Andy McKee - The Man With 16 Fingers

You may have at some point seen me freak out about this guy.  I remember seeing him play live at a small dive bar in Longmont, CO some years back.  I had come across him one day randomly on Youtube, and that was pretty much how he gained his fame.  He isn't exactly the only guy doing what he is doing, it is just simply that I think he does it particularly well.  He actually uses the guitar as not only a melodic instrument, but he even uses it as percussion in some of his songs as well.

I actually went to see him relatively recently at the Madison Theater in Covington, KY.  I walk in to meet up with my parents who also love this guy, and low and behold my Dad has already met him and we happen to be standing right outside the "green room."  He put on an incredible show, even stopping a few times because one of his strings was not PERFECTLY in tune.  He is kind of a quiet fellow, but he can literally play the living hell out of a guitar.  I ended up meeting him after the show and shaking his hand, and oddly enough, he has 10 fingers on 2 hands, just like the rest of us.

Without further ado..

Andy McKee

The first album well dig into is his newest entitled Joyland, and though I don't flip head over heels for everything on there, he has some really sweet tunes on there.

-Hunter's Moon-
This in some ways showcases his strange play-style.  I know that he didn't really invent the idea, but it shows just how creative he gets with the instrument.  Really unbelievable stuff, especially for you guitarists out there, and people who are aspiring to become them.



-Blue Liquid-
Here is another great song from the new album, and this video shows him playing it live in Seattle.



-Into the Ocean-
This song is played on a harp-guitar, and the video is of Andy from a while ago, I guess when he was missing hair.  I think it is just a really solid and beautiful song.  It is off the Art of Motion album.




-Ebon Coast-
This song he plays in a duet with Don Ross, and I think it is just stunning.  I think Don Ross is a huge influence for Andy McKee, though I am not sure.  I think they may be both on the same label.  This song is just a wicked tune...



-Africa-
This is a CLASSIC Toto song, and Andy basically knocks it out of the park.  For those that loved Toto (myself included), this is your song..




Thank you for listening, and thank Andy for playing!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think for the sake of a little Candyrat label shout-out and a little bonus, I'll throw Antoine Dufour on here too. Though I didn't particularly like how this song was recorded for his album (the standalone guitar works best), the Youtube of it is pretty damn sweet.

-Spiritual Groove-
This guy has to play guitars that are ages 18+ to avoid statutory laws (kind of like Mr. McKee).