Anna's House :: Biography

Justin Capaldi -- acoustic guitar
From the age of five when he began imitating drumbeats on Beatles records, Justin began a life-long love of music. He honed his drumming skills for the earlier part of his life. Sometime during his high school years, Justin realized that the guitar players usually attracted the ladies, so he also took up guitar. He played guitar in the Clash-inspired Boy on Fire from 1984-1988. In the mid-to-late nineties, Justin returned to drums while doing double-duty for The Itchies and Alley Sway. In 1998, Justin saw Kristen across a crowded room and said, “Hey, Kristen. How’ve you been?” (The couple had been acquaintances for years). The two went out on a date and somewhere in their first few months of courtship, Justin finally got up the nerve to ask the age-old question; “So, you ever played any musical instruments?” Kristen replied that sadly, she’d never played any instruments, but she “used to sing a little.” Thus began months of pleading on Justin’s part to hear, just once, the siren-like voice of his love. Finally, after quite a bit of wine, Kristen gave in to his requests. From there, songs were written. Justin and Kristen were married in 2000 and they bought a house from a woman named Anna. Thus, Anna’s House became Justin’s new venture. Justin writes most of the catchy melodies for Anna’s House; he finds inspiration through listening to musicians like Belle and Sebastian, Simon and Garfunkel, Dar Williams, The Strawbs and Lucinda Williams. Ever-ambitious, Justin also plays guitar and drums with The Marlowes. His guitar playing can be heard on the band’s upcoming CD.

Kristen Falso -- vocals
Anna’s House is Kristen’s first professional musical venture. Though she did have several fantasy professional musical endeavors, such as her short stint with the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977 (until family members begged her to stop playing the record and threatened to stomp on her mouse ears) and the make-believe appearance at the first-ever MTV video awards ceremony. She spent her adolescent years, however, honing her future craft by participating in school choruses and chorales from 1982-1988. In the late eighties, she graduated from high school and moved on to college, then life. It seemed that she had left her singing voice behind along with her large eighties hairstyle. Ten years after she’d sung her last note, however, she began dating Justin and was asked the question every girl wants to hear: “So, you ever played any musical instruments?” “Alas, no.” She replied, “But I used to sing a little.” One day, Justin took out a guitar and asked her to sing. She sang. They wrote some songs. They formed a group called Tiny Tree and the Table (inspired by the best unknown children’s book ever, written by Kristen’s sister Kathy in the late 1970s) and they played one 20-minute gig at The Met Café in Providence. Kristen married Justin in 2000 and the two bought a house from a woman named Anna. The group was renamed Anna’s House. Kristen, a self-proclaimed “book worm”, provides most of the lyrics for Anna’s House. She is inspired by everything; books, lyrics, poetry, movies, really good episodes of Buffy, people walking by on the street, dreams, and good dessert.