Bleu (musician)

William James McAuley III (born July 18, 1975), best known by his performing name, Bleu, is a Boston, Massachusetts musician. Bleu graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Along with his solo work, he is the lead singer and songwriter of the Electric Light Orchestra-style power-pop band L.E.O., and has toured the United States and internationally with bands such as John Mayer, Puffy AmiYumi, Hanson, Guster, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Early career

Bleu was known in the local Boston music scene for his live shows and work with other musicians, and received some local notoriety for his debut effort "A Bing Bang Holidang", which was a charity benefit for the Boston Institute for Arts Therapy. A single from that record, "Boston All Star 12 Dayz," received some local airplay, featuring famous local musicians and acts from Guster and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones as well as Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo and Bill Janovitz.

Bleu would soon follow with his "Workaday Day EP" before releasing his first proper album, "Headroom". Released via Lunch Records, it received generally positive reviews, but did not take off until Bleu's entry into the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble, which he won in 2001. This led him to local opening slots with Jump, Little Children and Ben Folds. He would later win a Boston Music Award for "Best Boston Band" (as well as be nominated for 5 in his career), and land a major label contract.

Major label career

Bleu's next album, "Redhead" (called "an all around power-pop treat" by music critic Aidin Vaziri), [cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Redhead-Bleu/dp/B000095J1T/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8452698-8337747?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1182349444&sr=1-1|title=Aidin Vaziri, Editorial Reviews, "Redhead"] was released in 2003 on Aware Records. Two versions were released; both featured the song "Somebody Else," which was also on the "Spider-Man" soundtrack. The first version of the album featured a song, "Sayonara," which had backing vocals from Puffy AmiYumi, and the latter version (released on Columbia Records) contained the single "Get Up," which received moderate national airplay. The album was also released in Japan with the Puffy AmiYumi guest spot featured, followed by a short tour in Japan.

New Directions, New Music

Bleu eventually left (or possibly was dropped from) Aware Records after a public dispute about the direction of submitted demos, and his third studio album, tentatively titled 'A Watched Pot,' was not released by the label. However, Bleu announced in an email list announcement in August 2008 that he had regained the rights to "A Watched Pot" and plans to release the album in some form, possibly as a double-disc release.

In 2006, a side project with Matt Mahaffey of Self called L.E.O. was released. Featuring contributions from Mike Viola, Andy Sturmer (formerly of Jellyfish), Hanson, and Jason Scheff of Chicago, "Alpacas Orgling" was meant to be similar to 1970s AM radio pop music, and is described by the band as an "alt-pop version of the Traveling Wilburys."

In July, 2007, Bleu released two EPs on iTunes. One is a collection of songs he wrote for friends and family members for their birthdays, simply titled "Happy Birthday." The other is credited to the band Blizzard of '05 (also the name of the album). The 7-song EP was recorded by Bleu, some friends, and some former bandmates when they converted the basement of one of their houses into a recording studio, and holed up there during the Blizzard of '05, which swept across New England and shut down the city of Boston for 5 days.

In July, 2008, Bleu and frequent collaborators Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle released "Aquavia" as a band called The Major Labels.

Another side project is a take on '80s rock called LoudLion (plays covers and originals), which plans to release a CD in 2008.

Discography

* "A Bing Bang Holidang" (CD) - Lunch Records - 1999
* "Workaday Day EP" (CD) - Lunch Records - 2000
* "Headroom" (CD) - Lunch Records - 2000
* "Redhead" (CD) - Aware Records - 2003
* "Redhead (re-release)" (CD) - Columbia/Aware - 2004
* "A Watched Pot" (CD) - Aware - Unreleased album (due to parting ways with label)

Bleu has also worked on a number of different projects.

* "Tangos and Tantrums" by Sylvie Lewis - Backing vocals on "All His Exes."
* "Alpacas Orgling" by L.E.O. - Executive producer, chief songwriter and singer.
* "Sugar EP" by Dan Wilson of Semisonic - Guitars and vocals on several tracks.
*"The Walk" by Hanson - Produced two tracks; co-wrote "Go" and "Running Man."
*"Free Life" by Dan Wilson - Guitars and vocals on several tracks.
*"Jonas Brothers (album)" by Jonas Brothers - Helped write the song "That's Just the Way We Roll"
*"Aquavia" by The Major Labels - Co-producer, songwriter, and performer.

External links

* [http://www.bleutopia.com Official site] .
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1323262 National Public Radio] on "Redhead".
* " [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/271333/redhead Rolling Stone] " review of "Redhead".
* [http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/artist_profile/bleu_profile.html EMI] profile.

References