Andy McKee

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Andy McKee, 2008

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka , Kansas ) is an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer.

biography

On his 13th birthday, Andy McKee received his first guitar from his father, a concert guitar . Not long after he began electric guitar playing and pieces of his former favorite bands to covers ( Metallica , Eric Johnson , Joe Satriani , Dream Theater ). On his 16th birthday, a cousin took him to a workshop with guitarist Preston Reed , the most important event in Andy McKee's career as a fingerstyle guitarist. He discovered the music of the three well-known acoustic guitarists Michael Hedges , Don Ross and Billy McLaughlin , which he now calls his most important musical influences.

Music career

Andy McKee began composing his own pieces at the age of 20. He made his first international appearances in 2003 on a tour through Taiwan, later appearances in Japan, China, Belgium, England, Germany, Canada and Luxembourg followed. After his label Candy Rat Records released videos on YouTube in late 2006 , McKee quickly became very well known. A music video he plays drifting on is one of the top 100 most popular videos on YouTube (as of May 16, 2011). In 2007 McKee appeared on Josh Groban's Christmas album Noël . On this Grammy-nominated album he contributed the guitar parts for the song Little Drummer Boy . Recorded in Malibu, California, Noël became the US best-selling album in 2007.
In 2012, McKee was a guest on Prince 's Welcome 2 Australia tour in Australia.

Awards

In 2001, Andy McKee took third place in the traditional National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas , the annual Walnut Valley Festival , as the youngest participant to ever make it into the top three. In 2003 he took first place with his harp guitar in another competition, the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships , in the category of various acoustic instruments . With the title song of his CD Dreamcatcher (2004, Andy McKee), he won the opportunity to appear on stage with bassist Michael Manring in a competition .

Discography

Album name year
nocturne 2001
Dreamcatcher 2004
Art of Motion 2005
Gates of Gnomeria 2007
Split DVD with Antoine Dufour 2007
The Thing That Came from Somewhere with Don Ross 2008
Common Ground EP 2009
Joyland 2010
Mythmaker 2014

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://six-strings.de/blog/portraits/andy-mckee
  2. ↑ Groban's 'Noel' Makes Chart History ( Memento from January 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Pastshows ( Memento from May 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ 2001 Walnut Valley Championship Archives - All Winners ( Memento from June 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ 2003 Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships ( September 27, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ http://www.andymckee.com/about/
personal data
SURNAME McKee, Andy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fingerstyle guitarist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 4th 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Topeka , Kansas