Andrea and her fiddles:
- 4-string French acoustic fiddle with Fishman pickup,
- 5-string electric translucent red Skyinbow fiddle/viola,
- 4-string electric Zeta violin with midi control,
- beater fiddle that she carved up (literally)
- 8-string red Washburn mandolin (yeah, not really a fiddle)
Influences
musicians, artists, courageous women, great songwriters, storytellers and people with something empowering to say. I love to connect with people and their cultures through their music and art, their philosophy and stories. the deeper I go, the more I can see the common roots we all share.
Current musical influences: Richard Greene, Apocalyptica, Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Loreena McKennitt, Dream Theater, early Metallica, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Vassar Clements, Gilles Apap, Stephane Grappelli, Darol Anger, Mark OConnor, Yehudi Menuhin, BB King, Sugarcane Harris, Stuff Smith, Natalie MacMaster, Bob Dylan and Scarlet Rivera, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Linkin Park, Alison Krauss, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Dixie Dregs, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sarah Mclachlan, Regina Carter, Billy Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Sam Bardfeld, Edith Piaf, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, ZZ Top, Danny Elfman, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (music through words)
...and in memory of Patrick Lubow and his thousand guitars, an amazing guitar player who was a real influence on my playing: "There is only one note if you really listen. Play forever."
your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it -- Buddha
what we play is life -- Louis Armstrong
Under every deep, a lower deep opens -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Eclecticism is the word. Like a jazz musician who creates his own style out of the styles around him, I play by ear -- Ralph Ellison
Go on; don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine -- Beethoven
This bridge will only take you halfway there, to those mysterious lands you long to see. Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair, and moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share the twisting trails and wonderous worlds Ive known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there. The last few steps you have to take alone -- Shel Silverstein
The most potent muse of all is our own inner child –- Stephen Nachmanovitch
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up -– Pablo Picasso
I shut my eyes in order to see –- Paul Gauguin
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose -- Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel
Creative work is play. It is free speculation using the materials of one’s chosen form –- Stephen Nachmanovitch
The purpose of art is not a rareified, intellectual distillate – it is life, intensified, brilliant life –- Alain Arias-Misson
Don’t fight darkness. Bring the light & darkness will disappear — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Every human being is capable of the universe -- Thomas Aquinas
All big things in this world are done by people who are naive and
have an idea that is obviously impossible -- Dr. Frank Richards, English Writer
If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, come in. A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. If you are a pretender, come in, for we have flax-golden tales to spin -- Shel Silverstein
There is a vitality; a life force, a quickening
That is translated through you into action,
And because there is only one of you in all time,
This expression is unique.
If you block it,
It will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
Nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly,
To keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.
You have to keep open and aware directly
To the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open.
No artist is pleased.
There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.
There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction,
A blessed unrest that keeps us marching
And makes us more alive than the others.
--Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille
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sometime not so long ago, Andrea steered herself off the classical violin path and started on a journey through uncharted fiddle space with her red 5-string electric viola/fiddle, gathering inspiration from the amazing musicians she's jammed with along the way. She's played with blues musicians, Scottish fiddlers, bluegrass legends, Arabian/Turkish/bellydance bands (rocking those microtones) and several rock and alternative bands in the L.A. area. She's currently rocking out with Honkystomp, a hard rock band based in L.A., The Evangenitals: "Alt-country love punk rock", and Saffron Parade, an Arabian/Turkish bellydance band with jazz influences.
check out Andrea on FOX TV with Honkystomp: http://nextgreatband.msn.com/ngb/video/week1
scroll down to "Honkystomp" and click "watch video"
Hey Andrea! Nice to hear from you and thanks for your comment! I will be in sweden for the most of the time this autum but you..ll never know...:-) Hope your gigg will be great! Say hi to Ben from me.
Hi Andrea! That was a sweet comment - thank you, I'm really glad you enjoy it. You know that I feel fortunate and honored to be playing with you. Tuesday, it is. Take care, Reggie
Hey fellow fiddler Andrea! I don't know if you remember i wrote you when you were on "americas best band" ...my friends "mezcal" from Fresno were also on there. Anyway, if your not busy Come and Join us at The Mint this Sunday!
Hey, Ben here. First and formost, thank you for your friendship!, I would also like to invite you over to my main page:www. myspace. com/thebenrobinsonband
Hi Andrea! So happy to meet you and that you came to Sweden... :) Hope you guys had a great time in Europe!!! Hopefully you will come back soon so we can spend much more time! great music!! Love! Lina
