Philosophical music ranging from folkish acoustic to ultra-cool rock which SESAC calls Americana. Rich reflective lyrics and lush production dominate this extremely well crafted CD.

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, FOLK: Modern Folk



Details:
Andrew is a philosopher at his coreâ¦and it comes out in his music. If you have ever heard an Andrew Reed song, you immediately know that youâre listening to a guy that puts tremendous thought into his work.

âMusic and the art of songwriting is something that I donât take lightly. I would never insult an audience by not being prepared or by releasing a work which has not been given enough effort and time to mature. To me, a true artist, usually an interesting but slightly troubled individual, who writes really all the time. Itâs an inescapable curse. And he or she writes regardless of whether or not they are âin the moodâ. Youâll find the real artist up early with their posterior on the workbench!â

Andrewâs Search for Significance CD, released by Artists International in July, contains 13 compositions, which SESAC (The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) calls âAmericanaâ.

Search for Significance is not a light-weight CD. Its substantive and masterfully crafted lyrics are embedded into a lush mix of musical textures. Many songs are acoustic-oriented, and then there is the mind-expanding cool rocker Witness of the World. It is just one of those songs that you listen to and go âWhoa!â Then you have to listen to it again!

âIt is difficult for me to choose what is âbestâ. I wouldnât have recorded them if I thought they werenât excellent compositions. Lyrically, my personal favorites are Veil of Darkness and Sailingâ¦but then Witness (of the World) and Search (the song) are meaningful and exciting piecesâ¦I love the lead guitar work. Probably the most accessible songs are Part of Yesterday and The Day I Blew My Innocence Away. Both of those numbers have touched a lot of people. Iâve lived with some of the songs for a long time, like Musical Woman, and sometimes our affections gravitate towards newer material. But I know itâs a beautiful song!â

Reed brings a lot of life experience into his writing. He has lived and continues to live a very bold and adventurous life. He has traveled to many parts of the world and has lived many roles. He now resides in the United States and Australia. Andrew grew up in a small rural town in Iowa where he worked on farms in the area. He began writing and playing with bands in junior high. Always a hard working kid, he was always busy and overly dedicated to whatever he was doing. At age 15, he got a job in Alaska as a commercial fishermanâ¦and for the next decade, worked the summers on fishing boats. Andrew has always had a great appreciation of nature and the outdoorsâ¦he loved the rugged and perilous life of a young man at sea. He found himself doing a manâs job at an early age. There is no doubt that some of the characters and impressions in Andrewâs music come from this period as Andrew states âPeople in Alaska are there usually because they are searchers or are running from something!â During the rest of the year, Andrew attended university and played music. The groups that Andrew fronted always did well and soon he had signed a 6 year, 6 album recording and management deal with a well-known company. But as the first installment was being created, Andrew faced several dilemmas. He was having differences with his manager and was trying to save a doomed marriage. He âwoke up one dayâ and left the businessâ¦and did not so much as pick up a guitar for 12 years!

âMy bubble was burst. My expectations were dashed. I wanted creative control and my music was being shaped in a way that disturbed meâ¦so I left. They werenât going to let me out of my contract anyway. They owned me and everything I created. There was so much pain surrounding it, that I tried to kill the music in me⦠Obviously, it didnât work!â

âI really donât think that my earlier material was that good. There were some excellent elements, but to tell you the truth, the lyrics were weak from my perspective now. I hadnât really learned to be patient and really work with lyrics at that point. Plus, when youâre young, a lot of your lyrics tend to be amateurish. You just donât have the depth of experience at that point. I am actually glad that those first records werenât finished, because I donât think I would have been particularly proud of the work.â

Andrew then set out to reinvent himself. He became a CPA and created a very successful consulting firm that specialized in working with organizations that cared for people with terminal illnesses. He gained a deeper appreciation of life from this important work, but he knew that he had an unfinished music life that needed attentionâ¦

Because of the bold life he has lived, he offers listeners a unique world view and sensitive insight into the human condition in a way that touches both intellect and feelings. He has been described as âa man that lives life on his own termsâ...something that most of us secretly aspire to do. He canât be bought⦠or sold. He is not driven by vanity, money or any factor other than the love of the art of creation and the pursuit of truth. His music offers images of life that are common to us allâ¦expressed thoughtfully and eloquentlyâ¦

Search for Significance represents the first installment of Andrewâs philosophically oriented music. 2 additional CDs are planned for release in the coming year.

âUltimately, we all seek meaning and purpose for our lives. We surround ourselves with monuments of things we want to experience or accomplish. For most of us, there is a degree of internal anguish as we strive for fulfillment and meaning on our respective journeys. This is the subject matter that most interests me. I feel that the search for the answer to the important question âHow best to live? is a worthwhile endeavor and to express it musically is the best way to touch our humanness.â

Musical Influences: Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Webb, Leon Russell, Bob Seger, Pete Townsend, Brooks & Dunn, Seals & Crofts, Jeff Beck, Elton John/Bernie Taupin