Ana Egge
Encyclopedia
Ana Egge is an American folk
singer/songwriter. She sings, plays guitar, mandolin, bottleneck slide guitar and piano during her live performances. Egge released her 7th record, Bad Blood on August 23, 2011. The record was produced by Grammy-winning singer and producer Steve Earle
and was recorded at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY and is being released by Danny Goldberg's Ammal Records.
Egge grew up the daughter of a teacher and a wheat farmer in Ambrose, North Dakota
, and later moved to Silver City, New Mexico
. She spent some of her childhood traveling back and forth from North Dakota to a hot springs commune in New Mexico.
When Egge was 15 years old, she began a one-year apprenticeship with luthier
Don Musser, in order to build her own guitar which she still plays exclusively.
She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Sarah Brown (Albert Collins, Bonnie Raitt) and guitarist Steve James
, who persuaded her to record a demo of her original songs in Austin, Texas
. The demo led to a record contract with Lazy S.O.B. Recordings and the release of her first full-length album, "River Under The Road". The title track was co-written by Egge, Sarah Brown and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
. The following year, the Austin Music Awards named Egge, then nineteen, their “Best Singer/Songwriter” and “Best Folk Artist”.
Next Egge was invited on tour by several luminaries, including Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Iris DeMent
, Shawn Colvin
and Ron Sexsmith
. She recorded her first live album "Mile Marker" on her solo tour in 1999. She later shared the stage with John Prine
, Lucinda Williams
, and Sinéad O'Connor
. After a few years of constant touring, Egge returned to Silver City, New Mexico where she began building her own desert house and spending time with family. In 2002, after writing some of the songs for her next record, Egge resettled in Brooklyn, New York.
In Brooklyn she met bassist Jason Mercer
(Ani DiFranco
, Ron Sexsmith) and they began recording demos of Egge's new songs. Singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, guitarist Tony Scherr
and trumpeter Shane Endsley joined their efforts and the result was "Out Past the Lights" which received critical acclaim. "Listen to the lyrics," Lucinda Williams
urged an audience one night after the album was out. "She’s a folk Nina Simone
."
Egge’s Lazy Days was released on November 13, 2007. It is an album made up of cover songs on the theme of laziness. Songs include The Kinks
' "Sitting in the Midday Sun
", Arcade Fire’s "In the Backseat", The Zombies
’ "I Could Spend a Day" and Belle and Sebastian’s "Summer Wastin’", among others.
In July 2007 she won The Mountain Stage
New Song Regional Competition in New York City.
Egge released her sixth record, Road to My Love, in February of 2009. The record was co-produced by her longtime collaborator Jason Mercer and includes guest musicians Steve Moore, Michael Jerome, Frazey Ford
and Trish Klein of The Be Good Tanyas
, Adam Levy and Tony Scherr
.
She also appears as a guest musician on Joel Plaskett
's 2009 album Three
and has performed as a backup singer/musician and as a solo artist on his Canadian tour.
Egge released her 7th record, Bad Blood on August 23, 2011. The record was produced by Grammy-winning singer and producer Steve Earle
and was recorded at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY. Steve Earle and Alison Moorer sing and play on the record. The record is being released by Danny Goldberg's record label, Ammal Records.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer/songwriter. She sings, plays guitar, mandolin, bottleneck slide guitar and piano during her live performances. Egge released her 7th record, Bad Blood on August 23, 2011. The record was produced by Grammy-winning singer and producer Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
and was recorded at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY and is being released by Danny Goldberg's Ammal Records.
Egge grew up the daughter of a teacher and a wheat farmer in Ambrose, North Dakota
Ambrose, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23 people, 13 households, and 5 families residing in the city. The population density was 21.6 people per square mile . There were 41 housing units at an average density of 38.5 per square mile...
, and later moved to Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...
. She spent some of her childhood traveling back and forth from North Dakota to a hot springs commune in New Mexico.
When Egge was 15 years old, she began a one-year apprenticeship with luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
Don Musser, in order to build her own guitar which she still plays exclusively.
She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Career
The early songs she wrote were soon noted by bassistBassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Sarah Brown (Albert Collins, Bonnie Raitt) and guitarist Steve James
Steve James (blues musician)
Steve James is an American folk blues musician. A multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, James operates in the fields of acoustic and folk blues...
, who persuaded her to record a demo of her original songs in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The demo led to a record contract with Lazy S.O.B. Recordings and the release of her first full-length album, "River Under The Road". The title track was co-written by Egge, Sarah Brown and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
. The following year, the Austin Music Awards named Egge, then nineteen, their “Best Singer/Songwriter” and “Best Folk Artist”.
Next Egge was invited on tour by several luminaries, including Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Iris DeMent
Iris DeMent
Iris DeMent is an American singer and songwriter. DeMent's musical style encompasses the genres country and folk music.-Early life:...
, Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
and Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
. She recorded her first live album "Mile Marker" on her solo tour in 1999. She later shared the stage with John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
. After a few years of constant touring, Egge returned to Silver City, New Mexico where she began building her own desert house and spending time with family. In 2002, after writing some of the songs for her next record, Egge resettled in Brooklyn, New York.
In Brooklyn she met bassist Jason Mercer
Jason Mercer
Jason Mercer is a multi-instrumental Canadian musician playing double bass, electric bass, banjo and guitar.He was a member of the alternative rock band Bourbon Tabernacle Choir in the 1980s and 1990s...
(Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Ron Sexsmith) and they began recording demos of Egge's new songs. Singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, guitarist Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He played with Woody Herman as a teenager, and moved to New York City in the late-1980s, where he became a prolific session musician, working...
and trumpeter Shane Endsley joined their efforts and the result was "Out Past the Lights" which received critical acclaim. "Listen to the lyrics," Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
urged an audience one night after the album was out. "She’s a folk Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
."
Egge’s Lazy Days was released on November 13, 2007. It is an album made up of cover songs on the theme of laziness. Songs include The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
' "Sitting in the Midday Sun
Sitting in the Midday Sun
"Sitting in the Midday Sun" is a song by British rock band The Kinks, written by their frontman and main songwriter Ray Davies. It was recorded in June 1973 and released as a single in the US and UK the same year. Reviews were generally positive, but it failed to chart. "Sitting in the Midday Sun"...
", Arcade Fire’s "In the Backseat", The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
’ "I Could Spend a Day" and Belle and Sebastian’s "Summer Wastin’", among others.
In July 2007 she won The Mountain Stage
Mountain Stage
Mountain Stage is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by WV Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio and the Voice of America's satellite radio service. Hosted by Larry Groce, the program showcases diverse music, from the traditional to modern...
New Song Regional Competition in New York City.
Egge released her sixth record, Road to My Love, in February of 2009. The record was co-produced by her longtime collaborator Jason Mercer and includes guest musicians Steve Moore, Michael Jerome, Frazey Ford
Frazey Ford
Frazey Ford is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas. Her solo debut Obadiah was released on Nettwerk on July 20, 2010....
and Trish Klein of The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas
The Be Good Tanyas are a Canadian traditional music group, whose influences included folk, country, and bluegrass. The style of music they performed can be referred to as alt-country or Americana.-Career:...
, Adam Levy and Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr
Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He played with Woody Herman as a teenager, and moved to New York City in the late-1980s, where he became a prolific session musician, working...
.
She also appears as a guest musician on Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
's 2009 album Three
Three (Joel Plaskett album)
-Disc two:-Disc three:-Three More:-Three to One:...
and has performed as a backup singer/musician and as a solo artist on his Canadian tour.
Egge released her 7th record, Bad Blood on August 23, 2011. The record was produced by Grammy-winning singer and producer Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
and was recorded at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY. Steve Earle and Alison Moorer sing and play on the record. The record is being released by Danny Goldberg's record label, Ammal Records.
Discography
- River Under the Road (1997)
- Mile Marker (1999)
- 101 Sundays (2000)
- Out Past the Lights (2004)
- Lazy Days (2007)
- Road to My Love (2009)
- Bad Blood (2011)
Compilations
- Forever Dusty - A Tribute to Dusty Springfield (1998): "Breakfast In Bed"
- 38 Songs Of Hope - Parkingsong (2004): "Wedding Dress"'
- My Old Man: A Tribute to Steve Goodman (2006): "Old Fashioned Girl"'
Guest appearances
- Roberto MorenoRoberto MorenoRoberto Pupo Moreno , usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 championship points. He raced in CART in 1986, and was Formula 3000 champion before joining...
, One Possible Explanation (1998) - Ron SexsmithRon SexsmithRonald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
, Blue BoyBlue Boy (album)Blue Boy is a 2001 album from Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. It was recorded in Nashville, and was produced by Steve Earle and his partner Ray Kennedy as the "Twangtrust." It includes a cover of the Kyp Harness song "Thumbelina Farewell."...
(2001) - Tandy, To a Friend (2006)
- Nels AndrewsNels AndrewsNels Andrews is a folk singer based in Brooklyn, New York. Known primarily as a folk singer, few know of his apprenticeship with cult blues icon Washboard Williams....
, Off Track Betting (2007) - Rose PolenzaniRose PolenzaniRose Polenzani is an independent folk musician. She was raised in the Chicago area and attended Knox College before leaving to pursue a singing career. She is currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. Her singing style is distinctive and emotionally charged. At least one free download is always...
, When the River Meets the Sea (2008) - Joel PlaskettJoel PlaskettJoel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
, ThreeThree (Joel Plaskett album)-Disc two:-Disc three:-Three More:-Three to One:...
(2009) - Good Luck Mountain, Good Luck Mountain (2011)