Today we’d like to introduce you to Anders Mouridsen.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Denmark and started playing accordion when I was six years old. Accordion was a perfect first instrument because I always loved melodies, and the accordion allowed me to play all the melodies I knew while accompanying myself. I have two uncles who used to be very ambitious classical guitar players and now skilfully play two old Martin’s in the style of James Taylor, Ralph McTell, Bert Jansch and Neil Young. They would always bring their guitars to any family gathering, and I was always completely mesmerized by their gentle fingerpicking and harmonized singing. Due in large part to their influence and the fact that I was starting to realize the accordion wasn’t the “coolest” instrument in the classroom, the guitar slowly took over as my main instrument. Now it’s cool to play accordion again, but it certainly wasn’t when I was 13 years old.
I grew up in the countryside and while I absolutely loved that, the flip side was that there weren’t a lot of people around to play with. I spent many lonely hours with my guitar and a multi-track recorder simply trying to make music. I had some great teachers through the years, but in spite of that I was starving for more creative input and challenges. There’s an extensive music education system in Denmark, but I never felt like it was the right fit for me. I didn’t want to play Jazz or other academically advanced types of music. I wanted to play great songs with great musicians – even if the music seems simple. Just like the records I like to listen to.
Then at age 21, I packed a duffle bag and two guitars and headed to The U.S. on a one-way ticket. I studied at Musician’s Institute for a year, which was a huge blessing. While there’s a surprising amount of unambitious people at that school, I also met some of the greatest musicians I have ever known – both in the faculty and among the students. At M.I., the big thing was jazz fusion, and everybody wanted to play like the great guitar heroes of that genre. I was never into that so I actively sought out the teachers who could show me blues, country, bluegrass and classic rock stuff. I learned so much, and I got my butt kicked musically everyday.
After M.I. I started working in and around L.A., and at first you’re the last guy someone calls when they’re in a pickle, two hours before the show. Once you prove yourself time after time, you slowly work your way up the list and as your network grows, so does the pool of opportunities. L.A. is such a cool place because people instantly notice if you’re ambitious and serious about your craft and then the most unbelievable doors open for you. People see you being serious and they welcome you into their musical world. It just takes time to build the trust.
I’ve had the honor performing, touring, recording and writing with artists P!nk, Taylor Swift, John Fogerty, Cam, Guy Sebastian, TimArmstrong (AKA Tim Timebomb), Smokey Robinson, Meghan Trainor and many others. I’ve even had the honor of supplying the banjo track for Kermit The Frog when he sang Rainbow Connection at the season Finale of American Idol haha.
I’m also an avid songwriter. I’ve had several songs released by my favorite country-artist Cam, and this summer I had a song on Meghan Trainor’s album called “After You”. But most importantly, I’m days away from finishing my own very first full-length album. The idea was to bring my favorite musicians out to a Studio called ‘Gatos Trail’ in the desert (Yucca Valley) and record my ten best songs under heavy influence of the magical Joshua Tree landscape and the beautiful isolation. Thankfully we did that in January, so I had all the tracking done by the time Covid shut everything down. I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out, and I can’t wait to share it with the world. You can follow me on Instagram @andersmou if you want to stay in the loop.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
You don’t get anywhere in the music business without getting some bruises along the way. But if I’ve done anything right, it’s that I’ve consistently managed to turn all the great disappointments into motivation. It’s like a roller coaster, and when you’re flying downhill, you have to get ready to use that momentum to propel you up the next hill. The thing that has been hardest for me is all the time you have to spend away from the ones you love when things are going well. There’s lots of advice on how to deal with failure, but few people ever talk about how to deal with the challenges that arise when things are going really well.
If I could offer one piece of advice it would be about networking. Every good opportunity I have had in my career has come from the people I know. And the best opportunities come from the people who are further ahead in their careers than you. So my advice is that when you reach out to people, don’t ask them for opportunities. Offer them something of value! Nobody wants to get an email essentially saying “what can you do for me? Please do it!”. Instead, try to offer people something they can use. Offer your services for free at first (strategically of course) or you can even offer to walk someone’s dog – Just try to be of service to them and then you can build the relationship from there.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I started out working as a guitar player, and even though I’m always going to be a HUGE guitar nerd, I quickly realized that I care much more about the big picture than most working musicians. I love lyrics, and I care about production and how a band plays and sounds when it’s properly rehearsed. I know what the song is about when I play it and I’m every bit as invested in what everyone else is doing as what I’m doing myself. That’s why I’ve slowly grown from guitar playing to songwriting, MD’ing, Production and ultimately working as an artist myself. Regardless of the role I’m in, I bring all of this perspective with me, and artists and producers love that. I have no problem “shutting up and playing guitar”, when someone knows what they want, but I also have a lot more to offer when it’s needed. It’s hard to get opportunities in general, so I always do everything I can to provide not a single reason for someone not to want to hire me again. Check out my website www.andersmouridsen.com to hear some examples of my work!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I’m incredibly proud of my contributions to Cam’s brand new album called “The Otherside” as a songwriter and guitar player, but I expect to be even prouder when I release my own album “Yesterdays” any day now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andersmouridsen.com
- Instagram: @andersmou
- Other: https://www.gretschguitars.com/artists/anders-mouridsen-profile
Image Credit:
Concert photo by Chelsea Nicole Kornse and living room photo by Kristen Hilkert
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