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A Biography of Andreas Braunlich Andreas loves making music and does so whenever he can. His two CDs (Diis Aliter Visum and Evacuation Routes), completed earlier this year, and the success of his record label (HalfStackRecords.com) fulfilled a life long dream. Andreas is very proud of the finished products but wants to do better. He is driven by the constant need to improve and expand his music. This is good news for his listeners, because it means we are sure to hear more great music from Andreas down the road. This is his story: Andreas Braunlich was born on July 22nd, in the midst of the 1967 race riots in Detroit, Michigan, to German immigrants. To this day, only his immediate family lives in the United States. Although he thinks of himself as a closet metal head, he was brought up on a steady diet of classical music including Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Boccherini, Chopin, Clementi, Dvorak, Gudonow, Handel, Hayden, Liszt, Mahler, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Schubert, Schumann, Smetana, Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Weber and many others. His father also learned to love New Orleans style Jazz while growing up in post World War II Soviet occupied East Germany and this contributed to a long list of concerts the whole family attended and an extensive record collection including Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, Ella Fitzgerald, Pete Fountain, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman. All of these various composers, musicians and performers contributed to Andreas’ early musical influences and their echoes can still be heard in his music today. When his father got a job as a physics professor at Washington State University in the late 1970’s, the family moved west to the small town of Pullman, Washington. Shortly thereafter, the family spent a year in southern France while his father worked on a research collaboration with French scientists at the Université Montpellier. During this time, the family discovered Catalan folk music through gypsy street performers and several concerts and it is still among their favorites today. Shortly after their return to the United States, Andreas had his first taste of Rock ‘n’ Roll after winning a little pocket radio in a poker game with his friend and neighbor, Steve Germain (who went on to become a fantastic blues and rock guitarist now living in central Washington). Andreas tried his hand at playing the violin and later the piano but found his true love in 1985 when his parents allowed him to purchase his first electric guitar with a terrible, little Sears amplifier. It was a black Ibanez Roadstar II. A friend taught him to play his first few songs which were AC/DC’s “Whole Lot of Rosie†and Joan Jett’s cover of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll†and everything grew from there. A fan of hard rock and heavy metal, he soon discovered Rock ‘n’ Roll’s great guitarists including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Randy Rhodes, Eddie Van Halen, Jake E. Lee, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Richie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Yngwie Malmsteen, Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, Steve Vai and later, Eric Johnson among others. There was lots of typical amateur jamming with friends during his last year in high school and all through college in Tacoma, Washington, along with a few attempts at playing in bands that were well-received by the audiences and resulted in several good live recordings. Mostly it was all just a lot of fun. The most memorable adventure of them all was with his friend, Dan. Together they formed the punk band, Hellthing, that recorded the album, “Blond Bitches in Heatâ€. The album was recorded in one night and under the severe influence of alcohol. Says Andreas, “Sure, it was not a very politically correct or mature thing to do. In fact, it is somewhat embarrassing today, but it was a hell of a good time!†Unfortunately, marriage and employment after college put an end to the burgeoning Rock ‘n’ Roll fantasy, especially after starting a demanding new job in Cleveland, Ohio, but Andreas continued to play guitar as often as possible. When his marriage started to fail, Andreas turned towards alcohol and soon even the guitar playing stopped. In 1997, the marriage ended in divorce and Andreas’ slide into alcoholism accelerated. Neither numerous trips to the hospital nor a major surgery slowed the drinking down. In 2000, unemployed and horribly sick, Andreas hit bottom and came to West Palm Beach, Florida for 4 months of rehab followed by another 6 months in a halfway house. Since August 16th of 2000, Andreas has been sober and it turned his whole life around. Sobriety brought his music back from the dead. Soon, he was playing guitar, making music and loving life again in his new home in North Palm Beach. The year 2005 finds Andreas in his spare bedroom surrounded by 20 guitars, his two trusty, old Ampeg amps, a rack of recording gear and two computers. The walls are covered in Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Rush and AC/DC posters from the 1980’s. Here, he creates his music, locked away by himself for days or weeks at a time working on his latest creation. Occasionally, he takes time out for work, food, the wonderful woman in his life and to attend one of the frequent concerts that come to this area as he has since high school. Although quite busy with preparations for a move to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in early 2006 and the daily responsibilities of life and sober living, he still finds the time to work on new material as often as possible. He plans to complete his next CD by the end of the summer of 2006. Until then, Andreas hopes you all enjoy his music as much as he enjoys making it. Check out the artist's website: http://www.halfstackrecords.com Track List: 1. 800 Mg 2. Into the Wasteland 3. Chamber Metal 4. Rise of Temujin 5. Swamp Jazz (for Maria, Grace and Max) 6. Malicious Intent 7. Twisted Mettle 8. Yearning to Fly (for Lindsay) 9. Daedalus' Warning 10. All That Remains Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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