Christian Kiefer grew up in California, where he developed a passion for the arts at a young age. He studied under T. Coraghessan Boyle and David St. John at the University of California, and received his Masters in Literature from California State University Sacramento and his Ph.D. in American Literature at the University of Southern California. His writing has been published in many literary journals, and he is the author of three novels.

Kiefer's first album, Welcome to Hard Times, was hailed as an Americana masterpiece, and Kiefer was described as being the inventor of the "country ambient" genre. He has since released several more albums, including Exodust and 2003's Medicine Show to critical acclaim.

Recently, Kiefer has been busy with the release of Dogs & Donkeys (featuring guests Nels Cline, Garth Hudson, Alan Sparhawk, and Mimi Parker), collaborations with British folkstress Sharron Kraus, The Black Dove. and Tom Carter of Charalambides. Ongoing projects include "43 Presidents," a project of songs about U.S. Presidents with J. Matthew Gerken (of Nice Monster) and Jeff Pitcher (of Above the Orange Trees) and featuring guest appearances by Califone.

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