Playing in bands over the years in various genres of music, Stray's sound skirts the darker edges of Americana and flirts with Indie/pop and Alt/Country. Stray recorded her debut album, Vacancy in Nashville. Vacancy is a collection of songs from western lounge flavored sounds to capturing the feeling of a desert rain after a hot day. The record found its audience with Americana and folk rock fans. With the EP Into Blue, the artist continues to write songs that let you get lost in the rhythms, textures and stories. Into Blue, is a more raw and revealing album, both offer proof of her instrumental, vocal, and songwriting abilities. All songs were written and produced by Stray.
Her main instruments are guitar and piano. Stray recorded both releases with Nashville musicians. She says, "Nashville is a city that bleeds music. I like recording with everyone playing together with minimal overdubs. It just feels right to me to capture the way the song comes alive. The musicians are great players and easy to work with.”
The title track, on "Into Blue" has a distorted guitar intro that weaves in and out of the song. Adding cello and piano Stray describes the intent, “I wanted the music to feel like it is creeping up on you, like the way love or lust does.” J.T. Corenflos takes the lead on guitar and helps to capture the mood.
The jazz-tinged "Little Word" feels like being at a noir jazz club or lounge, she explained. “Bending the guitar strings creates a deep slinky mood and J.T.’s electric guitar solo feels kind of sexy, yet lonely.” She adds, "I was thinking about how the mysterious little word "love" can cause such a big sensation."
Creating sounds and writing stories are an integral part of Andrea Stray’s life. She usually writes her songs between midnight and dawn when she says, “the world is a little quieter.” Stray's song, “Tastes Like a Heartache” was one of the winners in the American Songwriter Magazine July/August lyric contest.
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Andrea lived in many different places while growing up including Tucson, the Rocky Mountains and the foggy shores of California. Especially drawn to Tucson where the open spaces and mystery of the desert have shown up in her songs. She learned to play guitar on her father’s old Gibson guitar and has written songs most of her life. She has played with several bands and likes to work with other musicians on their projects whenever she can. She performs live with a full band or sometimes as a duo. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband.