Courthouse Docket

Over the last decade and a half, over 150 albums have emerged from a small studio in a suburb of San Jose, California: Greaseland USA, which was conceived, created and is directed and managed by a couple: Christoffer “Kid” Andersen the “Emperor of Greaseland” and his wife, Lisa Anderson, the “Queen.”  On Saturday, November 22 at 1 p.m., join us for a Blues Concert featuring the couple. Kid is widely known in the Blues world as a guitarist and producer—he and his catalog have been nominated for the Blues Music Awards many dozens of times. Lisa is Greaseland’s not-so-secret weapon. Her voice can be heard on hundreds of recordings–-a versatile but signature sound of the studio.

Originally, Kid started the studio with a radio station’s discarded tape machine, so that he could record his own music. Gradually, all the pieces organically evolved into what has become Greaseland. He and Lisa have been nurturing and steering dozens of other artists to awards and rave reviews every year. The artists who have recorded at Greaseland include: Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Rick Estrin, Tommy Castro, Chris Cain, Finis Tasby, John Primer, Little Charlie Baty, Nick Moss, Monster Mike Welch, Diunna Greenleaf, Wee Willie Walker, Albert Castiglia, Marcel Smith, Tia Carroll and many, many more.

CHRISTOFFER “KID” ANDERSEN (guitar, vocals) was born in Telemark, Norway. He became obsessed with the blues at age 12 and immersed himself in the music of greats like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker and B.B., Albert and Freddie King. By the time he was 18, he had a steady gig in Oslo as a guitarist, backing American blues stars who came through Norway. He moved to California and started touring with saxophonist Terry Hanck. He quickly became a musical force to be reckoned with, and he was invited by blues harp legend Charlie Musselwhite to join his band in 2004. However, it was with the formation of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats in 2008 that Kid found his true musical home base. Kid has been nominated for the Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist—Guitar every year since 2013. In addition to being an expert multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion), Kid’s talents as an engineer and producer keep his now-famous Greaseland Studio fully booked. Winner of the 2017 Keeping The Blues Alive Award, Greaseland has been featured on NPR, and has received multiple Grammy nods.

LISA ANDERSEN (vocals) did her first professional paying gigs as a featured singer for the Robin Anderson Big Band when she was seven years old. Lisa made her presence known nationally as a singer, on a couple of high profile TV shows, “American Idol” and “Showtime at the Apollo”. She fared very well on both shows, and signed a 2 record deal with Succession Records, resulting in the CD albums “Sing Me Home” and “Reality”. After maturing as an artist and woman, Lisa married Blues music mogul and superstar Kid Andersen, and together they built up “Greaseland”, a musical wonderland that attracts musicians from all over the globe. As the “Queen of Greaseland,” Lisa has performed on over 50 album releases in the last 10 years, including Grammy award winners and Blues Music Award winners. Lisa has toured and performed in India, Japan, Russia, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, England, Finland and Turkey, amongst countless other places. Some of these endeavors include San Francisco’s hugely popular “Foreverland,” Denver’s “House Of Soul” as well as different collaborations with her husband, Kid.