"Blues and jazz music will always live on even if the renditions change. What's positive about today IS the vast availability of music now at your fingertips. I think it’s easier for people to go back and listen to the musical legacy of the last 100 years. What I like about nowadays is the mixing of so many genres and influences from certain decades, 60's, 70's, 80's etc. People are listening back to things and using those influences and genres and creating new music, I think that’s a real plus."

Bob Andrews: The Piano Man of Saint City

Bob Andrews was influenced by the sounds of the sixties, particularly the Hammond organ. His keyboard gymnastics and high energy performances electrify audiences. Since moving to New Orleans, Bob has played piano and organ and sung, both live and in the studio, with numerous Louisiana bands and musicians, as well as performing solo. Before moving to New Orleans, Bob spent 13 years in London, England, as a record producer and respected session player, playing on and producing several "hit" records. After moving to New Orleans in 1992, Bob realized there were limited opportunities for producing, but a thriving live music scene. He began building a reputation as a piano and organ side man, and has since played with many of New Orleans live acts - John Mooney's Bluesiana, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, The Royal Fingerbowl, The Hank Sinatras, Paula and The Pontiacs, Timothea and Marva Wright, to name a few, as well as several gigs with one of his heroes, Allen Toussaint.                      (Bob Andrews / Photo by Pattie Traynor)

Bob Andrews, says: “I grew up in the thick of the 60's British music scene, beginning my musical career in 1966, and spent thirteen years on the road honing my Hammond organ and piano skills with cult bands BRINSLEY SCHWARZ and GRAHAM PARKER and THE RUMOUR. In the 80’s as a producer my credits included “THERE SHE GOES” by The La’s and UK top ten hits for THE BLUEBELLS and several STIFF RECORDS artists. At the turn of the 90's I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, becoming in demand as a live performer. I currently live and work in Taos, New Mexico.”

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the Rock n’ Blues music influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?

I’ve been very fortunate in that music has taken me all over the world, both virtually and physically. American music was always an influence in the UK when I was growing up, and when the Rolling Stones came along, I discovered a whole New World of blues, and R&B music. It also opened up the history behind that music and its roots. I bought a guitar and learned to play Jimmy Reed, as it was the easiest guitar riff to pick up on! My early professional experiences were playing to American GIs in Germany as they moved in and out of Vietnam. Most of them were not much older than myself, and I got an education on the vast expanse of cultures that exist in America, and was exposed to an enormous plethora of pop, blues R & B and psychedelia records that was coming out of the US at that time... Since then, I’ve spent 57 years, traveling the world and playing to a wide variety of audiences and finding out that music is the most universal of languages.

How do you describe your sound, songbook, and music philosophy? Where does your creative drive come from?

I have always thought of myself as a song-oriented person. Playing long hours in GI bases and German clubs in the 60s taught me improvisation, but I always came back to three-minute music and the understanding that there’s so many great songs out there! These days I mostly play solo shows, so my songbook is a mix of songs I grew up with and influenced me, bands I played with, records I played on or produced, and my own compositions. I played in New Orleans for over 20 years, so I have that influence certainly piano-wise. I advertise myself as playing songs and music from New Orleans and beyond! Not sure about the creative drive, as it comes in spurts. I think it’s because I feel I have something to say, and saying it through music is my way of expressing myself. I’ve recently been getting back to some of the early influences in my career, particularly when it comes to my piano playing, and that reignited some interesting ideas.

"Not sure what I miss exactly about Music from the past. What’s hard for Musicians these days is having opportunities to play and thrive, and having their music recognized for its value in terms of being able to make a living from it. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for it." (Photo: Bob Andrews, Taos NM 2020)

What moment changed your music life the most? What's been the highlights in your life and career so far?

Wow, well if there’s one moment, I could think of it’s the first time I heard a Hammond Organ! I just fell in love with the sound of it. Now there’s been many highlights in my career. To name a few: supporting Paul McCartney and wings on a tour of the UK; Playing the Fillmore East for the first time supporting Van Morrison; meeting Jimmy McGriff; Allen Toussaint coming to hear me in a piano bar (and buying a second drink!); and getting the chance to play sessions and live with so many wonderful musicians, many my heroes. This question is like asking me what's my favorite song...

Why do you think that Brinsley Schwarz music continues to generate such a devoted following?

I’m not so sure about this question. I do keep running into people even up here in northern New Mexico that have all the Brinsley‘s records. Remarkable. They’ve heard of Nick Lowe certainly, though Nick doesn’t recognize the Brinsley part of his musical career anymore. There has also been some interest from time to time in pub rock in articles and books. I have quite a few devoted fans still from those days on social media. Mainly, I think the music we made was fairly timeless. And certainly, Nick’s writing had those qualities. Look at "Peace Love and Understanding", "Surrender To The Rhythm" amongst many others.

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

There’s plenty of memories in shows and studio work I’ve done. Certainly, that first Filmore show in 1970, supporting the Grateful Dead on a festival in the UK in 72, supporting wings in 1973, sold out theaters in the USA when Parker and the Rumour were at their Zenith, including playing to 128,000 people supporting Bob Dylan. Working with Alan Toussaint, both in the studio and live. In the studio with Marianne Faithful with George Porter on bass. There’s probably more… I’ve been very fortunate. To be still out playing!

"I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to make music continuously for the last 57 years. It was much easier when I started out to be a musician in the 60's compared to if I was setting out this year. I think as a musician you need to always believe in yourself, and not give up when times get real hard, and there are sure plenty of those." (Photo: Bob Andrews with Brinsley Schwarz, New York City 1970)

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

Not sure what I miss exactly about Music from the past. What’s hard for Musicians these days is having opportunities to play and thrive, and having their music recognized for its value in terms of being able to make a living from it. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for it. Blues and jazz music will always live on even if the renditions change. What's positive about today IS the vast availability of music now at your fingertips. I think it’s easier for people to go back and listen to the musical legacy of the last 100 years. What I like about nowadays is the mixing of so many genres and influences from certain decades, 60's, 70's, 80's etc. People are listening back to things and using those influences and genres and creating new music, I think that’s a real plus.

What were the reasons that made the UK since the 1960s to be the center of music researches and experiments?

Well, perhaps the first reason is that there was a sudden expanded generation of teenagers and music was their prime interest. For whatever reasons old-fashioned show biz types and entrepreneurs poured a lot of money into the business. Multi-album record deals were easy to find. Record companies encouraged a more long-term outlook for artistes. There was pirate radio, and lots of live clubs to see and hear music and musicians. Everyone wanted to be a musician. From what I remember there were plenty of gigs and it was fairly cheap to live so you could concentrate on making music. There’s something that’s much harder to do these days. Britain had a reputation for been able to steal ideas and sell them back to the original owners in new packaging. There was also a kind of cross fertilization of music you could hear from the US and that the US could hear from Britain. I think they fed on each other.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to make music continuously for the last 57 years. It was much easier when I started out to be a musician in the 60's compared to if I was setting out this year. I think as a musician you need to always believe in yourself, and not give up when times get real hard, and there are sure plenty of those. There will always be drivers and passengers on the music bus, and I think, as a musician, adaptability and pragmatism are two things that can sustain a career through those tough times. And of course, there’s the old adage of that lucky break. I think personally you need to keep standing out on the edge and take risks, both in your career and musically. Easy to say, not so easy to do.

Bob Andrews - Home

(Bob Andrews / Photo by Charles J Cox)