KRISTIN ANDREASSEN

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What they say...

Kristin Andreassen is an award-winning songwriter & multi-instrumentalist hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Best known as a member of the “all g’Earl” stringband Uncle Earl, Kristin’s diverse career ranges from warp-speed clogging routines (with Annapolis-based Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble) to lava lamp singalongs (with her band Sometymes Why, a “folk noir” vocal trio that features vocals with quiet ukulele & glockenspiel accompaniment).

As a songwriter, she draws inspiration from old-time a cappella singing styles for songs like “Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color for Your Eyes” & “Easy in the Early” (John Lennon Song Contest 2007 Grand Prize for children’s music & Finalist for gospel). Also included on her independent solo release Kiss Me Hello are a collection of colorfully orchestrated acoustic pop tunes – with a dash of musical theater thrown in for smiles.

Kristin’s mentors include heroes of the acoustic scene (Nickel Creek bassist Mark Schatz produced her solo album), as well as the rock & pop world (Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones produced the current Uncle Earl release). She’s equally at home at Clifftop (a West Virginia fiddlers convention with one tiny stage & a lot of camping tents) and at Bonnaroo (the country’s largest rock festival, where she played in ’07 & ’08 with Uncle Earl & then with Sometymes Why).

Bands I play with...

SOMETYMES WHY >> Releasing Your Heart is a Glorious Machine on Signature Sounds in early 2009. Produced by Jose Ayerve (yes, of Spouse and the Winterpills!). www.sometymeswhy.com.

UNCLE EARL >> Released Waterloo, Tennessee on Rounder Records in March '07. Produced by John Paul Jones (yes, of Led Zeppelin!). Taking time off in 2009. www.uncleearl.net.

THE JOLLY BANKERS >> A recording collective in hibernation (until further notice). I absolutely love the two quirky/arty/old-timey/poppy albums we made together. www.jollybankers.com.

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Recent happenings...

DANCING AT THE RYMAN >> I had a blast in October dancing with Sharon Leahy and Emma Leahy-Good (of the Dayton dance company Rhythm in Shoes). We were guests with The Steep Canyon Rangers, who played a song at the IBMA (Bluegrass) awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium (original location of the Grand ol' Opry and all that stuff). The stage was perfect, as you would expect. It has been fun to dust off my dancing shoes this fall (I also did a festival with Footworks in Boston in September!!).

SWEETBACK SISTERS >> Recorded two of my songs on their upcoming release. "The Red Shoes Blues" and "Virginia Is For Lovers" (co-written with Mary Lucey of the Biscuit Burners. Yeah, I know, you've never heard those songs before because they're the first to perform them! The Sweetback Sisters are a great band and I'm really proud that they chose my songs to sing. Check them out.

UNCLE EARL MUSIC VIDEO >> My stringband's video for the song "Streak o' Lean, Streak o' Fat" was a big YouTube hit last year and even won the CMT 12-pack viewer's choice poll one week. The video, co-conceptualized by yours truly and Director Tom Krueger, features a whole bunch of cloggers and one physical comedian battling it out Kung Fu style in a Chinese restaurant (while Abigail Washburn of Uncle Earl shouts lyrics to a Georgia fiddle tune in Chinese!). See it at uncleearl.net. Full credits to all my dancer friends who volunteered for this project are also listed on the web site. 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR >> Uncle Earl was honored with Folk Alliance Album of the Year for Waterloo, Tennessee. Hooray! 

"CRAYOLA" >> Won Children's Song of the Year in the John Lennon Song Contest. 

"EASY IN THE EARLY ('TIL SUNDOWN)" >> On the new Uncle Earl record. Was one of three Finalists for Gospel/Inspirational Song of the Year in the John Lennon Song Contest. 

KISS ME HELLO >> My latest solo album, produced by Mark Schatz, came out officially in 2007. Listen & buy at CD Baby. See lyrics & album notes here.

"EVEN THE LOST CREEK" >> My song "Even the Lost Creek" (co-written with Dan Rose of Elephant Revival Project) is the title track of Laura Cortese's solo record. 

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& still more about me...

Before I got really busy with my bands Uncle Earl & Sometymes Why, I used to work full-time with Maryland's Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble. I performed and taught percussive dance for kids of all ages around the world (percussive dances are dances that make rhythm -- like clogging, tap, Irish & Canadian stepdance & body percussion). As a dancer, I've worked with some incredible artists like The Duhks (& Scruj MacDuhk in the old days!), Lunasa, and most recently Shoefly (the new project from Dayton dance company Rhythm in Shoes).

I grew up in Portland, Oregon. 

I went to college in Canada, and I got hooked on traditional music & dancing while living on Cape Breton Island (in Nova Scotia).

You still want to know more? 

My birthday is May 9th. I enjoy red rooms, green tea, orange flowers, and... I painted an '81 Honda Civic yellow and it ran until 2003. 

Stay tuned,
K

 

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