Elise Okusami

Elise started playing the guitar at the age of 9, when her father found a guitar on sale and decided it was a good deal and needed to be bought. Though she had taken piano lessons already, it was the guitar that really ignited her love of music. She began a band with her brother and some friends in the fourth grade, Sofa King, which, in various incarnations, played together until she and the drummer graduated high school. In high school she also played drums, bass, guitar, or screamed for a thrash punk band, the AKs, depending on what member they were missing that day. Elise also played in her high school jazz band.
After graduating from college, Elise spent a year at home in DC before moving to Brooklyn to pursue a career in music.

At the age of 24, Elise already has three full length albums in her oeuvre, as well as guesting on several others artists works. With Sofa King, Elise recorded two full-length albums, a self-titled and one named Cirkakular. Her first solo album, Tinkering, was self-released in 2009 and marks a bit of a departure from her earlier musical efforts. It is a mostly acoustic album, with catchy melodies and honest lyrics.