News
A new location, a new song
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Well, after a bit of a hiatus on posting material, I have some updates!
First things first: the thing listed second in the subject of this news brief... "Pitching A Tent" is the latest song to be uploaded here on the site. It's a song I wrote a couple of years ago, but it's never been performed onstage by any of my live projects. Josh and I had a lot of fun bringing this composition to life, and we hope you enjoy it! Go check it out on the Songs page or Home page.
Another exciting development for the life of Andrew and, thus, AndrewHowardMusic.com... I've moved to South Austin! I'm soaking up my new Austin surroundings and have taken in several shows. Digging it, people. Digging it. Josh and I are also now much closer geographically, which should also prove beneficial to getting out more songs!
|
|
December additions aplenty! Fa la la la...
Thursday, December 16, 2010
We've added three songs to the website in December, including a Christmas carol mash-up! It's a fun one. It was fun recording it, too. In reverse chronological order of recording, the songs we've released in December 2010...
First Noel on the Housetop:
This is a mash up of the classic Christmas carols "The First Noel" and "Up on the Housetop." Both carols are pre-20th century songs. "The First Noel" is a traditional English Christmas carol most likely from the 18th century, but first published in 1823. "Up on the Housetop" is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864 in the town of New Paris, Ohio.
Supernova Love:
This song is a pretty zany psychedelic-groove-rock number. Another fun one.
Spare Me The Lies:
One of my older song writings. It was originally recorded and released on my band's first album. A heartache tune for sure; I wrote this for a friend of mine.
|
|
Two songs added; one of them's a cover!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Josh and I recently finished up two new recordings: a song I wrote called "Sad Song" and the American classic "Home on the Range." They are now available here on the site. We put a groovy little twist on the arrangement of "Home on the Range." I hope you like it; I do! "Sad Song" has more resolution than sadness, actually, so don't let the title fool you. Regardless: download, enjoy, and pass it on!
|
|
New song "Just Friends" added today...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Josh and I finished tracking a new song on Monday of this week, and the first finished mix of the song is now available for free download and/or listening on the Songs page of this site. It's a sexy little number called "Just Friends". Interesting footnote: the first "guitar break" in the song (after the first full verse and chorus) is actually a custom, solid-body electric baritone ukulele by Australian luthier, Robin Dick at Jupiter Creek Music! The second solo is my trusty Fender Telecaster, "The Whitar".
|
|
The StandOuts renewed!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
I formerly announced that my band The StandOuts would be breaking up after the departure of our second guitarist Philip Prasek and our bassist Junior Scott. Well, I hereby repeal that announcement!
After much pleading from fans of the band, the remaining StandOuts (myself, drummer Johnny Ballistic, and horn players Doc Vickers and Rudeboy Bowman) convened and decided to carry the StandOuts forward. Thanks for the love, everyone!
Our only gig remaining on the books right now is our October 17 show at Gray Horse Saloon. Our new approach for the next few months will be to play a once-a-month gig at a venue in either San Marcos or San Antonio; same venue, same day of the month, every month. In early 2011 we will look at putting more show on the slate.
Phil and Junior will be missed, but we will soon be auditioning replacements for them.
|
|
Updates to 3 tracks were posted Sept. 9th!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday night Josh and I began edits to this first batch of nine songs. We posted those tracks to the website in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The updated tracks are: Buy Yourself, Come About Midnight, and Headache.
On Buy Yourself I sang the choruses again to get the lyrics right. Come About Midnight, we added electric guitar to the intro and also added a solo after the 2nd chorus. We did some vocal harmony touch-ups on Headache, in addition to adding a third harmony in the last two choruses.
We'll mostly be concentrating on edits for the currently released tracks for a few weeks before we release any new music, but there is plenty more to come!
|
|
AndrewHowardMusic.com is Alive!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
In December 2009, Andrew Howard and Josh Richards met and began recording Howard's songs. After recording a couple of tracks at Richards' home studio south of Austin, Texas, they began to realize a website with which to publicize the songs would be nice. Several months later (with a short vacation break somewhere in there), the website is ready and nine songs have already been recorded!
"Andrew Howard & The Selections" works a lot like a tandem bicycle or a two-man luge. Whereas, Howard is responsible for generating the songs, the design and implementation of the website is all Richards. Each of the guys helps the other with content: Howard critiques, generates content for, and helps maintain the website; Richards provides equipment and skills as a co-producer of the songs as well as an "instrumentalist-at-the-ready."
After the initial release of two or three songs some time in September, Howard and Richards anticipate releasing at least a song a week for several weeks.
|
|
What's in a name?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Why "Andrew Howard & the Selections"?
Every creative project needs a name, even if it's just the name of the artist responsible for the project. Andrew Howard has always been a fan of "old-school" American music like classic country or classic rock & roll. Many of the early American groups labeled themselves by using first the name of the frontman, like Bob Wills, and then the name of his cohorts, like The Texas Playboys. Thus you have early music biz names such as Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, etc.
Howard had told Josh Richards of his admiration of the names of early American music groups, and that he might want to call the project "Andrew Howard & The Something." But what was the "something"? One day Richards realized their process within the project pertained to all sorts of "selections." First, there was the selections of songs from Howard's catalog, then there were all sorts of selections being made within the recording platform of Apple's Logic. There were also selections being made as to what instrument would be played and by whom. And, of course, there was always the selection of what beer to drink whilst hard at work on the songs or the site.
So it was proposed that the project be christened "Andrew Howard & The Selections." The name stuck, and here we are. Now, browse on over to the Songs page, make your "selections," and download them!
|
|
Free Music: Take It!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
If you haven't read the "Philosophy" or "Donate" portion of our About page, then this news article can help fill you in. We've decided to let you, the listener, set the price for anything you download from this sight. It is more important to us to make it easy for you to share Andrew Howard's songs with your world than it is for us to receive money every time a song is downloaded. There are no limits to how many songs you can download for free. Please keep coming back and getting more songs, and tell your friends!
If you love what you hear on this site, and you'd like to communicate your appreciation through money, you can click on the PayPal "Donate" button on the bottom of the right-hand column on the Songs page, or at the bottom left of all the pages. Just as there are no limits as to how many free downloads you can get on this site, so there are no limits as to how much (or how little) you can donate to "Andrew Howard & The Selections." (Please, Oprah. Become my number one fan and buy me a yacht. Just a small yacht.)
|
|
Tubes
|
|