Porcelain Black

Biography

There are at least two artists under this tag: 1) Alaina Marie Beaton, more known by the name Porcelain Black, is a singer-songwriter born in Detroit, Michigan on October 1st 1985. She first became known for her rock project Porcelain and the Tramps. And later on for her mixtape ‘Mannequin Factory’ noted for pioneering an industrial dance-pop sound. Beaton grew up at 8 Mile until her parents separated when she was six years old. Her mother rejected her father's marriage proposal and married a...

There are at least two artists under this tag:

1) Alaina Marie Beaton, more known by the name Porcelain Black, is a singer-songwriter born in Detroit, Michigan on October 1st 1985. She first became known for her rock project Porcelain and the Tramps. And later on for her mixtape ‘Mannequin Factory’ noted for pioneering an industrial dance-pop sound.

Beaton grew up at 8 Mile until her parents separated when she was six years old. Her mother rejected her father's marriage proposal and married another man. Beaton has the logo of her biological dad's hair salon on her hand, Beaton Colors. He was her first introduction to Rock N Roll as a child and growing up she would always be with him backstage at fashion shows and photo shoots. When she was 15 years old she discovered her dad had cancer, he died when she was 16. Beaton was so hurt by the experience she was expelled from schools for fighting against people making fun of her situation, she later ran away from home and started doing drugs, drinking and begging on the streets.

At 16, Beaton moved to Ann Arbor, MI, where, attracted by her volatile charm, some University of Michigan students let her crash at their dorm for six months. Then she went on the road with Armor for Sleep, whose drummer, Nash Breen, is a childhood friend. When Beaton returned to Detroit, she quit doing drugs and talked another friend into road-tripping with her to New York.

“My dad wanted to take me there for my 16th birthday and never got to do it, so I wanted to go for him,” Beaton says. “We checked into the W Hotel in Times Square and this lady came up to me and said, ‘Are you in a band?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ even though I hadn’t recorded anything yet.” The woman introduced Beaton to her manager, who was struck by her appearance and personality, he told her to move to Los Angeles and look him up when she turned 18. Eighteen months later, Beaton packed a suitcase and bought a ticket to Los Angeles.

After moving out of Detroit Beaton had an audition for the Virgin Records CEO who then quickly signed her to Virgin Records, she had explained the type of music she wanted to do but when she presented the Porcelain And The Tramps album to them they refused to release it. The album demos she released online garnered over 30 million views on MySpace and YouTube. She was then stuck on a major label RedOne that refused to release her music and refused to let her leave the label. Beaton was in a legal lawsuit with the label for 3 years. She was approached by Interscope, Republic Records, Dr. Luke and RedOne who wanted to sign her out the contract.

Beaton chose RedOne’s label 2101/RedOne Records, as he convinced her the releases would go smoothly and would let her experiment with her sound and not have to water it down. In truth RedOne didn’t had much dedication to any of the artists signed to his label as most would go on years without being allowed to release any material. One of Beaton's label mates cites RedOne as a man that cares more about what's gonna be a hit on the radio than music itself.

After having enough of mistreatment Porcelain Black cut all ties with RedOne and started recording her debut album independently. She has released a debut album called ‘313’. The album title refers to the area code of Detroit, the city where she was raised.

2) Porcelain Black is the wrecking-ball brainchild of multi-instrumentalists Franko Carino and Ryan Norton. The two met in the late nineties as their respective bands (Franko in Florida Industrial icon's Elara, Ryan in the Art-Rock behemoth Room To Breathe) were clawing their way to the top of the heap in Jacksonville, Florida's highly competitive music scene. They joined forces in 2004 to create something they knew would be accessible and exciting.

Porcelain Black, though primarily electronic, has the edge and attitude of rock n roll and the organic immediacy of punk. Somehow, along the way, they manage to twist together elements of goth/industrial and electronica with hip-hop. The years spent hanging out in clove-smoke filled sad kid bars bleed though more than anything. This combination of styles, though an unlikely one, has caught the attention of audiences and record labels alike.

Porcelain Black released their self-titled EP in May 2005. Porcelain Black continue to fill venues and convert new fans from all walks of life and diverse musical interests. Past performances have been described as everything from shocking and soulful to passionate and electric. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.