Andi is one of our regular customers and is a talented musician who sings and writes his own songs. As well as playing keyboard for well known local band Raging Jupiter, he is also successful in his own right, having been invited to the Phoenix Festival in Daventry this year to be the acoustic head-liner. He has played at Redcar Rocks which held it's first festival this year and is a regular at the Clevey Open Mic Night in Redcar on a Sunday. Andi was game enough to be my first ever (proper) interviewee :) So, without further ado...

Can you tell me about your music?
I play acoustic singer-song-writey stuff and all my music is based on emotions. Things that have gone on in my life, past relationships, depression. Vocals are the main focus and the guitar backs this up, rather than the other way around. For instance, Angel is heavy on lyrics. 

Tell me more about your lyrics?
I used to write a lot of poetry. People can relate to my lyrics I think. They are about the human experiences that most of us have. They're quite raw songs. 

What instruments do you play?
I play the keyboard, guitar, harmonica, drums, cello, violin, xylophone and the trumpet...but only one note on that. Oh, I also won a fiver bet for being able to play the didgeridoo. 

When did you first get into music?
I was seven years old when I had my first keyboard lesson off my granddad (but there is a video of me singing as young as two!) My granddad had the keyboard set up at his house and I used to play for hours. I was sixteen when I first started to play the guitar. Rather than strumming it though, I found I was picking out the chords because of all the keyboard training I'd had. It's a good thing though as it creates a unique sound. 

How about your first time on stage?
My first time on stage was at Primrose Valley in front of three thousand people. I was eight years old and it was a talent contest. I got the loudest clap from the audience, but unfortunately I lost to a fourteen year old girl! It was the buzz from that show that gave me the motivation to carry on with performing in front of a crowd. 

How do you feel before you get up on stage? Do you have any rituals?
I get excited about half an hour before going on stage. My ritual is usually to have a glass of lemonade and a Vocal Zone singing lozenge. I take them for when I do the falsetto stuff as my throat gets raspy if I don't. 

What do you get most out of performing?
I love the intimacy of just being on stage...me and my guitar. I also love being part of the band too, as you get that energy from being on stage with a group. I'd want to do small, intimate gigs if I become famous. 'Solo acoustic guy' doesn't work on a large scale. I'd much prefer to do it my own way with a stripped down sound. 

What's your favourite song to perform?
Creep by Radiohead. Even though I can't do bar chords, it still sounds good because I bring my own style to it. I use the bossa nova up strokes [I looked this up and it's a Brazilian style of music and just in case you're interested, the 'bossa' bit means to do something with particular charm and natural flair]. I think the way I play it suits my voice. I like doing my own songs too, obviously, especially Happy. 

What's your favourite cereal?
That would be Cinnamon Grahams. They used to be called Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Curious Cinnamon or something. Basically, I like my cereal with cinnamon in it. 

Best motto for life?
The most important thing is to be happy and to enjoy it. 

What are your ambitions?
I want the band [Raging Jupiter] to go far, but ultimately, my solo stuff is where my heart lies. I've got a load of ideas but I don't want to go into detail in case someone steals them. [He tells me and yes, stealable. It's a good job I'm an honourable character].

Best thing about Redcar?
The Clevey Open Mic Night on a Sunday. The people of Redcar in general...they are different from everywhere else. They actually give a damn about others. 

So, got any spooky experiences you'd like to share?
The number 1139 haunted me. It was the exact time that I met the love of my life. After that, whenever I looked at clocks, phones - anything that showed the time, it was 1139. Just after the festival in Daventry, dad was driving me back up north and as we were driving over a bridge, the bonnet flipped up and smashed the windscreen. We could have gone off the side of the bridge but luckily dad managed to stop us. When I managed to make a call to the AA, they said that the nearest junction was 1,139 metres away. 1139 seemed to follow me from the age of seventeen! It stopped after the car accident.

Any interesting ancestors?
Florence Nightingale. [Florence Nightingale??] Yep, my grandads, mothers, mothers cousin was Florence Nightingale. 

Any quirky talents?
I can lick my elbow.
[I can't]

Anything else you would like to share?
I'm recording an EP soon. It's going to be called 'Twenty Three Years of Experience'. [He will be recording this before he hits twenty four. Check out his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/andigraingermusic.]

By Kerry :)