Who is Regina Spektor?

Regina Spektor. You may or may not recognize that name. She isn't quite a household name yet, but she is sure making a name for herself, having appeared on late night shows such as Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. Her music has also been featured in such television shows as CSI: New York, Grey's Anatomy, and Criminal Minds. But if you only listen to mainstream, you won't find her there. Spektor is in with New York's anti-folk crowd, crediting The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Chopin as her main influences.

Born in Moscow, Russia in 1980, Spektor was exposed to music early on. Her mother was a music professor at a Russian college and her father was a photographer and an amateur violinist. They exposed her to classic music such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues, while also putting her through piano lessons. While in Russia, she also traded cassette tapes with friends.

In 1989, when Regina was only nine years old, the Spektor family decided to leave Russia for political and religious reasons in a time that Jewish citizens were allowed to emigrate. However, the decision came after much hesitation. Regina's piano lessons were very important to the family, and they would have to leave the piano behind. Once they made the ultimate decision, they moved first to Austria, and then to Italy before settling in The Bronx, New York.

While in the United States, Regina continued taking piano lessons through a friend of her father's. They no longer had a personal piano, so she settled for practicing on a piano in the basement of her synagogue. She didn't become interested in songwriting until, in her teens, she went on a trip to Israel with the Nesiya Institute. It was on one of their hiking trips that she began making up her own songs, piquing the interest of other hikers. She realized, then, that she had a talent for song writing. She was introduced to the music of other singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Ani DiFranco after her trip, and she decided that she could create her own songs and follow the same path. When she was sixteen, she began writing her own a capella songs, as a step in that direction. Two years later, at age eighteen, she began writing songs for voice and piano.

After graduating from Fair Lawn High School in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, she attended a four year composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in Purchase, New York. She finished this four year program in three, and graduated with honors in 2001. She started playing shows around the New York area. She played at places such as East Village's Sidewalk Café, The Living Room, Tonic, Fez, The Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery. This earned her recognition in the anti-folk community of musicians and fans. At these shows, she sold the albums that she'd previously self-produced: 11:11 and Songs. Her big chance to showcase her music came when she toured with The Strokes on their 2003-2004 Room on Fire tour.

Since that tour, she's appeared on such late night shows as Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, and Carson Daly. She's also had the opportunity to perform her music on CBS News Sunday Morning and The UK's Loose Women. Even prime time television shows such as Grey's Anatomy and CSI: New York have picked up songs from her to use in their episodes.

Regina Spektor has come a long way. Not just from Russia to the United States, but in a musical sense as well. Going from a little girl taking piano lessons and practicing on a piano that her grandfather gave her mother, to playing for thousands and being voted #3 on VH1's Top Artists Charts. Hopefully we'll see more of Regina in the coming years.