Kristy Kruger, a singer and songwriter, pulls from an eclectic array of influences such as the works of Tom Waits, Emmylou Harris, Bessie Smith, and Aimee Mann when crafting her multifaceted take on Americana. Her piano skills date back to age five, and during high school in Texas she started composing music, securing multiple contest victories in her home state along with a scholarship to study music at the University of Southern California. After beginning her studies there, Kruger formed a group and performed across Los Angeles venues to promote her material, some pieces of which appeared on her first record, Bachelor of Apathy, issued in 1998. She put out that album via her independent imprint Do It Yerself Records, the same entity responsible for her 2000 follow-up The Noise I Make. During tours promoting this second project, she encountered producer and engineer Andrew Gilchrist, previously associated with Ani DiFranco. He consented to helm her subsequent album, prompting Kruger to move to New Orleans where she cut An Unauthorized Guide to the Human Anatomy—a record exploring anatomical themes and marking her initial collaboration with a complete ensemble. In 2006 came Songs from a Dead Man's Couch.
