Andy Stedman has stolen your secret diary and written songs about your life, or so it would seem, as he claims he is innocent of such charges...
Andy was born and raised in Farnham, Surrey, where he was exposed to a variety of classic bands and artists ranging from Elvis, The Jam, Eagles, Kinks, Beatles, Motown, Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Ocean Colour Scene, Blur, Small Faces, Carole King, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, Shed 7, REM, Dinosaur Jr, Crowded House and many others. Rumour has it that at a very young age Andy used to listen to Elvis records, imagining he was Elvis doing a concert and wooing all the girls in the crowd. But enough of last year...!
After doing "the minimum work required" at school, Andy attended the University of Essex, reading US Studies, during which he spent one year of the course at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) studying screenwriting, where he founded his first band, 'The Jelly Donuts'. Largely known for its witty banter and improvised skits, the band enjoyed widespread popularity amongst the student population of the area, and Andy realised that as well as the music, good banter with the crowd makes the night even more of an event.
Upon his return Andy founded 'Sequoia' the band he led for five years. During their time together the band secured record deals in the UK, Italy and Canada. Highlights for Sequoia within the UK included receiving Radio 2 and XFM play, gigging twice at NEC Birmingham's "Clothes Show Live", a Shepherd's Bush Empire appearance, a day at the legendary Dave Lee Travis' house recording a session , as well as playing loads of gigs and getting up to all sorts of pranks and mischief.
In May 2008, Andy decided to end the Sequoia journey and pursue a solo career. "It was a fantastic experience with Sequoia, but after a while it felt like only a couple of us were really doing the hard graft, and for the final 2 years all my energy was used in keeping the band from breaking up, instead of enjoying the experience and making music. Now I can control my own destiny, and build my career safe in the knowledge that I won't break up with myself!"
Andy immediately went into the studio and recorded the album "Causin' Havoc, Breakin' Hearts", with various friends playing on it with him. In support of Andy's first solo release, fans on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook donated contributions towards the making of the album, ranging from as little as £10 to over £200 from some of the richer fans! Each fan had their name and photograph printed inside the album (although about half of them were too shy, or ugly, for this!), and received a copy of the album once completed.
This debut album was released in 2009 and is made up of 10 powerful tracks, combining Andy's charming, cheeky and bittersweet storytelling with classic indie/pop choruses and credibility. The lyrics are often very 'slice of life', with one journalist saying if you can't closely relate to at least one song you're either "a liar, a virgin or have never left the house!"
Since the release of the album in the UK, Andy has performed in Toronto at the Canadian Music Week, and he is off with his band in October for a month long tour of Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. He intends to keep writing, performing and recording as long as he is able to breathe and sing!
August 2009
www.andystedman.net
www.youtube.com/andystedmanmusic
www.myspace.com/andystedman .
