Kristina Olsen – The Truth of a Woman

Kristina Olsen – The Truth of a Woman
KRISTINA OLSEN is one of the most entertaining and compelling performers on the international folk circuit. A fine instrumentalist (acoustic guitar, steel-body slide guitar, saxophone, concertina and piano) as well as a powerful songwriter with a big bluesy voice, Kristina has audiences around the world coming back for more. Her mix of strong songs in the troubadour tradition, some jazz-inspired sounds and powerful bottleneck blues (as well as her hilarious storytelling) makes for a diverse and satisfying musical experience, on stage and on disc. Born in San Francisco and raised in Haight-Asbury during the 1960’s, Kristina’s approach to music and life was formed by that environment of vital cultural expression, social activism and diverse musical influences. She now calls Venice Beach, Los Angeles home but rarely sees it from touring ten months a year (see the Tourdates page for proof!). It was on one of those tours that she met Peter Grayling, a cellist from Western Australia and a new musical alliance was formed. In March 1998 “Duet” was released in Australia, their first duo recording. In 1999 the pair released ‘Truth of a Woman’ and have just released (Feb 2002) a live cd “All Over Down Under” (recorded in Australia – as you might have guessed from the title!) with the addition of Melbourne based accordian player George Butrumlis. In the previous six years Kristina had released four critically acclaimed CDs on the Philo/Rounder label. Fairport Convention had recorded her song ‘Dangerous’ on their ’97 release, ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes?’ and she performed at the Cropredy Festival and the Sidmouth Festival in summer ’97. She performed on Michelle Shocked’s album ‘Short Sharp Shocked’ and also won the Kerrville Songwriting award with her song for battered women ‘I’m Keeping This Life of Mine’. Like many modern artists, Kristina isn’t easily pigeonholed. What can’t be denied though is her honest enthusiasm for her craft. “I love writing songs, but my favorite songs don’t seem to come from me, they seem to come through me, like maybe I am the channel for that song – It is an absolutely euphoric feeling when it happens,” Kristina stated in an interview with ‘The Performing Songwriter’. “I couldn’t say what I was feeling so I had to write songs to keep from exploding, there was no choice in the matter, I had to write.”