The Hard, Real Road To Success

By Richard Flohil

Standard rule in the Canadian music business: It always takes longer to succeed than everyone involved thought it would.

Second standard rule: The artists with the talent and the spark and the songs and the energy and ambition always do make it. Cream rises to the top; it sometimes takes a little longer.

Third standard rule: Andrea England is going to be very successful.

In the few short years since she arrived in Toronto from Sand Point, a seaside town in Nova Scotia - via Halifax and Ottawa - Andrea's led a charmed life and a career marked by talent, hard work and sheer determination.

Having already gained recognition for "Heart Wide Open (Eyes Wide Shut)", a song which won her early radio play, an Internet following, and a fans in other songwriters such as Dan Hill, England moved to Toronto determined to make her mark on the city's busy songwriting scene. She spent a year writing and recording her debut full-length CD, Lemonade - a catchy collection of hook-filled songs written with the heart, passion and sense of fun of a convinced, convincing writer - and topped it off by signing a national distribution deal with Maplenationwide / Universal Music. The project would go on - later that year and in the next - to garner England three Nova Scotia Music Award nominations, the Pop-Rock Award at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, and, in late 2005, 7 mentions on the 2006 official GRAMMY Ballot!

"I grew up listening to my parents' country and classic rock records, where people played their own instruments and wrote their own songs," England tells interviewers. "I knew exactly what I wanted this record to sound like...I wanted to make it sound very live and organic, and a big part of it for me was finding the right team to work with..."

Co-produced by BMG producer-writer and Northern Pikes front-man Bryan Potvin and Andrea - with additional tracks produced by Creighton Doane, Brett Rosenberg, and England herself - "Lemonade" boasted some exceptional musicians for a debut. Potvin played lead and rhythm guitars; Creighton Doane (Melanie Doane, Alannah Myles) played drums & percussion; keyboard giant Richard Bell (Janis Joplin, The Band) added his distinctive touches on 7 of the album's 11 tracks. Other contributers included Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk) on bass, cellist Kevin Fox (Shaye), Anthony Vanderburgh (Roch Voisine, Amy Sky), Dave Milliken, Kim Sheppard, and David Baxter on guitars. England also played piano and guitar, and was intimately involved in every aspect of the project, including producing the album's haunting ballad, "This Occasion," herself.

Andrea's certainly no stranger to the stage. Picking out tunes on the organ at age three and singing in the local variety concerts by four, England over the last few years has performed with Jorane, jacksoul, Gordie Sampson, Martha Wainwright, Bruce Guthro, Liam Titcomb, Ashley MacIsaac, Damhnait Doyle, Tara MacLean, and Sue Medley - just to name a few. She includes among her current and past collaborators hit songwriters Curtis Richardson (J. Lo), Bruce Brody (Lone Justice, U2, Maria Mckee), Andrew Fromm (Mark Anthony, BS Boys), Andy Stochansky,Liz Rodrigues, Bryan Allen (Heart), Luke McMaster, John Keller and many others.

Since the release of Lemonade in 2004, Andrea's taken part in four major songwriting gatherings - including a major ASCAP summit in Los Angeles as the only Canadian with 11 other writers - and become a member of the Creative Collective, Justin Gray's annual gathering of international songwriters; she's been acknowledged as a songwriter by the prestigious John Lennon International, USA, OCFF & NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) Songwriting Contests and showcased her songs from ECMA Songwriting Circles in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, to the CCMA Songwriter Cafes in Western Canada and even in LA & new York City...with stops along the way at CMW, NXNE, OCFF & Folk Alliance in Toronto & Montreal.

In the last 24 month's Andrea's had songs on U.S. hit TV shows, "Joan of Arcadia" & "Beautiful People" as well as on the recently released Dawson's Creek Season 4 DVD. Upcoming, she has several songs in the upcoming feature film, "Hooked on Speedman," as well several cuts recorded by national and international recording artists.

Andrea's experience, hard work, songwriting skills and tenacity - as well as a sharply developed "do-it-myself" work ethic - is what is taking Andrea England out of the ranks and into the spotlight. No short cuts. No quick juries to send her to "success" or oblivion. Just great songs, sung by an artist with heart, a likeable sparky personality and the ability to make summer as warm as we want it to be, and as cool as a tall glass of lemonade....

For further information, please email info@andreaengland.com

Lemonade is now available at*:
Chapters/ Indigo Bookstores
HMV
Sam the Record Man
A&B Sound
Best Buy
Virgin Megastore
www.maplemusic.com
*and where Universal Music products are sold