Andrew Wood (musician)

Andrew Patrick "Andy" Wood (born January 8, 1966 in Columbus , Mississippi , † March 19, 1990 in Seattle , Washington ) was an American rock musician and singer .

Life

Andrew Wood was the third son of the Navy - Officer David Wood. After several moves, including a stay in Germany , David Wood was stationed on Bainbridge Island (off the coast of Seattle ).

After a concert by the rock group Kiss in 1977, he and his older brother Kevin decided that they wanted to become rock musicians. Together with their school friend Regan Hagar they founded the band Malfunkshun with Andrew as singer and bassist, Kevin on guitar and Regan Hagar as drummer.

Wood's appearance was influenced by the glamor stars of the time such as Freddie Mercury , Elton John , David Bowie . At the first appearance he came on stage with bright make-up. He adopted the stage name L'Andrew and acted as a frontman.

The band never managed to get their own record deal, but in 1985 they contributed the song With Yo 'Heart (Not Yo' Hands) to the sampler Deep Six of the newly founded independent label C / Z Records , in which other bands in the scene, z. B. U-Men, Soundgarden or Green River recorded their first musical steps.

After eight years of malfunkshun , Wood began to roam the clubs of Seattle alone as L'Andrew the Lovechild . He was sitting at the piano and the accompanying music came from a tape he had recorded at home. At that time, the hitherto best-known band on the scene, Green River, split up and Andrew Wood was approached by guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament whether he would like to be the front man of a new group. After hesitation, probably out of consideration for his brother Kevin, he said yes.

Together with Regan Hagar and Bruce Fairweather, the second guitarist of the band Green River, they founded the group Lords of the Wasteland in 1987 .

Hagar left the new band in the same year and was replaced by Greg Gilmore, who had already played the drums in Ten Minutes Warning . They renamed themselves Mother Love Bone again . According to legend, Wood is said to have said the name from the song Capricorn Sister to the others in the band room until they finally agreed.

As the frontman of Mother Love Bone , Wood put the make-up and thus L'Andrew aside and no longer imitated anyone. He was responsible for all of the band's lyrics and also worked on the music.

At the beginning of 1988 they first went to the studio to record the EP Shine at an indie label of their own and then went on tour. By the end of the year the band had a contract with Polygram . Meanwhile, the hype started on bands from Seattle and the surrounding area.

In mid-1989 Wood went to a heroin addict's rehab for the second time . He had drug problems as a teenager and went to a clinic for the first time after his first short stay in Seattle . After his release, Mother Love Bone performed for the last time on December 29, 1989. Then work began on the Apple LP . On March 16, 1990, two weeks before the album was released, Wood was found in a comatose state by his girlfriend in her apartment. Wood relapsed after three months, taking a heroin overdose. After three days, the family, friends and the band decided to turn off the life support devices.

Musical style

Unlike most of his peers in Seattle , Andy Wood did not compose metal pieces, but rock music inspired by glam rock such as T. Rex and Slade , among others . With Mother Love Bone this was intensified with the igniting grooves of Aments bass playing. But he had his greatest rays of hope with the piano ballads he composed especially for him, such as Bone China, and especially with Chloe Dancer / Crown Of Thorns.

Discography

• 1988 Shine (with Mother Love Bone )
• 1990 Apple (with Mother Love Bone)
• 1992 Mother Love Bone (Shine and Apple together + 1 single), posthumously
• 1996 Return to Olympus (with Malfunkshun ), posthumously of Stone Gossard created
• 2014 Hold Your Head Up b / w Holy Roller (with Mother Love Bone) 7 "vinyl

Web links

• Andrew Wood at Allmusic (English)
• Andrew Wood at Discogs (English)