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Rachel Kumar photo Recording session for blues singer Finis Tasby at Greaseland Studios, September 14, 2011.

By Paul Freeman

For The Daily News

Norway is famous for Vikings, salmon and, of course, blues music. Huh?

Well, Bay Area blues guitar sensation Christoffer "Kid" Andersen hails from Norway, anyway.

"Blues has quite a bit of popularity in Scandinavia," Andersen says. "I got into blues when I was about 12, started playing guitar. An hour-and-a-half from where I grew up, there's the Notodden blues festival, which is one of the biggest in the world. I got exposed to blues partially through that and partially through some older musicians who had already discovered the music. Blues really struck a chord for me, right from the beginning. It kind of became my native tongue, musically.

"Blues is the foundation for most all popular music. It's the roots of rock 'n' roll and jazz, and all that stuff that has spread through the whole world. Popular music in Norway and popular music in America, not that different anymore. So there's a bit of a universal familiarity with the blues, because of the widespread popularity of the music that borrowed heavily from it. Growing up in Norway, when I got into the real blues, the old guys, like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, to me, it was very exotic, a window into a world that was dramatically different from mine. So there was a big aura of mystery around it that was very appealing to me, yet had a feel that was somehow familiar."

Andersen studied the great blues guitarists. "Eventually, as I churned them all in my brain, it started coming out in a unique combination that could be described as my style."

For six years, he played in the house band of the Muddy Waters blues club in Oslo, Norway. "They would have old blues legends like Nappy Brown, Homesick James, Jimmy Dawkins, Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith. And we would back them up. I got to meet, play with and learn from the real masters. I was extremely fortunate. You can study books and records, watch YouTube clips and documentaries, but everything you know just goes out the window, when you're actually in the presence of a bona fide blues legend ... and you've got to play with them. It's a whole new dimension of reality that nothing can prepare you for."

At 21, Andersen moved to States. "I'd always wanted to go to America. Being a great blues guitar player in Norway was like being a great sushi chef in Mexico," he says, laughing. "If you really want to do it, the American culture, that's where blues was born. That's the bedrock. Maybe not Santa Cruz, where I first moved, but it's a hell of lot closer than Telemark, Norway."

Andersen played with saxophonist Terry Hanck from 2001 to 2004. In 2003, Andersen released his own CD, "Rock Awhile." Guests included Hanck, Mark Hummel and Junior Watson.

The album was very well received, especially in Norway. "When I left there, I wasn't at the top of the heap in Norway, by any stretch of the imagination. Once I'd been here a while and started to prove myself, I simultaneously started getting a lot more recognition over there. When I started putting out my own records, I became a household name over there, although here, I'm still more known for playing with Musselwhite and Rick Estrin."

Andersen played in Charlie Musselwhite's band from 2004 to 2008. "Charlie's a great guy. He's one of the very few people who, even though he's a white dude, when he sits down and plays acoustic guitar and harmonica, he has the indefinable, real, from-the-source blues quality that is not only impossible to learn, it seems impossible for most people to even recognize. Charlie is a great musician to play with and I loved every second of it."

Andersen, who lived in Sacramento for a while, became friends with Estrin and, in 2008, when Charlie Baty decided to retire from the Nightcats, Estrin asked Andersen to fill that gaping guitar vacancy. "I'd admired Rick ever since I was 18 years old and first saw him in Norway. He said maybe we should do a band together. I'm always ready to move forward and do something new and that sounded like a great idea. And it was. I was honored. I wasn't going in there as a copycat, trying to duplicate what Charlie had done. I was putting my own spin on it. In some aspects, we're similar, in others, we're pretty different. But we can both be pretty startling. I wanted to keep that in there.

"I loved playing with Musselwhite, but I was always the side guy, a replaceable, hired gun. What we've got with Rick now is a true band, where each of the guys is an integral part of what happens. It's a whole different vibe. Plus, I don't have to be as subdued with Rick, as I would be with Musselwhite. And that's a large understatement," he says, laughing, "as far as showmanship. All that is a much bigger part of what we do with Rick. And that's something that's just natural in me. I'm a big clown. That stuff is great, if you can back it up, musically. And we can."

The Nightcats have a packed gigging schedule. "People ask where we're playing and I say, 'Everywhere but space.' And actually, we played a club in Chicago called Space, so I can't say that anymore."

Busy as he is, Andersen has organized two shows at Club Fox onSunday, all-star blues extravaganzas, to benefit vocalist Finis Tasby.

"I met Finis through Elvin Bishop a few years ago. We did some shows and hit it off. So we decided to make an album together. And we did. It's called 'Snap Your Fingers.' But since we recorded that album, he had a massive stroke. It was in December and he's still all screwed up, can't do anything. He's had a lot of setbacks. But he's still alive. So we're trying to raise some money for him, for his medical bills and other things. He's not making any money. He's got family to support.

"I got together with Aki Kumar (harp player and event co-organizer) and contacted Elvin Bishop, who was on board, as were Kim Wilson from The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Rick Estrin, Terry Hanck. We've got a whole bunch of great musicians, who all rushed to play this benefit. And all the proceeds go directly to Finis."

The blues community is demonstrating great empathy. "Most of us don't really have a backup plan. When something like that happens, pretty much all you've got is the community. Finis is an old dude and he's a real blues man. He's a natural treasure of a singer and a lovable man. And he needs all the help he can get. I figure he was probably planning on playing and singing till he croaked. And didn't count on this. I can identify and most people who are helping out can, too. Plus, It's something he would do for any of us. It's the right thing to do."

The response speaks to local blues artists' respect and admiration for Tasby. "He is truly one of a handful of true, great blues singers that are still left," says Andersen. "When he opens his mouth, completely pure, unfiltered blues comes out. He hasn't been tainted and soiled by a bunch of other musical influences. And he's just so genuine that you cannot help but be moved and convinced by his singing. It's a real rarity. He's the last of a dying breed. And up until a year ago, he was as good as ever."

In addition to the performances, funds will be raised via auction and raffle. Andersen will oversee the whole event. "It'll be like trying to herd a bunch of cats, basically," he says, laughing.

Andersen, 33, herds two cats at the home he shares in San Jose with his wife, vocalist Lisa Leuschner. "She earned 'American Idol' fame in 2004. She's got more natural talent as a musician, and a better ear, than anybody I know."

His house is a recording studio and he often serves as producer/engineer for other artists.

What does Andersen find to be the most rewarding aspect of being a musician? "I don't have to get a real job."

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What: NorCal Benefit for Blues Singer Finis Tasby
Show 1: Bay Area All-Stars: Chrome Deluxe, Terry Hiatt and Friends, School of the Blues All-Stars with Phil Benson, Jim Dewrance, Andy Santana, A.C. Myles, Tip of the Top reunion, Super Jam feat. J.C. Smith, Stan Erhart, Kyle Rowland and more
Show 2: West Coast All-Stars: John "Blues" Boyd, Terry Hanck, Steve Freund, Jan Fanucchi, Rusty Zinn, Adrian Costa, Mark Hummel, Rick Estrin, Kid Andersen, James Harman, Kim Wilson and Elvin Bishop
Where: Club Fox, 2209 Broadway Street, Redwood City
When: Sunday; Show 1: 2-5 p.m.; Show 2: 6 p.m.
Admission: Show 1, $15; Show 2 , $25; both shows, $30;