Elisa Randazzo is a versatile vocalist and multi-instrumentalist whose work has run the gamut from experimental music to classic-style West Coast pop. Randazzo was born in New York City to parents who both had a background in music; her father, Teddy Randazzo, was a rock & roll singer in the '50s who later went on to a successful career as a songwriter (penning several hits for Little Anthony & the Imperials), and her mother, Victoria Pike, was a vocalist and songwriter as well as one of Teddy's frequent collaborators (she also wrote the lyrics for the garage-psych classic "I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time" by the Third Bardo). Elisa's early childhood was nomadic as her folks traveled from gig to gig, with extended stops in Las Vegas and Jamaica; when Elisa was seven, her parents divorced, and she moved with her mother to upstate New York, where they lived on a farm. Years later, Elisa pulled up stakes for the West Coast and became an accomplished songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist, mastering violin and viola, guitar and keyboards. In 1996, Randazzo met legendary avant-garde rocker Mayo Thompson, and she became a member of his group the Red Krayola, contributing violin and vocals to the albums Hazel, Fingerpainting, and Sighs Trapped by Liars. She also began collaborating with a variety of other artists, and after meeting and marrying guitarist and producer Josh Schwartz, they formed a group called Fairechild, releasing a self-titled album in 2005. In 2006, Fairechild split up as Randazzo and Schwartz divorced, and Randazzo began writing and recording with Aaron Robinson in a project simply called Randazzo Robinson; she also began a songwriting collaboration with British folk-rock icon Bridget St. John after they met during a visit to New York City in 2007. In 2009, Randazzo began work on her first solo album, a set of songs inspired by the collapse of her marriage and featuring some of her compositions with St. John; the album, Bruises and Butterflies, was released by Drag City Records in April 2010. In addition to her career in music, Randazzo is a successful clothing designer who markets her creations through the Dusty and Cameo labels. ~ Mark Deming