Andrew Cline - Astrologer Interview
Are you originally from Phoenix, AZ? What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music? Were these things that were relevant growing up in your household?
Yep, born and raised. My family was here before we were even a state in the union! I was a daydreamer, that was what always came up with my teachers. I constantly dreamt of being in love and being a songwriter. I'd go to sleep with headphones on from a young age, my dad did that too so I guess that's where I picked it up. I'd lay on my bed at his apartment and imagine myself on stage performing the albums I'd be listening to... In the early 90's there wasn't much else to do. Being with my father. He would pick me up and run around the living room and play loud music when I was very young. Mostly rock and funk, some weirder shit too like Zappa. He'd show me the SOS Band and Mountain and Zeppelin. When I was 12, I discovered his Twin Tone Records Replacements "Sorry, Ma" record, and that completely changed my world. I had a visceral reaction to music, and I still do. It's all I think about, all the time. Yeah. Although my dad was obsessive, music was important to my mom too. We always listened to the radio... She and my cousin Nancy showed me things; new wave music. The Cure, OMD, stuff like that. Later, my mom got together with my stepdad, who was a classical guitar student, so that blew my mind in a whole different way, hearing things like Segovia.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your very first concert? When did you realize you wanted to spend your time pursuing music and art? When and where did you play your very first gig and what was that experience like for you?
Skate, smoke weed, play music. I was a shitty skater, but I could play drums and I had good music taste. Paul Westerberg and Elliott Smith were the biggest influences on me as a teenager. I think it might have been the Warped Tour in 1998, or maybe Silverchair. My dad gave me an old drum pad and some sticks when I was around 4. As soon as I realized I could come up with my own little rhythms, it became all I wanted to do. April 1999, at the Mason Jar here in Phoenix. We got all our friends from school to go and we made 500 dollars. Everyone was shocked and proud of us. It was magical!
Did you participate in any groups, or projects prior to Astrologer? What initially led to the band forming and how did you meet some of the interchanging members that pass through astrologer?
I had a band with my pal Nick Florence called Weird Radicals several years ago. I played sideman for other people before that.. I had a bad heroin habit so my output was pretty much non-existent in my 20's. My dad died, my band broke up, and the mother of my son and I split in 2019. Then the pandemic happened... I had some time to think things over and started writing songs. Wyatt Blair, one of my dearest friends and champions, invited me to record my music in LA. We became friends when he lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, and when he moved home we kept in touch. That's effectively how Astrologer began. My life went through a sea change during the pandemic, and I had a singular mindset to make music, and only make music with my friends, or do it alone. Nick, my partner in Weird Radicals, came back to the fold to help, and he introduced me to our other guitarist, Blake Garmon. They're like brothers to me. I met Don Bolles sometime before all that, but he tells that story beautifully in the liner notes for our Eternal Friday album, which is out August 18th! He's been a guiding force in my songwriting, he's a great mentor.
After Don came onboard, I met Candy at the haunted Hotel Monte Vista. We've been inseparable ever since. We ended up getting married. She's my truest friend and closest collaborator... when we first met she introduced me to her friend, Emily, who became our bassist and one of my best friends! Other pals came along, like Joel from Diamond Hands, who is like, the 10th Astrologer member... Like how people talk about the fifth beatle, he's the tenth Astrologer. Derek Jordan recently joined us on drums here in Phoenix and he's been a great addition to our group. We aren't fucking around when we call this Andy & Candy's Dandy Family Band! The band has released two works on cassette entitled “Legerdemain: L & R”. Can you tell me about writing and recording these albums and what the overall approach and vision was for the material. Would you mind giving some background to tracks such as “ABC Gum”, “Acid Trish”, “Mania” and “Goodbye Blue”? Legerdemain was a joy to make, it was like a giant party every time we would go record. Anyone who was around could be on it. Lots of fun, mostly made at night. Our only goal was to make whatever we wanted to, and we did! Our new album, Eternal Friday, which is out August 18th, was serendipitous in its own way. We made it mostly in mornings and afternoons, or at least it felt that way. I was very Zen for that one. I knew exactly what I wanted when we recorded that. Two times the album was nearly abandoned because of technical difficulties. I got to thinking that God maybe didn't want me to make it… There was a blackout in LA toward the end of the tracking and when the power came back, Wyatt couldn't access his hard drive, which had all the music we made. We had already almost been derailed by a downed tape machine, but Jeffertitti swooped in like an angel and that allowed us to keep working. I figured if the hard drive was fried, God was telling me not to make the album. And if that was the case, I was going to quit music. That didn't happen, and now the album is finally going to come out.
What have you been up to more recently? Anything in the works for this summer? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
I am writing our next album. It'll be the first time we aren't recording at Wyatt's studio, so I'm a little bit nervous, but the songs are strong and I'm excited to try a new approach. I am also pursuing my degree in Social Work, and spending precious time with my wife and son. Our single Bang Bang Orangutang came out July 21, with a beautiful video made by Fred Joseph and Renata Polli. They really understand our brand of irreverence, so that was great, go check it out! The single is out on 7", and the album is coming out August 18th as we go out to tour the Southwest. Our Instagram has those dates. We love life, we are grateful for our friends and family, and we believe in humor, honesty, and compassion for all!
https://www.instagram.com/_astrologer_/
