April March

April March (born Elinore Blake on April 20, 1965) is an American vocalist whose elegant indie pop material is often performed in French. Although the first album she ever purchased was England's Newest Hit Makers by the Rolling Stones, April March's own songs hark back to the pre-rock days of European pop and French yé-yé music. Following stints with several bands, she launched a solo career under the April March guise and recorded material throughout the '90s and early 2000s, usually gaining release abroad or via small indie labels in America. Blake's interest in France took root in nursery school, where she began learning French from a puppet named Monsieur Hibou (translated: "Mr. Owl"). Her Francophilia increased in 1979, when she briefly attended junior high in France as an exchange student. She graduated from Phillip Academy Andover in 1983, after which she moved back to New York City to become a cartoon animator at Archie Comics. She graduated to the animation department on Pee Wee's Playhouse in 1984, and even animated Madonna for the "Who's That Girl" video. In early 1987, Blake formed her first band, a female trio named the Pussywillows. She then took a yearlong break to attend the Disney character animation program, and when she returned, the Pussywillows recorded and released their only album, 1988's Spring Fever! The album unabashedly harked back to the pop and surf music of the early '60s, which helped earn the Pussywillows an opportunity to perform with Ronnie Spector at Madison Square Garden toward the end of 1990. The Pussywillows split up the following year, with Blake quickly assembling a new band, the Shitbirds. Blake was then hired as an animator and writer for The Ren & Stimpy Show, a gig that required her to move to Los Angeles. While there, she...