Kristen Hall's career could have started out with a big boom back in the late '80s. Legend has it that Hall crossed paths with the Indigo Girls in a basement studio in Atlanta. They heard a song she was working on and started covering it in their live show. When they performed it at The Bluebird Café in Nashville, Sweethearts of the Rodeo loved it and wanted to put it on their new album. Being a touch green behind the ears on matters such as these and having a rebellious indie nature, Hall declined the offer. Sweethearts of the Rodeo won a Grammy. Hall learned the ropes. The support of Indigo Girls, however, continued to play a prominent role in Hall's journey. She toured as their guitar tech and would occasionally, with a good deal of coaxing, perform some of her own tunes. In 1990, Hall released Real Life Stuff and landed a publishing deal with BMG Music. She continued to tour with the Indigo Girls but as their opening act. Amy Ray's Daemon Records issued Hall's Fact & Fiction in 1992 to much critical praise. The favorable notices caught the attention of High Street Records who recruited Hall and reissued that album. Both early efforts were honest and raw portraits of a young artist sorting out her thoughts and rummaging through her heart in front of the whole world. But, with 1994's Be Careful What You Wish For, Hall made a huge leap forward. The sound was more polished and accessible, but nonetheless organic. The songs were well-crafted, sweeping, emotional, and marvelous. In 1996, a young hotshot singer by the name of Amanda Marshall opened her debut album with a cover of Hall's "Let It Rain." The record sold well and, once again, Hall earned a publishing deal. While packing up her things for a westward move, Hall memorialized a bunch of her tunes on Thumbprint: Bootleg Demos. Recorded here and there, it is very much as the title suggests. Once firmly rooted amongst the Los Angeles palm trees, she put together and independently released another collection in 2000. California Made Songs is an artist's choice sampling of Hall's work as a for-hire songwriter. ~ Kelly McCartney