Andy Schwartz
Andy Schwartz was born in Manhattan (8/17/51)and raised in the New York suburbs. At age 14, in a high school gym, he attended his first "rock concert" starring doo-wop masters Eugene Pitt & the Jive Five and a local Stones clone band called the Jagged Edge.
He began writing about pop music circa 1972 as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota. Shortly after returning to New York in 1977, Andy took over as publisher and editor of New York Rocker, the punk/new wave magazine founded by the late Alan Betrock (1950-2000). Under Schwartz's direction, NY Rocker published 44 issues through the end of 1982 and became the most widely-read and influential US publication of its kind.
After several years as a freelance writer, publicist and artist manager, in 1989 Andy was named Director of Editorial Services for Epic Records (a division of Sony Music) and held this position until 2000. Andy also edited the program booklet of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, and later served as a research consultant to the Rock Hall's Library & Archive project. A contributor to several books and national publications, Andy Schwartz is available for all manner of writing, editing, and research projects, not limited to popular music.
47 articles
List of articles in the library
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, February 1977
DOES ANYBODY out there remember John Hammond? He was born the son of a Very Big Man in the record business but it has never ...
Marshall Crenshaw: Someday... Someway... You'll... meet... Marshall Crenshaw
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, October 1981
EVERY NOW and then, some group, performer or recording of special merit floats up from the steady stream of unremarkable independent or "underground" music which ...
Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, October 1980
LAST MAY, James Chance left New York for Paris, France — and he hasn't returned yet. The feisty funk merchant was accompanied by guitarist Patrick ...
8-Eyed Spy, James Chance & the Contortions, The Raybeats: Eight Eyed Spy: George Scott (1953-1980)
Obituary by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, 8 October 1980
ON AUGUST 6, N.Y. Rocker received the following press release from Bob Singerman, the booking agent and acting manager of Eight Eyed Spy: ...
8-Eyed Spy: Sons and Daughters of No New York: Eight Eyed Spy
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, 8 October 1980
THE DEATH of George Scott seems almost certain to precipitate the breakup of Eight Eyed Spy. Scott wasn't just a highly individual, perhaps irreplaceable instrumentalist; ...
Interview by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 April 1994
The erstwhile Night Tripper on writing his autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon; on the New Orleans music business — the rip-offs, lousy studios, useless Musician's Union, Jim Garrison; on his new album Television; on drugs and recovery; on moving to New York City; on the modern recording scene (and being sampled by Beck); on his early involvement in N.Y. hip hop... and how he started out just playing for fun.
File format: mp3; file size: 72.1mb, interview length: 1h 15' 03" sound quality: ****
Iron City Houserockers: Parkway Tavern, Pittsburgh
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1979
HUH? ...
Richard Lloyd: Alchemy (Elektra)
Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, December 1979
SO YOU thought Television was one of the great American bands, and you sighed when they split up last year. But you were pleasantly surprised ...
Harlem Knight: Bobby Robinson's Last Rites
Obituary by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, 23 March 2011
BOBBY ROBINSON, who died January 7, 2011, was one of the unsung pioneers of the 20th century American record industry. ...
Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels: Mitch Ryder: Mitch's Back!
Profile by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, January 1979
...and Andy Takes a Ride ...
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, December 1981
Making Tracks with Adam Kidron, London's 21-Year-Old Production Prodigy ...
Blondie, Moon Martin: My Father's Place, New York NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, January 1979
STANDING MAYBE 5'7" high, blond hair surrounding a Paul Kantner-shaped face framed by a pair of oversized red-plastic-framed glasses, John "Moon" Martin is about the ...
Sonic Youth: The State of New York
Overview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, November 1981
TO ANYONE who's been reading this magazine even semi-regularly for the past year, it should be obvious that there's something very wrong with the current ...
The Feelies: Irving Plaza, New York NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, March 1981
THE FEELIES are in trouble. The Feelies are troubled. They have gained an audience (this show was as well-attended as any Irving plaza gig by ...
The Slits: Irving Plaza, New York NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, February 1981
AM I THE only man in the house tonight with the sudden and irrepressible urge to take Ari Up over my knee and give her ...
Swamp Dogg and the Revelations: City Winery, NYC
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages, 4 June 2010
IT WAS EARLY May, the gig was two weeks away, and things weren't looking good for the star of the show, Jerry Williams Jr. a/k/a ...
Junie Morrison: The Junie Vibe
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1981
WALTER "JUNIE" Morrison sinks wearily into an armchair in his hotel suite. Not until 3 o'clock this morning did he leave the stage of the ...
The Fleshtones: The "American Sound" of the Fleshtones
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, November 1978
WHAT'S SO cool about the Fleshtones? Nothing. That's what's so cool about the Fleshtones. They could be anybody. They are anybody: the boys next door or the ...
Bush Tetras: Sons and Daughters of No New York: Bush Tetras
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, October 1980
PAT PLACE: Guitar. Age 26. Born and raised in Chicago. Arrived in New York in 1975. "I was a visual art student... I came here ...
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, February 1979
ANY OVERVIEW OF THE current Stiff Records roster must sometimes feel like a long look into a funhouse mirror. There's Lene Lovitch, the ersatz Eurovision ...
Patti Smith Group: Central Park, New York NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1978
SHE MAY be a fool, but she's our fool. ("You mean your fool," said one friend.) ...
The Specials: Scam & Scandal In The Family
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, May 1980
IN THE LAST issue of NY Rocker (#27/March '80), we printed an "Emergency Editorial" decrying the $10.00 price of tickets to the Specials' show presented on March ...
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, October 1980
CAN A NEW York City-bred rock poetess find happiness in her new life as a Detroit housewife? If the poetess in question is Patti Smith, ...
The Pretenders: Think Fast! It's The Pretenders!
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1980
DUSK. THE rain falls in a thick gray curtain for as far ahead as we can see through the windshield of the battered compact, crawling ...
Patti Smith: The Patti Smith Group
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1979
A WAS LOST. He pulled the Toyota over to the curb, parked, and flicked on the overhead light to check his road map. Should he ...
Profile and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, April 1979
ARE THE B-52s now America's most popular unsigned "new wave" band? Not on the West Coast perhaps, where the group has yet to tour and ...
Elvis Costello: Armed and Dangerous: The Rise of Elvis Costello
Profile by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, February 1979
Oh, I just don't know where to begin... ...
Sleeve notes by Andy Schwartz, Private Music/RCA, 2003
NOTE: I was surprised and very saddened to learn that the great soul singer Howard Tate had died 12.2.11 at age 72, reportedly from complications ...
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1980
EN ROUTE to London, X stopped over in New York in June for a round of interviews and two live performances, at the '80s and ...
Gang War, Richard Lloyd: Heat, New York NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, February 1980
WITH HIS bluish pallor and chopped fringe of hair, Wayne Kramer looks like an ex-con. But in his best moments with Gang War, he plays ...
James Blood Ulmer: Blood in the Grooves
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, October 1981
1. A LOT OF different people are going to like Free-Lancing, the new album by James Blood Ulmer. ...
Alex Chilton, The Cramps, Tav Falco's Panther Burns: The Cramps' Big Break
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1979
"Give Me Memphis, Tennessee..." ...
The Idols, New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers: The Jerry Nolan Story!!
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1978
JERRY NOLAN is 32 years old. He has been in the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers. He has made three albums which did not ...
The Ronettes, Ronnie Spector: Ronnie Spector: The Last of the Rock Stars
Press Release by Andy Schwartz, press release for High Coin Records, 2006
ONLY A FEW ARTISTS in history have been capable of defining an entire era in pop music. Ronnie Spector is one of those artists: the ...
The Flamin' Groovies: The Return of the Flamin' Groovies
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1978
IT ALL BEGAN on a slow summer afternoon with a frantic phone call from Miriam Linna. The Flamin' Groovies (or someone speaking for them, perhaps ...
The Cars: Benevolent Brain Behind the Cars
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, July 1979
AFTER THE FIRST 500,000 albums, you kind of stop rooting for a band. It's a familiar feeling of having discovered something ahead of the pack, ...
Captain Beefheart: If It Weren't For Bad Luck
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, January 1981
NEW YORK – Did ever a man suffer such unrelenting abuse, incomprehension, and just plain bad luck at the hands of the American record industry ...
Public Image Ltd: Lydon In New York: The Image Goes Public
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, May 1980
IT IS TWO O'CLOCK in the afternoon, and John Lydon has just popped his third or fourth Heineken of the day. ...
The Clash, Sam & Dave, The Undertones: The Clash/Undertones/Sam & Dave: The Palladium, NYC
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, November 1979
THIS REVIEW is being turned in weeks late, and I know why. After all these years and all these bands, all the disappointing second albums ...
Report by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, May 1980
THE DILS, ONE of California's premier new wave bands, have broken up for keeps after three years together. ...
Blondie: The Chick Side of Blondie
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
...AND SO IT came to pass, in the first months of 1981, that the white rock and roll band called Blondie appeared in the Top ...
The Specials: Live In NYC: The Specials
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, March 1980
IF THE REACTION of the New York rock press is any indication (and it usually isn't), the Specials are going to be Very Big In ...
Echo & The Bunnymen: Echo and the Bunnymen/Insect Surfers: The Blitz, West Hempstead, NY
Live Review by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
THE TIME: DAWN, a few weeks after the police raid on and the closing of Danceteria. The Place: The entrance to the Queens Midtown Tunnel, ...
The Dead Boys, Stiv Bators: The Resurrection of Stiv Bators
Report and Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, September 1979
STIV BATORS is just about the easiest interviewee I've ever met. Just push "Record" and he'll talk for hours about anything that might make good ...
Prince: A Dirty Mind Comes Clean
Interview by Andy Schwartz, New York Rocker, June 1981
WHO IS THE REAL Prince, anyway? The flashy, high-energy black pop star with the Stratocaster wearing Iggy Pop's underwear? Or the pleasant, soft-spoken fellow who ...
Obituary by Andy Schwartz, The Village Voice, 7 April 2001
Alan Betrock was the passionate fanatic who founded the groundbreaking New York Rocker. Andy Schwartz, who succeeded him as the magazine’s publisher and editor, here ...
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