Andrea Guess was born to make music. Coming from the small southern Kentucky town of Brownsville, she spent her entire youth learning to write,sing,and mold her own style of music. Starting with piano at age 7 and taking on everything else since. Guitar, bass, drums, banjo and mandolin. In 2005 at the age of 15 Andrea stepped out of Brownsville to start playing all over the South Central Kentucky. In October of 2005 she went into the studio for the first time to record a demo of her original songs. 5 months later- She went back into the recording studio to begin work on her debut cd "Mama Raised Me Right". In less than 2 months she had recorded 9 tracks and performed most of the instrument duties on her own. She brought in some help from some local friends Donny Hyatt, Deen Collier, and Chris Carmichael. Marc Owens at High Street Studio's recorded and mixed the sessions along with Deen Collier whom also produced it. This is just the beginning for Andrea.
A little bit about me
I've been involved in music my whole life. I don't know what I'd do without it. My mom and I were always singing around the house when I was little, and we still do today. At age 7, I began taking piano lessons and loved it. In the fifth grade, I entered the school fall talent show. That was my first big performance. The pieces that I played were The Entertainer by Scott Joplin and Entry of the Gladiators (The Circus song). I won 1st place that year. From then on I kept playing and singing more often. I was a shy one around my classmates but in the 7th grade I stepped out of that state of mind when I was asked to sing The First Noel, solo, for the Middle School Christmas program. It was then I realized I wanted to keep singing and performing in front of people.
At the age of 14, I wanted to start playing guitar. My cousin Johnny, taught me the first five notes of Sweet Home Alabama. Little did I know I was going to get that same guitar I had learned it on for Christmas. I've mostly taught myself by ear, but I did have a little help from friends and family. Four months after starting to play guitar, I joined Roadkill Band. I played with them until December of 2005. We played at local venues around the area. In April of 2005 I began playing banjo and drums.
In May of 2005 I was asked to sit in with The Bad Grades band by my uncle Donny Hyatt, who is the lead guitarist. It was then I was introduced to Don Thomason, Deen Collier and Frank Lawerence. After the show Deen asked me to perform at Thunderfest 2005 for the July 4th celebration at The Corvette Ampitheatre in Bowling Green, KY. He said the crowd would be around 15-20 thousand. And I said "Let's do it!" The show was awesome and I really enjoyed performing with some of the best musicans in South Central Kentucky. From July on, I sat in numerous times with the Bad Grades at local gigs.
In October of 2005 I stepped in the studio for the first time. I recorded a demo of the first three songs that I had ever written. During that month I was signed to 1030 Records, a local indie label, and began my journey. It was in Febuary of 2006 that Frank left The Bad Grades. I stepped up and learned how to play bass. After playing bass for 2 weeks, we played our first show with me on bass, Deen on drums, Donny on lead, and Don vocals and acoustic guitar. In March 2006, during my spring break, I stepped back in the studio to record my first album, which was released in June 2006. I learned so much from that experience.
July 2006 came around and we performed at Thunderfest at the Corvette Ampitheatre again. I was honored to be the headlining artist. It was so much fun being on stage in front of 20,000+ people doing what I love to do.
What I find cool about playing with the Bad Grades is that we can switch instruments around. I am either playing bass or guitar, and sometimes I play Wipeout on drums. I have also brought my mandolin to a few gigs. I've been playing mandolin since December 2005.
As most of you all know, I am still in high school, and I'm 17. Between homework and gigs I hardly have a free moment. Thank you all for your support and for making me #1 three weeks in a row. I hope to continue doing what I love doing. At every gig I always meet someone new. I love meeting new fans and talking one on one to them, especially kids cause I want to be a good role model for them. I know I have a long road ahead of me, but I'm ready for the drive.
Yes - all over South Central Kentucky.
I love playing live - come out and check out a show.
I have many influences in all genres of music including country, rock, southern rock, 50's & 60 rock-n-roll, pop, and bluegrass. The most influential artists and bands are Elvis Presley, Terri Clark, Reba, Aaron Tippin, The Veronicas, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Erika Jo, Lynyrd Skynyrd, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Heart, Sara Evans, Josh Turner, Allison Krauss, James Taylor, and Lisa Marie Presley.
I play a Fender Lite Ash Telecaster, and use a Fender Blues Junior Amp. I also play a Fender Mustang Bass and use a Fender Bassman 150. When it comes to microphones I like Shure SM-57 or Shure Beta 58
"There's no elevator to success. You MUST take the stairs"
Anonomyous
Check this article out:
http://amplifier.ky.net/cgi-bin/article2005.pl?section=music&article=a3060&Year=2006&Month=June
