Andy Coats
Acoustic guitar driven, edgy roots, blues, and rock. Thoughtful and poignant songwriting, recorded live and real!!
2
songs
472
plays
White Bread Blues White Bread Blues
Circus Day Circus Day
Cast of characters participating in human cruelty--makes the world a circus day
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Andy plays a kind of music he calls 'Roots and Blues.' He uses this term, really, for lack of any better term to characterize his music.
As Andy explains: "Roots and Blues for me means basically a bunch of acoustic blues songs and whatever else I want to play." The 'whatever else' includes folk, classic-rock, and even touches of jazz, ragtime, and bluegrass music.
"Right or wrong, I've never really settled into a hard and fast style of music or songwriting. (See the Bio Page for more details.) My first experiences were in more of a rock and roll setting, and that's how I learned how to sing and play guitar with a pick. But for the last 8 or 9 years I've tried to immerse myself more in the acoustic blues tradition, where you use your fingers and often a slide. Masters of this style were people like Robert Johnson and Son House, for example."
"One reason for playing different styles is that, if you're performing solo like me, you've got to mix things up a bit to keep people's attention. And the way I try to do this is by varying genres, techniques, guitars, tunings--whatever I can do to keep things interesting."Band/artist history
Andy Coats was born and raised in North Carolina and has been interested in music since his early teens. He became enamored with Led Zeppelin and other "classic rock" bands at about age 13. His first efforts at performing and writing consisted of a short stint singing for a hard rock band and then later with a progressive rock band. During this time, he contributed lyrics to the original material performed by the bands and, after picking up the guitar, he began to write music as well. "This really helped to improve my ear, my sense of melody and harmony, and my overall musicality," Andy says.
From there he worked his way back to the genres in which so much classic rock is rooted--folk and the blues. "My passion for this sort of music began in my late teens, when I was a huge Dylan fan, but really came to a head in my mid-20s. I was living in Southern California, struggling through graduate school, and it was only then that the magic of the blues masters fully hit me. I dove head first into Robert Johnson's material, listening to it daily. There's also a great weekend blues show, "Nothin But the Blues", on radio station KJAZZ (at Long Beach State Univ.). I have fond memories of listening all day, picking up my guitar, and jamming along. This helped me get through some tough years ... . As a student I made almost no money, and I felt my career prospects were pretty bleak--there were very few teaching jobs available, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy is not exactly the most marketable degree ... . For these reasons I came to identify with the blues, although I will be the first to admit that the kind of problems I had were nowhere near as immediate and urgent as those of the classic blues singers."
After completing his degree and relocating to Des Moines, Iowa, Andy was better able to focus his attention on his music. It was then that he began recording what would become his debut CD release, "Haiku Rainfall." See the Discography page for details about the disc.
More recently Andy finished recording his next CD, entitled "Song & Pony Show". This new record features 12 songs, 11 of which are original. The project contains arrangements with a fuller band sound, ranging from the standard guitar/vocals/bass/drums lineup to a trio format with percussion and stand-up bass. The title was inspired by the many folk and blues songs that make mention of ponies. This idea culminates in an interpretation of the beautiful and delicate Tom Waits song, Pony (from his 1999 Mule Variations CD).
All-in-all, Andy intends for "Song & Pony Show" to present powerful, fleshed-out arrangements of his original songs, while at the same time including sparser arrangements that showcase his talents as a solo performer. All recording and mixing for the record has been done, and the final steps will be to complete the mastering and artwork. Tentative date of release is Fall, 2003.
In July of 2003, Andy and his wife returned to Southern California, where he first felt the full power of the blues and where he plans to take his career to the next level.Have you performed in front of an audience?Yes, check out this link
www.andycoats.com/gigs.html
Your musical influences
Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, Miss. Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, Rev. Gary Davis, John Hammond Jr., Corey Harris, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Tom WaitsAnything else?
I also offer guitar lessons!
San Clemente, CA
USA
ID
119267
Contact
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