Tuesday, May 12, 2009

ANDY D... the interview!

Yo! It's "theVision" here. I recently caught an Andy D show when he played with our boy Grey at the Melody Inn. I was mesmerized. Not only was this Bloomington native extremely entertaining, fun and hilarious... but he actually had tight beats too! I couldn't believe it... the whole package. Very rare these days so... without further ado. I present the Andy D interview.

Photobucket

theVision: Who is Andy D?


Andy D: Andy D wants everyone to have a great time in this life and to realize how incredible and unique they are. He likes bright colors and catchy songs; therefore, he wears bright colors and makes catchy songs. Andy D likes a lot of different things and wants to share those with the world. Then there is also the booty shaking; he does metric tons of that.

Photobucket

tV: Your music is epic, nasty, dirty and moving... what is your process like? Do you make your own beats?



AD: I write my own beats, melody, rhythm—all of it. Catchiness is key. I'll get a melody stuck in my head. If the hook gets stuck in your head, then the words being sung to the melody will get stuck there too-- and sink in. Next comes the wordplay. I go for humor and clever zingers. If I can make people laugh, they are a step closer to dancing. And you can't dance without having a good time. 

My biggest influences are late-80s/early-90s Freestyle (Debbie Deb, Taylor Dane, Shannon, Rockell), Old-School Hip-Hop, Disco, Electro-Pop and New Wave. I take my demo songs and ideas to my producer, Calvin Cardioid, who has one of the best ears and sensibilities for music in anyone I've ever met.


Photobucket




tV: Your lyrics include references to horror, fantasy, etc.—most notably the song you sing about vampires and werewolves fuckin'. Then there’s your "Auryn" tattoo! What are your influences and why?


AD: I spend a lot of time thinking about what I love…from all points in my life. The Neverending Story was my favorite movie growing up and it still is! The moment at the end when I realized the never-ending-ness of the story was in depth and not in time—it literally took my perspective to another dimension! That's why I got the Auryn tattoo. I have degrees in Anthropology and Religious Studies (basically in folklore and mythology), so that's why I love werewolves, magic, unicorns and arcane symbols. 
I'm a nerd and I nerd out about a lot of things! The biggest thing is sexuality.
Photobucket

tV: You are a hustler at your shows—workin’ hard, sweatin', movin' and havin' fun. What's your motivation?
AD: I don't hustle in the usual urban way, but I AM working hard.  So hard in fact that seven songs is about the maximum number I can do safely. By that 8th or 9th song I might pass out or vomit or die or something.  
Andrew WK—this guy inspired me… to be awesomer than I previously was and to do the music I want to do. My MO is for everyone to realize that in this life they deserve to have what they want (as long as they aren't fucking with other people). Everyone is deserving of happiness, and I happen to think sex and werewolves and other awesome things are results of that. This is also why I say, "I love you," seven or eight times per show, because I really do love everyone who took the time to watch me freak out on stage.
tV: There is a serious visual element to your shows. Your wardrobe. Your look. Why? Is it as integral a part of your show as it seems? (More on this question... it's really good.)
AD: Yes it is very integral. The zeitgeist of this generation places a premium on self-awareness and coolness—literally, detachment. Some people think so much about what they are doing that it paralyzes them into NOT doing. Everything I stand for is going away from that.
I have worked very hard to not care what other people think of me, and that has given me confidence. That is the opposite of coolness, detachment—those things are about keeping people at arms length and just fooling everyone with some bullshit posture. 
I decided that I was going to do something powerful and maybe absurd, but I was going to do it sincerely. I do have a rattail and a moustache all the time because I genuinely like them—not to be funny. I like to mix hyper-masculine things with the t-shirts a little girl would wear, because I’m a person who truly doesn't give a shit what other people think.
tV: How would YOU describe your music?
AD: This is so tough. I try to skirt this issue. Lil' Wayne is playing the guitar now, Kanye West is doing Shoe-gazing electro-pop, and we all know about Nu-Metal... I would love this to be popular, so maybe it's all pop music!
Photobucket

tV: How has your reception been in the music community? Do you have anything fresh and new in the works that HeavyGunners should be aware of?
AD: The response has been really good. I was in a battle of the bands here in Bloomington this fall, and I got pretty far—to the semi-finals. It hurt to be eliminated, and I got depressed for a while. Then I rallied and wrote a bunch of awesome songs! I met a lot of bands in this town and I've played with many of them since. Totally Michael is a great guy I've played with several times here. I've also played with some great touring bands like Matt and Kim and The Howlies. When I lived in Brooklyn [I played a lot of shows and did a collaborative duet that should debut soon] with this Electro duo called Macaque. My friends Debbie and Daphne of Avenue D (now defunct) were major inspirations to me as well. 
Choose Your Perversion is pretty new to everyone—most people have never heard of Andy D before! Check that out and check out my show. [I’m almost finished writing] my second album, Songs in the Key of Magic, so that will manifest in the next six months. I regularly play three songs from it in my shows now, and I'm going to be integrating more new songs in future shows. 





5 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 14, 2009

    Ripiiiiiin'

    ReplyDelete
  2. whoop whoop! I'm down with vikings and unicorns!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saw an Andy D show at the Melody Inn in Indianapolis and it was awesome and hilarious and oddly inspiring. Andy D's CD, Choose Your Perversion, is a fun listen and while most of his songs are raunchy and funny, he also included a song that really surprised me - Blow U Away. It's an electronica-ish love song, so it doesn't really fit with the rest of the CD, and I'm totally OK with that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Blow U Away. is the best song ever! I want Andy to play that live at my wedding- dead serious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. actually, andy d played at my wedding - and, oddly enough, dedicated "blow u away" to my wife & i. the picture above, with andy in the furry vest at the mixing board in front of a projector screen? yep, that was andy at the wedding Halloween 08.

    i can't wait for his next cd to drop. he's magic!

    ReplyDelete