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Will Toledo

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Will Toledo
Will Toledo in 2019
Will Toledo in 2019
Background information
Birth nameWilliam James Barnes
Also known as
  • Mortis Jackrabbit
  • Trait
  • Nervous Young Men
  • Car Seat Headrest
Born (1992-08-23) August 23, 1992 (age 31)[1][2]
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • Guitar
  • Keyboards
  • Bass
  • Drums
Member of
Formerly ofMr. Yay Okay
Websitehttps://carseatheadrest.com/

William James Barnes[3] (born 23 August, 1992), known professionally as Will Toledo, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer. He is the founder of the indie rock band Car Seat Headrest. He grew up in Leesburg, Virginia, and moved to Seattle, Washington in 2014 to pursue his music career.[4]

Car Seat Headrest

[edit]
Main article: Car Seat Headrest

Toledo started Car Seat Headrest as a solo project shortly after graduating from high school, choosing the name as he would frequently record his vocals in the back seat of his family's car for privacy.[5] He previously released music under other aliases, such as The 63rd Fret and Nervous Young Men.[6][7] He was also a member of the band Mr. Yay Okay. However, since he struggled to establish an audience through these projects, he chose to try to release more experimental songs anonymously.[8]

An image of the band Car Seat Headrest performing a live show at a venue called "The Showbox", with frontman Will Toledo prominently visible, and bassist Seth Dalby visible in the background. This image has been cropped into a square. Will Toledo is a white man with shaggy black hair and black frame glasses. He is holding a microphone on a stand and wearing a black t-shirt. There are stagelights in the background. This photo was taken 12 October 2018.
Will Toledo performing with Car Seat Headrest at The Showbox in 2018.

In Car Seat Headrest, Toledo provides vocals, guitar, piano, and synthesizers. Much of Toledo's songwriting is influenced by depression and mental illness.[9] Toledo is also apart of the music duo 1 Trait Danger with current Car Seat Headrest drummer Andrew Katz, they currently have released three albums together.[10][11]

Personal life

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Toledo graduated from Loudoun County High School in 2010,[12] and subsequently enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University. After one lonely semester, Toledo transferred to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he majored in English and minored in religious studies.[13][14] He graduated from William and Mary in 2014 and moved to Seattle, Washington to pursue Car Seat Headrest professionally. Toledo is gay[15] and is a member of the furry fandom.[15] He is one-fourth Mexican.[16]

Despite struggling with mental unrest, Toledo does not consider himself depressed or mentally ill.[9] He has previously faced autoimmune complications since early adulthood, and developed histamine intolerance after testing positive for COVID-19 while on tour in 2022.[15][17] He has since used social media to raise awareness for long COVID.[18]

Discography

[edit]

Car Seat Headrest

[edit]
Main article: Car Seat Headrest discography

As Nervous Young Men

[edit]
  • The Bell Jar (2008)
  • Boxing Day (2009)
  • Katzenjammer (2009)
  • The Loudness War (2009)
  • Nervous Young Men (2010)

Mr Yay Okay

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  • Mr. Yay Okay (2008, EP)[19]

1 Trait Danger

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  • 1 Trait High (2018)
  • 1 Trait World Tour (2019)
  • 1 Trait Bangers (2021)

Production

[edit]
Year Release Artist
2011 D'Urberville The Whiting Brothers
2012 Sleeping in Herndon Naked Days
2014 Chai Knees Naked Days
2015 Four Ways To Say Goodbye Forever American Holly
2017 Gold Connections Gold Connections
2019 Midnight Stef Chura
2021 My Head Hz Naked Days
How To Drive A Bus I've Made Too Much Pasta

References

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  1. ^ Person, Some. "Will Toledo". WeBlogy. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  2. ^ Glide. "Happy 30th Birthday - Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest". Glide Magazine. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Martin, Robey (June 27, 2017). "Q&A: Car Seat Headrest". richmondmagazine.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Swick, Shaun (December 23, 2015). "The Wunderkind: Will Toledo". City Arts Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Hsu, Hua (November 2, 2015). "How Musicians Get Famous Today". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  6. ^ "Music | Nervous Young Men". nervousyoungmen.bandcamp.com. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  7. ^ carseatheadrest. "car seat headrest". Tumblr. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  8. ^ carseatheadrest (June 29, 2018). Car Seat Headrest - I Haven't Done Sh*t This Year (TIDAL Documentary: Part One). Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ a b Domanick, Andrea (July 1, 2016). "A Long Drive with Car Seat Headrest". Vice. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "1 Trait Danger". 1 Trait Danger. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Meet Car Seat Headrest's Comedic Side Project 1 Trait Danger". Hard Noise. September 7, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Dellinger, Hannah (February 11, 2016). "Featured by Rolling Stone and NPR, Leesburg native Car Seat Headrest is having one heck of a year".
  13. ^ https://fbiradio.com/car-seat-headrest-interview-how-its-possible-to-make-it-through-college-and-release-thirteen-albums-by-age-23/
  14. ^ https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/car-seat-headrest-will-toledo-interview-kanye-west-7595913/
  15. ^ a b c "Car Seat Headrest's Will Toledo Takes Off the Mask". Paste Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  16. ^ https://carseatheadrest.tumblr.com/post/32594589484/are-you-mexican
  17. ^ https://x.com/carseatheadrest/status/1565410487105454082
  18. ^ https://x.com/carseatheadrest/status/1768748179384864944
  19. ^ https://www.discogs.com/artist/8218378-Mr-Yay-Okay
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