Andy McKee (born in 1979 in Topeka, Kansas,
United States) is an American fingerstyle guitarist currently signed to the
American record label «Razor and Tie». His style of playing and his
compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase; in late
2006, a live performance of his flagship song "Drifting" became a Featured
Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 25,000,000 views on the former to
date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's
other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as
"Rylynn" with over 12,000,000 views.
McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon
string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar
lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue
learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston
Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee later bought an instructional videotape
from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also
earning his GED that year in order to drop out of high school. He began to take
influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Billy McLaughlin, Pat
Kirtley, and from Passion Session by Don Ross, as he self-studied the
instrument.
But I think
it’ll be more interesting and overwhelming for you to watch some videos of
Andy)) Here are some of my favourite things:
At the moment I'm listening to his "Drifting" on vkontakte and I'm really enchanted by the tune. Like the best sort of dream, it takes you to a fantastic world you don't want to wake from. McKee is a brilliant master of creating an atmosphere of romance and reverie.