Kiss Me Hello by Kristin Andreassen

DANNY KNICELY - Guitar. Bluegrass rockstar of Rockingham County.

AOIFE O'DONOVAN & RUTH UNGAR - Harmonies. Of The Mammals, Crooked Still & Sometymes Why (a band I'm also in)

ERIC MERRILL - Fiddle & Viola. A Boston man who kicks the ass of Irish & old-time styles alike.

OLIVER STECK - Piano & Trumpet. Austin physical comedian and wild card of note.

RUSHAD EGGLESTON - Cello. Of Crooked Still & The Wild Band of Snee.

FRANK RUSSO - Drums. Drumming Pro from Towson State University in Baltimore.

With SPECIAL GUESTS Sara Watkins (violin), Del Pushert (saxophone), Kevin Enoch (triangle), Kim Jones (tap dancing), and Eileen Carson Schatz, Neil Knicely & Megan Downes (vocals & body percussion).

We recorded mostly at The Ranch, an old farmhouse in Maryland where I lived while I wrote these songs. It's got an honest, live vibe and good, warm sounds.

I get lots of compliments on the mix & mastering which was done by the great BILL WOLF.

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MORE ABOUT ME

You might be here at my CD Baby page because you've heard of my old-time stringband UNCLE EARL. In that band I play guitar, sing & dance with the great KC Groves, Rayna Gellert & Abigail Washburn. We are signed to Rounder Records. www.uncleearl.net.

Or, you may be here because you're a fan of my other band SOMETYMES WHY, a vocal trio I have with Ruth Ungar (of The Mammals) & Aoife O'Donovan (of Crooked Still). www.sometymeswhy.com.

Or, you may be a part of an even more select group of people who know me from the days of THE JOLLY BANKERS, my all-timey recording collective with Pierce Woodward & Laura Cortese. www.jollybankers.com.

If you're a fan of Appalachian clogging, you may well have heard of my dance group FOOTWORKS PERCUSSIVE DANCE ENSEMBLE. I toured the world with Footworks for four years. Taught thousands of school kids about rhythm and connections between folk dance styles in different cultures. I still dance with Footworks when I can. www.footworks.org.

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MORE ABOUT THE SONGS

This collection comes from the time when I was working as a professional clogger & stepdancer with the Maryland-based touring company called FOOTWORKS PERCUSSIVE DANCE ENSEMBLE. I was thinking about dance and rhythm all the time in that job, and I like to think you can hear that in the arrangements and the songwriting. These songs make me want to clog or swing or waltz or play pattycake or -- at the very least -- sway back and forth for a minute. There are a few tracks that actually feature the sounds of hands and feet, like "Crayola", "Fly", "Dancin' in My Sleep" & "Faith".

"Dancin' in My Sleep" is the only cover song on the album, by the way. I wanted to record this one for three reasons: because it's about dancing, because it was written for me to sing (in a musical I was once a part of), and because it was written by my friend Bob Lucas, an Ohio songwriter who is just plain great at what he does.

I think these songs have a fairly old-fashioned aesthetic. Lyrically, they're not internal or obscure, and I like that about them. You can sing along. You can play along. If you buy the album, you get a booklet with the words in it.

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LAST WORDS

I'm proud of this album and I really do hope you decide to get a copy sent to your home. I think you'll find something you like on here.

And if you do like it, tell a friend! Since I'm so busy with my other bands, I'm not really out on the road promoting this record. It's just starting to get around thanks to word of mouth, and I'm thanking you sincerely for the part you play in that.

With love,

Kristin Marie Andreassen

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