Amanda Palmer

Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976), sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist, and was also one-half of the duo Evelyn Evelyn, and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. 2Life and career Palmer was born Amanda MacKinnon Palmer in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her parents divorced when she was one year old, and she rarely saw her father as a child. She attended Lexington High School, where she was involved in the drama department, and attended Wesleyan University where she was a member of the Eclectic Society. She staged performances based on work by the Legendary Pink Dots, an early influence, and was involved in the Legendary Pink Dots electronic mailing list, Cloud Zero. She then formed the Shadowbox Collective, devoted to street theatre and putting on theatrical shows (such as the 2002 play, Hotel Blanc, which she directed). Another early influence is Judy Blume, an author of children's books. With an interest in the performing arts, both in music and in theatre, Palmer spent time busking as a living statue called "The Eight Foot Bride" in Harvard Square, Cambridge; Edinburgh, Scotland; Australia (where she met Jason Webley); as well as many other locations. She refers to this line of work on The Dresden Dolls' self-titled CD, with the song "The Perfect Fit": as well as on the A is for Accident track "Glass Slipper": 3The Dresden Dolls At a Halloween party in 2000, Palmer met drummer Brian Viglione and afterwards they formed The Dresden Doll