Kristin Andreassen
Kristin Andreassen | |
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Background information | |
Born | 1976 or 1977 (age 47–48) |
Origin | Portland, Oregon |
Genres | Old-time music, folk, indie pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, dancer, square dance caller, camp director |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, fiddle, body percussion, vocals, harmonica, keyboards, banjo, ukulele |
Years active | 1999–present |
Website | kristinandreassen |
Kristin Andreassen (born 1976 or 1977 (age 47–48))[1] is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, old time musician and educator. Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee,[2] she started her music career as a professional clogger with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble and in the early 2000s joined the folk bands Uncle Earl and Sometymes Why as a vocalist, dancer, songwriter, guitarist. She is known for using body percussion and dance in live performances.
In 2007 she released her first solo album, Kiss Me Hello, which was produced by Mark Schatz (Nickel Creek). The opening track "Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes" won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the Children's Category,[3] also becoming a hit on children's radio despite the fact that the overall album was intended for adult listeners. Since charting on Sirius XM’s Kids' Place Live,[4] the song has been covered by artists including Tyne Daly. Andreassen's second full-length solo album, Gondolier, was released on February 17, 2015.
With her bands, Andreassen has performed at festivals such as
Early life and education
Andreassen grew up in the
Music and dance career
1999–2006: Early years
Andreassen began professionally pursuing her interest in music and dance in 1999, when she was hired by Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble in
In December 2003 Andreassen joined the old-time music group Uncle Earl as a guitar player, dancer and singer.[8] She first met the founder of the group, mandolin player KC Groves at the Appalachian Stringband Music Festival (Clifftop) in West Virginia in the late 1990s. They had been friends for several years when Groves invited Andreassen to join the band officially, three years after it formed.[10]
When she joined, the lineup featured KC Groves, Abigail Washburn and Rayna Gellert,[2] and the group then recorded two EPs followed by two full-length albums with producers Dirk Powell and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Andreassen wrote the band's song "Pale Moon", which includes the lyric that became the title of their first Rounder Records release, She Waits For Night (2005). Her dancing feet can be heard on the Uncle Earl instrumental "Sisters of the Road," which was featured in the movie Cedar Rapids (2011).[11]
Andreassen became a founding member of the "
She continued to tour with the band as she started her career as a solo artist and singer-songwriter.2006–07: Singles and Kiss Me Hello
Her first solo album, Kiss Me Hello, was released in early 2007 on her own Yellowcar Music label. The eclectic album featured twelve original songs with influences from
External videos | |
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Music Video for "Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes" | |
Simmon – Kristin Andreassen with Aoife O’Donovan – Doug Fir Lounge |
In 2009, Andreassen made a music video for the Kiss Me Hello song "Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes."[3] Directed by Ballard C. Boyd, the video features a classroom of 2nd-graders[13] and became popular with educators.[2] The song went on to be covered by a number of artists, for example by Tyne Daly in her televised cabaret. Daly also performed a cover of the song at the 2009 MAC Awards. Other informal covers have been done by choirs, marching bands, and artists such as RedNo.5, Uncle Earl, Kick Up The Grass, Rather Be Giraffes, Ace's Angels, etc.[14] Andreassen's follow-up children's music project, The Bright Siders, is a collaboration with Brooklyn-based child psychiatrist Kari Groff and features songs on mental health issues for children.[2]
2007–13: Community projects, band albums
Also in 2007, the same year she won in the Children's Category at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Andreassen was nominated in the Gospel Category for composing the
External videos | |
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Music Video for "Streak o' Lean, Streak o' Fat by Uncle Earl (first filmed November 20, 2009) | |
Live Video on BBC: Uncle Earl, with Andreassen on guitar and dancing |
In 2007, Andreassen and filmmaker Tom Krueger created a music video for Uncle Earl featuring a
Uncle Earl took a break from touring in 2010, but played a reunion show at Planet Bluegrass’ Rockygrass Festival in July 2014.
Sometymes Why's second album, Your Heart is a Glorious Machine, was released in March 2009 on
Since moving to Brooklyn, New York in 2009, Andreassen began focusing on community projects as well. She co-founded a Monday night old time music session at the Lowlands Bar in 2010,[2] hosted a series of variety shows at the now-defunct Banjo Jim's in the East Village,[17] and taught dance and performed regularly at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn.[18] She became the co-director of Miles of Music Camp, an all-ages artist retreat she co-founded with Laura Cortese.[2] She also joined Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard for two European tours and one in America in 2012–2013.
2014–15: Gondolier
In 2014 she announced the upcoming release of her sophomore solo album Gondolier, with the full album due out on February 17, 2015.[19] A number of the album's tracks were made available for download along with pre-orders, and the first single, "Azalea," debuted on December 4 on CMT Edge, with the publication calling it a "delicate beauty" with a "sleepy, contented feel... backed by a gentle accompaniment of woodwinds."[20] A second song from the album, "The New Ground," premiered in December 2014 on PopMatters.[19]
Seven of ten tracks were produced by Robin MacMillan, and three were produced by Lawson White. Recorded in
Awards and nominations
- 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest – Grand Prize (Children's Category) for "Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes"
- 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest – Finalist (Gospel Category) for "Easy in the Early"
- 2008 Folk Alliance Album of the Year – Winner for Waterloo, Tennessee by Uncle Earl
- 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest – Finalist (Children's Category) for "Sad is Not Forever", co-written with Kari Groff[8]
Discography
Solo albums
- 2007: Kiss Me Hello
- 2013: 'Simmon – EP
- 2015: Gondolier
Collaborative albums
- With The Jolly Bankers
- 2003: Death & Taxes
- 2005: Tax Return
- With Uncle Earl
- 2004: Going to the Western Slope EP
- 2004: Raise a Ruckus EP
- 2005: She Waits for Night
- 2007: Waterloo, Tennessee
- With Sometymes Why
- 2005: Sometimes Why
- 2009: Your Heart is a Glorious Machine
Guest appearances
Selected albums featuring Andreassen:[23]
- 2003: Leave No Millionaire Behind by Pierce Woodward (vocals, background vocals)
- 2005: 'Til I Know by James Leva (foot percussion, vocal harmony)
- 2006: Pine by Laura Cortese (piano, vocal harmony)
- 2011: Rose Polenzani's The Rabbit (glockenspiel, harmony vocal)
- 2012: Tumbling Bones’ Schemes EP (harmony vocals)
- 2012: Take This Song With You by Maya and the Ruins (vocal harmony)
- 2013: Departure & Farewell by Hem (choir/chorus)
- 2014: Tony Trischka's Great Big World (harmony vocals)
Covers
Incomplete list of songs written/co-written by Andreassen as covered by other artists:
- 2006: "Like the Snow" – recorded by Lissa Schneckenburger on A Different Game
- 2006: "Even the Lost Creek" (co-written with Dango Rose) – recorded by Laura Cortese on Even the Lost Creek
- 2006: "The Shiny Penny" – recorded by Flynn Cohen on Mellow Yell
- 2009: "The Red Shoes Blues" – recorded by The Sweetback Sisters on Chicken Ain't Chicken
- 2009: "Virginia is For Lovers" (co-written with Mary Lucey) – recorded by The Sweetback Sisters on Chicken Ain't Chicken
- 2010: "Send me a Letter" – recorded by Joy Kills Sorrow on Darkness Sure Becomes This City
- 2011: "Pine" (co-written with Laura Cortese) – recorded by The Poison Oaks on Pine
- 2011: "The London Devil" (co-written with Laura Cortese & Pierce Woodward) – recorded by The Poison Oaks on Pine
- 2012: "Sad is Not Forever" (co-written with Kari Groff) – recorded by The Bright Siders
In film and TV
The following is an incomplete list of songs by Andreassen or her related ensembles, as included on film and TV:
- 2009: "The Sound Asleep" from Sometymes Why’s Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine was on ABC’s Private Practice Episode 310
- 2011: "Sisters of the Road" from Uncle Earl’s Waterloo, Tennessee was featured in the film Cedar Rapids
- 2014: "Daybreak" from Simmon EP was featured in the film Angel's Perch
See also
References
- ^ Reed, James (March 2, 2015). "Artist Recharges, Finds Her Voice". The Boston Globe. p. G5.
Andreassen's new sophomore album...a bold statement from the 38-year-old singer...
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "About". KristinAndreassen.com. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ a b "John Lennon Songwriting Contest". July 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
- ^ "Kindie-Chartin': Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live "13 Under 13"". ZooGlobble. June 17, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "A Prairie Home Companion for November 22, 2008". November 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
- ^ a b "Singer Kristin Andreassen returns home for concert". Hillsboro Tribune. November 22, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Pittman, David (December 11, 2008). "Interview with Kristin Andreassen". the shimmy shake. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kristin Andreassen". linkedin. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ Kristin Andreassen at World Music Central
- ^ About.com. Archived from the originalon July 11, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "Cedar Rapids". IMDb. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "Sometymes Why – Bonnaroo – Artists". Bonnaroo. April 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
- ^ "Kristin Andreassen – "Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes" on Vimeo". July 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ Tyne Daly at the MAC Awards: 'Crayola' playlist on Youtube
- ^ "Video". Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ Hendersom, Alex (March 10, 2009). "Your Heart Is a Glorious Machine". AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "Show Archive". kristinandreassen.com. 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "NYC Concert Recommendations for 2/2-2/10". Chris Miller. February 22, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ a b "Kristin Andreassen – "The New Ground"". PopMatters. December 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ Parton, Chris (December 4, 2014). "Kristin Andreassen casts 'Gondolier' Downstream Feb. 17". CMT Edge. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Gondolier Full Bio". KristinAndreassen.com. December 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ a b "Kristin Andreassen casts 'Gondolier' Downstream Feb. 17". Nick Losseaton. December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Kristin Andreassen". AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
Further reading
- "An Interview With Uncle Earl". About.com.
- "Interview with Kristin Andreassen". The Shimmy Shake. December 11, 2008.
External links
- Audio and video
- Kristin Andreassen on Bandcamp
- Kristin Andreassen on YouTube