“Carry Me On Your Wings” - Andy Halsey Inspires Avenue 67
Charles Paxton October 21st, 2007
“Carry Me On Your Wings” - Andy Halsey Inspires Avenue 67
They say good things come to those who wait, and Andy Halsey’s headlining gig for the plug and play at Avenue 67 Friday 12 was no exception. It was an inspiring evening, and one of considerable intimacy. Yet again, I ended the evening with the eerie feeling of having been unnaturally privileged to be so close to a musician of distinction. If you’ve ever been to an art gallery and stood face to face with an Old Master - you’ll know the feeling that I’m talking about here. Its the feeling you get when your face is just a few feet from the textured oil/tempura/whatever, of a Rembrandt or Da Vinci with nothing but air in between to separate you from the geat work.
Andy regaled us with a superb acoustic set of 8 songs that briefly encapsulated the accumulated experience of his lifetime in the music business so far - a wild roller coaster ride that at one time saw him signed with RCA and published on labels such as Beggars’ Banquet and touring widely supporting a number of successful artists and at others serving as an inspiration and musical mentor in inner city schools and now as Director of the Cumbrian based Music Links Charity. He doesn’t just talk about charity either, I saw him giving his evening’s earnings right back to the youth centre. He walks the walk.
It was a fine set, and all original bar Mike Nesmith’s Monkees’ song A different drumwhich is one of his all time favourites and was also performed extremely well. He opened with Give The Game Away, a somewhat wistful and thought-provoking song, partially autobiographical, about a musician asking a girl to give up her world to join his life of rich experience and financial uncertainty.Then he followed with a song for this age - Twenty-One Visions, a better than average anti-war song in that it doesn’t merely oppose war without proposal of alternatives. In fact it is all about alternatives.
Wistful and thought provoking, Andy Halsey performing ‘Give the game away’ at Appleby’s Centre 67 youth club
Skillful fingerwork
Next, The Need To Know Song, which he described as “a country, gospel thing” was a beautiful insight into his experience and values as a student and musical educator. Andy has seen education from both sides and this song is educational as well as beautiful in its own right, musically and in terms of lyrical content.
Andy Halsey, pleasing and thought provoking at Avenue 67
Then followed one of his favorite songs, Listen To The Rain, a beautiful song and something of a landmark in his life. Andy explains “I learned the pitch when I was 18 or 19 from a bloke called Steve Tilston, but it took me fifteen years to actually meet him, and play him this riff. Thank God he likes it. I’d be gutted if he didn’t.” After hearing it myself, I don’t see how he could fail to like it. I loved the fifth song, Beautiful Thing, which Andy wrote and performed for inner city kids one Christmas time to cheer them. It is about recapturing, as an adult, the sense of wonder experienced in childhood. It is a gentle, beautiful song that shows off his versatile vocal range well and carries you along on waves of sweet music and reflection.
Andy Halsey plays ‘Beautiful Things’ Live at Avenue 67
His next song, a reworked version of a song that he had published through A&M records, In The Middle Of The Ocean was also quite brilliant. This one is very vibrant and gets your pulse racing.Then followed Automobile, the song that got him signed with RCA records and so “brought me some money… and some exasperation” - he had performed this one, just like a busker, in the center of a broad circle of record executives. They liked it. The modified version went down well at Avenue 67, too.
Andy Halsey, a Song writer-singer of outstanding talent and amiable personality performing ‘Listen to the rain’
Penultimately he played a haunting ballad entitled The New Day and then finished off with an excellent new song, proof that this songwriter-singer is still producing the good stuff.
It’s an exciting funky-bluesy piece called The Fugitive, and its about the feeling that a move from one environment to another is fragile, could be undone and you could find yourself dragged back to a place that you hoped you’d successfully escaped from.
Andrew Halsey plays his new song ‘The Fugitive’ at Avenue 67 youth club
It was a fun show, with good music punctuated with warm repartee and explanation of each song. This man is a practiced educator, he meets his audience eye-to-eye and respecting their intelligence, shares his own. I feel he would be equally at home busking to a small audience or centre stage in some enormous stadium. Either way, it would be an intimate experience. Andy opens himself up to his audience and an evening with him provides insights into his own life journey and also perhaps pause and cause to reflect on ones’ own.
Andy Halsey, seen here live at Avenue 67, is a driving force behind music development in Cumbria
There’s no question that Andy is one of the finest musicians in Cumbria and watching him perform is a real treat. He’s a great guitarist and versatile vocalist. He lists The Beatles and Miles Davis among his influences and describes himself in lyrical terms as sharing anti-establishment affinities with John Lennon to a certain extent.
“I have no loyalties to any particular genre” he explains “My music is an open book, it has integrity, that’s what I’m driving for.”
On that subject, he is also the driving force behind The Music Bus, a community music project that seems ideally suited to meeting the geographical challenges of Cumbria. This mobile venue brings musical events to any part of the region. It’s a great idea and gives further weight to my suspicion that this dynamic and acomplished performer has some of his best work ahead of him.
Fancy a good evening out in Camden? Andy will be performing in Camden’s The World’s End pub on November 25th.For more on Andy and his work as Director of Music Link, Cumbria’s music development charity, check out his Music Links page and his Myspace site.
Also watch this space for a forthcoming Artist profile of this man of depth and broad vision.