He was born 7 December 1973 and raised in Celbridge, County Kildare Ireland. Before he started his own solo-career, he was a member of the rock band "Jupiter" which later became Bell X1. In this band, he released 2 singles and 1 album. However, Rice became disenchanted with the label and left the band to pursue a solo career. When he start his own career, he form a band with new members. For example, Lisa Hannigan is famous for featuring Damien Rice's songs like "Cold water", "9 crimes" and so on.