Andy Pankakes,
A Pioneer In The Field Of Breakfast Music

Over the course of the last decade, Andy Pankakes has become a staple of the Santa Cruz music scene.  From his early projects to his 100% Pure Maple record and through his current series of collaborations and projects, he has developed a personal sound and style that seamlessly blends elements of funk, soul, jazz, punk and folk.  Throughout his musical ambitions Andy has maintained a poignant and purposeful voice, calling his listeners to be In The Moment, to Do Their Thing, and to feel a little Special sometimes.  His shows are punctuated by exuberance, audience participation, and a truly endearing and memorable personality and style.

 

Andy's musical journey started in Pennsylvania at age 5 with piano lessons. In middle school he took part in orchestra and band with cello and trombone, but it was age 11 when he discovered guitar and by age 13 he was writing songs.  In these early days, Andy was intent on writing strictly from his own head instead of relying on theory, and in a similarly 'out of the box' choice, he spent his senior year of high school in San Francisco, staying with his uncle and aunt.  There he took sitar lessons, discovered non-compositional free jam improvisation, and penned his first lyrics.  

 

From San Francisco it was a short hop to Santa Cruz where he began attending UCSC and further exploring his musical tendencies.  It soon became clear that school was holding him back from his true ambitions, and he instead set about to pursuing music as a more than just a passive hobby, playing his first solo show at 21, and within two years had released his first album, "Breakfast with Pankakes, the Classic American Album" with Tauvin from Invertebrate records.  It was here that he started to dial in his aesthetic and intentions, releasing a variety of music videos and teaser trailers, and putting together his first band, the Continental Breakfast.  It was with this band that Andy started delving into and developing the sound and style he wanted.

 

 It wasn't until after this band dissolved that he moved on from being adamantly self-taught and began pursuing tutelage from Frank Buchanan, a brilliant sessions musician from LA who introduced Andy to a more integrative approach to music.   With Frank's guidance, Andy learned to draw from his self-taught aesthetic while using music theory to justify and expand on musical themes and decisions.  Frank pushed Andy to fully polish his craft before releasing content, and together they spent two years refining twenty-eight songs before recording 20 of them at Wind River Studios with such jazz legends as Dan Robbins, Eddie Mendenhall, Tammi Brown, and Javier Torres.  Tracks from these session would eventually become the album "100% Pure Maple."  

 

While this approach of being a free agent songwriter developed Andy's capacities and helped him discover and refine his specific aesthetic interests, he was continually pulled back to the experience of creating music with friends, and has been part of many collaborations and projects including collaborations with Trianna Feruza, Danny Seabyrd, and others, and taking on a co-producer role for Rory Lynch's upcoming album.  His main goal with music has always been and continues to be connecting with people through his music, and helping others connect with each other.  While technical prowess and mass appeal are elements he pursues, he holds most crucial the element of human connection, and through his approximate 300 song catalogue, these ideals ring consistent and true.