Alex, Ell, Steven, Jon, and Rob all bring in something to Missing Andy’s electrifying sound and performances. This five-piece band from Essex brings something special to the music world. They’re the type of band you want to keep around in the music industry for a long time. The type you want to do the Harlem Shake with. They type of band you want all your friends to listen to and fan girl over. The type of band you immediately listen to all night when you’ve had a bad day or just can’t get over someone. Don’t believe me? Check out our exclusive interview with lead guitarist Steve and then head over to iTunes and download their new single Feel Like This.
HC: Hey Steve! How about a little introduction for our readers who may have not yet been blessed by a Missing Andy song.
Steve: “Hello America! I think the best way to describe Missing Andy’s sound is a mixture of the best of British music. Borrowing the sounds of Brit pop, Ska, Rock and blending them together to create a diverse range of songs. We try and make our lyrics resonate with people, failing that you’ll be at least humming them for a few days!”
HC: Clearly you all have chemistry. Were you guys all friends before starting the band? Or was it by chance?
Steve: “Some of us have known each other for 10 years, we all met through our local college. Rob and I would go back now and then to be a backing band for their showcases and we gradually met the rest of the band over 2 or 3 years who all passed through the same music course we did. In a small town like Braintree, when you find em, you hang on to the decent musicians!”
HC: Every band has a story behind their name. What’s the story behind naming the band Missing Andy?
Steve: “Not every band has an INTERESTING story behind their name! We used to change the story to ours on every radio interview. But essentially, the band started with just Elliot and Me, we’d already started some songs and wanted to chuck em up on myspace (when people used myspace!) But there wasn’t a front man for the band so we came up with this hooded character and knocked up a missing persons poster. We called it Missing Andy and as the rest of the guys joined the name stuck! The only good thing about the name is that we’re easy to find on google!“
HC: You guys have a unique sound. What influences do you guys bring in when it comes to creating music?
Steve: “There’s five strong songwriters in the band and they all have different influences. From Hip-Hop to Ska to Dance to Rock….that’s why the albums are quite a mash up of musical styles, but I think it keeps it interesting. I’ve never wanted to make an album of 12 songs that all sound the same, but nowadays you have to have your ‘sound’ and a lot of bands seem to do just that. ”
HC: This leads me to the actual lyrics in the songs. How closely tied are they to your everyday lives?
Steve:“A lot of songs, especially throughout our last album ‘Generation Silenced’, we try and make lyrically quite topical. Stories or situations the listener could actually relate to, things you’d remember from childhood or seen on the news. If its more of a love song then the words have to cut deep and ring true, otherwise people dismiss it as a pretty melody with no real content. We do our best to write from personal experience, if it means something to us its usually gonna mean something to others.”
HC: I’ve seen a lot of live footage of you guys and one thing I’ve noticed is the amazing energy you guys deliver on stage. What’s it like bringing your songs to life on stage?
Steve: “We don’t get together and jam to write our songs, everyone always starts it on their individual setup at home. So you’re never quite sure how it’s gonna turn out in a live situation. Yeah a good song is a good song, but live you need a lot of energetic songs and if all you have are soppy ballads the gigs gonna be boring! But what ever we’re playing we always put 100% into it! If it looks like you’re really getting off on a song on stage, so will the audience! Live is where we make fans.”
HC: Any chance we’ll be seeing Missing Andy bring some of that energy to the United States?
Steve: “We played SXSW in 2008 and since then we’ve been gagging to get back! But at the moment we’re touring the UK and Europe, so hopefully the USA will still be there when we’re done.”
HC: Now, let’s talk a little about the new album you are close to releasing. How was creating this album different from others you have done and what can fans expect?
Steve: “This has been the most ambitious release Missing Andy have attempted. We were writing the next album, and as usual 5 different people coming up with 5 different kindsa song! So we decided we’d release 2 albums simultaneously. We’re evolving musically all the time but we still wanted to give fans some of the Missing Andy they know before moving on too fast. So for me that’s what the two albums represent, an evolution. We’re calling them ‘Guerrilla Invasion 1&2” mainly because of the way we work. Its always been DIY with no major label behind us and our marketing is very guerrilla too so we thought it’d be a great name for the next album.”
HC: Aside from the album release—any other big plans for Missing Andy this year?
Steve: “You mean releasing TWO albums and touring all over the UK and Europe isn’t enough?!! Ummm….we’ve got some new t-shirts n stuff? There’ll be an online store where people can buy all our merch, including hard copies of the albums, so look out for that. Otherwise you can check iTunes on April 1st and download both albums instantly!”
HC: Final words for fans and soon to be Missing Andy fans?
Steve: “If you’re sick of the mind numbing crap some of the radio stations constantly play out there, give Missing Andy a try. Songs you can get your teeth into and also part of your 5 a day!”
For more on Missing Andy:
Official: http://www.missingandy.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/missin…
Twitter: Official: @missingandy Alex: @alexmissingandy Ell: @ellmissingandy
Steven: @stevemissinandy Jon: @jon_missingandy Rob: @robmissingandy
Street Team: @MA_StreetTeam