Last updated 10-19-2024
Blue-eyed, blond-haired southpaw singer/songwriter born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1970 to immigrants from Brazil. Pronouns but antiadverbs. Cat lover (animal lover, really, but especially cats, penguins, and squirrels). Had his tonsils removed. Got his first computers (Timex Sinclair 1000, Commodore VIC-20 and 128) in the '80s. Got out of religion and got into the Beatles, and started a lifetime fascination with rock music. Discovered Monty Python, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and "Doctor Who" all around the same time, and only learned many years later about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things (and these things in particular). Carried around a lot of pairs of sunglasses in his Members Only jacket. Took part in his first protest as a high school junior, and helped get the dress code altered. Worked a few days as a busboy, and a few months (after a relatively late bout of chicken pox) as a produce clerk at a Pathmark supermarket. Played some tennis, even in the rain, and tried teaching a handful of others to play over the years, too. Met a couple of lifetime friends in Rutgers' Dean's Summer Scholars Program, where he also co-wrote and played some parody songs with the Hellevators. Danced in the rain. Went to three high school proms. Graduated as salutatorian at Paterson's John F. Kennedy High School. One-time Toys "R" Us kid (and employee), two-time college dropout (Glassboro and Montclair State Colleges). Spiked up his hair with orange Tang. Saw the Who at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 1989. Bought a right-handed guitar, and started tinkering with playing it left-handed and writing songs (and other stuff) in his twenties, alone and as half of Not An Exit. Sang his share of karaoke. Spent a few minutes in various mosh pits. Shaved off his eyebrows. Twice. Ice-skated at Rockefeller Center numerous times. While standing on the side of the road, was asked, "Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy jeans you're wearing?" by a female passenger in a car driving past (they were not; they were black bondage pants). Handled hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at United Jersey Bank. Did inventory control, then production, and then MIS management for AA World Class Embroidery. Sat a few rows closer to the stage than Pete Townshend did for "The Who's Tommy" on Broadway (in previews). Bought his first Macintosh in 1994. After being asked repeatedly "Do you want a cat?" by a friend, took the tabby off her hands. Shared a chuckle with John Lydon at a book-signing. Saw Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd within a month of each other. Got poison ivy. Published a 'zine for most of 1995 and attended the second annual Underground Press Conference in Chicago that August. Tried his hand at telemarketing very briefly, but really disliked it. Danced on a bar at least once. Drank a lot of tequila in Cancún and climbed the Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) in Chichen Itza (not as a result of said tequila). Took a date to the Meadowlands Fair, where she promptly got sick after a ride. Got thrown out of a lounge in Hoboken. Switched his ISP and Web hosting to BowieNet for a while, and spent way too much time on ICQ and IRC. Taught a few adult night classes on computers and Microsoft Office in Fair Lawn. Put up the first version of andersensilva.com in March 2001. Very briefly in the running for the 2001 semifinals for Sexiest Geek Alive. Rode a lot of public transit, and left New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal by bus 15 minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center (three miles downtown) on 9/11. Collected a lot more computers, and a few more guitars. Went to his first Tori Amos concert in the company of a redhead. Got poison ivy again. Started working for Microwize Technology in technical support. Wrote and recorded songs in earnest and released an album, Joy in the New, in 2004. Verified that Cleveland rocks. Spent a lot of time seeing local (and non-local) bands in NYC, and eventually performed at an open mic and then at several Make Music New York events. Snorkeled in Hawaii. Earned an IMDb entry for stunt and acting work in the "Hassel" series of short films by Rick Ford. Did Four Meals in Four Cities in 24 Hours (breakfast in Washington, D.C., lunch in Philadelphia, dinner in New York, and another breakfast in Boston) just to see if he could. Met the astronauts of Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-125 at a NASA Tweetup in 2009. Served as a grand jury foreman in Bergen County. Met Dave and Sam Barry, Amy Tan, and Scott Turow at a Rock Bottom Remainders concert (a photo was taken of Andy standing between Dave Barry and Scott Turow, though he's never seen it). Attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. Went ziplining and scuba diving in Costa Rica in 2011. Played a bit of guitar at Joey Ramone's grave in Lyndhurst, NJ. Blacked out in the shower once, resulting in one of many head injuries over the years; at least that one didn't require stitches. Wrote for and lettered a weekly webcomic, Slime, for a year and a half. Marched with the Occupy Guitarmy in New York (in support of the Occupy Movement) and even got on stage behind Tom Morello (along with dozens of other guitar players) on May Day 2012. Engaged, then suddenly disengaged. Fleetingly considered jumping into the Housatonic River at Lovers Leap State Park, but (spoilers!) ultimately didn't. Visited H. P. Lovecraft's grave in Providence, RI. Took part in the No Pants Subway Ride and Pillow Fight Day in New York City in 2014. Jammed in the studio as a member of Greta's Unmentionables on and off for three years before they succumbed to the inevitable 'creative differences.' Did three obstacle races (the Spartan Sprint, the Rugged Maniac, and the Warrior Dash) within three months, and ran two 5Ks. Saw Monty Python Live (Mostly) at London's O2 Arena. Hit all five of New York City's boroughs within twelve hours. Had his selfies at a Titus Andronicus show in Brooklyn photobombed by a silly young blonde woman he didn't know. Got a pic with eleven Vixens En Garde at the New York Renaissance Faire. Threw together even more songs and released a double album, I'll Live, in 2016. Walked the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and saw a girl from Ipanema. Became a firewalker at Tony Robbins' "Unleash the Power Within" event in Miami in 2019. Felt a spark rekindled, which led to a love renewed. Visited SoJo Spa Club and did not want to leave. Assumed the role of senior editor for Practice of the Future magazine for a spell, and some punctuation. Went railbiking in Cape May. Got stung by a wasp, which promptly stung his girlfriend, too (pretty sure it was the same wasp, anyway). Survived a relatively mild case of COVID-19 (omicron style!) at the very end of 2021. Enjoyed some New Jersey wine at some New Jersey wineries. Watched the sun set over Karnak, touched hieroglyphs in the Valley of the Kings, rocked a galabeya, dipped some fingers in the Nile, and rode a camel at the Giza pyramid complex. Walked back into Cheers after 20 years, yet no one knew his name. Went kayaking on a Vermont lake and paid his respects at Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard. Fell onto his knee dismounting a horse in Brazil. Survived the NJ Mw 4.8 earthquake of April 5, 2024 and the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. 'Acted' in a short video promoting a Cybertruck for Kids giveaway for Vosita Healthcare. Tried (and loved) Frank Pepe's pizza. Just barely caught the aurora borealis in spite of northeastern NJ's light pollution. Got reminded of how much fun keyboards can be. In spite of it all, still rockin' in late 2024 with no broken bones or major surgeries yet.
Asbury Park, NJ; Assateague Island, MD; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Barre, VT; Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, VT; Boston, MA; Brazil (Curitiba, Joinville, Paranaguá, Ponta Grossa, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo); Cancún; Cape Cod (specifically Harwich), MA; Cape May, NJ; Chicago, IL; Chichen Itza; Cleveland, OH; Costa Rica; Egypt (Aswan, Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Marassi, and Sharm El Sheikh); Fort Lauderdale, FL; Foxburg, PA; Grafton, VT; Key West, FL; Kona, HI; Las Vegas, NV; London; Long Beach Island/LBI, NJ; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Ludlow, VT; Miami, FL; Mystic, CT; New York, NY; Ocean City, MD; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Point Pleasant, NJ; Portsmouth, NH; Providence, RI; Red Bank, NJ; Salem, MA; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seaside Heights, NJ; Sedona, AZ; Spring Lake, NJ; Springfield, VT; State College, PA; Tampa, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; Washington, D.C.; Wildwood, NJ; York, ME
100 Monkeys; the 69 Eyes; the Above; the Advertisers; Clay Aiken; Akon; Alkaline Trio; All the Day Holiday; Allstar Weekend; Amaranthe; Tori Amos; An Horse; Angels and Airwaves; Adam Ant; the Aquabats; Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea; Emilie Autumn; AWOLNATION; the B-52's; Baby Shakes; Bad Brains; Bad Religion; Liana Banks; Courtney Barnett; Jeff Beck; the Benjamins; Tony Bennett; Mary Bichner; Big Blue Accident; the Black Keys; Black Star Riders; Blame Candy; Blonde Redhead; Blondie; Blue October; Body Count; Bon Jovi; Maddy Bowes; Claudia Brant; Collie Buddz; Bullet for My Valentine; Bury Me Standing; David Byrne; Canyon; Vanessa Carlton; Cassidy; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; Cayetana; Céu; Céu e Mar; Chant; Charlotte Sometimes; Laura Cheadle; Circa Survive; Eric Clapton; Kelly Clarkson; the Coathangers; the Comrades; Condemned; Jonathan Coulton; Courrier; the Robert Cray Band; Sheryl Crow; Crowded House; the Cure; the Damnwells; Dashlight Confessional; Dayglow; Indigo De Souza; Dead Kennedys; Dead Sara; Deep Sea Diver; Def Leppard; the Deftones; Deluka; DIANA; Ani DiFranco; Dio; DOMi & JD Beck; Dr. Israel; Drake; Sheila E.; Kathleen Edwards; Dorian Electra; elizabeth!; Elysian Fields; the English Beat; Melissa Etheridge; Evelyn Forever; Ex Hex; Eye Alaska; Fall Out Boy; Favors for Favors; the Fiendz; Fishbone; Foo Fighters; Lita Ford; Forever the Sickest Kids; Foxy Shazam; the Frail; Francis and the Lights; Ace Frehley; Rachel Friedman; Gabriel the Marine; Peter Gabriel; Kailin Garrity; the Gaslight Anthem; the Glam Skanks; the Go-Go's; the God Bombs; Gogol Bordello; Goli; Grafitti Man; Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; Grandpa vs. Prowler; Gravity Kills; Skylar Grey; Hanson; Jerry Harrison; Debbie Harry; Annie Hart; Becca Hasselbrook; Juliana Hatfield; Richie Havens; Nona Hendryx; High Teen Boogie; Hinds; Hirie; Shawn Hook; Hunter Valentine; Ice-T; Eric Idle; the Indigo Girls; Inky Glass; Iron Maiden; Yusuf Islam; Ashley Jana (aka Ashley Mounts); Jane's Addiction; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Billy Joel; Norah Jones; Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings; Joseph; Judas Priest; the Juliet Dagger; the Jungle Rockers; Karmin; Kauf; Ke$ha; Alicia Keys; Angelique Kidjo; Brian Kirk & the Jirks; KISS; Kitten; Kiyomi; KMFDM; Lenny Kravitz; Krill; L.A. Witch; Christina LaRocca; Cyndi Lauper; Dan LaVoie; Ted Leo; Justin Levinson; Jerry Lee Lewis; Linda Gail Lewis; Chloe Lilac; Limp Bizkit; Maggie Lindemann; Linkin Park; Lissie; Little Joy; Living Colour; Lizzo; LL Cool J; Mary Lou Lord; Lydia Loveless; Lovers League; Ludacris; Jenny Magnus and the Vulva Club; the Maine; the Malibooz; Michelle Malone; Man Man; Aimee Mann; Marilyn Manson; Matt and Kim; the Dave Matthews Band; John Mayer; Metallica; MGMT; Ministry; Minus the Bear; Bianca Monica; Alanis Morissette; Tatiana Moroz; Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou; Motion City Soundtrack; Motörhead; Moving Mountains; Mucky Pup; Mudvayne; Mute Math; Nahko & Medicine for the People; Anna Nalick; the New Cars; New Found Glory; New Skin; Nickelback; Nine Inch Nails; Gary Numan; Paolo Nutini; O'Brother; the O'Jays; Blessing Offor; the Offspring; Only Son; Ozzy Osbourne; Osea; Overlake; Amanda Palmer; Paper Tongues; Paramore; Les Paul; Pennywise; Neko Peoples; Perfect Pussy; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; Phox; Pilfers; Pink Floyd; the Plain White T's; Plastiq Passion; Plastiscines; the Police; Ana Popović; Lena Potapova / Tessa Makes Love; Samantha Preis; the Pretty Reckless; Sydney Price; Prince; Program the Dead; Chuck Prophet; the Prophets of Rage; Public Image Limited; Puss N Boots; Pussy Riot; QTY; Queensrÿche; the Ramones; Rebelution; Lou Reed; the Revolution; Busta Rhymes; Rini; Martin Rivas; Rivky; the Rock Bottom Remainders (comprising Mitch Albom / Dave Barry / Sam Barry / Roy Blount Jr. / Matt Groening / Stephen King / Ridley Pearson / Amy Tan / Scott Turow and others during various concerts); Rockstar Sissy; the Rolling Stones; the Rollins Band; the Roots; Rubix Kube; Run-DMC; Rush; Stacey Ryan; Samia; Saves the Day; Saxon; Say Anything; Scars on 45; Mike Scott; Jon Secada; Serious Pilgrim; the Sex Pistols; the Shadowboxers; Margarita Shamrakov; Shannon and Natalie; Sharkmuffin; Duncan Sheik; Shonen Knife; Paul Simon; Skunk Anansie; Xenia Sky; Skye & Ross; Sleater-Kinney; Sleeper Agent; Sleeping Lessons; the Smashing Pumpkins; the Smithereens; Snag; Snail Mail; Olivia Somerlyn; Something Corporate; Soulfly; Soundgarden; Speedy Ortiz; Regina Spektor; Spider Bags; Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Squirrel Flower; Stabbing Westward; Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy; Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band (with Paul Carrack / Sheila E. / Colin Hay / Mark Rivera / John Waite); State Radio; Static-X; Tania Stavreva; Steel Train; Sting; Lindsey Stirling; Streetlight Manifesto; Taking Back Sunday; Tegan and Sara; Television; thenewno2; They Might Be Giants; Thrilldriver; Timbuk-3; Titus Andronicus; Tokyo Police Club; the Tom Tom Club; Torres; Pete Townshend; KT Tunstall; Keith Urban; Petaluma Vale; the Vandals; Tori Vasquez; Verona Grove; Versaemerge; the Violent Femmes; Tessa Violet; WAKRAT; the War and Treaty; Roger Waters; Waxahatchee; We Were Promised Jetpacks; Weezer; Kanye West; the Who; Wicker Hollow; Cassandra Wilson; Steve Winwood; Within Temptation; Chelsea Wolfe; X; Nathan Xander; Yerba Buena; Rob Zombie
