Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Stone.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi all,
I’m Andrew Stone, a songwriter, musician, performer now based in the Greater Houston area.
I come from a musical family where both parents were musically active and I started playing piano, violin and guitar at an early age.
I grew up in the Midwest but the family escaped to live in Hawaii where I surfed everyday while getting heavy into music and playing guitar.
As a teenager I knew I needed to be in a city that was music focused and allowed opportunity to perform as much as possible so I booked a flight and brought a backpack and guitar case and showed up in Austin sight unseen to truly begin my musical journey.
I spent several years developing my sound, guitar playing style and songwriting by playing various coffeeshops, bars and venues in Austin and the surrounding areas like Georgetown, Taylor, Bastrop, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg.
I would play gigs 3-4 days a week, and would also perform up to 8 open mics a week, sometimes 3 open mics in a day when I got the timing just right. I tell people it’s like going to the gym and staying in shape, I have to stay musically active. A lot of my songs are written and refined by performing them live and getting them out of the bedroom.
I was heavily active in the music scene until a couple years ago when my dear baby son was born and then diagnosed with cancer at 10 months old.
I left my family and music network in Austin to relocate to the Houston area for his extended treatment at MD Anderson and Texas Children’s Hospital. I had to put pause on music and work for nearly two years to focus on him, his treatment and all the complications that went along with it. There is no way to really expect or prepare for how intense and difficult this unexpected part of his journey could be.
Now that he is thankfully in remission I have started adjusting to this new normal by finding a new community in the greater Houston area and new places to play.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was a challenge to leave all of my family, community, support and musical network in Austin to be here for my dear son’s cancer battle.
I had to put pause on “normal” life for about two years to be here and support him through all the treatments and complications.He has helped me get through everything as much as I have been here for him. I tell people he is my dear little compass!
I am finding new musical community in small pockets and venues around Houston like at Axelrad, and Galveston’s Indie’s Coffee and Speakeasy which has been very supportive of my original music.
Since I have started over in Houston the challenge is I am not as known here, so I’m working on doing a lot of outreach to new places to get booked just like I did when I showed up in Austin in the past.
I don’t have an agency or booking person to help so I do all my own outreach to businesses and venues to get booked.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I play live I combine singing with guitar, plus live looping, plus analog drum beats into a full sound.
My musical heroes are Led Zeppelin, Jeff Buckley, The Beatles, Radiohead, Jack White, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, among countless others!
On guitar I am well known for developing a new technique I have called “pinky tapping” which is a rhythmic way of playing a guitar solo by tapping on the strings with my pinky which adds a percussive element and harmonics to the sound. This is an attention grabber haha!
I have also been told my guitar playing and tone is similar to Texas legend Eric Johnson, that’s a very big compliment for me!
I mostly play in open tunings which expands the range of notes available on the guitar. It allows me to play lower bass notes while still reaching high notes for soloing. The open tunings have really unlocked very interesting and sonically rich chords and patterns and most of my songs are written in these tunings.
I have found my Fender Telecaster electric guitar has really been helpful with this as it will stay in tune and has a clear bright sound.
My songs lyrically are drawn from life experience of adventures, turmoil, dreams and desires, all very personal things that I may hide in metaphors.
I feel most at home performing my own songs at shows, I do also perform a variety of covers at the various wineries/breweries/other private gigs where covers are preferred.
Since relocating to Houston and adjusting to the new normal here I have been finding new places to play in Houston and also adjacent areas from Fulshear, Katy, Pearland, Galveston, out to La Grange, Round Top, I do a lot of driving and still play in Austin!
I am actively trying to find more places to play locally in Houston like at the Rustic and be on more lineups with local bands and artists here so I can stay busy without driving quite so much, let’s get a show booked!
I have a lot of content on my instagram @andrewstonesound , add me! I am working on releasing new recordings now!
I have a few songs on my Spotify/Streaming, my 3 albums are out of print and haven’t uploaded them digitally yet! My sound has evolved recently and am more focused on recording and releasing my newer songs.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Both of my parents were musically active and supportive which was very helpful for me in the early part of my development.
Also my musical heroes have inspired and pushed me to be better and do more.
My dear little son has been a tremendous inspiration and motivator for me to stay active, inspired, writing and performing.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrewstonesound
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/andrewstonemusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/andrewstonemusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6D3E1r55Kn6roBTnosB567?si=AlM6J7rXRBCnnRHKzk3RcQ
Image Credits
Self shot
Whataphographer
