Meet Andie K | Lead Vocalist & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andie K and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andie, what matters most to you?
I would have to say integrity. It encompasses honesty and having strong moral principles. I think we’ve all met someone, or have a story about dealing with someone who didn’t have integrity. It’s horrible to be lied to and taken advantage of by a selfish person. For me, having integrity is extremely important. Not only for myself but for the people I spend time with. I want my friends and any business associates to know they can trust me but also, it’s for my own sense of self-worth. I want to be able to look in the mirror and be happy with the person I see and the decisions I’ve made. If I’m not, then I need to make changes within myself.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am the lead vocalist and half the songwriting team for the band The Key of F. My bandmate, Marie Pettit is the other half of the songwriting team. The best way to describe our music is if you took Joan Jett and Dead Posey and rolled them into one. What really sets us apart is the dichotomy of our personalities and how it translates into the music we write. Marie and I write everything together and I often joke that we are opposite sides of the same coin, but it’s true! You meet Marie and she is so vivacious and warm. She just exudes positivity and is probably the kindest person I’ve ever met. Then there’s me…..I’m the darker, sarcastic, and edgier one who has “resting murder face” most of the time. We tend to create from a grey area between our personalities so you get the best parts of each. Right now, we are in the studio recording our second single called “Feelin’ the Mood”. I’m very excited about how this song is coming together. It’s a bit of a hybrid of Rockabilly and Swing, but trust me, this ain’t your Granny’s swing music. It’s got some bite to it. And after that, we’ve got an EP planned, so lots of exciting things to look forward to. Getting to this point had its highs and lows. The biggest challenge for me was getting out of my own way and not listening to that negative voice in my head. Growing up, I was the kid who was constantly bullied at school. It was a never-ending nightmare. Even leaving school, you still run into adults who are bullies and I’ve had many of them telling me I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, or talented enough. So of course, I thought I could never be the frontwoman of a rock band. When I moved to Los Angeles and met Marie Pettit, we started singing together doing cover songs. Then in 2019, I had the rug pulled out from under me when a long-standing relationship I was in abruptly ended. But sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right. To help myself heal, I started scribbling thoughts and feelings down on a sheet of paper. Marie took a look at what I had written and immediately said I’d written a song. I’ve never written a song before; at the time I didn’t even know how to read music. But Marie and I sat down and found a melody together and our debut single “Lies” was born. Then came the frightening decision of releasing the song and actually committing to this band. Lucia Cifarelli’s encouragement played a big part in my decision to take a risk and do this. I learned how to read and write music, Marie and I started writing several other songs, and now I’m learning how to play bass guitar. The thing I would like the world to know is: Never let anyone tell you who you can or cannot be. Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you, or your own fear stop you from doing the thing that sings to your soul. That probably sounds very ‘Disney’… But I am from Florida so it was bound to creep in somewhere. Doesn’t make it any less true though.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would recommend taking them to the Santa Monica area and stroll along the 3rd street Promenade, go to the Santa Monica Pier, and then stop off in Ye Olde King’s Head for drinks and a bite to eat. I like to do things that are kinda off the beaten path, so I would say take your friends axe throwing over at LA-AX. Enjoy yourself in The Last Bookstore, and grab some food at Cole’s downtown, and you don’t wanna miss a tour at Lost Spirits Distillery- it is an amazing and unique experience.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been so many individuals here and at home in Orlando who have been a source of inspiration and encouragement. It would be impossible to only pick one individual. I’m very fortunate to have a close-knit group of friends who believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself. Daniel and Brenda Corey who I have known since our theme park days in Orlando, Florida, are living in Los Angeles. They’ve been there for me through thick and thin and always encouraged me to never give up. My songwriting partner and bandmate, Marie Pettit is a daily inspiration and our close friends Alexx Calise & Dennis Morehouse. The three of them are so incredibly talented and have helped me grow as a musician and songwriter. My vocal coach, Darci Monet has been a Godsend. She’s had her work cut out for her in undoing a lot of my bad vocal habits and has shaped my voice in ways I never thought possible. Without the kindness and encouragement from Lucia Cifarelli of KMFDM, I don’t think I would have risked writing and performing my own songs. She’s been an inspiration for a long time and I am very grateful for all of her support and friendship. And of course, my parents. Without them, I would never have made it this far. They’ve been truly amazing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andie_k/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/band.thekeyof.F/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyyHxbmCWEXdEac2eAAeG0A?view_as=subscriber
Other: The Key of F insta: https://www.instagram.com/thekeyof_f/
Spotify: The Key of F

Image Credits
Alexx Calise Daniel Corey Christopher Gregson