Austin bluesman talks about 'Family Guy,' Michael Jackson and upcoming Midland shows
by Nancy Adamson
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Saturday, August 8, 2009 12:01 AM CDT
By Nancy Adamson
Music Editor
Andy Macintyre is what some people would describe as a 'character.' Several characters, actually.
His outgoing personality, mischievous sense of humor and obvious love of life aside, at any given moment, he is liable to delve into an eclectic collection of impressions and morph into Keith Richards, Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel or one of several male characters on Seth MacFarlane's animated series "Family Guy."
But first and foremost, he is a bluesman and he and his band, Primal Groove, will be performing Friday and Saturday night in downtown Midland at The Bar.
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Andy Macintyre and Primal Groove (AMPG) is a blues-based, rock power trio whose influences - which include Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert Collins and Eric Clapton - are obvious from the opening note. But it's also obvious Macintyre is looking to forge his own brand of music.
Macintyre promises those who come out to one of AMPG's shows will not be disappointed. "The show is always explosive. We're a high energy, power blues, rock 'n' roll band. It's just three guys just banging out music."
Those guys include the rhythm section, which is Steve Hill on bass and the band's newest member, Brannan Lane, on drums. Keeping a drummer who is both steady on the beat and steady on the job has not always been easy for Primal Groove.
"We always have a slight, rotating door of drummers. In Austin, it's very difficult to keep drummers because drummers kind of like to play in five or 10 different bands all at once. But (Hill) and I have been going at this for going on three years now."
Not that any of the band's drummers have spontaneously combusted or suffered from some kind of bizarre gardening accident a la Spinal tap, but Macintyre couldn't resist quoting one of the film's memorable moments regarding the death of a drummer.
"I mean, he basically just sort of spontaneously combusted. It wasn't really a stain, it was more like a small little globule where the drummer used to be."
Macintyre was raised in Chicago, a city known for its own brand of blues, where he first developed his interest in music and playing the guitar. He said he was about 10 when he picked up a guitar and although he was left-handed, his dad insisted he play right-handed because that particular guitar was designed for right-handers. He grew frustrated and quit trying.
After a couple of years, the allure eventually lured him back, so made the adjustment, got hooked, got his own guitar and became determined to teach himself how to master the instrument.
"From the time I was about 13 until 18, I probably played 6 hours every day. The studies sort of suffered for it, but I definitely knew what I wanted to do after school.
"There were two albums I learned front to back. The first was Nirvana's 'Nevermind,' and then I went to the Rolling Stones' 'Sticky Fingers' and learned every song there. That was my first introduction into rock and then I went backwards and started learning all this blues stuff."
He was 17 when his father, who had been commuting between the Windy City and Austin for about 18 months, asked his family if they wanted to move to Texas.
Although it meant having to spend his senior year in a new high school, Macintyre had no reservations. The cold weather had taken its toll.
"Absolutely! Let's go. I can't stand this anymore," he remembers telling his dad.
It was in Austin that Macintyre developed his love of the blues.
"Being around a lot of really great blues players like Gary Clark (Jr.) and Alan Haynes and Jimmie Vaughn made me such a better rock player. When studying all those blues things, you go 'Wow, (rock 'n' roll) really did come from that.'"
He has other musical tastes as well, though, and really admires performers - especially Prince and Clint Black - who not only have mastered several instruments but also possess a strong stage presence.
The recent death of Michael Jackson also reminded him of the impact his music had.
"I used to take a lot of guff for saying 'Thriller' is excellent and 'Bad' is pretty cool and the 'Moonwalker' video is awesome. People used to say 'what's wrong with you?' but when he passed away, they all went 'wow, dude, you're totally right.'"
Offstage, Macintyre is in a committed relationship and enjoys being the father figure to his girlfriend's daughter from a previous marriage. He also enjoys an occasional round of bowling and watching "Family Guy."
"I know it's the most messianic, irreverent show out there, but there actually is a somewhat implied message in there. I think it's just a giant social commentary on Americans."
Macintyre then went into an unprintable but most impressive scene from the series in which he played several characters, including Glenn Quagmire, Cleveland Brown and Joe Swanson. Perhaps audiences at his live shows can coax him into recreating it.
What fans can expect at the live show are performances from the 2007 "Set Me Free" CD. Macintyre also promises to offer a preview of his new material, which he expects to release on CD sometime in October.
"I'm really, really excited about this second album. For people into the music and who have the first album, I think they're going to hear a lot of improvements. It's a whole different beast altogether."
On The Net:
AMPG Web site:
http://www.andymacintyre.com/
On MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/andymacintyre
Nancy Adamson can be reached at nadamson@mrt.com
Read more: http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/08/08/entertainment/top_stories/andy_macintyre.txt##ixzz0NkOqd9Of
Nancy Adamson - Midland Reporter (Aug 9, 2009)
