artiste d'mon >>> christine anderson REVISED 12/03

Christine Anderson
The Sounds of a Piano-Woman

Interview by: silverio pantalla

Who is Christine Anderson?
I'm a pianist and singer-songwriter who you may have seen on MTV or MuchMusic.

How did you get started with your music?
For as long as I can remember I've had music in my head. Beautiful haunting melodies floating into my ears from some invisible radio in the sky. Then one day when I wasn't quite ten years old, I sat down at a piano for the first time and I just knew how to play it. I don't know how I knew, but I did. I felt inside that this is what I was meant to do, and I guess I never looked back.

What is music to you?
Music is my life. I eat it, breathe it, sleep it, and dream it. Sometimes it's an escape for me. Other times it's like staring into the face of reality in its most raw form. But I need it. I feed off it. It makes me feel alive.

What is your most important goal in life?
To make the very best music I can for as many people as possible. To inspire people. To love and be remembered with love.

If you could have just one wish; what would it be?
I would wish that I would be granted whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, forever and ever and ever. That’s an easy one, because when I was a little girl, my little sister Mary and I would sit for hours making up what we called “Star Trek stories.” Our favorite story was when we were granted one wish. We used that wish to wish for whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted it, forever and ever and ever… ultimately wishing ourselves onto the Enterprise, into uniforms, and onto the bridge where we caused all sorts of mischief!

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet and why?
I would meet Mozart, just to stand in the presence of someone possessed by such magnificent genius.

Who have been some of your main influences as a musician and as a person?
No one influences who I am as a person. As a musician, I’m sure I’ve been impacted by everyone from Mozart to Elton John to Milton Babbitt. But I don’t really think about other people’s music when I’m writing mine. When the muse hits, I go to a whole 'nother place where there's really no thinking at all. The music's just there. So I'd say I'm more likely inspired by something than influenced.

Then what inspires you?
Besides dreaming, I like to take walks in the woods, by the sea, and through houses rumored to be haunted. Any place that sparks my imagination can trigger a song or a good lyrical hook. I’ll just be walking along and something will wash over me, and I’ll hear music or little phrases. If I’m lucky, I'll hear both. And if I'm really lucky, I'll make it to a piano in time to push RECORD on my tape player and catch it all before I lose it. Of course, I can write a song by just sitting down and deciding to do it. What good is a degree in composition if I can't do that, right? But you've got to love the inspiration.

What is your latest piece of music news?
What is your latest piece of music news? I'm getting ready to head into the studio to record with Derek Nakamoto and Craig Burbidge. We should have something ready probably around February 2004.

What is the name of the piano piece you are playing on MTV?
That's Concertino. I originally wrote it when I was twelve years old and it was fifteen minutes long. That's way too long for a piano solo, I've come to learn, so I pared it down to just under four minutes and wound up winning a Los Angeles Music Award for it. Kind of funny, I think.

If you had to live in one room for your entire life, what would it look like?
It would be a giant sea shell with phosphorescent plant life and crystals growing on the inside walls. In the middle there would be a transparent glass grand piano with a bird cage on the top where my peacock would live. The only light would come from the florescent flowers, and from fireflies.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Married to the lover of my dreams, playing on the piano of my dreams, and making better music than ever.

www.CHRISTINEANDERSON.net