Andy Griggs

(Q)-Please state your name, place of birth and date of birth.
Andy Griggs-My name is Andy Griggs, my place of birth is Monroe, Louisiana and my date of birth is 8,13,1973.

(Q)-The song, “No Mississippi”, from your new disc, “THIS I GOTTA SEE”, is a country-blues influenced musical statement. How do you convey emotional turmoil so effectively via your ability to sing?
Andy Griggs-I sing from my soul. I sing from my heart. Whenever I’m singing a song, I want to show an aspect of my life, For an example, when I am singing the song, “No Mississippi”, that song is kind of about where I come from. Soul. Blues. It’s not main-stream country. Growing up where I did, we listened to all kinds of music. Gospel, rock and roll, country, with all kinds of music in-between. “No Mississippi”, is definitely that side of me.

(Q)-Your vocal style is filled with, “soul”.

Andy Griggs-As far as reaching deep and trying to sing with soul, I sing however I can sing. While it is an honor for me, to hear someone call me a, “soulful singer”, whenever I hear myself singing, it’s just me being me.

(Q)-Do you have to personally be able to relate to the material that you sing, before you will consider the songs for a recording project?

Andy Griggs-Yes. I have to be able to relate to the song or I am not going to even consider it. When I write or listen to songs, I always want to put something on an album that means something to me. I don’t look at making music as my job, I make music because I have to. So, why in the world would I want to waste the time to sing something that I have to live with for the rest of my life?

(Q)-Would you ever even consider recording a song that meant nothing to you as an individual?

Andy Griggs. No. I wouldn’t. You see, on a record, a song has to mean a whole lot to me. It either means 110 per cent to me or it means nothing. I am always listening for a song that has to identify with me first. Because I refuse to lie.

(Q)Why?
Andy Griggs- I have conviction towards music. I’m convicted about singing the right kind of songs, songs that I can put my soul into. My heroes musically, are people who did put their soul out there. If you’re not gonna do that, then you need to find something else to do. You’re not going to cut it. You don’t need to be an artist. I think a lot of artists record an album just hoping to be successful.

(Q)-In what way are you different?
Andy Griggs- My success is me being proud of the finished album. When my album is finished, I turn the lights out and before anybody else in the world has heard it, I listen to the record. Then, if I like what I’ve heard, I am a success. That’s why I make the record.

(Q)-Would you be buried with this disc in your coffin? Are you that confidant about this music?
Andy Griggs- Yes. I’m very proud of this album. At the end of the day, if you ask, “Will I take this to the grave and be smiling about it?”.

(Q)-Yes. That is the question.
Andy Griggs-Then the answer to that is, “YES.”

(Q)-Does this music have a common thread within the music?

Andy Griggs-Lyrically the common thread is me and what I was going through at that time in my life. That’s what I tried to attempt to do with the record, present my life story within the past two,three years. My whole life had changed between the album number two and this current album.

(Q)-In what way did change come about?
Andy Griggs-I went through a lot of changes in my personal life. Then I went through a divorce and that was a long time coming. The experience was a major change for me and after that I met someone special. So my life just did a complete turnover.

(Q)-Any regret?
Andy Griggs-No. There’s no regret. But I still wanted to sing about it.

(Q)-How do you feel now?
Andy Griggs-I’m more happier now then I ever have been.

(Q)-Specifically?
Andy Griggs-I’m happier with my music, I’m happier with my life. I’m optimistic about my future. I’m more complete. You know, changes are tough, but sometimes change is for the better. In this case, that definitely is a fact here.

(Q)-Is that positive change reflected in your new music?
Andy Griggs-Yes.

(Q)-What is your reaction when the phrase, “sex symbol”, is attached to your name?
Andy Griggs- It’s not that it makes me uncomfortable, it makes me comfortable. But, I don’t really care.

(Q)-Do you feel that at times you are being compared to other, male country music “sex symbols”?
Andy Griggs-Yes. From the kind of clothes somebody wears, to how you look like somebody, dress like somebody and sing like somebody. Then that’s followed by, “Is he sexy or is he not sexy?”. None of that has anything to do with my music. So I let everybody else worry about that and I focus on my guitar. I focus on my music.

(Q)-Is there anything else you approach as passionately as your relationship with your music?

Andy Griggs-Yes. My relationship with God. There are a lot of things I love but there’s only some things that I have to have. If you ask me,”What I’m most passionate about?”, I’ll say, “God and the guitar.”

(Q)-What does the phrase, “country music” mean to Andy Griggs?

Andy Griggs-Country music to me is Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. It started from there. It started from there on and it seems that every man and every woman can sit in their living room and listen to a country song and it takes you some where. Country music tells you about your life, I think that’s the magic of country music. There will always be country music. I mean, I listen to other kinds of music, I’m a big bluegrass fan, I’m a big rock and roll fan. But, at the same time, I think that while you enjoy other kinds of music, country music tells you about your life.