Andy Harrison
Occupation:
guitarist, recording engineer/producer
Official Website:
http://www.andyharrison.net
Background:
Andy began playing guitar at age 11 in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. He has played in many bands including Howlin’ Maggie which was signed to Columbia Records in 1995. Howlin’ Maggie released the album Honeysuckle Strangein 1996, launching the modern rock hits “Alcohol” and “I’m a Slut”. During his stint working for underground jam band sensation O.A.R, Andy helped co-write the song “Right On Time” on the album In Between Now and Then.
More recently, Andy has played on, recorded, and produced three records with his current band, X-Rated Cowboys. He co-produced two of the CDs with ex-Georgia Satellites singer, Dan Baird. Andy also just finished mixing and mastering the second CD for the Ohio-based band The Bottoms.
When not actually playing music, Andy’s main gig is guitar technician for Tim Smith, guitarist/bassist for Sheryl Crow and the Finn Brothers. Andy has worked for many bands including Too Much Joy, Scrawl, Watershed, O.A.R., Sheryl Crow, the Finn Brothers, the Foo Fighters, Bob Seger and the Goo Goo Dolls. In his infrequent spare time Andy has also begun making analog, hand-wired guitar effect pedals under the name HarrisonFX.
Andy Harrison
Harrison on M-Audio Hardware: “My personal studio really consists of two setups. I have a mobile setup, which is based around my MacBook, Ableton Live, M-Audio FireWire 410, M-Audio JamLab, M-Audio O2 and my M-Audio Black Box. This setup allows me to record any idea that I have just about anywhere and fits into my handy M-Audio Studio Pack. I use my FireWire 410 in the studio as well as an M-Audio Audiophile 24/96. I generally track with the M-Audio units because of the superior sound quality of the converters. “One of my all-time favorite pieces of gear is my FireWire 410. Whether it’s used to jot down quick ideas or to interface my sequencer with the outside world, it has never let me down. I have literally traveled around the world with it and it still works as good today as the day that I got it! “My JamLab has proven to be one of the most convenient interfaces that I’ve ever owned. Coupled with my MacBook and Petersens Strobosoft, it makes the best portable tuning rig that I could ever ask for and I use it on every gig with Sheryl Crow.” Harrison on M-Audio Software: “Music creation software such as Pro Tools M-Powered has completely changed the way I conceive and create music. With these types of programs I can record any idea that I have within seconds and also have the ability to cut and paste any relevant ideas into a work-in-progress. This makes it possible for me to actually capture the ideas in my head rather than forget them! Also, having the ability to easily share any musical ideas with fellow band mates over the Internet has opened up an entire new world of possibilities. Now I can email a guitar part or a whole arrangement to the entire band and they can comment or change or add to it at will. Now the only things holding me back are my own ideas!” On stage with M-Audio: “On stage I have two different setups for each of the two artists that I work for. With Sheryl Crow I tech for her guitarist/bassist Tim Smith—a fellow M-Powered artist—and I use my M-Audio JamLab to interface with my MacBook and Petersen’s StroboSoft tuning software to tune, setup and maintain all of his instruments. With the Finn Brothers I was the drum tech for Jeremy Stacey and teched keys for Paul Stacey and Neil and Tim Finn. I also started and stopped sequences and loops for various songs and played some small string parts. My rig for this consisted of an O2 and FireWire 410 on a sliding rack shelf in a 4-space rack with a PowerBook G4. The M-Audio gear made it possible for me to set up my rig in seconds and be ready for anything that those unpredictable Finns could throw at me!” What accomplishments he’s proud of: “I am most proud of the records that I have been associated with, both with my bands X-Rated Cowboys and Howlin’ Maggie, and with the many other artists that I’ve had the honor to work and play with. I am also very proud of the work that I do with Sheryl Crow and other artists as a tech. It is very fulfilling to me to know that I have a very big part in making the show successfully go on.” His songwriting philosophy: “Technology plays a huge part in how I approach both songwriting and production. I am never far from my trusty MacBook and even if I am just writing on an acoustic guitar, it only takes me seconds to plug in my FireWire 410 and lay down an idea. This combination of software and hardware also makes it very easy to collaborate in the studio. For instance, we needed a short cello, viola and violin section for a song on the last X-Rated Cowboys record and I had one in minutes thanks to my FireWire 410 and O2.” Why M-Audio? “When I was called in for the Finn Brothers gig it was really last minute, they had already gone through two computer techs in three shows, and I had to put together a professional, portable system fast. M-Audio drop shipped me a FireWire 410 and an O2 USB keyboard, I mounted them in a rack and I showed up and saved the day! The sound was such a drastic improvement, not to mention the fact that the setup was much more stable and secure. The band even noticed it and I became an instant hit. I literally couldn’t have done that gig without M-Audio!”
