andrea ball

here's the Link to the article below:

http://thisweekindenver.com/music/blog-andrea-balls-beat-beat-pound/

Andrea Ball’s first full-length arrived to greet the new year, and I actually saw it for the first time at Sarah boutique on Old Gaylord Street. The appearance at the women’s shop was appropriate, as the album, Beat Beat Pound, is just as uber-feminine andstylishly detailed as the rest of the store’s upscale, chic fare. The album is at once poetic and personal, with the Denver musician courting diary entry details in bleeding heart lyrics. Being the pronounced TV romance/drama addict that I am, I could already imagine the title track perfectly expressing all of the pulled heart strings and professional stresses on Grey’s Anatomy. Not that you have to have a uterus to relate…or a surgical internship.
Ball sets her thoughts to the tune of softened, piano-driven balladry that’s accompanied by expertly-barren drumming from Carl Sorenson and darkened rhythm guitar, also delivered from Ball. She bares herself on the album in the nuances of an affected singsong voice that’s as soft and floating as it is dusted and subtly sexual — like one of those great colds that suddenly transform you into a rasped-vox rock and roll star. With Ball, it seems like the clarity of her voice takes a tumble into a landslide of forgotten place and emotion, with the words sometimes coming in unintended, lost-in-thought reverie. Sort of where you land after listening for a while.
What’ll get the album on the airwaves, however, are the melodies that commit themselves to your memory without warning and the gigantic composition that fakes symphonic. Well that and all of Ball’s hard work. She’s playing several shows through the next couple of months, with an opening slot this Thursday for, yet another stunning Denver musician, Joshua Novak. I have to say that, with the writers strike finally over, I’m looking forward to a prime-time heartbreak.

- thisweekindenver.com

the link to the article below: http://www.getrealdenver.com/2008/04/03/cd-release-qa-andrea-ball/

Confessional, mood-driven songwriters are in no short supply, but one occasionally comes along that reminds you why it’s good to be on the receiving end of said confessions. That brings us to Andrea Ball. The Denver-based piano player and singer only went public with her music about a year ago, but she’s been tickling the ivories since she was eight, and playing guitar since 18.

A music performance major from CU-Denver, Ball crafts stately, spare, crystalline songs that wouldn’t sound out of place next to Cat Power, PJ Harvey or locals Bela Karoli. We spoke with Ball today in advance of her April 10th “Beat Beat Pound” CD release party at the Hi-Dive with Hello Kavita and John Common.


When did you stop playing classical music and start writing your own songs?

I had been writing music for a while, probably about five or six years, but then I just started to play for people and they liked it. I started writing music because I wanted to express myself, or sometimes because I got bored with playing classical music. Really, the first song I wrote was when I was like eight. I remember playing it for my piano teacher.

Do you enjoy playing live?

I do. It’s fun to play out here in Denver because it’s such a small market. It’s easy to get shows and it’s fun to be able to meet the other musicians in town and see what their shows are like too.

Do you have favorite local bands?

Bela Karoli and Paper Bird are some of my favorites. I just heard Achille Lauro and thought they were really good live.

How did your new CD come about?

It kind of just happened. I wasn’t planning on recording a CD or anything like that. One day one of my friends, Jeremy Larson, called and said, “I should record a CD for you,” and everything just worked out. Jeremy’s signed to Outlook Music and I met him through working there. He lives in Springfield, Missouri, so that’s where the music was recorded. But it wasn’t necessarily a goal or something I set out to specifically do.

Do you have any expectations for the CD?

I think whatever happens with it will be great. I would like to tour eventually a little bit more outside of Denver, but as far as the CD — it was just kind of unexpected.

Was it your first studio experience?

No, I’ve recorded several times since I was a music major, and actually recorded several different times at that studio on little projects. I also recorded an EP in Columbus, Ohio.

Your music’s pretty intimate, which raises the question: Are you more comfortable on stage or in the studio?

Playing live is much easier for me than recording. Capturing the feel of your song is a lot harder than you would imagine (in the studio).

What do you do when you’re not playing music?

I do a lot of independent contracted work from home, mostly marketing. I used to work for a record label (Outlook Music) and I quit about a year ago, so I’m just trying to find a new direction. I ran their street team and before that I worked or Universal Music.

Did working in the industry give you any perspective on promoting your own music?

Definitely. You see all these bands making it that are just not good at all, so you realize it’s more about marketing and making connections with people, and making relationships with people. That’s probably the most important aspect, especially in the music industry.

Thursday is your official CD release, but I’ve seen the disc at a few stores around town since January.

Yeah, I tried to get them in a few just to get my face out there. You can get it at Rejuvenest, Sarah’s, Tootsies, Unity Boutique, Twist and Shout and City o’ City.

Click here for more details about the CD release party, and here to listen to Andrea Ball’s music.


- Denver Post