It's not just Barack Obama who is drawn to Will Sheff's music, Lou Reed was a massive fan as well. Like his mentor Lou Reed, Sheff is a bit of a polymath, but best known for being the lead singer for the indie darling rock band Okkervil River straight out of Austin, Texas. Sheff is also an artist and prolific and pithy writer. You can check out his drawings on his website and read his essays on art and fiction in McSweeney’s, The Talkhouse, Magnet, Billboard, and the Austin Chronicle, where he worked as a film critic for a spell. In 2010, Sheff’s liner notes for the Roky Erickson album True Love Cast Out All Evil, which he also produced, were nominated for a Grammy. I didn't even know liner notes could win a Grammy! More recently, Sheff directed, composed the music and wrote the script for the indie film Down Down the Deep River, which reflects on his childhood of growing up in the 1980’s.

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