Born and raised in
Norway, Chris "Kid" Andersen moved to
California to pursue a career in the blues in
2001 at the age of 21. He quickly became a staple
of the thriving West Coast Blues scene, just as
he had been a vital part of the Scandinavian Blues
scene for years already.
He currently plays in the touring band of harmonica
legend Charlie Musselwhite and also tours with
sax great Terry Hanck and harp ace RJ Mischo as
well as the up and coming harpist and vocalist
extraordinaire John Nemeth.
With all this sideman work, you'd think the Kid
would never have time to do his own thing, but
you would be wrong! With the 2003 release of his
solo debut "Rock Awhile", Kid
Andersen established himself firmly as an artist
in his own right. He received world wide praise
for his guitar chops as well as his soulful voice.
He blends a multitude of different influences
from all fields of music into a singular, unmistakable
style that is all blues, but more importantly,
all Chris Andersen.
His guitar playing has been compared to the very
best from the West coast as well as having strong
echoes of string benders BB King, Otis Rush and
early Peter Green. He plays with great fluency
and feel and remains completely unpredictable
at all times. His wild, racing intensity have
had him likened to Buddy Guy and his intense vibrato
is something that simply must be heard. His heartfelt
vocals have been described as a cross between
Peter Green and Otis Rush, yet both his guitar
and singing voices remain all the way his own.
"Rock Awhile" is a tour de force of
different blues styles, all linked and blended
together by this young man's eschewed mind.
Chris "Kid" Andersen first caught a
break in the music field when he joined the first
house band at the famous blues club "Muddy
Waters" in Oslo, where he first got the chance
to back up a string of American Blues Greats.
This is where he met Terry Hanck, who brought
him stateside to Santa Cruz California. Since
then, the Kid has toured all over the US and Canada
as well as Scandinavia, Mexico and even Russia!
Andersen wouldn't be caught dead with anything
but a top notch band, because the players he uses
have to really stay on their toes to keep up with
this wild man crazy antics. In his live shows
Kid Andersen can go from a New Orleans Rocker
into a low down Chicago blues in the blink of
an eye. He can throw the audience a curveball
in the form of a psychedelic surf workout and
the in the next second he'll bring it home with
a smooth West Coast shuffle, and yet he manages
to tie it all in together and keep it all swinging
at all times.
Watch out for this man, he's one of the West
coasts best secrets, but not for long!
Peter Brown, president, Blue Soul Records |
