Andy: The Website

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July!

It has been too long since Denim Arcade played out, but I’m looking forward to a busy August with Denim Arcade, with whom I’ll be performing three weekends in a row!  One of these is at a private functions, and one of them is at AleCon, the Con hosted by Three Quarter Ale.  For those of you who are going August 10-12 to help them celebrate ten years of delightful performances, we are headlining the Saturday lineup with an hour of our best.

On August 18th, however, we are pleased to announce that we will be playing at Moondance, a classy, upscale dinner and dance venue in Suwanee, GA.   They have a gourmet menu instead of the pub fare typically available to you when you see us, and they have a nice dance floor.  Reservations are strongly encouraged.  We will began playing softly at 8:30 as people are still eating dinner, but then at 9:00 we’ll turn up and rock it out with Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Men at Work, etc. until 11:30.   The venue is on Peachtree Industrial just north of Suwanee Dam Rd.  Call 770-831-9700 to make your reservation.  It will be fantabulous!

See you next month!

As some of you may already know, this past Sunday at 3:45 I performed my final show at the Georgia Renaissance Festival.  Behind the pub stage there is a wooden ramp leading up to the back of the service area of the pub.  In the late afternoon, just before 3:45, it is in the shade.  I found out the hard way that reclining on this ramp is a fireable offense so serious that a performer need not even be issued a warning and so blatantly obvious that signage to this effect need not be posted.   My apologies to all who enjoyed the show there and who had hoped to hear it there, but I picked the wrong shady spot.  It wasn’t the quality of my shows, the groanability of my puns, the renfaire ettiquette I breached by playing music that was actually from the Renaissance period, the strange sense of humor behind songs I played at pub sing, the riveting delivery of my lines in the front gate skit, my unlikely friendship with a parrot named Buddy, or my team’s losing record in the 11:00 contest against the faeries.   It was nothing which involved the public, another cast member, or any of the livestock- just the unmitigated audacity to lie down on an occasionally-accessed (and shaded) back entrance to a service facility, even though I moved when someone did access it.

I did very much enjoy the warm reception I received from both the cast and the patrons there, whether they remembered me from the days of the Lost Boys or became acquainted with me for the first time this year.  I had a blast there until that fateful moment, and I appreciate the opportunity the Festival afforded me to bring my new show to their pub stage.  I have by no means given up on the act as I’ve worked too hard on it, and I am not going to dismantle the PROMPT, but barring a change of ownership and management Tom (or Andy, for that matter) has set foot in the village of Newcastle for the last time.

As for me, I  still have Denim Arcade, I will do another solo show at some point, and there are other things I could wind up doing as well.  To stay up to speed in terms of what I’m doing and whom I’m doing it with, musically speaking, please sign my MAILING LIST and I will let you know when I’m doing what.

As for GARF, all my best to the patrons who made it magical for me, all my best to my comrades on the cast to keep making it magical for patrons, and all my best to my old band The Lost Boys, who are going to rock your faces off in a couple of weekends.  And here’s to good health and speedy recovery for William, Son of William (we think).

For those who still don’t have it, my CD Greatest Hits Volume 27 is available from CD Baby!  See you soon!

That’s right, Lords and Ladies, you heard it here first.  I will be appearing at the 2012 Georgia Renaissance Festival in my familiar renfaire persona of Tom Smiter, but this time I’ll be there with a brand new solo act!

You haven’t heard from me in a while as I’ve been rather quiet lately and not done much in the way of solo performances, but that’s because I’ve been focused on preparing for this.  So what exactly will I be doing there?

The show I’ll be presenting this spring is much different than what you’ve seen from me there before.  First of all, I will be defying renaissance festival custom by performing a lot of music that is actually from the renaissance period!  Most of the material in my repertoire was written during or before the time of Shakespeare, as opposed to during or after the American Civil War as is typical for songs heard at renaissance festivals.  I’ve been a fan of Renaissance period music for many years and always felt like it was missing from renaissance festivals, so I’m happy to help fill the void.  But that’s not the only big difference!

The instrumental component is highly unconventional and inventive, befitting the spirit of the Renaissance. Sure, I will sing a few songs while playing the djembe and a few while playing the guitar, but this new show will bring you bizarre feats of rhythm and melody you’ve probably never seen attempted before by any reasonable musician.  While a great many fairegoers have seen me play percussion and a bit of guitar and a few have even heard me play recorder briefly on CDs and in the occasional off-site Lost Boys show, they haven’t heard me play any of these in combination with each other.  Not until this spring, that is.  I refuse to let the fact that this is a solo act limit me to one instrument at a time. All you have to do is close your eyes and I become a band!

You kind of have to see it to understand, and that’s why I’m giving you a sneak preview of the Tom Smiter show before the season begins.  Join me at Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville GA on Saturday March 31 at 7:30 PM  The first half of the show will be my regular solo show as Andy, but then at intermission I’ll step into the phone booth, go back in time, and emerge once again as Tom Smiter!  It will be like Superman and Bill & Ted’s Excellent adventure combined!  Good thing it’s in a comic book store…..

Galactic Quest is on Highway 120, a mile east of 316, in front of Phoenix High School, and next door to Captain D’s. Be a part of history and catch the first ever Tom Smiter show!  I shall see thee anon!

****UPDATED*****
The night before that, March 30, you can catch Denim Arcade at Wild Wing Cafe in Suwanee, corner of Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road and Sattelite, We’ll be playing a bunch of the raddest and gnarliest songs from the 1980s!

Thanks to all those who made it out to 37 Main in historic Buford on a rainy Columbus Day Monday evening. We rocked a 90-minute audition set for a group of our friends, and they were so impressed with us that they offered us a slot on the bill for Friday October 21! We are the opening act and are slated to perform a 75-minute set beginning at 8:45-ish. $5 cover.

Last night we debuted a couple of new songs. Duran Duran’s “Rio” was very well-received and a lot of fun to play. The other new one, which we figured we had to play with a name like Denim Arcade, was “Pac-man Fever”, and we played it complete with video game sounds effects! Yeah, it was pretty geeky. But a good time was had by all, it’s a fun place to watch a show, it’s a club that hosts national acts (saw a flier in there for an upcoming Nelson show, no kidding), the sound quality is very good, and the Buffalo chicken Philly I had hit the spot. Come on out and have fun with us on the 21st. It will be quite a weekend for us as the following evening we are scheduled to perform at my high school reunion! I’m very excited about that!

The next public gig for Denim Arcade after the 37 Main show another 80s show at @tmosphere on November 12.  We’ll play new songs that we’ve added to our diverse and extensive list since the last show.  We’ll play two one-hour sets on their huge stage starting at 10 PM.  It’s on Highway 78 near Loganville.  You can’t miss the sign on the side of the road.  $5 cover.

If you do not already have my debut solo album Greatest Hits Volume 27, you can get it from CD Baby!  Hope to see you soon!

That’s a Monday night, which is when 37 Main hears audition sets from bands who would like to play there.  This is a happening venue in historic downtown Buford that hosts national acts, and we would love to have your support in establishing a presence there. Yes, the number of people a band can bring out on a Monday is a determining factor in that band’s eligibility for gigs later in the week, and we need you!   It’s another “informal” show, which means both no costumes and no cover.  Plus this one is 90 minutes!  So yeah, 90 FREE minutes of danceable 80s tunes in a really cool club.  What have you got to lose?  We start at 9:20 PM that night.

I had a lot of fun at the Decatur Book Festival taking part in a Galaxy Man comic book presentation and performing my original Ross Rex theme.  I’d say a fair number of people on this mailing list were at Dragon Con that weekend, but the book festival was a good time as well, and Elliot Michaels shined in his debut playing the character of Dr. Ross Rex.

I’m also happy to bring Denim Arcade to an October event where the audience will be composed almost entirely of people who grew up in the 80s- my high school class reunion!  Should be interesting, especially since a lot of my classmates may or may not even recognize me without excessive amounts of product in my hair.

The next public gig after that is another 80s show with Denim Arcade at @tmosphere on November 12.  We’ll play new songs that we’ve added to our diverse and extensive list since the last show.  We’ll play two one-hour sets on their huge stage starting at 10 PM.  It’s on Highway 78 near Loganville.  You can’t miss the sign on the side of the road.  $5 cover.

If you do not already have my debut solo album Greatest Hits Volume 27, you can get it from CD Baby!  Hope to see you soon!

Thanks to those who came out to my show at Galactic Quest in July!  We had a lot of fun, even though half of us got lost trying to find the local Waffle House after the show.   And thanks for an overwhelming audience vote to keep “Imperial Jade” in my repertoire when I turned you into a judging panel.  You might possibly hear it again at some point, but I will not scrap it.

Next up for me is another 80s show with Denim Arcade at @tmosphere on November 12.  We’ll play new songs that we’ve added to our diverse and extensive list since the last show.  We’ll play two one-hour sets starting at 10 PM.  It’s on Highway 78 near Loganville.  You can’t miss the sign on the side of the road.  $5 cover.

If you do not already have my debut solo album Greatest Hits Volume 27, you can get it from CD Baby!  Hope to see you soon!

My next full solo show will be Saturday night, July 16 at Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville. This is a Saturday night when I, like many of you, have gotten accustomed over the last few years to having other plans, but since there was an open date on the calendar for that night this year, I’ve decided that there must be music and fun!

Those of you who been to my shows know the drill- originals with a few covers and/or traditionals, accompanied by guitar and/or djembe, probably something you’ve never heard before, and the staple element of the show that you love to hate- the 187 jokes! It’s an all-ages show with free admission, so what do you have to lose?

The venue itself is located in Lawrenceville on Highway 120, a mile east of 316 and between Phoenix High School and Captain D’s. There are plenty of other places to eat nearby including Chick Fil-A, Taco Bell, and a Mexican restaurant. The show will start at 7:30 PM. I look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t forget about Denim Arcade at @tmosphere on June 11. We’ll break out some great 80s songs that you’ve never heard us play before! That venue is ages 18 and up with a $5 cover, it’s right on Highway 78 with a big sign that makes it hard to miss, and we’re doing two one-hour sets starting at 10 PM. It’s going to be totally awesome!

If you do not already have my debut solo album Greatest Hits Volume 27, you can get it from CD Baby! And course, I’ll have some at my shows. Hope to see you soon!

What a fun last couple of weekends it has been for Denim Arcade, and thanks to those who saw us at either @tmosphere or AnachroCon. We had a blast playing at both places!

@tmosphere, where we will be performing Saturday June 11 starting punctually at 10 PM (that start time is not “-ish”), is a fun place to see a show AND play a show. I’ve done both there in the last month. It’s a huge, hopping, and happening club that, while given a Loganville address, is actually about halfway between Snellville and Loganville. The stage there is quite impressive and includes a drum riser that sits about five feet above the floor level. The view is great from up there! Patrons can wander upstairs where the pool tables are and see the stage from the balcony or stay on the ground level, where there is plenty of space that serves as a dance floor. With as many fun, danceable 80s songs as we play, that’s quite useful! They do have a food menu with sandwiches, appetizers, etc. From my experience and from others’ reports I can tell you that their food is well above your expectations for sports bar fare. So come on out to @tmosphere June 11! Ages 18 and and up, $5 cover.

More recently we played the Enchantment Under the Sea dance at the 3rd annual AnachroCon. The four of us and just a few others were costumed for the 1980s whilst performing for a ballroom of people dressed for the 1880s. And yes, in keeping with the event’s Back to the Future theme we played “The Power of Love”. Then the show paused for an on-stage marriage proposal (no kidding), the girl said yes (well actually she said “Duh!”), and we played “Earth Angel” while they danced. From where I sat I couldn’t see the picture Wade had on his guitar headstock, but they kissed during the dance, and Wade managed to finish out the song. In fact, after that one I suggested we play something that really cooks, and you know what he played? “Johnny B. Goode”! That’s the kind of band we are, folks.

Stay tuned for more info on Denim Arcade shows, solo appearances, and other types of stuff. Sign my MAILING LIST and you’ll be the first to know what’s going on with me!

And of course, if you don’t already have my debut solo CD, Greatest Hits Volume 27 , you can order it online from CD Baby!

Thanks to all who made it out to Galactic Quest for the January 15 show!!!  We’ll do another one there soon.  I sure was glad to be somewhere other than my neighborhood after being shut in all week by the 2011 Snowpocalypse!

The focus changes for me as February looks to be the month of Denim Arcade, the 80s cover band with whom I rehearsed all last year.  Now we have shows on back to back Saturdays, and we are ready to rock!   The first one will be at @tmosphere Atlanta in Loganville on the 19th, where we will play two sets at 10 PM and midnight.  It’s 18 and up, so if you’re over 18 come on!

The following Saturday, the 26th, we are playing the Enchantment Under The Sea dance at AnachroCon!  We start playing at 8:00 and play until 9:30.  And yes, you might hear a song or two that the event name brings to mind.

Thanks everyone!  And I look forward to seeing to you when you come out and get your 80s on!

The show on Saturday, January 15 at Galactic Quest is on. It starts at 7:30 PM. The roads around the Lawrenceville store are quite passable, and we all need to have some fun after being iced in all week. See you there!