Interview with Andy Zipf

by Alison Wood

Date: February 17, 2003

Guys with guitars seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days, playing pop, rock, jazz, folk, and everything in between. If you're among the crowd that regularly listens to the younger and lesser known guys with guitars, you've probably heard the full range of both styles and abilities. If you're lucky, your listening list has included Andy Zipf. He may rank low on the recognition scale, but he earns high marks in musicality, creativity, and enjoyability. Dreams Awake recently caught up with the Virgina-based musician by phone.

Dreams Awake: I thought to get us started off, for our readers who aren't familiar with your music, can you give us a little explanation of what they should expect when they first listen?

Andy Zipf: Um ... it's honest? It's the best I can do for the moment, but I'm always trying to do better than that. In fact, the songs that I have recorded, I always have at least twice as much that I've already written started to record after those, so I'm always listening to stuff that I've done and you know, I become disgusted with it and I want to do better than that. I dunno, I guess it's hard to say what it's like without kind of telling you what I'm influenced by, because I think everyone is a product of their influences.

DA: Okay, so let's talk a little bit about your influences.

AZ: Okay, well, I definitely grew up listening to -- My dad was a big Beach Boys fan, so I have a huge love for ... especially Pet Sounds. Those harmonies are just -- the melodies and harmonies are just beautiful. I recently started, actually, covering "God Only Knows," which is cool. It's hard to do the whole song, though, because of the arrangement on the record, but I kind of skip the -- You know the part that's like [sings]? I don't do that because it's just, it's ridiculous; 'cause you know, it's just one guy and an acoustic guitar. And I haven't taught it to the band.

Clint Eastwood movies, the "spaghetti westerns." You know The Good, Bad, and the Ugly, the soundtrack to that? My dad had the eight track, so we used to listen to that a lot. My brothers and I used to really get into that. And then my older brother had all the music -- I never really had to buy any music till he moved out for college -- but he was really into the Eighties Brit-pop stuff, and then not Brit-pop but, like U2 also. So I definitely, definitely grew up on U2; in fact I learned how to play guitar by listening to Boy and October and War and then kind of just fell in love with them all over again when Achtung Baby came out. And then after that I guess I got into, of course, Radiohead. And I actually -- When I got The Bends, I guess it was like '94? Did that come out in '94?

DA: I think so ... that sounds right.

AZ: Yeah, so it came out in '94, and I had just gotten the tape, and then a friend of mine was going to go see them in New York -- I was going to high school in New Jersey at the time -- and so we took the train into NY and saw Radiohead at Roseland Hall. Have you ever been there?

DA: No, I haven't. AZ: It's incredible. I guess it would be kind of like if the state theater were bigger and had kind of the vibe of the 9:30 Club, that's kind of what the Roseland -- It's actually much better than that description that I gave you. It was amazing. David Gray actually opened, and they gave out tapes. And I had no idea who David Gray was. And I think it was either Sell, Sell, Sell, or -- I forget what tape they were handing out, but I actually didn't like it so I gave it to someone else. I wasn't into it. I was so fascinated with Radiohead, I just gave it away. So then, Smashing Pumpkins, specifically Siamese Dream. And then I went to school and I was playing guitar in my room and this guy walked down the hall and he listened to me playing and he was like "Hey, I play guitar too," basically, "do you wanna jam?" which is like, so hippy. But anyway, I went to this guy's room, and he was listening to me play, and I kinda started to get over being terrified of playing in front of people, and letting them hear me. And he looks at me and he grabs a CD out of its case and looks at me, kind of with this "older and wiser" look, and kind of "I'm gonna help you out, son," and he gives me Grace, by Jeff Buckley.

And that was pretty much it, for a while. I listened to that, pretty much non-stop, for months. With other things in between. Around the same time I kind of discovered like, The Prayer Chain, which is -- They're this band from California. They're actually not together anymore, but they made this really cool, Verve-type music, actually. But they're from California. So at the same time I got into Storm of Heaven, The Verve, and then Northern Soul. And I was kinda getting over the fact that Oasis were cocky, and I started to like their songs, despite the fact that they're just ... cocky, which just kind of annoyed me. I dunno ... I'm trying not to forget anything, but I know that I will, there's so much. But, yeah, and Grace kind of -- It's so unique, especially for the time it came out. It's genreless. It stands alone. It's still timeless. It's so full of passion and individuality, and this guy who's just completely opening himself up and being so vulnerable. And I'm so drawn to it. So I was like "Well, I'll never be this guy, I'll never be Jeff Buckley," because no one will ever be. There will never be another Jeff Buckley. But if I can follow his lead, and be vulnerable, and be honest, and just be sincere and kind of tell people my story, then that's what I want to do. So that's what I'm trying to do. I dunno, does that answer your question?

DA: Yeah, I think it does. Now let's shift and talk a little bit about a different aspect of your musical past. I'm told you used to play in a band called Circadian Rhythm. What can you tell us about that?

AZ: Around the same time I started to get into Jeff Buckley -- I went to school in Lynchburg -- I met these guys who were older than me; I was a freshman and they were juniors and seniors. And a friend of a friend kind of was like "Yeah, these guys are looking for a guitar player; would you wanna play?" And I had never been in a band before, so I was like "Yeah, I'll try it." So I learned their songs, and they're basically like, love songs, about girls and stuff, which I wasn't really into, but that was cool. And they wanted me to be in the band.

So we kept playing, and just to make a long story short, they finished school (I actually left after a year, because I really just shouldn't have been at college, in a way). Then after three years living there we moved up here [to Vienna, Va.], and we were actually full time. We were signed to a small record label in Nashville called Gotee records, or actually a subsidiary label called 40 Records. We made a record, and I wrote the majority of the songs but I was not the lead singer of the band. And really I shouldn't have been; my role was different. And the guy, Will, was just better. I'm not really the lead band type of guy: you know, really animated and really fun to watch, you know? I'm not really like that. I'm just kind of like, always so sad, and really can emote, that type of thing. But I wasn't really happy with the record, just the production. I think Nashville has a really polished, overproduced direction, and I kind of wanted something that was more organic. And because they were trying to do the best they could, and we were trying to do the best we could, the two just collided, and rather than working well together, they kind of just made it a little confusing. We were trying to do a couple things at once, so it just didn't really work out. But we toured on that for a couple years, and then last year around this time -- Three guys were married, one guy was engaged, I was the only one who wasn't. They were kind of feeling like they wanted to be at home, and have a normal life. They still love music, but if they were gonna do this for a long time, we had been together for six years and we'd have to spend at least twice as long in order to really have the foundation to do it for the rest of our lives. It's just a lot of hard work, it's a lot of time away from their wives and time away from family, and ordinary life. And they just decided that they wanted to stop.

At first it was kind of -- Well, I was really discouraged, because music was what I wanted to do. But they encouraged me to keep playing. I had never really ... except for before the band had done a couple coffee house things, which was really scary, I was just terrified of singing and playing in front of people, but it helped me get on my show a little bit in the band. So I started playing around D.C., and it just kind of, I don't know, something happened and it wasn't as frightening anymore and I was more comfortable being on my own. Now I wouldn't have it any other way. So the band taught me, and made me who I am now, and I'm really happy to still be able to make music.

DA: So now you work primarily as a solo artist. Do you plan to work with a band again? You mentioned that you have a band that you've worked with on some of your stuff? AZ: Yeah, I actually just got a band to back me up. I don't want to start a band, really. I don't want to -- Because I enjoy the energy of a band, and I enjoy the camaraderie -- I don't -- I'm trying not to -- I just don't want to be arrogant here. It's like, I know exactly what I'm going for, and I have -- this is so an "I'm an artist" statement, but -- I have a vision (okay, there, I said it), and I want people to be involved that are behind that. And I want them to be themselves and add to it, but -- I don't write well with other people. I write best just by myself. So I want to get people to back up my songs, live, but kind of have a couple different drummers and a couple different bass players and kind of whoever can come. And maybe someone who plays cello will come and play with me, and maybe a piano player. Or maybe I'll have like three guitar players and a bass player and a drummer, or maybe some guy who's gonna play accordion. I don't want to have any boundaries, or anything that restricts me as to what I want to go for. I've started playing electronic loops, so there's that too. There's a lot I want to do, I don't know how I'm gonna do it. I like doing the solo thing. I played my first show with a full band on Tuesday, actually. That's what I want to do, I definitely want to have a band behind me, but I don't want to start a band and call it like "Andy Zipf and the..." whatever... "the Sad People" or something.

DA: So, with this band, do you plan to record a full album? I know you've got a demo out right now. Or do you think you'll record a full album that's more just you?

AZ: No, I would want to do an album with my band.

DA: Okay. And do you have any plans in the works right now for going back into the studio?

AZ: I'm always recording. Actually, since I've been snowed in I've been recording in the house. I have Digital Performer, so I've been recording, just kind of making loops. Some of the stuff that's on my demo -- I have this program called Reason, and I make loops in there, with synths and keyboards and stuff like that. And then I put that in Digital Performer and I can add guitar and vocals and stuff like that. So I think it'll be a combination of solo with other bleeps and bloops and stuff like that, with the live band too. Because recording live with the band, there's just so much more emotion to convey than solo. And I'm not Elliot Smith, so it's hard to pull off something like that if you're not someone of that caliber.

DA: Now, how about touring? Do you currently have any plans for moving out of just your local area?

AZ: Absolutely. I just started playing on my own, so I'm trying to pull together all the contacts that I have. I'm playing in Pennsylvania in March and April, I'm trying to go to Nashville in the next couple months, Alabama in June, which is gonna be interesting. I have some friends in California, my brother lives in Indiana, there are some people I know in Illinois that go to college there, so I'm definitely trying to play out of the area, yeah.

DA: So, doing these kinds of things, working by yourself mostly, and sometimes with a band, and just hitting the road, trying to build a following, it seems to be sort of the path that a lot of these singer/songwriters seem to be following right now. What's your take on this whole trend in the music business, of sort of the self-made singer/songwriter? AZ: I think it's really good, and I think it's encouraging, because it's good to see people going out there and trying to follow what they're passionate about. Because people that have dreams are kind of looked down upon by society, I think. I respect them. They make things happen on their own. They take initiative, as opposed to trying to find Joe Music Guy in Orlando, Fla., and "We'll all just join a boy band and make a million bucks." But as far as a trend, I don't actually think most of the people that are doing this type of thing, the solo singer/songwriter thing, are trying to follow a trend, I think they're trying to just be themselves. And I think it really comes across in their music. I think that guys like Howie Day, and Elliott Smith, and some of the younger people like ... I dunno, Matt Nathanson, and there's a bunch.

DA: Now, a lot of these guys, we're starting to see them sign with major labels. Do you think you would eventually like to end up with a record deal? Or would you prefer to stay independent?

AZ: With a record deal, there's definitely a lot of advantages, and there's some disadvantages. If I was in a financial place to just be able to support myself, start my own publishing company, have my own distribution company, then I don't know if I would sign with a record label. But record labels are there so that they can help put music out, and if I did sign with a label, major or independent, I would hope that it would be someone who was just supportive of what I was trying to do, and not compromise or conform what it is that I'm trying to convey.

DA: So you think it's possible, in this day and age, for a musician to become truly successful -- financially successful, or successful in a business sense -- without compromising any of the things that make him successful as an artist or as a musician?

AZ: It's possible, but there's a real fine line. Because there are people in the music business that are not really about the music, they're about the business, and they're about pushing units. And when you meet people like that it's really about what's marketable, and what's acceptable, and what's palatable, for your demographic, for your audience. I'm never gonna try to write a hit single or anything like that, but if I write a song that people connect with, and it becomes that then I would be happy. I'm not gonna produce something for a person just because they say it's more marketable, or it's more acceptable, or anything like that. It's definitely hard. I think that you can be successful and you can be true to who you are, but who have to be on your guard, and you have to surround yourself with people that you can trust, which is a rarity.

DA: Before we finish, how can our readers find out more about you, or how can they listen to your music, if they're not in one of the areas that you're going to be playing?

AZ: Well, I'm starting a website, it's going to be AndyZipf.com. A friend of mine is actually working on that. I really should have it up by now, but I don't, so I have no excuse. The only thing I can say is, keep your ear to the ground, and I'll try to let everybody know.

Ed. note: According to Andy's publicist, you can also send email to AndyZipf@hotmail.com to get more information.