Houston-based Annie Lin is a 5'4 guitar-toting pixie who plays quirky, acoustic pop. Often compared to such artists as Victoria Williams and Mary Lou Lord, she brings off-kilter charm and rock n' roll ferocity to the rarified genre of folk. Fans of Ani DiFranco and Lisa Loeb will vouch for her music, which The Houston Press calls "[s]avvy and academically rooted."
"East Coast Songs" is Annie's first full-band studio effort, and it represents her transition from the rough acoustic sound of "Kicking Stars" to a spare and sometimes aggressive acoustic pop sound. Produced by Louis Pollack, the album was recorded in June 2002 at For the Record in Orange County, California, and features Louis Pollack on bass, Sean Pollack on drums and Kimberly Lin on cello.
Annie has been touring nationally for two years as a regular in the club and coffeehouse circuit, selling out venues such as the legendary Bitter End in New York City. She has shared stages at clubs and festivals with a notable roster of artists including Sarah Harmer, The Cash Brothers, Emm Gryner and Terri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines, and her solo stage presence is best described as magnetic. Onstage, she is an offbeat storyteller and an energetic performer who would stagedive if it were allowed at acoustic clubs.
Influenced by indie folk, alt-rock and the occasional Dave Matthews bootleg, Annie writes songs that might be classified as both FM-friendly and acoustic. Her lyrics are written in subways, on planes and at sidewalk cafes on drink napkins, hotel coasters and anything else she can get her hands on. They are the byproduct of living honestly and passionately, of "throwing paper airplanes at the passing cars" as a way of acknowledging the fact that "time passes / and it's leaving you behind."
It seems unlikely that Annie would ever fall behind the times, though - from the moment she picked up a guitar in her college dorm room three years ago, she has been busily making a name for herself in the singer-songwriter community. Even as a full-time student at Rice University, she played nearly a hundred shows each year and built up a mailing list of more than 500 active fans. On the strength of only a now sold-out, live-recorded demo CD, she garnered attention from artists like Lisa Loeb, and then later on, praise from critics at The Houston Press, Orange County Register, Village Voice, Boston Phoenix and Launch.com.
In 2002, Annie has played a whirlwhind of shows on the West Coast and in the Midwest as a solo artist. She is currently seeking label representation and will release her third album "East Coast Songs," produced by Louis Keith Pollack, in July. She will tour the East Coast as a trio with her band in July, and will also be touring the West Coast in July and August with Jenny Choi and Emm Gryner as part of the Asian-American Songwriters Showcase.
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