Biography
Andrew began playing Clarinet at the age of 9 , Saxophone at 12 and got his first Guitar at age 13. He began teaching guitar at the age of 17. Andrew is essentially a self taught guitarist who developed his technique through listening to and learning from the recordings of a wide range of guitarist including Mark Knoffler, Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, Dave Gilmour, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jeff Beck, Angus Young, Bill Frisell and Bucket Head, Iron Maiden and The Ventures. Jazz Saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and Drum and Bass / Drill and Bass artist 'Squarepusher' also feature regularly in Andrew's listening habits.
Steve Vai's and Robert Fripp's writings on technique and Eric Johnston's writings on tone have also been instrumental in developing Andrew's understanding of the art of playing the guitar.
Andrew recorded his first solo instrumental EP 'Wing It' in 1991 and got his first taste of working in a professional recording studio at the same time. Studying composition under Gerad Brophy at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 1992, Andrew's listening, theoretical and compositional ability were stretched to accommodate the many new ideas and techniques passed on to him.
He has been a member of Taxi, Shenzo's Electric Stunt Orchestra, Compost Composers Group and the Suzie MacKenzie Band.
He has performed at Livid, The Big Day Out, The Woodford Folk Festival, Vans Warped, The Valley Fiesta, 4ZZZ Market Day, Festival Hall and sell-out gigs at The Zoo, The opening of the Roma Street Parklands, The opening of the ICB tunnel and the opening of the Goodwill Games.
He has written and recorded music for the children's TV series The Sleepover Club, the soundtrack for various installations and art shows at the Queensland Art Gallery, The soundtrack for the 'Ministers Arts Awards' interactive multimedia CD as well as the soundtrack for the Yamaha Virago television commercial. Andrew has also created string and horn arrangements for numerous albums and recordings.
Andrew has worked as a session guitarist for many years and has featured on many television and radio advertisements, promotional videos as well as on any number of demo albums and album releases.
Andrew now focuses all of his energy on the "Independent Music Academy" and "Independent Music Products" of which he is the director and owner.