Andy Laird
The Blurb:
Blending an emotional intensity with a pop sensibility, Andy Laird is a magnetic performer whose passionate and melodic songs have earned him a loyal fan base. With a powerful voice and intimate songwriting, he is joined by the talents of Dana Leong on cello and Ziv Ravitz on drums to create a unique form of soulful alternative rock.
Andy Laird:
Starting out as a singer, Andy decided to branch out from the lucrative A Capella market by teaching himself over the years to play the guitar and piano. His writing draws on a background that has always involved music but has incorporated many other interests and pursuits. He has spent time as a photographer in the Middle East, a street performer in Paris, and a classical actor performing Shakespeare and contemporary works across the country with several Tony award-winning companies. He has played the lead roles of Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Berowne (Love's Labour's Lost), the title roles of Hamlet and MacBeth, and performed with the original cast of Moises Kaufman's The Laramie Project. For a year and a half, he assisted in the recovery efforts of The September 11th Fund, working with survivors and victims’ families. With a diverse background, Andy approaches music with a similar drive for exploration. His voice conveys a bare emotional intensity that is both powerful and vulnerable at the same time. Through intricately crafted songwriting he explores the themes of lust, loss, hope, insanity, and the common experiences of connection and isolation. After playing both as a solo artist and alongside some of the best musicians from the NYC jazz, avant-garde, funk, and alt-rock communities, Andy has locked into the Trioka with the two incredible musicians below.
Dana Leong:
Here’s a list of the people that Dana has NOT played with: Jimi Hendrix, Beethoven, and the naked cowboy. Other than that he’s pretty much collaborated with most of the top musicians in a wide array of musical genres. He recently filled a chair formerly held by Yo-Yo Ma in a trio with Grammy nominated Paquito D’Rivera and has worked with Ray Charles, Kanye West, Bjork, Matisyahu, Norah Jones, Yoko Ono, The Roots, and many others. A virtuosic talent on the cello, Dana is also a world-renowned trombonist, composer, producer, and has more crazy stories than Aesop.
Ziv Ravitz:
Ziv Ravitz is the happiest man alive when he’s banging on stuff. My favorite image is of him dragging a drum kit out into the canyons of the dessert near where he grew up in Beer-Sheva, Israel and playing for hours on end everyday to a packed house of open space. He moved to the U.S. to study at Berklee School Of Music and soon after began his career of making jaws drop by playing drums in a variety of Jazz, Avant-Garde, and Rock bands. Always at the forefront of musical exploration, Ziv has played alongside such luminaries as Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Avishai Cohen, Greg Hopkins, Hal Crook, Eugene Friesen, and countless others. He has toured extensively throughout the world and is a relentless pursuer of ‘the zone’.
The Influences:
Andy and the band have been influenced by a varied assortment of artists both musical and beyond. They include Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Coltrane, Bill Withers, The Band, Sly Stone, John Bonham, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Charlie Parker, Fela Kuti, Michael Ventura, Tom Waits, the film 'Baraka', David Bowie, Paul Erdos, Richard Wagner, James Brown, Henry Miller, Mos Def, Talking Heads, Sergei Eisenstein, Charles Mingus, Michelangelo Buonarroti, John Zorn, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Richard Feynman, Elvin Jones, Lenny Bruce, U2, Patty Griffin, Prince, Friedrich Nietzsche, Peter Tosh, Buster Keaton, Stevie Wonder, Egon Schiele, Radiohead, Glenn Gould, Alan Moore, Jimi Hendrix, The Verve, Yo La Tengo, Marvin Gaye, and William Shakespeare.
The Album:
‘Step Out Of Line’ was released earlier this year and has already begun to gather significant radio attention. Produced by Dana Leong, it was recorded in Brooklyn and features an amazing lineup of musicians from the local NYC scene. The EP consists of five tunes and is available through Awarestore.com, CDBaby, iTunes, and many local distributors.
The Favorites:
'Here, My Dear' by Marvin Gaye
'Fresh' by Sly and the Family Stone
'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' by Neil Young
'Living With Ghosts' by Patty Griffin
'Quadrophenia' by The Who
Led Zep's first album
'Urban Hymns' by The Verve
'Gaucho' by Steely Dan
John Coltrane at The Village Vanguard 1961
Radiohead 'Kid A'
'Animals' by Pink Floyd
'In a Silent Way' by Miles
Al Green 'Call Me'
My Bloody Valentine 'Loveless'
Hall & Oates 'Abandoned Luncheonette'
Anything produced by Craig Street and Husky Hoskulds
Spearhead 'Home'
The Current Dig:
Betty Davis
Bon Iver
The Clientele
The Court and Spark
Tinariwen
The Long Winters
Mogwai and Isis
The live My Morning Jacket album
Roky Erickson
New Shins album
Best Concert Ticket Stubs:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Roseland
Joanna Newsom at BAM
Elvin Jones at Yoshi's
Radiohead at Giants Stadium