Andina and Rich: Blog

Last night I was finally able to be a direct part of something AMAZING! My musical partner, Sandy Andina, and I have been on tour for most of the last month. I left Madison on February 13th; the day before the protests on Capitol Square began. It’s been making me crazy to not be in Madison to participate directly. However, Sandy and I had contractual obligations and verbal commitments which we had to meet.
I’ve been doing what I could by remote control. I’ve been passing along information from one sub-group of protesters to another and trying to help keep them in contact with one another in the hope that what little I could do would help to create a more focused and powerful effort for the whole. It has troubled me that I could not do more. I felt as though I was missing a great moment in history.
While driving home last night I got a call from my wife, Ingrid Fances Stark. She has been on the Square through most of the past few weeks. She was out there last night to [...]

Much has been made of Christina Aguilera’s singing of the National Anthem before the Super Bowl (at least by a lot of folkies). Let’s start with the basics. The Star Spangled Banner is very nearly unsingable under the best of circumstances. It tends to require the vocal range of three people to hit all of the notes accurately. That having been said, we should take a closer look at this whole idea.
Ms. Aguilera is not the first singer to stylize our National Anthem half to death nor is she likely to be the last. Over the years we have all heard singers run that song through vocalizations which, if translated into physical action, could turn an Olympic Gymnast inside-out. That has become the way of these things. Those events that still present the National Anthem at all do so by hiring one singer perform it.
Is it just us or does this practice defy the very nature of such a song? When was the last time that you attended or watched an event in which EVERYONE stood up and sang [...]

Howdy!
It’s been an interesting summer, so far; full of touring, a new CD, knee surgery, and radio comedy.
Knee surgery? Yes, Sandy’s knee went wonky on her just after we came back from Hays, KS. She had the procedure done last week and is recovering swiftly. She is slowly beginning to brave stairways again. She’ll be fine by the time we get to our big event later this month.
BIG EVENT? Yes, we have finally done it! Our new CD, “Two Guitars, A Dulcimer, and an Attitude”, is ready to roll. We’ll be holding our Wisconsin CD Release Party on August 12th. Here’s all the info:
CD Release Party
Brink Lounge 701 E. Washington Madison, WI
Thursday August 12th
Showtime: 7:00pm
Cover: $10.00 (it includes a copy of the new CD)
If you bought a copy of the CD in advance, bring it with you. We’ll waive the cover. If you bought a copy of “Appetizers” (The sampler of six songs from the new CD), bring it with you. We’ll cut the cover in half.
We’ll have special [...]