Duncan Scott Sheik was born on November 18, 1969, in Montclair, New Jersey.  His mother was single, so he was raised by her and his grandparents in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  He has one younger sister.  His father lives in New Jersey.

Duncan was raised Catholic, but converted to Buddhism later in life.  He is a very serious practicing Buddhist and has been for around 15 years.  He has even been quoted as not being able to leave his house without chanting.

Duncan got started playing music at a very early age, and was playing the piano at age five.  He later mastered the guitar, and was in a cover band, called Slightly Off, at age twelve.  During his teen years, Duncan was in boarding school and frequently had his musical instruments confiscated for playing too loud.

Duncan attended and graduated from Brown University in 1992.  He didn't want to major in Music because he didn't want his education to influence his musical style.  Duncan majored in Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, instead.

The talented Mr. Sheik didn't seriously consider music until college, when he was in Lisa Lobe's band Liz and Lisa as her lead guitarist.  Following graduation, Duncan drove across the country to Los Angeles where he shopped around his demo tape.  This began what is referred to as Duncan's "Lost California Years."  He was signed to a $100,000 contract with the rappy-type label Immortal Records.  The contract went nowhere, and Duncan rotted in limbo for two years.  During this time, he was miserable and passed the time by writing songs.  He did put out a small EP called His Boy Elroy, which can still be found on eBAY if you are lucky.  Duncan sings background vocals.

He was freed from this musical hell in 1994 when Atlantic Records recognized his considerable talent and bought him off of Immortal.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Duncan released his self-titled debut album, Duncan Sheik, on June 4, 1996 to glowing reviews.  He even earned a four out of five star rating from the prestigious Rolling Stone.  The single from it, ³Barely Breathing,² became the fourth longest running top 100 single in Billboard history after being listed for 55 weeks.  His self-titled album later went gold.

Duncan's second album, Humming, was released on October 6, 1998.  The first single from it, "Bite Your Tongue," quickly became the most requested track in the country. Humming earned glowing reviews, earning Duncan the status of the most important new singer-songwriter of the decade.

On February 27, 2001, Duncan released his third album, Phantom Moon, on the label Nonesuch Records.  Phantom Moon is a primarily acoustic project that came out of Duncan's collaboration with New York playwright Steven Sater.  Duncan and Steven both belong to the New York branch of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and started working together when Steven asked Duncan to write the music for a play he was working on.  Steven would fax Duncan lyrics and Duncan wrote the music to them.  They came up with about 17 songs, and Duncan decided to make a record out of them.  He brought it to Ron Shapiro, the General Manager of Atlantic Records, who suggested that they release it on Atlantic Records' partner label, Nonesuch.

You wouldn't know it from seeing him in concert and listening to his albums, but Duncan wasn't always confident about his voice.  He was so unsure of it that he had instruction from an opera singer.  Duncan didn't used to be comfortable on stage, either.  He said that he just did it because it was necessary for success.  But recently, Duncan has been able to loosen up and enjoy being on stage.  He even smiles and tells jokes!  If you have the chance to see Duncan in concert, make sure you stick around.  He has an amazing habit of getting off the stage at the end of his show and meeting his fans.  He even signs autographs and poses for pictures!

If you are into Astrology, Duncan's birth date of November 18 makes him a Scorpio.  Here is his astrology profile:
Symbol:  The Scorpion
Planetary Ruler:  Pluto
Element:  Fixed water
Greatest Desire:  Power
Best Day:  Tuesday
----
According to Astrologers, Scorpios are always striving for mastery and control in the outside world, and become different, more relaxed people at home.

From: María Eugenia <jaimesmr@...>
Reply-To: DuncanSheik@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 14:31:17 -0400
To: <DuncanSheik@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [DuncanSheik] HI!!

Here I am!!

I need to know about Duncan, but no one help me!! :-(

What do you know about him??

Maru, :-)
____________________________________________________
Descubrí que -cuando estás lejos- todos te aman...
Better Than Ezra. At The Stars

----- Original Message -----
From: Ani G <mailto:rockstaarr54@...>  
To: DuncanSheik@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 1:33 AM
Subject: [DuncanSheik] duncandiscuss

its soo cool that people are still here from that-- it feels like it was just a few months ago but i know it was years ago.. i rememebr i was still in high school!  wow..i still have the tapes... i havent watched them in a while... oh well it's sad no one talks anymore-- but theres no DS news i guess, i dont like the new site so i dont go so i dont know...

later kids!!

kisses**
Peace and Love,
Ani
www.CTUltraRadio.com <http://www.ctultraradio.com/>
"Senses are overdriven my computer chip¹s on crack
I begin to feel a tingle from my head down through my back
Now your body begins to wiggle sonically in time
the frequency fills you up now warming you from the inside."
~Adios Pantalones~  <http://www.adiospantalones.com/>

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