FIB MUSIC: What's new, what have you been up to lately and what's in the

future?

Andy: The overall focus for the last couple of years has been the
completion of the new Andy Timmons Band cd, “Resolution”. Though,
during that period of time, I’ve done several tours with the ATB overseas
as well as numerous tours with Olivia Newton-John, who I continue to
work with as guitarist and music director. In addition…and a great addition
it is…my wife and I became first-time parents on March 11, 2004 withthe
birth of Alexander Julian Timmons. He’s almost two years old now and is an
avid music buff already! He has his own record player and spins Beatle
records all day while playing his drums (well, actually, it’s two small boxes
with straws taped together as sticks!). So, as you can imagine, it’s been a
busy couple of years!!

In the future? Right now we’re completely excited about the upcoming May
2 release of “Resolution”! I’m really proud of this one and I think it’s a
special rock guitar record (and I’m never one to be boastful…but I can’t
wait for you to hear it!!) We plan on touring as much as possible in the U.S.
and worldwide.

FIB MUSIC: Tell us a little history about how you started playing guitar,
where you studied, etc.

Andy: I had toy guitars from the age of 4. I vividly remember being able to
play The Monkees’ “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” at that age (on one
string anyway! Haha!) I have three older brothers who at that time all
played a little bit of guitar, so I would pick their guitar up when they
weren’t around (I was very shy about it) and try to figure out what I saw
them play. So, essentially , I was self-taught until the age of 16. During
that time I largely learned from listening to my record collection which
consisted of mostly 60’s pop 45s handed down to me from my brothers
(Beatles, Dave Clark Five, Kinks, etc) but then I got my first job when I was
@12 yrs old (sweeping hair at a barber shop!) and could afford to buy my
own records (and eventually my first electric guitar for $12.95 from
Goldman’s Pawn Shop in Evansville, Indiana). With my first week’s pay
from the Lawndale Barber Shop I purchased Kiss Alive and the Raspberries’
Greatest Hits. That’s still pretty much where my head is today…I love good
heavy rock, but I’m always drawn to a great sounding, well written pop
song. It wasn’t long before I joined my first band, Taylor Bay, of which I
was a member for seven years until I left for the University of Miami (more
on that later) As I progressed on my instrument, I began to realize that
playing guitar and making music was really what I wanted to do in life. I
was also a very realistic guy and knew that making it in a rock band was
very difficult and a long-shot at best. Especially living in a relatively small
town in the Midwest! I was grabbing up every copy of Guitar Player
magazine that I could looking for any information that would help me
expand my self learned knowledge. I began reading about guys like Tommy
Tedesco, Larry Carlton, and Steve Lukather who made their living playing
guitar in the recording studio. I was enthralled!! Wow…maybe this is what
I could do! It became clear that these guys needed to know how to read
music and also play the guitar in any style. I realized I needed help at this
point and began looking for a teacher. I had heard of a guy named Ron
Pritchett who was known as a great teacher and played really great jazz. I
found his number in the phone book, but it took several weeks to gather
the courage to call!

(remember the shy boy?) Ron was the perfect guy for me….he started me
off with extremely basic reading lessons (literally Mary Had A Little Lamb)
but at the end of each lesson he would play some jazz guitar records by
guys like Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis. Before long he was giving
me chord changes to jazz standards every week.

As I continued to study w/Ron, I was playing 3 nights a week in my rock

band, and then when it came time for college I began studying as a
classical guitar major at the University of Evansville. My instructor there,
Renato Butturi, was a really wonderful player and a great guy. I certainly
learned a lot at that time about classical music but I wasn’t focused enough
on that style to become really proficient. Luckily, Renato saw my strengths
in other styles, and being a good jazzer himself, would sometimes spend
our lessons talking about improvising. I remember a couple of instances
when I came to a lesson a little less-than-prepared (embarrassing to
admit!) and we would spend the time playing free-form improvisations
with absolutely no direction, except what the other player was playing. I
learned so much from these sessions…especially the art of listening to
everything else going on…not just yourself!! This is probably the single
most important attribute a player can develop if their goal is to make music
w/other players!!

Thank you Renato for pointing my ears in the right direction!! After two
years at the UofE, I transferred to the University of Miami which was well
known as a jazz school (and as a starting point and hangout for Pat
Metheny, Steve Morse’s Dixie Dregs, Jaco Pastorius and many other greats)
and offered a jazz guitar program. Fantastic, stay in school to make Mom
happy, and play electric guitar all day (and 6 nights a week in a cover
band!). I grew more in the two years spent in Miami than at any other point
in my career. This, I must say, has to do with equal parts 1)faculty 2) the
players there and 3) gigging ALL the time. My two instructors there, Rick
Schmuck and eventually Randall Dollahon, were extremely inspiring jazz
encyclopedias!! Both had great tone and feel.

There was a large handful of guitar players living on the same dormitory
floor as me who are still to this day some of the greatest players I’ve ever
heard! We would hang out all the time exchanging ideas and learning from
each other. Mike Abbott was the stand-out straight-ahead jazzer, Brian
Monroney was a great jazzer with amazing ears that could also play like
Carlton, Teddy Castellucci was the Tommy Tedesco and could play killer
jazz and could literally read anything set in front of him, Ted Kumpel (my
roommate) was the cool fusion guy taking his cues from John Schofield and
Steve Kahn and me… I was the rock guy. On top of all this, I joined a top-
forty band that literally gigged six nights a week the entire time I was in
Miami. It was the ultimate way to grow…learn all day, then apply to real-
world settings at night. I’m not real sure if the dance crowd knew I was
playing Charlie Parker licks over Madonna’s “Borderline” or not, but I
thought it was cool! When I left Miami in 1985 it effectively ended my
consistent studying with a teacher. That being said, I leaned so much from
the people I’ve studied with that I’ll never have time to apply it all!! I am of
course always learning new things from the music

I listen to. I would say my biggest influences were (and are) Ace Frehley,
Ted Nugent, Steve Lukather, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Mike Stern, Pat
Metheny, and more recently Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and Steve
Vai. I am most drawn to music and players that have dynamics and great
sensitivity…essential for expressive music.

FIB MUSIC: You actually started as a solo artist in Dallas. How would you
describe the Dallas music scene at that time?

Andy: Well, I began my Texas residence in Denton in 1985 having joined a

band formed at the University of Miami with fretless bass great Steve
Bailey and incredible drummer Ray Brinker. The band was called Brinker
and we recorded a record in 1986 (released independently on cassette
only) and played together for @ two years. From there I joined a local
band, the Molly Maguires, which eventually evolved into a really great
Beatles cover band called Revolver. Around 1988, I was really itching to
play original music again and began jamming a lot with other players.
Denton was great for this as it was where North Texas State University was
and they’re also known for their great jazz dept…so there were lots of
great musicians always available to jam. We would set up
anywhere….living rooms, backyards, even on the street! This is how I met
Mitch Marine and Mike Daane. Rob Wechsler (great electric violinist and
also engineer who I eventually did my first jingle sessions with and with
whom most of my solo work has been recorded) was always having jams at
his place. Mitch, Mike and I connected instantly and it wasn’t long before
we began doing some local shows. The Denton club scene back then was
awesome…lots of little hole-in -the-wall places that let you play whatever
you wanted to…and people would come check it out! We began playing
mostly covers (like Cream, Hendrix, Satriani, Vai, etc) but also began
working up songs I was writing (the first session we did as a band was
“It’s Getting Better” which was eventually released on ear X-tacy.) We got
popular very quickly and began getting gigs in Dallas which was also a very
happening music scene at the time with a great variety of venues to play
and an equally great variety of bands to play there!

FIB MUSIC: Did you ever play at the Basement, in Dallas Tx? If so, please
share one of your better Basement stories. If anything.

Andy: Oh Yes!! We played the Basement many times!! Always great shows
there. We were asked to take part in a benefit for homeless people
sometime @ 1994-5 in an all acoustic concert. I remember writing
“Homeless” specifically for this show (I later recorded this song for the
Orange Swirl CD). We also played Farmer Sez, Elvis Costello’s What’s So
Funny About Peace Love and Understanding, and a really great lounge
version ofKiss’ Strutter w/Mike Daane on lead vocals which segued into Pat
Metheny’s Phase Dance. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I
doubt those two songs have ever been played together like that before or
since!!! (Yes, a recording exists somewhere...)
FIB MUSIC: How did you get involved with the band Danger Danger?

Andy: Buddy Blaze, then artist relations guy for Kramer Guitars, was
helping Jonathan Cain, John Waite, and Ricky Phillips look for a guitar
player for their new band Bad English as Neal Schon had done the demos
but was more interested in his solo career. Buddy, a native Texan, decided
what they were looking for was in Texas so be asked a journalist friend of
his, David Huff of Jam magazine, “who’s the happening player in Dallas?”
and through asking around my name came up. Buddy called me and asked
for a demo tape.

Luckily we had recorded It’s Getting Better and two other tracks at this
time (Wanted Man and Innocence Lost). About a week after sending them
to Buddy, I had a message on my answering machine from Jonathan Cain
saying “we dig your playing and want you to come to San Francisco to
audition”. I was really excited to say the least!! I flew out a week later and
the audition went great. I was pretty nervous but played well. John Waite
gave me a ride to the airport and his parting words were “unless you lose a
finger, you’ve got the gig!” They then flew me to L.A. to spend a trial week
to see how things went. Everything was going well, then Neal called mid-
week saying he was interested in the gig now. I saw the writing on the wall
at that point, though they politely said “we’ll spend a week w/Neal and
we’ll let you know how it goes”. I knew my chances were slim, seeing that
with Neal in the band you have ½ of Journey….kind of a no-brainer. All in
all, it was still a great experience. John Waite is an amazing singer and
Ricky and Jonathan couldn’t have been nicer guys. On my last day Neal was
coming in and we had a heck of a jam!! After that fell through, Buddy said
“don’t worry about that, I know these other guys that have a record
coming out and are looking for a guitar player”. “What’s the band?”
“Danger Danger”….””never heard of them” Buddy put me in touch with
Bruno Ravel (a Spector bass endorser which was being made by Kramer at
the time) and I sent him a tape. He called back saying they wanted to fly
me to New York to audition…which went well, though I think they were
struggling with substance over image (meaning I was a good player, but
didn’t necessarily look like a rock star). I flew out for a 2nd audition and
they told me they’d call over Christmas. I got the call when I was visiting
my family in Indiana. Eric Todd, the band’s manager called and very slowly
and painstakingly told me “even though you’re a good player and
everything……we just really feel that…..well (meanwhile I was interjecting
“oh, I understand” etc trying to make it easy for him to let me down) the
next thing I knew, Bruno, Steve, Ted and Kasey were yelling over the
phone “you’re in the band man….hahaha gotcha!!!!”

FIB MUSIC: Were you just planning to do one record, or did you know from
the beginning that you would be joining the band?

Andy: Well, I was coming in after the record had been finished, though
they were getting ready to re-mix it with Mike Stone (of Queen and Journey
fame among others) When they were originally signed to Epic, Al Pitrelli
was in the band. Things apparently didn’t go well between he and the
AandR guy that signed the band, so he parted ways with the guys. At this
point they got their longtime friend, Tony Bruno (who had just formed
Saraya) to record the albums guitar tracks, full well knowing he wouldn’t
join the band. They would just find a guy for the touring and videos (that’s
where I came in!) Luckily for me, because they were re-mixing there was
still a chance to play on the record, so I cut solos on “Boys Will Be Boys”
and “Saturday Night” It was a big thing for me because it meant I would be
on my first national record! That had been a longtime goal of mine. My
tracking of those solos took less than an hour of studio time. We literally
got a sound very quickly and rolled tape….maybe two takes of each solo. I
looked at Mike Stone and asked “was that alright?” He rolled his eyes and
sarcastically replied “yes, everybody I work with gets it in two takes”
haha! The real ironic part of this whole story is that the Bad English and
Danger Danger records were released on the same day on the same
label…..and the first full color page we had in Metal Edge magazine had Bad
English on the other side of our picture…too weird!!

FIB MUSIC: Who were some of the bands that you toured with to support
that release?

Andy: Quite a few…we definitely got out and worked. Our first tour was
opening for Warrant in Canada right when their song “Heaven” was #1. We
had a blast! I remember one night I ended up on Warrant’s bus drinking
vodka w/Jani all night singing Beatle songs…I think we kept everybody up!
Other bands we toured with were Faster Pussycat (which was great until
their drummer got busted for heroin) Extreme (really great guys…it was
right before “More Than Words” broke) Alice Cooper (who was amazing
and who ironically had Al Pitrelli on guitar!)but of course the best was
opening for Kiss on the Hot In The Shade tour. We were all fans since we
were kids, in fact the first concert I ever attended

was the Destroyer tour in 1976!!!! I remember being in the very last row at
the top of the arena thinking to myself “this is what I want to do!!!!” Gene
and Paul treated us great and we learned so much from them. A real arena
tour…cool!

FIB MUSIC: Any idea how many copies were sold?

Andy: I think around 400,000 in the U.S. Worldwide I’m not sure.

FIB MUSIC: Was the idea to release a Live album next, or did something
happen to delay a studio release the following year?

Andy: It took a little longer because we toured so much! The Down and
Dirty live record was a promotion only release to coincide w/the Alice
Cooper tour. I think the label wanted to showcase the way the band
sounded with me in it….not just a poser hair-band.

FIB MUSIC: Full in Bloom scenario 1. Andy Timmons has a son, or daughter
that decides he / she wants to learn how to play guitar, what would
recommend as an ideal starting point? What would he practice? How many
hours a day? (Assuming that they like the guitar).
Andy: No practice regimen at such a young age I would just encourage him
to learn at his own pace and if the passion is there, continue to provide as
much knowledge as he is hungry for. Of course, I will always suggest to
any young players to develop their ears as much as possible by learning
from recordings more so that by written pages.

FIB MUSIC: Your next studio album is entitled, Screw It. Had Grunge
already begun to take over at that point? Did you guys know it..going into
record that album? Was the label still behind you, etc.?

Andy: The bubble hadn’t burst just yet, although rap was certainly gaining
in popularity. I don’t think it dawned on me personally that there would be
such an effort eventually (by MTV specifically) to stamp out hair metal
bands. Why wouldn’t there be room for all genres on the radio… that was
certainly the case when I was growing up.

You would hear Queen then Charlie Rich then Olivia Newton-John then Kiss
then Rush…on and on. Everything was gradually being marketed very
specifically. There was less room for variety. Yes, the label was still behind
us but when we delivered our first video to MTV (for the song Monkey
Business) they told us outright “don’t bother making videos…we hate your
band and all the bands like you”. True story. Most of our fans (mind you
400,00 people) never knew we had a second record out. MTV was that
powerful. Kip Winger has a similar story when delivering his new video in
the early ‘90s to MTV, they said “not sure if we’ll play it…but check these
guys out. They’re called Pearl Jam….we’re going to make them the biggest
band on earth” Another true story.

Isn’t the music business wonderful? Don’t get me wrong. Seattle needed to
happen. Nirvana was an awesome band that reminded everybody what it
sounds like for three guys to get in a room together and turn it up. Great
songs. Great melodies. Energy. The hair metal scene had gotten very over-
processed. Drum machines etc. Lots of people chasing Mutt Lang’s tail…
which again are great sounding records, but not necessarily real. Nirvana
was real and that’s why they still appeal today.

FIB MUSIC: Any memories stand out from the Screw It recording sessions?
Where was it recorded? What was the budget? Any good or bad tales?

Andy: Steve, Bruno and I flew to Hilversum Holland (just outside of

Amsterdam) to record the basic tracks at Wisselord Studios. It was
cooooldddd!!! We had a great time there though and we all put on about 10
pounds each from drinking cokes and eating brodges (sweet pastries) all
day!! Erwin Musper was the engineer and, like me, was a huge Beatles fan
so we hit it off great. I remember how psyched we were to record “Find
Your Way Back Home” putting in all the fab four sounds. We then went to
Ft. Lauderdale ‘s New River Studios to do all the lead vocals and lead
guitars. I think the budget was @ $250,000. Huge by todays standards.

FIB MUSIC: Who did you tour with for that release?

Andy: We did a bunch of headline club tours with bands like the Electric
Angels and Dillinger opening up. Once again we got to tour with Kiss, this
time in the U.K. on their Revenge tour. Unbelievable luck! Many great
moments on that tour….many fun sound checks……you should hear Kiss
doing Crazy Train, then Reelin’ In The Years, and then combining the two!!!

FIB MUSIC: Why did you leave Danger Danger? Did the band break up?
Were you dropped from the

label?

Andy: We actually did a third record for Epic called “Cockroach” that went
unreleased until very recently. It is by far the best work Danger Danger
had done up to that point. But….Seattle and rap had already taken over and
it was too late. Things were always tense between Ted vs. Steve and Bruno
and things culminated with Ted leaving (and suing) the band. The label
gave the OK to replace the lead vocals with Paul Laine (one of two or three
guys considered) but upon completion they kept putting off the release
date until finally we had to split up. They own the record at that point and
there was nothing we could do to get it back (some labels are cooler about
that than others…I think somebody pissed somebody off along the way……
ah, karma…) Though certainly disappointing, it was an easy decision for me
to just move back to Texas and finish the recording I had been working on
all along since I joined DD. That eventually led to the release of “ear X-tacy
I think around 1995.

FIB MUSIC: In 1997 you joined Danger Danger again, what had happened
to the original vocalist, Ted Poley? How was it working with them again?

Andy: Any association with DD since the split in 1994 has been limited to
guest appearances on their subsequent records.

FIB MUSIC: 3 fond memories of your days in Danger Danger danger

Andy: 1. Everybody’s sense of humor. No matter how much bullshit was

going on in the band or around us in the business, we we’re always
laughing. Steve and Bruno could easily be a comedy team, if not, one of the
married couples in When Harry Met Sally….hysterical!

2. When I first joined the band, I moved in with Ted in his small
Hackensack apartment.

We had a rehearsal the next day so we decided to go over the songs just he
and I on an acoustic guitar. I was blown away when he started singing.
Sounded just like the guy on the record!! Haha! A really great distinctive
voice. Great day.

3. Again, every night on the Kiss tours. Playing in the arenas then watching
the Kiss show from the side of the stage EVERY night. Like little kids all
over again.
FIB MUSIC: Do you remember early Pantera? Did you ever go see them
play live in the 80’s? Any memories come to mind?

Andy:I remember my roommate in Denton, Bill Bush (now of Garbage

fame) had a cassette of Pantera. They looked very glam back then and they
played the same clubs my band was playing like Dallas City Limits, Savvy’s,
Joe’s Garage etc. I remember they played covers from Dokken and Ratt and
other L.A. bands. I remember Darrell always being great…sounding like
Eddie and Warren DiMartini effortlessly. Somebody sent me a cassette
recently of Dime and I playing together in a music store sometime in the
late ‘80s. I haven’t had the courage to listen to it yet….though I remember
we had a blast.

Darrell was an easy guy to love…easy going…friendly as hell….always glad

to see you.

I know we had a lot of respect for each other…I’m really sad that we didn’t
get a chance to make more music together.

FIB MUSIC: Full in Bloom Music scenario 2. Your son / daughter now has
practiced what you told him to do in scenario 1 and has become quite
proficient at it. What would you then tell him to learn / practice. How many
hours a day, but so the kid has a life?

Andy: Again, if the passion and drive is there, they’ll find what’s right for
them. I never believed in a strict regimented schedule (though I’m sure
that works for some people).

I would just do my best to offer the right advice and make sure they’re
learning about everything else in life that will help them do well in any
situation.

FIB MUSIC: You have done a ton of session work in your life? What is a
typical, or not so typical, Andy Timmons session like? Do they send you the
music to learn, do you sight read the music? Do you have the freedom to
add what you want? Etc.

Andy: I’ll give you several scenarios:

1. Typical jingle session: Most times if it’s a producer I’ve worked for in the
past, they know they just need to write a basic chord chart and point me in
the direction of what they’re looking for sonically and stylistically. They
trust my instincts to play what’s right

for the track. It also saves them a lot of effort!!

2. Album sessions: This can vary greatly!!!!!

For instance when I’ve worked with drumming great Simon Phillips in the
past, he will provide me with very detailed charts and a fully recorded
demo of what the track will sound like. So, considering that his music
usually involves some very tricky time signatures, it takes quite a bit of
preparation on my part. I shed my butt off for those sessions. Then there’s
records I do with Kip Winger (an unbelievably talented writer/arranger!!!)
where sometimes he’ll roll tape without me ever having heard the song.
Don’t know the changes or anything…just going on pure instinct. Some
beautiful things happen that way. You play very differently when there’s a
sheet of music in front of you…a different part of the brain is engaged. It’s
certainly still possible to make great music, but the real magic happens
when you’re free from that. Some of my best playing is on Kip’s
“Thisconversationseemslikeadream” cd.

Those are two extremes. Most other record dates there’s a rough demo,
chord chart, and a producer with a basic direction for you. I enjoy it all!!

FIB MUSIC: When did you work with Vanilla Ice and what were the song /
songs? How was it working with him?

Andy: We did a couple of tracks for his “Mind Blowin’” cd…must have been
around 1997...I don’t remember. He had written a song based on the
groove from “Fame” (the David Bowie/John Lennon hit collaboration).
Yoko refused to let him sample the original track, so they hired me, Mike
Daane and another Dallas drummer to replicate the groove.

I seem to recall we got real close. Then I played some wah wah lead on
another track.

Ice (aka Robby Van Winkle!) was O.K. My wife went to high school w/him…
small world.

FIB MUSIC: How has it been working with Olivia Newton John? What is she
like as a person and performer?

Andy: Olivia is by far one of my favorite people on his planet. I’ve been a
fan since “Have You Ever Been Mellow” came out! She’s an incredibly down
to earth person and you could not meet a sweeter soul. And when it comes
to music, she’s an encyclopedia! She knows so many tunes…we often play
Beatles, broadway tunes, jazz standards, whatever comes to mind in
soundchecks. As a performer she’s incredible. She’s singing better than
ever these days and works very hard at it. She has a vocal coach and
warms up properly before every show. And her pitch is dead center….right
in the middle. A truly great singer with a very special gift.

FIB MUSIC: How did you get that gig?

Andy: Through Simon Phillips, oddly enough. Olivia had been retired since
the mid-80’s due to her bout with breast cancer. She made it through the
treatments and was declared cancer-free but then decided she’d rather be
home looking after her daughter Chloe. In 1999 she was coaxed into doing
a few show in Austrailia, then a few in the U.S. and she really enjoyed it so
agreed to do a full U.S. tour. Her band from Austraila (the John Farnham
band) was booked to accompany her, but one of the guitarists (Brett
Garsed) was unable to do it. Olivia’s manager is Mark Hartley, who
manages, among many others, Toto.
He asked around all his other acts if anyone knew of a guitar player that
could do Olivia gig so Simon recommended me. It was an odd call to
get…”Andy, Olivia Newton-John is looking for a guitar player…” kind of out
of left field. I’m so glad I agreed to do it. It’s been one of the best things in
my career! After that first tour went so well, management approached me
about becoming the music director and putting together a U.S. based band.
We still go out for occasional tours, in fact we go to Austrailia, New
Zealand, and Japan in late February.

FIB MUSIC: Who are some other people that you have done session work
for?

Andy: Paul Stanley (just a demo session but very cool!), Paula Abdul, Joe
Lynn Turner, and ridiculous number of sessions for people you probably
haven’t heard of!!!!

FIB MUSIC: Out of all the session work you have done, is there one that
stands out as being the best, or better, or just plain great? If so, why?

Andy: Again, I’ll say the Kip Winger sessions. Mainly due to great vibe and
complete freedom. I would play several takes through each song, then the
next time I heard the track, he would have written vocal lines to
improvised solos I did, or harmonized certain phrases with a string section.
Kip is a deep musical soul and hugely underrated. I played on his new
record last week. Same experience. I can’t wait to hear it. We’ve also
talked about doing an instrumental record together. I can imagine it being
some of the most beautiful music ever created (I hear it in my head
already!!)

FIB MUSIC: Any memories stand out while you were recording your first
solo cd, Ear X-tasy.

Andy: Too many to write about….would take too long! So many great
sessions.

One that stands out vibe-wise was the day that we recorded Bust A Soda,
Carpe Diem and Hiroshima. It was Mike Daane on bass and Dan
Wojciechowski on drums. We cut Hiroshima last that day. It was live solo
with the band and it just felt awesome. There’s a few moments where Woj
and I are like one instrument…kind of like Pocaro and Lukather at the end
of “White Sister”….magic you can’t plan….it just happens. The day we cut
Electric Gypsy, Farmer Sez and Turn Away I stopped in at a local music
store to pick something up, and a friend of mine working there was playing
through his rig at the shop. It was a VHT Pitbull combo amp and it sounded
great. I plugged into it and played the Electric Gypsy riff and said “that’s
it!!!!! Can I borrow your amp?” Sure enough, Steve (Mueller now w/Mesa
Boogie) let me walk out the door with it and that’s the tone on that
song….straight into the amp first on the clean channel, then lead channel.
FIB MUSIC: Do you have a favorite solo release that you have done?

Andy: I like bits of all of them, but I’m definitely most proud of
“Resolution”. You’ll know why when it’s released!!

FIB MUSIC: Recently you signed with Steve Vai’s record label, Favored
Nations. Besides the obvious, why did you decide to work with the label?

Andy: It was the first U.S. label I ever considered working with. It was the
ultimate combination of complete artistic freedom and a fair deal between
artist and label. What a concept! My days in Danger Danger were hugely
educational as to how the music industry works. At every turn I saw how
the artist was always at the low end of the totem pole as far as earnings. I
didn’t get into music to be rich and makes lots of money, but you obviously
have to make a living. So since those days I’ve been very protective of my
music and the rights related to it.

FIB MUSIC: Tell us a few of your biggest highlights, being Andy Timmons,
the solo artist.

Andy: Getting to play with a lot of my heroes and favorite players like Ace
Frehley, Steve Morse, Ted Nugent, Mike Stern, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Joe
Satriani, and the Beach Boys! Really, I’d have to say in addition to all the
great response to my music and playing amongst fans around the world,
it’s the acceptance among these guys as a peer that means the most.

FIB MUSIC: Full in Bloom Music scenario 3. Your son / daughter now has
practiced what you told him to do in scenario 2 and has become quite
proficient at it. What would you then tell him to learn / practice. How many
hours a day? But this time, the kid is really ready to devote his life to
playing guitar.

Andy: To always be open to learning new things. To constantly play with

other musicians, whether they’re more accomplished or less accomplished
than you, because everybody has something to offer. Play because you love
it. Always keep your ego in check because no matter how good you
become, there are always better players out there…don’t get bummed…
learn from those great players. Always expect more from yourself than
anybody else possibly could. Be easy to get along with….nobody wants to
play with an egomaniac. All this being said, if I raise my son right, I won’t
have to tell him any of this…it will be a part of his being.

And, oh yeah, show up on time…it’s important!

THE FAST 5

FIB MUSIC: What is your most disgusting habit?

Andy: Nothing I can print here!! Haha!

FIB MUSIC: What is the most masculine thing you do?

Andy: Can’t think of any specifics, though my spirit seems to be a good

balance of masculine/feminine.

FIB MUSIC: If there is a God, what is the first question you would ask God
when you arrive?

Andy: Whatever happened to my cream colored maple neck Electra Les

Paul that was stolen from the back of my car in 1981? (well, maybe
something a bit deeper than that….)

FIB MUSIC: Greatest Rock band of all time?

Andy: The Beatles.

FIB MUSIC: What were you doing 40 minutes before you sat down to do
this interview?

Andy: On the floor in my son’s room while he spins Beatle 45s on his
record player and plays his drums (actually a couple of cardboard boxes
with his two straws for drumsticks). He’s not even two years old and his
time is happening! (Must get that from his mother haha!!)