Christina Horn
Jen Rock
Rachel Schlafer-Parton
Nate Barrett
Christina Horn: piano, orche-synth, lead vocals Nate Barrett: drums and vocals Jen Rock:guitar and vocals Rachel Schlafer-Parton: flute, cello, vocals
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Influences
Low, Fleetwood Mac, Beethoven, Led Zeppelin, Billie Holiday, Chan Marshall, PJ Harvey, Grant Lee Buffalo, Bach, Jeff Buckley, Widespread Panic, Herbie Hancock, The Grateful Dead, Bjork, Portishead, The Pixies, Neil Young,
Biography
Perhaps it was the definitiveness of genre with which she started her musical endeavor which lead Christina Horn, a.k.a. Hudson K, to her current style of genre-dissolving anti-pop piano rock. Listening to her music, you can’t help but guess that the classical masters trained her technical eyes and ears. But when she first heard Tori Amos in the early 90's, it occurred to her that she had options beyond teaching piano lessons and and accompanying the church choir. She has been compared to Amos by music journalists in her native Knoxville and she will not deny the strength of Amos’s influence on her ambition; however, she has poured her own earthiness into her style and created a sound that is uniquely hers. This sound first found a home behind the vocals of fellow Knoxville musician Matt Urmy in the short-lived but loved local indie outfit Teleskope.
The dissolution of Teleskope in 2005 left Horn wondering if it were possible for her to front a band, rather than just support one. It didn’t hurt that her life, at the time of the Teleskope’s parting, was whirling in the heartache and despair of the increasingly common quarter life crisis: the kind of tragedies of which beautiful music is so often made. After calling-off her own wedding, selling her new home and all her belongings, she began writing what she knew. Then she brought it where she could, usually to the smoky bars in downtown Knoxville, or any other corner where she could fit her keyboard.
It was in a garage at a party when Horn overheard and old friend singing a cappella; the two had performed together years earlier, in music school, while both were learning to perfect the classical music they were, years later, eagerly leaving behind. Unlike Horn, Bost was a vocalist by training, and was working as a sound engineer. That night sparked a relationship between the two ladies that catalyzed a series of shows and finally Hudson K’s first album.
Mutual friend and Teleskope drummer Nate Barrett, already a well-established local musician with regular spots with Artvandalay, Sarah Schwabe and her Yankee Jazz Band, and other Knoxville regulars, soon added percussion and more harmony to the act. Their first album, Safety Line, was independently released in early 2007, launching a series of performances over the following summer in Knoxville and surrounding southern cities. The first live and print reviews were kind to the group’s effort. But by the fall of 2007, the band had evolved into something distinctly more professional than the talented but newborn trio who had recorded that first album. Horn, Bost, and Barrett were all developing individually, but they were doing so in a way that only brought the band to a smarter and more expressive cohesion.
Bands evolve. Fate played a favorable hand and put the trio on stage at the Laurel Theater to perform music for Primitive Light, a yearly production put on by Knoxville’s Circle Modern Dane. Thanks to the collaborative spirit of the Circle dancers and their fellow musicians, a new relationship was born. Hudson K was introduced to Jen Rock and Rachel Schlafer-Parton. Rock, a bona-fide Kentucky girl, got her start as a member of the psychedelic folk outfit Deek Hoi. The match was obvious and Jen took to the task, jumping on board for Hudson K’s regional tours. Parton, who admits she is kin to Dolly, inspired the group with virtuosic flute solos at the Laurel Theatre and was immediately asked to join the band.
What began as a trio with acoustic guitar and piano-centered sound has morphed into a quartet with the power of an electric orchestra behind it. If their sounds of late on the local scene are any indication of what’s to come, Knoxville had better stay tuned: Hudson K may just be pioneering of the emergence of a sound and a scene that this southern city will soon be proud to claim as it’s own original creation.
Groovy. I've met a couple of Knoxville musicians before but it's been a while. I wanted to see if y'all have played JJ's Bohemia down here. You'd be perfect there. I was also wondering if you guys know of any venues up your way that book solo acts.
Good to see you last night!!!! I want you to know that you mean the world to mee and it thrills my heart to see that you are doing so good. I love your music. I'm glad I had a part in making you what you are b/c you've sure put your stamp on me. You have some great musicians surrounding you and I know they feel the same way. Your opinion means alot to me and I miss playing tunes and singin' with you. You Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dude, I've been working nonstop lately so just got your message last night. When is Windows Over the Cumberland? How are things? And, as regional manager of the club, welcome to single status! Also, when can fans expect a new Hudson K album??? Miss you, woman. You've got to come see my new place next time you're in town.
Hola, curly-headed friend! What are the details of this Cafe Coco opportunity? I am supposed to do this thing Thursday, but if I can swing it, I want to stop in, visit, and show some love. It's just been too long since I've seen you!