Biography
He has the rare ability to conjure entire vistas and characters in no more than a couple of lines. His songs are music as landscape, timeless tales that instantly take root in your mind as though they've been there forever. In fact, if Annie Proulx wrote songs she would sound like Nels Andrews." Americana UK
"I’m already backed up with posts that I want to share with you. But none are as important to me as this one about Nels Andrews new record.
For his 2005 debut Nels harnessed the sounds of the desert; here on Off Track Betting he’s kept that basic sound but tampered with it somewhat by adding some odd instruments and assorted percussion . These changes are probably in part due to his recent move to NYC and the addition of a known producer in Todd Sickafoose. The new sounds mimic some of what you might hear in a busy city so that makes sense. "
-songs:illinois
Irish Times ****
“These songs report from the edge of heartbreak on a world of fevered intensity….. Moody, intense, thoughtful and very good!”
Chicago Sun Times ****
“While his sound may remind some listeners of other talented young minstrels such as Amos Lee and Andrew Bird, Andrews, paints with a more delicate touch. His canvas may suggest large Southwestern landscapes or a vast desert of yearnings, yet the beauty of his work is in the tiny details. ”
“Dramatic tension songs of America, you really should check out Nels!” Peter Case
A singer and songwriter who earned his chops hanging out with some questionable characters in his time, Nels Andrews released his first album, Sunday Shoes, independently in 2005. The album was critically well received, earning plaudits from BBC Radio soon after its release. Eventually, Andrews was able to parlay his critical success into gigs at prominent festivals in Europe, which he managed to play while maintaining a regular job in construction in his home of Albuquerque. Andrews eventually signed a deal with Reveal Records, and with an indie all-star band -- one that included Ani DiFranco bassist Todd Sickafoose, Wilco keyboardist Michael Jorgensen, and drummer Ben Perowsky (who has worked with Joan as Police Woman, Elysian Fields, and John Zorn, to name a few) -- in tow, Andrews recorded and released his second album, Off Track Betting. It saw release in February of 2008. ~ Chris True, All Music Guide
Nels Andrews – “The last couple years for me have been a life in the margins, sleeping on floors and in parking lots, slipping in and out of bars and coffee shops in towns that barely knew I was there. I’d lived this marginal life before, in my early twenties, chasing Kerouac down the road, working itinerant jobs in the canneries of Alaska and planting trees in the forests of South Dakota. In this way, my past laid the road before me, easing the transition from the between years, when I was deep-rooted in the desert, to the well-worn boots of a troubadour, the one’s I’ve been wearing lately. I’ve found a romantic optimism that comes from distance, and saw it in the Off Track Betting house downstairs from my apartment in Brooklyn."
When I landed last year in this new big city hometown, I was hit with a whole new set of textures, and rhythms; to counter these I sought solace in abandoned piers and rooftops, replacing the mesas and sagebrush oceans of New Mexico.
Nels was recently invited to compete as a finalist in the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubador songwriting contest, and emerged triumphant he is proud to have been chosen as the first place winner, this year's Troubador. Similarly, he was surprised and honored to join the ranks of Lucinda Williams, Slaid Cleaves, Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett as a NewFolk winner at the 2002 Kerrville Folk Festival, running as the 'dark horse contender' according to judge David Massengill. Nels has been showcased at the 2004
and 2008 Americana Music Association Convention in Nashville as well as at the North American Folk Alliance conference. He has also been invited to perform as an Emerging Artist at the 2006 Falconridge Folk Festival in New York.
The debut album Sunday Shoes was released nationally in Jan 05, and in the EU in Spring of that same year. Sunday Shoes was deemed by BBC 2's legendary DJ Bob Harris as an album of the year, and went on to be listed in the top 5 of the year end Americana UK charts, as well as KRO Dutch National Radio, Altcountry NL, Ctrl Alt Country (Belgium), and the European Radio Americana Chart . Sunday Shoes continues to find itself in Top Ten albums of the year lists, almost always as the only independent release.
Nels has since shared stages across Europe with the likes of Slaid Cleaves, Kevin Kinney, The Handsome Family, and John Dee Graham, and 2005 found him playing the mainstage at Holland's TakeRoot festival, the Big Big Country festival in Glasgow, Scotland, The Orange/Vodaphone Evolution festival in Newcastle, England, and the Thirsty Ear Festival in his home state of New Mexico.
With producer Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco, Erin McKeown), Andrews assembled a band that includes Sickafoose on bass, guitarist Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Amos Lee), keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco), vocalists Ana Egge and AJ Roach, and a talented crop of supporting musicians. "Sonically, I learned to push the edges in the exploration of acoustic music with Todd Sickafoose” says Andrews. “He had the vision to help me turn these sketches and storylines into cinematic shorts while keeping the desert places of the Southwest and cityscapes in the sounds. We recorded most of the tracks live to 2” tape. Having the musicians all in one room kept a real organic nature to the record.” Off track betting was released March '08 in UK, IRE, Norway, Sweden and Denmark on UK indie label Reveal Records, and Self-released, july '08 in the US.
2002 Kerrville Newfolk Winner
2004 Americana Music Association Showcasing Artist
2006 Folk Alliance Official Showcasing Artist
2006 Telluride Troubador Winner
2006 Emerging Aritist Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
2006 Mountain Stage Newsong winner
2006 ISC International Songwriting Competition semi-finalist
2007 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Finalist
2008 Folk Alliance Official Showcasing Artist
2008 Americana Music Association Showcasing Artist
2008 CMJ Official Showcasing Artist
2009 Folk Alliance Official Showcasing Artist
Festivals / places of note:
Take root festival Assen, Netherlands
Blue Highways presents : Vrendenburg, Netherlands
Paradiso Theater: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Evolution/ Orange Festival: Newcastle, UK
Big Big Country Festival, Oran Moor, Glasgow, UK
The Borderline London, UK
Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, UK
Thirsty Ear Festival Santa Fe, NM
Rocky Mountain Folks Festval Lyons, CO
Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride, CO
Kerrville Wine and Music Festival, Kerrville, TX
Shared stage: Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Jon Dee Graham, Handsome Family, Centromatic, Slaid Cleaves, Kevin Kinney, The Mavericks, Tim Easton, Ian Moore, Ricky Lee Jones, Eliza Gilkyson, The Decemberists, Sean Hayes, Drive By Truckers, The Eels, David Olney,Anais Mitchell, Kris Delmhorst, Ben Kweller, Danny Schmidt, Ana Egge, AJ Roach
Booking:
US Laura Thomas ComboPlate Booking
phone 512.423.7667 | fax 512.448.1443
email: comboplate at austintx dot net
UK Tom Rose Reveal Agency
REVEAL RECORDS
PO BOX 7535 , DERBY,
DE1 0NF.
Tel. 01332 552220
www.reveal-records.com
t: 01332 349242
f: 01332 349141
e: tomreveal@mac.com
Benelux & France- Lucky Dice music
info@luckydicemusic.com
Inquiries:
william (biff) Kennedy
charterhouse music group
kennedy@biffco.com
Instrumentation
Todd Sickafoose- acoustic bass
Rich Hinman - pedal steel
Mikael Jorgenson ARP, Farfisa, hammond
Adam Levy- Guitar
Ben Perowsky Drums
Brandon Seabrook mandolin, banjo loop guitars.. noise
Nels Andrews vocals, guitars
Discography
Some Pig 2001 (self)
Sunday Shoes
2004 Little Kiss Records, Lucky Dice Netherlands
2005 Catamount Records, Shellsock, Fish, UK
All 10 tracks recieved heavy airplay folk/americana radio
2006 Duct tape and Whisky split single w/ aj roach
2007 American Meth Soundtrack (Val Kilmer)
2008 'Off Track Betting' Reveal Records (UK), Lucky Dice (NL), self (US)
2008 "The New Twang" Universal Records Australia
featured song -'Milk And Honey'
2008 "Before The Goldrush" Contemporary Songwriters cover their musical forbearers in the spirit of mentorship, proceeds benefitting Teach for America.
"I Hope I don't Fall in Love With You" by Tom Waits, also featuring tracks by Neko Case, Okkervil River, Pieta Brown, The Swell Season, William Fitzimmons, Tracy Bonham, and others.
Links
| http://www.nelsandrews.com |
| Dutch Presskit |
| myspace |
| "lady of the silver spoon" live holland |
| Reveal Records |
| "sunday shoes" live holland |