Annie Lin
With one foot in California and the other in Texas, this Taiwan-born singer-songwriter converses through a kind of folk-rock that sounds pretty but gritty, like a rootsy Lisa Loeb or a pop-infused Ani DiFranco. Weaned on pop music, post-L.A.-riot gangster rap and Chinese soap opera soundtracks, Annie draws on pop culture and old booksEnglish literature and classical textsfor inspiration. Since hitting the Houston music scene, she has played shows at the Mausoleum, Travis Cafe, Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe and the Houston Women's Festival. Her song Whole was featured on "Cake and Champagne" a recently released Lisa Loeb tribute album, and has made a live appearance on KYSR 98.7 radio in Los Angeles. She is currently recording a debut album under her own label Ariadne Records.Band/artist history
Umm... for facts and figures and official stuff, you can look at my bio at http://www.annielin.com
The unofficial and very, very brief bio is this. I started playing guitar my freshman year. My then-boyfriend was always saying he'd teach me. Then we broke up. I still wanted to learn, though, so I pulled out my parents' old, dusty Taiwanese no-brand (guitar) from under the bed and downloaded some Internet tab. Within a few months, I was subjecting open mike audiences to my haphazard stylings and wrote my first song, BS#1, or Breakup Song #1. I even recorded a few songs for the first Lisa Loeb Tribute Album. When I go back and listen to that CD, it makes me cringe to think that Lisa actually heard it. I was so bad!
But I kept practicing and practicing and writing songs, and I'm not any sort of guitar whiz like my friend Dave Urban, but I'm a bit less embarrassed about my music.Have you performed in front of an audience?I do, as often as possible. I used to do anything to get an audience--from playing on curbs to playing at Valhalla, the campus grad student pub. I love playing live. Nowadays, I play more actual gigs, which is good, but sometimes before a big show I still like to march to the nearest random stage and perform.
I think playing live for the first time--at a Rice talent show--was a special moment. The Cheesecake factory gift certificate I won was pretty special, too, but in a gastronomical way...
Your musical influences
Dave Matthews, Indigo Girls, Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield, Sarah McLachlan, Vonda Shepard, Jars of Clay and early 90s rap and r&b artists like TLC, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre. I sound like I'm trying to name every kind of music, but I really do like a lot of different things.
Lately, I've been listening to a lot of indie musicians, and they've actually influenced my songwriting. Some incredible singer-songwriters include Edie Carey, Rachael Sage, Jenny Choi, Kevin So, Mackenzie Grant, Amanda Garrigues and Francis Kim.
Oh yes--the Ani thing. Some people say I sound like Ani DiFranco, and I think she's awesome, but I never really started listening to her until recently.
And of course, as I mentioned before, Lisa Loeb is an umbrella influence.What equipment do you use?
Washburn classical guitar with cutaway; Dean Markley K-20 amp; Jim Dunlop thin picks and the wonderful panda pick my sister Kimberly bought me in Taiwan. It has a little crying panda on it and a caption that reads "Don't kill me."Anything else?
Always tip the waiters and the bands at the show. Oh yeah, and visit my webpage. http://www.annielin.comDave with Sole Poets here. Keep up the good work. Check the Acoustic charts for us mail me if you like and I'll check your tracks once in a while. dchris@solepoets.comAll comments (2)
Admin
Annie
@annielin
im from houston too.I am really feeling your tracks that you laid down they are hot!!! im 14 and i make beats and i juss wanted you to come check out my page if its possible and tell me if im good for my age. Thanx yo