...like a hurricane...

July 6, 2010 8:31 PM

Drugs seeped into the band, and were accompanied by an entourage of lowlifes stuck in a dizzying cycle of despair. Theresa was uninterested in the drug world yet she was too afraid to challenge her situation in her role as backup singer and dependent partner of Osborne. After nine turbulent years, the tension came to a head. Theresa had finally decided to confront Osborne about the drugs during a show at the famed Howlin' Wolf in New Orleans. The conversation predictably turned confrontational and with the usual crowd of partygoers surrounding the backstage area, Theresa snapped. She flung her violin through the window of the club. Glass shattered all over the ground and her violin lay broken beyond repair. It was over. Such is the life, death and the rebirth of accomplished violinist and singer,Theresa Andersson's music career.

She came to the USA from Sweden along with her boyfriend Anders Osbourne, a guitar player. Slowly but surely, their relationship fell apart and she found she needed to find her own voice. Beginning with some experimentation with assorted loop pedals and a YouTube video of her showing her act (in her kitchen) and an NPR feature on her and Anders, life has been good for Theresa Andersson.

The release of her CD, "Hummingbird Go!" as well as recent concert DVD shot in New Orleans, makes the circle complete.

Not to be missed:
"Oh Mary"
"On Your Way Down" (with Allen Toussaint)
"Birds Fly Away" (On Conan O'Brien).

(as an aside, she does an awesome cover of "Like a Hurricane" on the documentary "New Orleans - Music In Exile")

posted by KevinSkomsvold (14 comments total)

Is she the inspiration for the violin-playing character in Treme?
posted by mikeand1 at 9:33 PM on July 6, 2010

Good question, Mkeand1. I'm not familiar with Treme but based on what little I do know, it's not outside the realm of possibilities.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:52 PM on July 6, 2010

Fripptastic.
posted by charlie don't surf at 10:11 PM on July 6, 2010

Very nice, thanks! The Conan link points back here, though.
posted by Crane Shot at 10:11 PM on July 6, 2010

"Birds Fly Away," on Conan O'Brien
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:23 PM on July 6, 2010

Thanks Alvy and Crane Shot.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 10:39 PM on July 6, 2010

I dunno, nine years is kind of a long time.
posted by delmoi at 11:49 PM on July 6, 2010

I'm glad she finally found four members of a "hipster rock band" to back her. I'm sure it was like a void that was finally filled. With hipsters.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:52 AM on July 7, 2010

Crikey. The best time for an intervention is not during a show.
posted by yoHighness at 3:14 AM on July 7, 2010

mikeand1I was thinking the same exact thing [although I've only seen the first 4 episodes of Treme].
A reviewer of Treme from NPR also wondered about this too.

Great post.
posted by fizzix at 6:44 AM on July 7, 2010

No "U" in Anders Osborne.

There is speculation that the Annie/Sonny storyline in Treme is partially based on Andersson and Osborne, and partially on the Zack and Addie murder/suicide.
posted by CheeseLouise at 7:20 AM on July 7, 2010

I saw her and Anders Osborne in Austin in the mid-90s. It was a great show, and she totally overshadowed him (in my opinion). She had stage presence without trying; he's a great guitar player, but didn't have anything like her easy, natural exuberance.
posted by mudpuppie at 2:43 PM on July 7, 2010

I stumbled across one of her vids on YT a few weeks ago and was stuck by how well of a performer she is. There seems to be more and more people using loop stations these days, but she does it much better than the others.
posted by daHIFI at 6:49 PM on July 7, 2010

She had stage presence without trying; he's a great guitar player, but didn't have anything like her easy, natural exuberance.

I thought her "exuberance" was the most annoying part of her performances.
posted by charlie don't surf at 10:48 AM on July 8, 2010