Theresa Andersson

When I moved into my apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC, I was largely anonymous – not just me – everyone was. Neighbors in New York City rarely interact. It’s like, “hey man, there is one too many people in my face already – let’s just agree not to interact.” There was one character in my building who did not abide by the rules of engagement. He was a bulbous and gregarious man who I affectionately called “The Mayor.” The Mayor instantly introduced me to the other guy on our floor who was in the music business. Long story short, he happened to be Theresa Andersson’s agent at the time. So I guess I owe my introduction to Theresa, to The Mayor.

In any event Theresa did a string of shows with us some time in 2008. We were all blown away. Not only was she a fantastic musician – guitar, vocals, bass, percussion, and violin – but she had mastered the art of sampling, to assemble one-woman version of her songs in a live setting. Not dissimilar to Keller Williams, just a different flavor. Truth is, I think Theresa might have been slightly put off by the rowdiness of our crowd and by our lack of indie cred and mild hippie stink. That said we hit it off. She is a terrific person with a great perspective on life. She sat in with us at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. I forget all of the songs we did but one of them was “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones, and in addition to doing a violin solo she sang a verse in Swedish – her native tongue.

I had reached out to her early in the recording process, but due in part to her busy schedule we never connected – until I got a call from her two days before we were scheduled to master the record and put it to bed. I sent her what was (at the time) the final mix of the song “Straight,” which features violins and was begging for a vocal harmony. She recorded it the next day, first thing in the morning, and she crushed it. It’s one of my favorite songs on the record – largely due to Theresa’s contributions. If you have not done so already, be sure to check out Theresa Andersson live, or at the very least, on YouTube – she will blow your mind!