Album Notes

As a newborn, Andy Van Duyne enjoyed the last year of the Truman administration. As the 50's rolled on, he discovered music, both by sticking his fingers in the back of the radio, and by plunking out tunes on the piano in his 2-room school house. All of this led to formal piano lessons, which was just fine until Andy's father's cousin gave him a beat up old guitar in '62. One Peter, Paul and Mary songbook later, he had learned a bunch'o'chords, just in time for a crash between adolescence and the British invasion. Old radios were cobbled into guitar amps, lawns were cut for guitar money, and boxes of records served as lesson books. Andy listened to and learned to play as many songs and styles as would penetrate his noggin. The end of the 60's led to very-large-amp rock, and a trip to engineering school

While attempting to master the slide rule, Andy was drawn to music activities on campus, and, after a couple years study, abandonned engineering for music. Studying classical voice by day, he spent his nights and weekends making noise with his guitar, running though the early 70's playing folkie, neo-country, white boy funk, and Doobie-ish tunes. After music school Andy enjoyed a brief sidestep as a radio newscaster. Soon, however, he began a 32 year career as a Music Educator, teaching 5-12 year olds how to sing, compose, and make noise with Band instruments. Nights and weekends were still spent making all manner of music at clubs and 'society' gigs, playing whatever kind of music would put money in the jar.

The 80's led Andy to the integration of computers in his music, and a never-ending accumulation of things with blinky lights that made noise. (He still has several Commodore 64's, his midi interface, and Dr. T's sequencer on the shelf.) Still more club and social playing ensued, and a truck load of music was composed to use in school.

Somewhere in the 90's Andy became a High School Band Director, whilst playing in an ensemble combining classic R&B and country. (One must be flexible in the bars...). His home studio kept building and moving to larger and larger quarters in the house, with larger and larger arrays of blinky lights.

Y2K saw signifigant changes, including the last of his 3 very musical children (all of whom are on the Van Duyne Avenue CD) leaving home for adult life, and all of his wives (ok, there's only been the one...) leaving shortly thereafter. Andy has spent this century playing with a variety of ensembles, including as a bassist in a blues band, a bassist/guitarist/mandolinist in area musicals, and as a pianist, guitarist, lap steelist and dobroist in a Western-swing-and-whatever-else band.

All of these diverse influences and outlets creep into Andy's music, which makes it hard for him to pick a genre. Listen to the samples - it's quite a buffet. Hopefully you'll find something you like.