MacINtyre

Like most Chicago natives, Andy Macintyre was steeped in the history of his hometown. The urban “electrified” blues and rock ‘n roll he discovered in his parent’s vinyl collection so fascinated his young mind one of the first phrases he uttered was “go round”, in demand that his mother fire up the turntable. Born also into the MTV age, he was further incubated with the sounds and sights of pop music. “When I was 3, I used to carry around a little Fisher Price tape recorder everywhere I went,” says Macintyre. “My uncle would make mix tapes for me that I would wear out playing over and over. He mixed in artists like Van Halen, Genesis, Billy Idol and Prince, and then throw in some obscure stuff like Split Endz or Icehouse. I even tore through the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. Eventually the player broke because once, instead of putting in a tape, I put in peanut butter.” Although Macintyre started playing music early in life, picking up piano and then trumpet, he found his Zen moment at age 12 when he picked up his dad’s acoustic guitar. “I remember when I first picked up the guitar,” says Macintyre. “I’m a lefty so the neck was in my right hand. My dad was like, ‘no, no, you hold it like this’ and turned it around like a right hander. I’ve played that way ever since.” Mostly self-taught, Macintyre started woodshedding, often playing up to six hours a day. The first two albums he taught himself were Nirvana’s Nevermind and The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers. Having first tackled rock guitar, he then discovered blues guitar greats like Jimi Hendrix, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters and SRV. Later, as a career musician, Macintyre found his own unique way of melding the genres of artists he first emulated in his youth. What he describes as “straddling the line of alternative and guitar-heavy blues-rock.” “Andy’s got a style that’s definitely rooted in the blues, [but] he can sway into the rock category, he can sway into the country category, and not everybody can do that,” says Kris Krishna (manager for Gary Clark Jr.). After moving to Austin at age 18, Macintyre started playing solo performances and with bands that played in “Austin-centric” venues like Poodie’s and Giddy Up’s. In 2003 he joined local-famed indie band Dorkstar as lead guitarist and backup vocalist. Together, they wrote and recorded two albums of original music, Commercial Rock (2005) and Tryptophan (2008). With his then-signature blonde, spiky hair and earrings, his incredible guitar prowess and exuberant stage presence, he caught the attention of fans and local musicians alike. One of those being Gary Clark Jr., who after seeing him play the first time thought, “[This] dude can play a mean Stratocaster. I realized that I needed to go practice after meeting this dude.” And Van Wilks who remarked that Andy “plays with a fiery intensity that cuts through the soul.” In 2007 Macintyre made the move to center stage as front man of his own power trio. The next several years he did the rounds in Austin bars and clubs, sometimes playing three to four nights a week. Honing his live performances on stage and his recording skills in the studio, between 2007 and 2015, he released four independent albums. Engineered and mixed by Ben Blank, both Set Me Free (2007) and Revolution (2010) put Macintyre’s unique skills on the guitar at the forefront. Touring Texas and the Southwest, he began to make a name for himself in the Texas Blues community. However, despite his love for the blues, he started to feel the pull of a new style - an approach to music that allowed him to take what he loved of the blues and turn it upside down, twist it, mold it, and create his own unique “genre-bending” sound. “I think the thing that sets Andy apart from other musicians is the lack of fear to try new things and think outside the box...we think alike, as far as: knowing where you come from, where you want to take the music and having your own ideas about how you want to interpret. I think that’s what makes a truly great artist...a unique artist. I respect that.” -Gary Clark Jr. With a heavy hand on constructed songs, melody and vocal performances, Ruby (2012), was the first release and collaborative effort with bandmates Doug Day on drums and Christopher “Spanky” Alexander on bass. Mixed by Jason “Boo” MacLeod songs like “Ruby” and “Jailene” inject Macintyre’s early influences with modern rock and pop as heard in his now signature falsetto. Combined with Doug’s percussion composition and Christopher’s driving bass lines, this would become the defining sound of Andy’s band, MacINtyre. “That core unit is so integral to the power and punch that happens with MacINtyre,” says Eric Harrison. “It really embodies what’s good about rock n roll, especially right now which I think is what we’re missing.” Taking a gamble in 2016, Macintyre approached legendary mixing engineer Tim Palmer, (Pearl Jam, U2, Tears for Fears, Blue October), with a batch of demo songs. Humbled by his praise, Macintyre was ecstatic when Tim agreed to work with him on this newest project, a six song EP. Recording at Wire Recording studio with Stuart Sullivan (Sublime, Meat Puppets, Jimmie Vaughan) and Eric Harrison at Studio 601(MGMT, Capital Cities, Jason Isbell), Andy captured what he feels is the best album of his career. “I was surprised how many great songs there were in this batch which turned out to be the EP,” says Tim Palmer. “He spent a lot of time working with Stuart Sullivan getting great performances, so it was my job to make sure those performances really shined.” Now, on the verge of debuting his EP Melomania, Macintyre is ready to pick up where he left off and unleash his rock n’ roll prowess on The Live Music Capital of the World once again. The greatly anticipated project is sure to electrify fans, old and new, and music critics alike. Official Page for artist Andy Macintyre