While most high school seniors are concerned about invitations and caps and gowns, one local performer is concerned with her second album.
Courtney Marie Andrews attends the Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics by day and plays shows anywhere in the given southwest by night.
“I always really loved to sing and loved to write,” Andrews says. “I had a guitar and started writing songs — it just seemed natural to me.” Andrews has been working on her singing and songwriting since she was 15. Her thick voice is accompanied by her folk guitar and banjo playing.
Andrews says her songs are close to sensational diary entries because “it’s basically just me writing about my life, metaphorically.”
“My songs are 99 percent my life experience,” she says. “Everything I say in my songs most likely is something that I have done or how I felt.”
Andrews says Elliot Smith has been a constant influence in her life, as well as Joni Mitchell and The B-52s.
Andrews was 17 when she signed to River Jones Music Label in May 2008. River Jones Music Label is a fledgling label that, while having only released a handful of records thus far, is rapidly gaining notoriety in Phoenix’s indie music scene.
“[River Jones and I] both have been working together to make River Jones Music,” Andrews says. “It’s really more of like a family than it is a label.”
Andrews released her debut album “Urban Myths” in June 2008 which contains songs written within the past three years of Andrews’ life. It ranges from heart-felt, piano blues to strong vocal alt-country.
Andrews says she has no idea where she’ll be taking her talents as a singer/songwriter. “I just want to keep releasing music and playing it,” she says.
Andrews has no plans to go to college, she only plans on making music after graduation.
“My goal in the end is to work with a great collection of talented people who like to play on each others records,” Andrews says. She has started this collection already with her second album.
Andrews’ follow-up record “Painter’s Hands and the Seventh Son” is tentatively set to be released sometime this summer by River Jones Music Label.
“[Painter’s Hands] is a lot more mature than Urban Myths,” Andrews says. The album has a wider variety of instrumentation than her previous work, after Andrews got some help from other local musicians.
Andrews says the support in her life comes from all regions. She reins in support from her performing arts high school, friends, fellow musicians and family.
“My mom has always been really supportive — she never wanted me to do anything else,” Andrews says. “I haven’t really had anybody tell me not to do it, not that I would stop if somebody did.”
Reach the reporter at lauren.cusimano@asu.edu.
