Lucas Silveira
This biographical article is written encyclopedic . (July 2021) |
Lucas Silveira | |
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Tommy Boy Entertainment | |
Website | thecliks.com |
Lucas Silveira is a Canadian vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario.[3][4] He has composed and performed folk music and rock music, and formed and played in the band The Cliks. Silveira is credited as the first openly transgender man to have signed with a major record label.[5] He also writes about LGBTQ issues.
Biography
Silveira was born in
As a child, he knew that he was a boy. He cites his first memory of realizing his body didn't align with his gender identity was at the age of four. Growing up, he identified as a female and as a lesbian. In 2004, he came out to himself, family, and friends as a transgender man.
In 2010 he began hormone replacement therapy.[7][8]
Career
Silveira started performing at the age of 18. He recorded two solo albums under his former name and before transitioning to male. Both were independently recorded and released. The first album is titled Perhaps and the second is titled Radio Friendly.
Silveira founded
Silveira was the first openly transgender man signed to a major label record deal in 2006, at the age of 33.[10][5] Before coming out as transgender, Silveira composed and performed folk music.[6] After coming out, however, he shifted his focus to rock music.[6] Describing his shift from folk to rock music, Silveira says, "When I finally came out as being trans, I found myself freer to explore that darker, more hard-core side, and my songwriting started getting heavier and heavier."[6]
In 2007,
Starting in September 2009 and ending in April 2016, Silveira began releasing popular cover songs on YouTube. Starting with Wham!'s song "Freedom"[12] and also covered artists like Robyn, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake.[8] When asked why he started this project, he explained that he did it for the sake of "doing a cover every like couple of weeks”.[6] When his hormone replacement therapy began in 2010, viewers both began asking for recordings of the covers as well as asking questions about his changing voice. Silveira has not only been described as a role model for other transgender singers,[13] but his covers on YouTube “enabled listening practices that reimagine engagement with contemporary musical archives and the temporality of trans experience.”[12] However, upon reflecting on this early success with a major label, he was shocked that "the band quickly hit a glass ceiling" where the "main focus wasn’t on my music. It was very much on my gender identity."[5]
In 2021, Silveira was announced as one of the hosts of the transgender-themed fashion makeover series Shine True for OutTV and Fuse.[14]
Activism
In 2011, he appeared with Ian Harvie and Selene Luna, in Buck Angel's documentary Sexing the Transman, investigating the sexuality of transgender men and the change in their sexual behavior after they transitioned.[15]
Silveira has written and published articles around LGBT identity, specifically transgender identity. In May 2013, Silveira published an article with
In 2016, Silveira wrote two pieces for SamaritanMag. His October 2016 article titled "Filmmaker Captures Reactions of His Family and Friends in Coming Out Doc", Silveira interviews Alden Peter on his documentary Coming Out. In the article, Silveria asks Peter about his desire to
In April 2017, Silveira published a piece on SamaritanMag titled "Q&A: the Cliks’ Lucas Silveira interviews Fellow Transgender Rock Singer Laura Jane Grace". In the article, he interviews
References
- ^ "Warner Music Canada LTD". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Canada: Historica Canada. September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Rayner, Ben (May 24, 2007). "A band that Cliks". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ a b Nunn, Jerry (March 27, 2013). "Lucas Silveira Sticks with The Cliks". Windy City Times.
- ^ "The Cliks". The Cliks. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ a b c 0’Kane, Josh (June 5, 2015). "How T. Thomason is claiming a stake in the music world – and helping other transgender artists do the same". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ .
- ^ TAP Exclusive Interview: The Cliks’s Lucas Silveira. The Audio Perv (2010-09-05). Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
- ^ a b Stylianou, Savoula (2013-09-17). "A voice for diversity". The Queen's University Journal. Kingston, ON. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Krewen, Nick (April 23, 2013). "Cliks lead singer Lucas Silveira changes tune on Black Tie Elevator". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "Finding His Voice". 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ Harper, Kate (2010-01-13). "Avril Lavigne, LIGHTS, Tegan And Sara, Cliks, Franz Ferdinand, Sloan Winners In 15th Annual Year End Readers' Poll". Chart Attack. Canada. Archived from the original on 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ ISBN 9781317042044. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ProQuest 1874694775.
- ^ Greg David, "OUTtv and Fuse announce premiere date and cast for Shine True". TV, eh?, February 11, 2021.
- ^ Ford, Akkadia (2014). "Transliteracy and the New Wave of Gender-diverse Cinema". Fusion. 5.
- ^ "I'm Trans, I Get Bullied, I'm Fighting Back". The Huffington Post. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ "Why We Need to Talk About Caitlyn Jenner". The Huffington Post. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ "Q&A: Filmmaker Captures Reactions of His Family and Friends in Coming Out Doc". Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ "Q&A: Film Director Adam Garnet Jones Explores Unique First Nations Theme". Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ "Transgender voices on Bill C-16 and the struggles that led to it". CBC News. Canada. May 18, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "Q&A: the Cliks' Lucas Silveira interviews Fellow Transgender Rock Singer Laura Jane Grace". Archived from the original on 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-04-18.