ANDY GRIGGS Interview & Story
Andy Grigg’s thoughts on HIS CURRENT ALBUM, THE NEWTOWN TRADEGY & HIS EUROPEAN TOUR.
Country
Music is the one music genre your where fans follow you through your
life, both professional and personal, with its up and downs, the good,
the bad and the ugly.
One country star
has had his share of all the above. Andy Griggs is no stranger to the
rain. Now it’s time for his sunshine in life and song.
Andy
Griggs says, “There is no defining a style of song. As long as there’s
soul, it has a place in music.” Griggs took these words to heart when
he set out to record and produce his latest music project ‘Naked,’ which
is all acoustic. “I’m addicted to pure and raw feelings that are as
still and quiet as the wind. Throwing your heart out there whether it’s
healthy or broken!”
With “Naked,” Andy
stripped away the high tech production keeping it raw, no frills, one
engineer, and armed with just his guitar. Andy, with his gritty, earthy
and soul-filled vocals, penned original tunes for his new offering, as
well as covered songs from artists that influenced him, like Waylon’s
“Old Timer” and Willie’s “Angel Flying Too Close To the Ground.” Country
Weekly bestowed it with 4 stars, the highest rating Griggs has had on
any album, and iTunes (the largest distributor of digital music) put
their stamp of approval on the albums they believe to be significant
additions to the musical landscape. So much in fact, that Griggs’
13-song album was deemed “New and Noteworthy” on their country page.
I
ask him, about co-writing some of the songs on the album and is there
one that is his favorite and if so, what’s the story behind that?
He
says, “Well, you definitely have songs that gravitate to your heart,
more so than others, but I find it difficult as an artist and a
songwriter to differentiate yourself between the two. That’s a hard job,
because as an artist, you’re trying to find the best song. As a writer,
the songs are your children. It’s not real easy to pick out ‘a better
song’ than the other if you wrote it because you’re too attached. Every
one of the songs you’ve written, or most songs you’ve written, have come
from a room inside your heart. That room isn’t really more important or
less important than another room. One may become a hit song, and one
may not.
“For example, we’re trying to
decide on what song I should release next as a single. We have it
narrowed down to two songs; one I wrote, one I did not write. The one I
did not write is ‘Don’t Let Go.’ The one I did write was ‘Lead You Back
to Me.’ I’m not a true judge of it because one of them is my child and
the other is not. That’s like asking a daddy at a ball field, ‘Hey who’s
the best player out there?’ Well, the dad is gonna say his own kid,
right or wrong! So, it’s a tough one, but I guess you just look for that
one song that gravitates to your heart longer. It remains with you not
for six months or eight months, but a year or two years.
After
a moment, Andy continues, “I guess I wrote 50% of the songs on there,
and I did some covers, and even a few Waylon Jennings covers. A lot of
artists are more comfortable on stage with a support group (a band) and
high production, but I’ve always felt more comfortable without a support
group. I feel more comfortable ‘Naked’ … no pun intended! I’d rather
just sing with my guitar.”
Andy
recently released a single called ‘Twenty Little Angels,’ about the
school shooting in Connecticut, co-penned with award winning songwriter
and friend Bobby Pinson. Griggs and Pinson were grief-stricken over the
incident. Their collaboration ‘Twenty Little Angels’ tells of the
tragedy and asks questions we all have asked and want to know the
answers to.
“How did these sweet, pure,
innocent children get ‘caught up in someone else’s hell?’” asks Andy.
“We do believe these little angels are in heaven now so we tried to put
things in perspective by sharing our personal feelings to calm our anger
and soothe our grief by writing a song that would bring comfort to us
and to all affected by this tragedy.”
Andy
says, “This is where my heart and mind have been for the last few
months. So even though I have lots of shows between now and my tour to
Europe, most of my mind will be on that single and getting it as far as
it can on the charts. Proceeds from that single will go to the families
of the Connecticut shooting. I grieve for the families, and I want the
tidal wave from Music Row to Connecticut to start.”
‘Twenty
Little Angels’ is dedicated to the families of those affected by the
tragedy in Newtown, CT. Proceeds from the song will be donated to the
Sandy Hook School Support Fund managed by the United Way of Western
Connecticut.
Griggs
notes, “There’s not enough that can be done for this cause but by
downloading this song, everyone’s small contribution can make a big
difference to the families of these ‘Twenty Little Angels.'”
I ask Andy what has been one of the biggest professional hurdles he has been through this year.
“Dreams,” he answers. “They do have their own price tag. Everybody thinks you’re living the dream. Statistics say….”
Which
leads me to ask him, “On your new journey with your new album, and the
new single, what is the one thing that would be your dream that you
would like to see come to pass in the next six months?
“Probably
the big thing on my mind would be for ‘Twenty Little Angels’ to do
something big,” he replies promptly. “Not for personal gain, but I would
like to see money be raised for Connecticut. Again, I don’t [just]
grieve for the children, I grieve for the families. I felt like everyone
else did that day. If you didn’t feel like throwing your remote control
against the wall and bust it, then you’re not human. I thought; how can
I make a difference? What can I do? Well maybe I can write a song that
people can buy that would cost $1.00. That’s a small ripple in a big
ocean, and it doesn’t sound like it can make a difference, but if we all
stand together and do that, then that ripple becomes so big.
“My
mind before the shooting and the Christmas holidays was ‘Naked.’ I lost
my brother right before Christmas, and I remember feeling the agony of
seeing his presents under the tree. What do you do with his presents?
What do you do with his stocking that was hanging from the mantel? My
Christmas will never be the same; the Connecticut families’ Christmases
will never be the same. I’ll be honest with you, Christmas was not a
great time for me, and that’s how those families are.”
Andy
has been absent from the country scene for a while. For a couple years,
he’s been concentrating on getting his music back on track. I ask him
what has been the biggest focus been besides his music? Has it been
touring, has it been the studio, has it been songwriting?
“Well,
it’s been a combination of everything,” he replies. “I’ve been going
through a lot of life changes. When it comes to life changes, man, I’ve
been going through them. Talk about losses, and gains and limps. It is
hard to conduct an ongoing career when that’s where my heads been. So I
think that now that I’m among the living, my focus is music. Not just
songwriting, not just touring, not just the studio, but all of the
above. That’s my passion; it’s the only thing I know to do. I would hate
having to get a 9 to 5 job because I would suck at it. Most people are
really good at one or two things. Well I haven’t found my second thing.
So all I have is my music.”
Is he excited about his upcoming tour dates in Europe?
“Am
I excited about going to Europe? Heck yeah!” Andy says with a wide
grin. “It’ll just be me and my guitar. That’s my favorite time to
shine. Outside of Canada or Mexico, I’ve never been overseas. I’ve never
gotten on a plane and flown over an ocean. I’ve always wanted to go to
Europe, and, shoot, I can’t believe it! Here I am about to get ready to
go to Europe. This is one of my dreams come true.”
I ask Andy if he has any expectations, when he gets over there, of what he wants to do besides concerts and music.
He
thinks for a moment. “You know, outside of singing and meeting European
people who look like me but speak a different tongue, and then… no, I
don’t have any expectations. Hell, I don’t know what to expect,” he
laughs.
Will he be performing songs that he’s currently working on right now?
“Yeah,
I guess so, “ he says. “It’s one of those deals where I don’t know what
else to perform, just have to wait and see. I don’t know if they want
Waylon Jennings or Hank Williams. As far as things I want to see over
there, this probably won’t be the time to be tourist. I’ve always wanted
to go to Berlin and take a train to Normandy, and tour France. I’ve
always wanted to see Omaha beach…”
If Andy wants to be a tourist on his next visit, I am sure the country fans in Europe will welcome him with open arms!
INTERVIEWER
NOTE: Andy is a passionate artist, about life, music and song. You
could see his heartfelt emotions about the Newtown tragedy weighing
heavily on his shoulders. For info on Andy and to download the single,
“Twenty Little Angels,” and his album “Naked” visit andygriggs.com or visit itunes.com.
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contents copyright (c) 2013 by Preshias Harris. All rights reserved. No
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Preshias Harris