Another after 1997, leaving an unreleased full-length album entitled "Soul Control". During the next 15 years, Birkenhead appeared only occasionally at solo acoustic shows. In June 2012, as part of the Revelation Records 25th Anniversary shows, Into Another was reformed, and, with Richie Birkenhead, Drew Thomas, Peter Moses, Brian Balchack and Reid Black, Into Another made its first appearance in over 15 years. The band has continued to perform, and Richie Birkenhead is again fully active with Into Another and creating new music.

Discography

with into Another

with Youth of Today

with ''Underdog''

Collaboration with other artists

*''Shift – Spacesuit'' (1995) (as Producer) *

Deadsy Deadsy is an American industrial rock band from Los Angeles. The band is known for its visual appearance and unique musical style the band self-describes as "undercore". The band has released two major studio albums. The band was initially sig ...

–

Commencement A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called commencement, congregation, convocation or invocation. The date of the graduation ...

(1999) (vocals on "Brand New Love")

Personal life

Richie Birkenhead is the son of lyricist

Susan Birkenhead Susan Birkenhead is an American lyricist. Birkenhead made her Broadway debut as one of a team of songwriters contributing to '' Working'' (1978), for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. Her second was earned for ''Jelly's Last J ...

. He married Samantha Kluge, style editor of '' Glamour'' magazine and daughter of late media mogul

John Kluge John Werner Kluge (; September 21, 1914September 7, 2010) was a German-American entrepreneur who became a television industry mogul in the United States. At one time he was the richest person in the U.S. Early life and education Kluge was b ...

, in 2000. The marriage ended in divorce in 2002. In 2006, Birkenhead married art dealer Jamie Harman. The couple have two children. Birkenhead is

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 ...

References

External links

* *
Richie Birkenhead at BandToBand.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhead, Richie Living people American heavy metal singers American multi-instrumentalists American male singer-songwriters 1965 births American alternative rock musicians American rock guitarists American male guitarists Dark ambient musicians Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Alternative metal musicians Guitarists from New York City McBurney School alumni 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians