QUOTES

The Times – Picayune

Entertainment Guide
Folk

Pianist and vocalist John McAndrew brings a definite pop sensibility to his compositions; he has more in common with Elton John and Billy Joel than the typical folkie. On his recent ÔI'll Play All Night Long,' his piano licks dance in and around an organ, guitar, drums and bass. McAndrew performs tonight at the Neutral Ground, followed by local singer/ songwriters Mike West and Myshkin.

Birmingham Post-Herald

November 13, 1998

McAndrew sings song of "Birmingham"

By Leigh Anne Monitor Birmingham Post-Herald

John McAndrew has been crooning the pop verses to audiences in Los Angeles, Vancouver and New Orleans, telling folks about how "the sun always shines down on Birmingham, where the gospel singers sang, swaying hand in hand."

The: singer from Minneapolis wrote a song about the civil rights movement called "Birmingham" while he was here on a trip a little more than a year ago.

This month, McAndrew snagged Ed Keane and Associates in Boston to manage his bookings. He'll take "Birmingham" to European cities next year.

The song is being used by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. McAndrew, who is trying to attract a major record label, said the song will be included on his next album. He plays piano and writes pop songs with blues and gospel influences his style has been compared to an early Elton John. He said he recently recorded the song with a choir in Los Angeles' Entourage Studios, with the help of Grammy-winning producer Morgan Ames. McAndrew's album, I'll Play All Night Long," with 12-original songs, was recorded in 1997 in Muscle Shoals. He said he will start recording his newest album, which includes "Birmingham," in January in Los Angeles.

"Birmingham" came about after McAndrew played tourist one day on 16th Street North.

McAndrew had arrived in the city to attend a wedding with a friend. He ended up with a few free hours, and he decided to tour the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Kelly Ingram Park.

What he heard and saw was, as he calls it, like being on "holy ground."

"The sun was shining bright down on 16th Street at noon, where they fought for civil rights and they built this house of truth, where you can take a walk back through history, where it's all so plain to see..." ~

This, the song's first verse, is what McAndrew said he experienced as he walked along. Previously, he said, his knowledge of the movement had been based on watching TV as a boy in the '60s.

He said he heard a church choir singing in the park just before he toured the institute.

"The song is just a story of that day for me," McAndrew said. "The gist of the song is that God is shining the sun real bright on Birmingham for the whole world to see.

"Everywhere I play it, people are really touched by it," he continued. 'That Birmingham song is so beautiful, why did you write that?'"

He said it was a natural effect: The song just came through him.

"The 'Birmingham' song is really what my music is about," he said. "It's about truth."

"Walked across the street to the old Baptist church and I saw the faces off our little girls who burned. The old women of the church, there, they got God in their eyes as they told me the story Of a war in black and white."

He said he still sees racism in Minneapolis and other cities across the nation, as well as in the South.

But in Birmingham, he said he's found a flip side.

"What I did feel was a tremendous amount of pride in the black community, the pride in what they overcame and their struggle," McAndrew said.

"I have never felt that anywhere but in Birmingham.

"I think now the whole world can come to Birmingham and really see the truth of what happened."

Washington D.C.

By Tony Swanick

The 15th Annual Helen Hayes Awards and a Star Studded AIDS Benefit

Manhattan on the Potomac

Among the performers who gave their talent to the concert were Karen Akers, Melba Moore, Davis Gaines, Lainie Kazan and Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of The Supremes. Also performing was piano man John McAndrew, a name you might not know but should make yourself acquainted with.

John McAndrew may not be a household name but he comes from a tradition of musical accomplishment following his father (Bill) who played clarinet with the legendary Stan Kenton band. McAndrew opened his two-song set with "If Forever" off his CD I'll Play All Night Long, a collection of original music he released in 1997. This CD is an incredible collection of new music by an entertainer I think we will hear a lot from in the future. His second number, "My Feet Just Can't Say No," was an equally well received up-tempo number. While the other performers were known quantities, this gentleman was, for me, the (very pleasant) surprise of the evening.

TimesDaily

Thursday, June 11, 1998

John McAndrew finds truth in songs

By Terry Pace
Entertainment Editor

John McAndrew believes in the healing power of music. The versatile singer, songwriter and piano player was reared in soothing, nurturing background of jazz , blues and traditional country and Western.

"My father, Bill McAndrew, played clarinet with Stan Kenton," McAndrew recalled. "I grew up listening to everything from Cole Porter to Duke Ellington to Dave Brubeck and the Beatles. Even today, nothing moves me like the Hank Williams songs I heard when I was a kid. Music's in my soul, so I suppose it's only natural that that's how I learned to express myself. That's more true today than ever before."

Based in Minnetonka, Minn., McAndrew and his music are no strangers to listeners in the Shoals. The performer's 1997 album, "I'll Play All Night Long," was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield. McAndrew co-arranged and co-produced the expressive self-defining collection with veteran Muscle Shoals producer and musician Roger Hawkins, best known as the drummer for the world-famous Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

"I wanted to make a simple, honest record where you could here the lyrics without a lot of clutter and distractions," McAndrew said. Roger has been in the business so long and he really knows how to make records. He's a legendary drummer, or course, but he also has a genuine love of songs and a tremendous ear for music and lyrics. He cares so deeply about what he does, and I know he likes my singing. So I think it was a good partnership."

Working in Muscle Shoals also enabled McAndrew to enlist a stellar lineup of studio personal, from master engineers Alan Schulman, Johnny Sandlin, Jay Wilson, Steve Melton and Kent Bruce to seasoned musicians Hawkins, Clayton Ivey, David Hood, Bob Wray, Will McFarlane and Joel Holder.

"I learned a great deal from all of them," McAndrew confessed.

'We worked long and hard, but the late nights were a lot of fun. I'd say it paid off, because the album seems to be knocking people out. Thematically, there's a definite thread running through that album. We worked very carefully on choosing and sequencing those songs."

McAndrew premiered much of his soulful, heartfelt original material — from the tender love songs "You Are My Light" and "You Opened the Gate" to the socially conscious plea "Give Me New Eyes" and the post Vietnam anthem "After All These Years"-during a March appearance at the Muscle Shoals Songwriters Showcase.

"I love the reaction of audiences," McAndrew said. "[ love to hear that affection come across. Whether it's through a recording or performing live, that's what I try to do-connect with people. I want to get them involved and interested, and through this music I want to give them something to feel and something to think about.

There's no greater joy as a musician than knowing that you get something across."

In addition to reaching new listeners, McAndrew has used "I'll Play All Night Long" as his musical "calling card" to major record companies. Ron Geslin, vice president of promotions for EMI Records, calls McAndrew "a talent about to happen" and one of those rare performers whose musical approach "rattles you and won't let go."

His musical style — a blend of country, folk, pop and SoulÑinspires comparisons with Elton John, Paul Simon, Ray Charles and Billy Joel.

"John McAndrew has that God-given talent," Geslin insists. "His voice cuts through thousands of aspiring artists and compels you to listen John's writing skills are approaching craftsman quality, and his vocal finesse is major-league."

In recent months, McAndrew has been courting producers and record companies in Los Angeles, Calif., and Vancouver, British Columbia,

He recently worked with Grammy-winning producer Morgan Ames on several new recordings including the haunting "Down on Birmingham." The song was written on Oct. 28, 1997, just after McAndrew's fateful visit to Birmingham's Civil Rights Institute and the nearby 16th Avenue Baptist Church, where four young black girls were killed in a racially motivated bombing in 1963.

"I walked through the park there around the church and the Civil Rights Institute," McAndrew recalled. "Those images lingered in my mind and those feelings were in my heart that very day, 6he song formed in my head. The song tells the story of a white man expressing 6hose feelings. It's a song that really moves people when they hear it."

McAndrew believes all of his songs "come from pretty deep down," conveying a refreshing blend of personal candor and emotional resonance.

"Many people have commented that there's a clarity and honesty to the music that I write," McAndrew said. "I believe one of the reasons for that may be that I haven't been hardened by the pressures of New York and Los Angeles. I enjoy writing from that spot where people are really moved. Music is a good way to do that."

These days McAndrew is busy preparing material for his upcoming album. The singer-songwriter is par6cularly proud of his new recording of "Down on Birmingham." He even hopes to return to the Shoals in August to perform the song at the annual W.C. Handy Music Festival.

"Doors are starting to open," McAndrew noted. "This latest album speaks for who I am, and I think it's pretty representative of me as a songwriter and musician. After you're there for a while and you work for a while, things start to get a little clearer. You realize after a certain amount of time that things will just happen as they're supposed to happen. I guess I have confidence that I'11 get where I'm supposed to be."

In the meantime, McAndrew intends to focus on introducing his music to as many people in as many places as possible. In recent years he's shared the concert stage with Exile, Reba McEntire, Acoustic Alchemy, Little Feat, Nancy Griffith and Maynard Ferguson.