As the bassist for Connecticut based psych-rockers Grinning Dog, Andy Siegel has been cooking up mind-bending bass lines consistently for the past three years. On his first solo record, Noise, Siegel turns on the ‘90s shoegaze fuzz as he mans every instrument (minus some guest appearances) and proves that even without his trusty bandmates, he’s a formidable strength in the studio. In the transition to working on his own, a lot of the psychedelic influence from his past work remains intact. Whether it’s the wobbling guitars of “Blame It On The Metronome” or the dreamy haze of single “Scissor Gaze”, Siegel knows how to keep things twisted in the best possible way. Through an email exchange with the artist, I discovered a little more of what’s behind all this Noise.
Q: What prompted a solo album?
AS: A combination of wanting to experiment with new recording techniques and an increasing intrigue/ streak of inspiration from shoegaze music, most notably My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless.
Q: How did you get the title of the record, Noise?
AS: I’m a fan of self-deprecating humor and figured there’s a lot of folks out there who won’t get what I’m going for musically and will write it off as noise.
Q: How long was the recording process?
AS: I started in late July and released the album on November 22nd, so around 4 months.
Q: It’s really impressive that for this album you played everything. What instrument are you newest at?
AS: I’m newest to singing and lyric writing.
Q: Who are some of your lyrical influences?
AS: Frank Zappa is a big influence on me because of his inability to write serious lyrics. Dude knew how to pen a song.
Q: So what’s next on the radar for you?
AS: Me, Sky, and Rob have a new Grinning Dog EP coming that should be released in the next couple months. It’s gonna be big.
Q: As the year comes to a close, what are some of your favorite songs and albums of 2014?
AS: Antemasque- Antemasque
Rx Bandits- Gemini Her Majesty
Mastodon- Once More Round the Sun
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Listen to Siegel’s solo debut for yourself right here and be on the lookout for a new Grinning Dog EP coming soon!