Andy McKee
| Andy McKee | |
|---|---|
Andy McKee performing live in February 2008
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
April 4, 1979 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk, fingerstyle |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, baritone guitar, harp guitar |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Razor & Tie, CandyRat Records, Mythmaker Records |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| Greenfield Guitars GB Greenfield Guitars G4 Greenfield Guitars HG Lance McCollum Baritone Guitar Ron Spillers Harp Guitars |
|
Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitar player who has released five albums and been the subject of YouTube videos.
McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee began teaching himself how to play guitar. He began learning shred guitar music, including songs by Metallica, Eric Johnson, and Joe Satriani. McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn many of his acoustic guitar techniques from it. Later that year, with his mother's permission, he obtained his GED in order to quit attending high school and play more guitar. He began to be influenced by guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and from Passion Session by Don Ross, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.
In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he was placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas. In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the New Jersey State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002., The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs on later albums, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of Nocturne were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.
...
Wikipedia