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SHORT VERSION:
Neal Medlyn, now residing in New York City, has performed in a variety of films, bands, dance pieces and plays, been a model
and a go-go dancer and continues to do some of these things. But most importantly, he is a Performer who presents his programs
in New York City, having at some time or another appeared in numerous U.S. cities and in Berlin Germany. His work has appeared
at the New Museum for Contemporary Art (THE NEAL MEDLYN EXPERIENCE LIVE! a re-enactment of Beyonce's 2007 concert DVD), Joe's Pub, PS122, Fez (Neal Medlyn, the Paris Hilton of Performance Art),
Ars Nova (Neal Medlyn's Lionel Richie Opera), the Knitting Factory, Galapagos Art Space (Neal Medlyn's Coming In The Air Tonight), on tour across the U.S. and as part of the TBA Festival in Portland, Oregon and the Philly Fringe.
He was honored with the title of Mr. Lower East Side in 2004 and starred opposite Karen Finley in "George and Martha" in New York and various places across the U.S. He has been discussed in the Onion, NPR's Here and Now, Gothamist, the Austin Chronicle, and the New York Times, in which he has appeared twice without his shirt on.
His original Internet TV show NEAL MEDLYN'S LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE was a cult sensation on Nerve.com. His dance moves have been featured in the work of choreographers Adrienne Truscott and David Neumann. He has written for
New York Magazine's website and Nerve.com about various things including but not limited to R. Kelly, Blind Date, bisexuality,
and Days of Our Lives (with John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats and Lisa Carver) among others. His book, Sexual Buttocks and his albums have been purchased by at least 10 people.
LONG VERSION:
Neal Medlyn was born May 21, 1975 in Palestine Texas. He attended kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades in Palestine before
moving to Brushy Creek and enrolling in Frankston ISD, from whence he graduated in 1993. As a child he listened to Madonna,
Michael Jackson, Herb Alpert and Culture Club. He recorded rap songs about Mozart and learned how to do a bunch of accents
for attention. He did not much enjoy junior high. In high school he was an active member of the theatre department, winning
some UIL awards, as well as a drummer for the high school marching band. He listened to Public Enemy and lots of house music
in his bedroom.
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| me swinging |
After graduating, he joined the theatre department at Kilgore College and did some acting as well as almost accidentally popping
his eye out with a screwdriver. He listened to Nirvana, Bikini Kill, and Bratmobile.
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| in Equus, Kilgore College 1995 |
He was hired to work for the Texas Shakespeare Festival as an apprentice actor and did so for three consecutive seasons. He
continued to mostly only take theatre courses at Kilgore College, ignoring his core requirements. It was during this time
that he began doing performances in his living room. He would sing songs all musical theatre style, really loud, and strip
or go off on weird stories. He was kinda into stream of consciousness stuff at the time, see, which makes his eyes roll now
to think about, but he had just read some books during his brief stint at the school library and we all make mistakes.
Around 1996 various things went very badly for Neal and he spent time lurking on top of trash cans, smoking cigarettes and
almost getting shot by cops. Neal subsequently moved home with his parents for a while and then stayed with various friends,
mostly Farris Craddock and Michelle Dean. He quit jobs and flailed about, generally trying to rebuild his life from the angsty
bullshit he had embraced for waaaaay too long. He listened to Hole and Leadbelly.
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| me rethinking some stuff in 1997 |
Soon, Neal and his friends began a band called My Sisters' Prom to play "unacceptable music from/for unacceptable people"
improvised, shitty, and noisy, but wishing and hoping for Pop or Rock purity. They hung out in Michelle's living room in nightgowns
and smoked cigarettes and listened to Sinead O'Connor and Sonic Youth. They would scream along with the rockin parts and play
a variety of toy instruments, and when the sad songs came on, they would sit quietly and be sad. They invented friends.
Later, Neal enrolled in Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches as a Sociology major, Spanish minor. Spending some weekends alone,
Neal ran upon a few people who were into the crazy music that he had begun to prefer. He ran across a noise band that wore
outfits and were just horrific and started a group with the bass player. He played open mics where he would beat his guitar
with drumsticks and play tapes and talk. He listened to Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, and Yoko Ono. After meeting Danny
McMahon, free jazz purveyor, Neal began playing more improvised music and eventually made a film out of the tiny avant garde
music scene in Nacogdoches. He listened to Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
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| MY SISTERS' PROM in Nacogdoches. There were probably four people there |
After receiving his Bachelor's from SFA, Neal and his friends moved to Austin Texas and briefly played in another music group.
Neal listened to Diamanda Galas, Witchypoo, and Free Kitten. A certain someone tied to said musical project turned out to
be lame and Neal quit everything. Wandering the streets for a few days, he decided to start doing shows alone in order to
do all the things he had really wanted to do on stage. Neal thusly decided to become a solo performer, the logical starting
place seeming to be open mike nights at local clubs which were largely geared toward poetry. Neal listened to Julie Ruin,
Le Tigre and Lionel Richie.
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| Farris, Me, and a certain someone. This is what avant-gardists look like. |
Averaging a show a week, Neal toured about town with his brand of happiness until deciding to branch out and stage full length
shows in non-traditional locales like parks. This decision was somewhat impacted by the fact that some local poets hated his
guts after he tore up a Kerouac book and stuffed it down his pants.
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| Neal destroying a Kerouac book at a poetry reading in 2000 |
After almost two years in Austin, Neal decided, along with famed writer Ada Calhoun, to move to Berlin, Germany. While there,
Neal checked out the scene, performed several shows and did various fun i'm-a-foreigner-and-i-have-no-idea-what-is-going-on
inspired acts, including wearing a green sweater, painting mustaches on his face, and then growing a real one as a science
project. He did a show while naked as this is what you do on the Continent.
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| my naked show in Berlin, before disrobing |
Due to the fact that jobs were hard to come by, as well as a deep abiding desire to live in wonderful New York City, Neal
moved back to the U.S. and began performing in New York all of the time.
He has subsequently been in the newspaper, created original video content for the internet, been named Mr. Lower East
Side, worked with the bright lights of contemporary New York art and amass a worldwide audience numbering at least in the
hundreds of millions.
This is where he is today!
For more on Neal, see the LINKS page.
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