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Singer
Songwriter
Guitarist
Kellie's
Website
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About
Kellie
Describing the music
of midwestern songwriter/performer Kellie Lin Knott often leads
listeners to interesting comparisions. Fans have suggested that her voice
is a cross between
Alanis Morissette’s contraltro bravada and Billie Holiday’s
subtle, sexy delivery, that her
harmonic, rhythmic and lyrical sensibilities are like ‘Joni Mitchell’s,
and that her jazz influenced, groove-driven acoustic guitar parts are
fueled with an early Ani Difranco-like
energy. Yet this songwriter is never angry or forceful. Her touch is light,
and her lyrics
imbued with a graceful intention that causes listeners to truly tune in,
absorbing the
richness of imagery and meaning in her songs, which range in topic from
romance to world
affairs.
Kellie Lin’s
first full-length CD, Comfortable, is now available at kellielinknott.com.
Her
song “Home” (available on Comfortable) was recently included
on Bay State Sound’s “Best
of Boston” compilation for 2004. These days, Berklee College of Music
educated Kellie
Lin can be found on tour at numerous festivals, house concerts, bars,
coffeehouses and
listening rooms, or testing out new material on the street corners and
subway platforms of
her adopted home of Boston. The young road warrior makes her living from
performance
and CD sales, and, like pop-star Jewel before her, has no official residence
and lives quite
happily from her Corolla.
What chain of events
led a once shy and quiet Minnesota girl to lead such a bohemian
lifestyle? It began in a coat closet, where Kellie Lin could be found
crooning show tunes
from behind closed doors. Her dog, Brandy, was the only family member
who saw Kellie
Lin face to face as she sang. Thankfully, by age 8 Kellie Lin had gotten
over her fear and
joined her father’s band, belting out backing and lead vocals on
Bette Midler and Linda
Ronstadt tunes at VFW halls, bars, and private parties.
For her 12th birthday,
Kellie Lin’s father gave her a well-worn nylon string guitar. Her
father also provided inspiration, along with recordings of the Indigo
Girls, Dire Straits,
Bette Midler, Nanci Griffith, James Taylor, Bernadette Peters, Bruce Hornsby,
and others.
From this eclectic mix of influences Kellie Lin fashioned her unique style
of playing and
writing, combining the myriad traditions of jazz, folk, pop, bluegrass
and rock. After
hearing Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Come On, Come On”, Kellie
Lin knew she’d found
her calling: that of a touring musician. At the tender age of 14, Kellie
Lin graduated from
singing rock covers in bars with her father’s band to performing
originals at area schools,
coffeehouses, and special events with her acoustic duo, Those Two Girls.
Those Two Girls, Kellie
Lin and musical cohort Ruth Johnson, were awarded the 1996
Minnesota Peace Prize for their efforts in spearheading a two-year musical
campaign to
raise awareness and funds for domestic abuse prevention. The campaign
culminated in a
benefit concert raising several thousand dollars for the beneficiary organizations.
The
inspiration for the project came while Ruth and Kellie Lin were in high
school, balancing
school, countless extracurricular activities, and their coffehouse careers.
They became
aware of child abuse in their own circle of friends and set out to make
a difference using
music as their medium. Those Two Girls performed the National Anthem for
the
Minnesota Twins on National Stop the Violence Day and were featured on
several local
news programs. This led to collaboration with education and health organizations
throughout the state.
Kellie Lin’s
experience producing and performing up to this time drove her to search
for a
college with both music business and performance curriculum. She began
her college
career at Berklee as a voice principal. She eventually switched her instrument
to guitar for
a greater challenge.
Barely into her second
year of college, Kellie Lin was forced to stop playing guitar for two
years due to arm injuries. Several doctors insisted she would never play
again. She
returned home to be with family as she searched for a satisfactory solution
to her difficult
situation. After two successful surgeries, Kellie Lin proved the naysayers
wrong by
returning to Boston to finish her guitar training. And we are greatful
that she did!
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