Andy: The Website

My apologies to everyone who hoped to catch Denim Arcade at DragonCon.  All you Con-goers stay tuned and look for us at AnachroCon in February.  More details on that and other Denim Arcade shows will follow.  Be patient- we’ll get out there!  Get on my MAILING LIST and I will keep you up to date about that, solo shows, and any other shows and performances that involve me.

My next show is in Sioux Falls SD at the Center For Active Generations on Saturday October 2. The show will start at 7PM, and there will be refreshments and door prizes. Admission is $10 per ticket. Seating is limited, so please email Kim at GreenEyes_From_Gondor@yahoo.com to reserve yours. I haven’t performed in South Dakota in more than two years. I really enjoyed the last time I was there, so I’m looking forward to this one!

If you do not yet have my debut solo CD Greatest Hits Volume 27, be sure to click here to get it from CD Baby. See you soon!

Tuesday afternoon Denim Arcade received word that we would not be appearing at DragonCon due to ASCAP licensing, etc.  Supposedly the powers that be told the party’s organizers that they cannot have us at the Pirate Party/Time Travelers Ball because we are a cover band playing copyrighted material.  Sorry, it’s DragonCon and there are going to be performers there playing material that is copyrighted and they know it.  In case other factors are at play as we suspect, please send an email to Pat Herny – chairman@dragoncon.org and Bill Messina - billymessina@comcast.net and let them know that you are displeased with them.  But we would really like it if you did so respectfully as we don’t want to make enemies there.

After that, I’ll be in Sioux Falls SD at the Center For Active Generations on Saturday October 2.  The show will start at 7PM, and there will be refreshments and door prizes. Admission is $10 per ticket. Seating is limited, so please email Kim at GreenEyes_From_Gondor@yahoo.com to reserve yours. I haven’t performed in South Dakota in more than two years. I really enjoyed last time, so I’m looking forward to this one!

If you do not yet have my debut solo CD Greatest Hits Volume 27, be sure to click here to get it from CD Baby. See you soon!

Things are starting to heat up for Denim Arcade for this fall.  We’re playing the Pirate Party at DragonCon on Sunday night, September 5!  The details will be finalized….mmmm….. maybe at some point before that weekend.   It is DragonCon, you know.  But we’ll be there playing our 1980s hits and having great time!  So those of you who will be attending the Con should plan to go to the Pirate Party and see Denim Arrrrcade!

After that my next public solo performance will be October 2 in Sioux Falls, SD at the Center For Active Generations.  The show will start at 7PM, and there will be refreshments and door prizes.  Admission is $10 per ticket.  Seating is limited, so please email  Kim at  GreenEyes_From_Gondor@yahoo.com to reserve yours.  I haven’t performed in  South Dakota in more than two years.  I really enjoyed last time, so I’m looking forward to this one!

If you do not yet have my debut solo CD Greatest Hits Volume 27, be sure to click here to get it from CD Baby.  See you soon!

Thanks to all who went to the Lost Boys’ annual Fan Appreciation show! It’s always good to see everyone again, to be Tom, and to perform such fun music with such a highly entertaining act.

My next performance will be another evening of mostly covers at Dreamy Gelato at The Avenue Forsyth on Saturday, August 7 from 7-9 PM. We had a good time at the last show on Memorial Day weekend, and we all know the gelato was delicious!

After that I’ll be playing with Denim Arcade at the Pirate Party at DragonCon! More details will follow, but there’s a heads-up for those of you who will be at DragonCon! Playing there on the big stage in 2007 was one the main highlights for me, if not THE highlight, of my time in the starting lineup of the Lost Boys. The Pirate Party will be fun as well, because it just doesn’t get any more piratical than an 80s cover band!

For those of you who missed it, one of my songs, the Ross Rex theme, was the background music for a news special that was filmed at Galactic Quest. Click here to watch it!

See you soon!

For the first time ever,  a song I wrote and recorded has been featured on a news program!  CBS Atlanta did a special on Galactic Quest, and throughout most of that segment, the Ross Rex theme was playing in the background!  Check it out here !

Thanks to those who made it to Galactic Quest for the show on June 19th and Dreamy Gelato on May 29!  I had a great time!

Next up for me is the big Lost Boys Fan Appreciation show at the Push Push Theater in Decatur GA, my first appearance with the Lads in nearly a year (but not my first appearance as Tom Smiter this year- it was good to see some of you during my unexpected visit to the Georgia Renaissance Festival on Memorial Day).  I’ve started going to Lost Boys rehearsals again, and I can already tell you it’s going to be a fun show.  I can’t wait!

After that I’m back at Dreamy Gelato at The Avenue Forysth in Cumming GA on August 7.  I’ll be playing mainly covers again, and I will be deliriously happy if just as many of the people in line drop what they’re doing to sing along with that Paula Abdul song as did last time!

Stay tuned for fall shows with Denim Arcade.  Now that that GARF is over, work on our demo has resumed.  We hope to be out there rocking the 80s very soon.  Also keep your ears and eyes open for more solo dates, and remember that if you don’t already have my debut solo CD Greatest Hits Volume 27 yet, you can get it from CD Baby!

That’s the news for now.  See y’all soon!

It’s always good to see new faces, as well as faces familiar and dear.  Don’t forget that I’ll be back Dreamy Gelato on Saturday, August 7 playing covers again from 7-9 PM.  I’ll have even more covers then, so don’t miss that or the gelato!

Before that, however, I’ll be playing an original-driven show on Saturday, June 19 at the Galactic Quest comic store in Lawrenceville GA.  Yes, it’s a comic store.  Yes it’s also a fun no-cover entertainment venue on many a weekend, and we’ll have a good time on the 19th as well.   While originals will be the main focus I’m going to let the audience decide parts of the set list!  When it’s time to play a cover, I’ll draw a name to see who gets to select a cover song from my ever-growing cover repertoire.  And of course, the game you love to hate that you love- the 187 game!  The show starts at 7:30, and it’s on Highway 120, a mile east of 316 and between Phoenix High School and Captain D’s.

Be sure to sign my MAILING LIST while you’re here so I can keep you up to date, and if you don’t already have my debut solo CD Greatest Hits Volume 27 you can sample it at CD Baby!

See you soon!

Next up for me is a two-hour slot Dreamy Gelato at the The Avenue  in Cumming, GA on May 29th from 7-9 PM!  I’ll be playing more covers than anything else, so if you’re local and plan to spend the weekend in the 21st century, I’d love to see you there.  I can tell you that their gelato itself makes the drive out to Cumming worthwhile, having made the trek a few times myself for that specific purpose.  Only this time, you can eat gelato while at the same time wonder if you’re really hearing me play some of the songs I intend to play!  Click here for map of the stores in The Avenue Forsyth.  Dreamy Gelato is between Ted’s Montana Grill and Ichiban.

My next regular solo show at Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville GA will be on Saturday, June 19 at 7:30 PM.  If you have no idea where Galactic Quest is, it’s easy to find.  It’s on Highway a mile east of 316, between Phoenix High School and Captain D’s.  I’ll do mostly originals but plenty of covers as well.  In fact, I’m going to let members from the audience choose what covers I play!  We’ll have a great time, so come on out June 19th.

Before that, on Saturday June 12, I’ll be performing all day at  SciFi Summer Con at the Crown Plaza on Powers Ferry.  No show times, no stage, no set list-just me, a guitar, and a djembe out on the concourse playing it by ear and calling audibles.  Who knows what I might get around to playing? I’ll probably go to the proverbial attic for a few songs.

But you can’t wait until then, can you?  No, you can’t!  That’ why have I CDs available online at CDBaby!  Get yours today and I’ll see you next month!

THE PROS:

1. I have a CD!   Hope everyone who already has it is enjoying their new CD.  They’re now on CD Baby and can be found at www.cdbaby.com/andywomack .  About the CD- it’s over 72 minutes long and has 15 songs with full instrumentation, and it’s definitely not one of these albums where every song sounds pretty much the same.  Definitely one to add to your collection.

2. I had a great time the last solo show on February 27th!  Thanks to those who made it special.  As has been my custom at Galactic Quest, I played some new material.  I debuted a brand new one, “On The Road With You”, and I also played the Eastern United States debut of “Until”.  And of course, we played the 187 game!

3. I’ll be back at Galactic Quest on May 1 for Free Comic Book Day.  I’ll be playing there from 7-8 PM.  Radio Cult is headlining!

4.  I have another full show at Galactic Quest on Saturday, June 19!

THE CONS

1. AnachroCon, where I’ll be playing 80s covers with Denim Arcade at the Wellesley Inn near the airport in Atlanta on May 1.  If you see me rush out of Galactic Quest after I play at Free Comic Book Day, that’s why.  I’m doing a doubleheader that night!

2. Sci Fi Summer Con at the Crown Plaza on Powers Ferry, where I’ll be playing short sets throughout the day on Saturday June 12.  It’s very informal, so there’s no telling what I might get around to playing!

Stay tuned for other events as well.  Hope to see you soon!

Happy New Year to all!  I hope everyone thawed out after the blizzard.   I am closer and closer to having a CD, and I will let you all know when it’s ready!  Those of you who got to the December show early have heard a version of it, but a good deal of behind-the-scenes tweaking has been done since then, and I’m very happy with the great job Dolph is doing with it.

My next solo show will be on Saturday, February 27 at the Galactic Quest comic store in Lawrenceville.  It’s a comic store by day and often a performance venue by night, and having both attended and played shows there I can tell you it’s a good venue in to both perform and listen, even if people can take pictures of a performer at such an angle as to make him look like he has horns and/or wings.   It’s on Hwy 120, about a mile east of 316, in front of Phoenix High School, and next to Captain D’s.

As I’ve always done there, I’ll play songs you haven’t heard before as well as songs you have, I’ll continuously hop from the sublime to the ridiculous, and I’ll explore the areas in between those two extremes.   I’ll even play the 187 game.   And who knows?  I may even have CDs by then.  Be sure to sign my mailing list for updates.  See you at Galactic Quest!

So one year ago today I stood on stage at Galactic Quest in what had the feel of my Lost Boys farewell show.  It wasn’t really as I performed with them twice this year, but apart from those, sporadic cabaret shows, and a few solo shows I’ve kept myself in what I have called a musical cocoon this year.  I’ve been about the task of reinventing myself as a musician, undergoing a metamorphosis, and discovering wings I didn’t know I had.  Now that my CD is almost out I will look to be getting out more and playing some open mic nights and other venues in addition to my show at Galactic Quest on February 27.  Be sure to sign my mailing list if you haven’t already so I can let you know when and where I’m doing what and with whom.  Musically, that is.

In the meantime, however, I have learned quite a bit about myself this year.  I am not one to blog about too much personal stuff, but here are ten things I’ve learned about myself  in the last year as pertains to music.  May all of you benefit from what you have learned about yourselves from your experiences this year, and may you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Here’s my ten:

• Recording a do-it-all-yourself (or 94% of it anyway) full-length solo CD is more work than I thought it would be at the beginning of the year.

• I am much more influenced by Green Day than I thought I was (or would admit I was) at the beginning of the year.

• The songs I write are more effective if you believe the stories behind them to be something other than what they actually were.

• Proportionate to the tracks on my CD, the majority of songs I have written ask questions.

• Sometimes people react to my songs in ways that surprise me.

• I am very blessed to have some very talented musicians in my life.

• I am very blessed to have some very loyal friends from among the Teal Nation who haven’t forgotten about me this year.

• 187 is becoming one of my favorite numbers.

• Playing drums with a parrot on your shoulder isn’t that much different than playing drums without one once you get used to it. After a few minutes the only difference is that there’s a parrot on your shoulder.

• There are a lot of musical things I can do better than play the recorder

See you in 2010