Barefoot Boogie With Andy Frasco

And besides, as the name of his new album – Half A Man – implies, the 26-year-old vocalist/pianist still has more lessons to learn along his journey. Wherever the road takes Frasco, you can bet he’ll be dancing and having fun. And he’ll probably be barefoot.

Although Frasco categorizes his music as party blues, during our chat with the musician it’s plain to see that he works just as hard as he parties.

By fibbing about his age, Frasco got his start in music on the other side of the industry by managing bands and working with Capitol Records when he was just 15. By 19, he decided he wanted to be the one who was on stage. He’s been touring ever since.

Half A Man was released last week on Fun Machine Records.

I was watching your “Please Meet Andy Frasco” video you posted in 2012 where you said you had been on the road for five years, living in a van and playing to as many people as you can, wherever you can. What’s your setup for touring? Are you still using a van?

Yeah, we have a van. We do 250 shows a year. Me, my sax player and our guitar player stay in the van. And then I switch out rhythm sections every three months because we tour so much and a lot of guys don’t want to be on the road [that long]. And we play these towns three or four times a year so I just want to bring a different show to these towns [with] a rotation of bands. It’s an all-improv show so we try to have fun with it and not get bored of it.

As far as playing so many dates and going back to some of the same towns, what keeps touring fun?

Keeping it spontaneous and mixing up the show; not having a setlist. So I can just see what kind of crowd I’m playing to tonight – if it’s a bunch of 40-year-old cougar women then maybe I’ll play some sexier stuff. Or if it’s the jam band hippies, then I’ll do a lot of … disco and jamming and solo battles. I like to keep it fresh so I’m not becoming a robot. … I could be pretentious [and say], “I just want to play what I want to play.” (laughs) But I don’t know if that works out in the long game because you’re there for your fans. And if your fans want to have a dance party, let’s have a dance party! You know?!

Your Facebook page describes your sound as “party blues with a touch of barefoot boogie.” And I noticed you were barefoot in the “Please Meet Andy Frasco” video too. Do you perform barefoot?

Yeah, I perform barefoot. We’re trying to bring a new interpretation to blues music. It doesn’t have to all be sad. We can celebrate life too. But still have the blues. The blues is just one part of life.

I want to … try to bring the new age medium, the new age market and all the young guys, back into the Dr. Johns, the Buddy Guys – all the guys who just sing with their soul. A lot of guys are afraid to tour now because it’s so expensive. And we’re losing that live show atmosphere where people are excited about live music. I just want people to have a great experience and not be bored of it. Because a lot of bands will just play their album and not give any emotion and not give anything to the crowd besides the song. I don’t want to be lazy about that.

I wanted to talk about getting your start. You starting managing bands when you were a teenager, before you learned how to play an instrument.

Well, I started managing bands when I was 15. I didn’t learn how to play an instrument until I was about 19. I worked at Capitol Records and Atlantic Records and I worked for this label called Drive-Thru Records. And I was just booking bands and whatnot and I realized all these bands didn’t give a shit about all the work I did, so I [was] like, “Screw it! I’m just going to micro-market my own band, learn an instrument, cold call a thousand venues and see how many shows I can get. And hire a band off of Craigslist [using] all my Bar Mitzvah money (laughs) and let’s just try it out.”

How were you managing bands at such a young age?

Oh, I lied about my age to get to Capitol Records. And once I got to Capitol I booked shows at the Key Club [in West Hollywood, Calif.] and worked at Drive-Thru Records. And then moved to New York and worked at Atlantic as an intern. I knew business. Business was in my blood. I was just getting bored of working so hard for these bands and then they would break up. … So I faked a name, I called myself Drew Mitchell and I said, “Oh yeah, I’m Drew Mitchell, I represent Andy Frasco. He’s great!“ (laughs) Whatever it took to get to where I’m at. And seven years later, it might have been a little lie, but it helped me out.

When you decided to learn an instrument, did you pick the piano?

Yeah, I started playing piano. There was a piano in my house. I thought that would be the easiest. I had hired all of these amazing musicians to back me up. I said, “Hey, listen. I don’t have too much money but if you stick with me, it’s going to happen. I believe in myself. I’m not going to take no for an answer.” It just taught me quicker to shit or get off the pot. Excuse my language.

Are the guys you hired from Craigslist the same musicians still in your band today?

The only guy who’s still left is Ernie Chang, my sax player. He’s been with me for seven years.

You mentioned that when you first started pursuing a career as an artist you were booking your own dates. How long did that last before you got your own management and agent?

It took about five years. [Now] I want to teach people about doing it yourself and [that] you can go and follow your dreams if you just take the effort and do it. I had the opportunity to get an agent before that but I didn’t feel like it was necessary until it was at the point where I was getting super busy. So it took about four or five years and then I got a booking agent and a manager. And from there I’ve been doing seminars and I’m hosting Wakarusa. I’m just trying to teach bands how to do it themselves because with all the resources we have now it’s a lot easier to compete with these major labels. Just having good content and touring your ass off.

That’s cool that you’re sharing your knowledge with other bands.

Musicians get lazy sometimes. We gotta change it because it’s like blue collar work now. And you gotta tour 10 months of the year to make a living because CDs aren’t selling that much. So what’s the point of signing a record deal … It’s like a record label is like a bank. You just owe someone a lot of money with interest. … If you have someone invest in your band or just start touring yourself, when they do come to you, you’ve got the leverage and you can get a better deal.

Is there anything else you learned from being on the inside of the industry that came in handy when you made the switch to being an artist?

I came into the music industry in 2006, when people were still selling 200,000 albums. All these bands would get major-label million-dollar deals. … Record sales started falling a bit and I saw what was going on. No one was listening so I’m like, “Screw it! I’m just going to be a musician and then fall in love with music and try to out beat the game.” I like to think of life as a puzzle. The music industry is one of those great puzzles that I wanted to try to finish.

You have a new album coming out in June. Congratulations!

Yeah, I’m stoked! I got funding to start a record label. … We got [Charles Goodan] to produce it, who did The Rolling Stones, he did Beck. He got a Grammy for Santana’s Supernatural. I’m really proud of it and now I just gotta promote it and hopefully people believe in it as much as we do.

That’s neat you got to work with Charles Goodan.

And it was so serendipitous. I met [Goodan] at a wedding. One of our fans booked us for a wedding in Key Largo and he was there. And he just freaked out about our band and he was like, “I wanna record your album! I don’t care what it takes.” And I was [thinking], “Aw, it’s probably going to cost a lot of money.” And a week later I meet this investor out of Dallas and they said, “I love your band, I want to support you.” So they gave me money to start a label so I could record. It’s amazing how life does that. When you need something, when you’re on the down and out, if you keep pushing through the storm, eventually things start falling into place.

That shows you really need to take advantage of those opportunities, when you’re in the right place, right time.

Exactly. People have a problem of over-thinking things. They’re afraid to take the risk. … You might fail. But I think failing is not trying.  

Why did you decide to name the album Half A Man?

Everyone has these bad habits that they still can’t fix. Being 26, I’m realizing what my habits are and trying to change to be a better person in life. I’ve had my days of touring and hooking up with girls and trying to do the rock star thing, but really, in the end game it’s like, what does that get you? It doesn’t get you anywhere. So I’m still learning about life. I think I’ve half-way learned about life (laughs).

Your album is described as the most distinct and divergent album to date. Can you talk a little bit about that?

We’re normally a live band – everyone always comes … for our live show because we’re crowd surfing [with] a bottle of Jägermeister or … having my band battle the crowd. We try to bring entertainment that way. I really wanted to make an album that emulates the live experience and the energy we bring to our show. And working with Charles, the producer, really made me sit back and say, “All right, let’s focus on the lyrics, let’s focus on every part of this. Instead of just making an album to sell after shows, let’s make an album that people will remember. … It’s helped me grow and sit back and make something that I’m proud of.  

And I’m really proud of this. And I’m saying some things that I’ve never really felt in my heart before and now I feel good about it. And I want to share my message with people.

The album was a group effort.  

My friend Sean Eckles wrote a song; he’s our guitar player. And the Kris Lager Band wrote a couple of songs. I’m not a guy who’s like, “Oh [every] song needs to be mine from my brain.” I’d rather have it be a group effort. It doesn’t take only one piece of a machine, it takes every element to build a machine. If someone had something to bring to the table, let’s do it. I’m in!

We call my band The UN – The United Nations – because everyone’s from around the world. Everyone comes in and believes in this project and wants to help in any way possible. It’s awesome. We’re all coming together for music, it’s an amazing thing. Because we’re not really making any money. We’re doing it because we’re passionate about seeing a change in the music industry. … Musicians think that everything should be given to them. That’s not exactly right. [You] need to work hard for anything you do in life.

A lot of musicians have been playing music since they were young children. But you’re proof that it’s never too late to pick up an instrument. What would you tell someone who wants to get into music?  

How badly do you want something? If you’re passionate about your songs, if you believe in yourself as a musician, don’t worry about what your parents tell you or your friends tell you – “Oh, why are you leaving Kansas to be a musician?” Don’t let any of those negativities get you down from your main destiny in life. I feel you control your happiness and you control a majority of your life. Don’t let outside voices bring you down from the man or woman you want to be in your life. You gotta believe in yourself. If you’re not going to believe in yourself, who is?!

Upcoming dates for Andy Frasco & The U.N.:

June 13 – Laramie, Wyo., Alibi Pub 
June 14 – Jackson Hole, Wyo., Snow King Ball Park (Jackson Hole Crawfish Boil)
June 16 – Idaho Falls, Idaho, The Celt Pub and Grill
June 19 – Truckee, Calif., Downtown
June 26 – Lake Charles, La., L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles
June 27 – St. Louis, Mo., Broadway Oyster Bar
June 28 – Columbus, Ohio, Park Street
July 3 – Bozeman, Mont., Zebra Cocktail Lounge
July 4 – Ketchum, Idaho, Whiskey Jacques
July 5 – Ketchum, Idaho, Whiskey Jacques  
July 6 – Moscow, Idaho, John’s Alley
July 7 – Moscow, Idaho, John’s Alley
July 10 – Park City, Utah, Newpark Town Center (Newpark Concert Series)
July 11 – Evanston, Wyo., The Painted Lady Saloon
July 12 – Salt Lake City, Utah, The Woodshed       
July 13 – Huntsville, Utah, Snowbasin
July 17 – Ridgway, Colo., Ridgway Town Park (Ridgway Concert Series) 
July 18 – Laramie, Wyo., Alibi Pub  
July 19 – Denver, Colo., Quixote’s True Blue
July 20 – Boulder, Colo., Mountain
July 23 – Riverton, Wyo., Bar 10     
July 24 – Idaho Falls, Idaho, The Celt Pub and Grill           
July 25 – Parshall, Colo., Williams Fork At Aspen Canyon Ranch (Roots Retreat)
July 26 – Bellevue, Neb., Sokol Park (Hullabaloo Music & Camping Festival)
Aug. 16 – Lander, Wyo., Lander City Park (Lander Riverfest)
Aug. 30 – Fort Worth, Texas, Panther Island Pavilion (Clearfork Music Festival)

For more information visit AndyFrasco.com and click here for Andy Frasco’s Facebook page.