Landrew's Melodies and Dreams

If there would be anything of Andrew's I would want saved in a time capsule, it would be his lyrics and maybe this photograph...

   

I guess I am just one of those girls who loves poetry and great writing and I believe Andy's was and still is some of my favorite writing.
The day I met Andy I was at the vintage clothing store I worked at. We had an old record player on which we only played '20s, '30s and '40s music, I guess there's a proper term for those eras but you get the point, I liked how you could hear the records' small scratches and I had the best view in town, looking straight at the Pike Place Market on 1st and Pike, upstairs from what is now Starbucks.

It all seems like a dream now, the sun coming in that dusty building's windows with all the dusty old clothes and the scratchy sound of some old blues singer's voice... and then there he was with those ugly brown corduroy pants and a T Rex T-shirt looking like an angel with those golden locks and that smile.
I remember one day we were walking from Broadway down to the house we were living in with Chris, and we were talking about bass playing and he says, "Well I do love to play bass but I think I'm a better singer." I remember thinking, "Oh really? Hmm," kind of like I will be the judge of that. It just seemed like such a bold statement, not really bragging but just a moment I have always remembered.

That winter was when he "released" his Melodies and Dreams cassette. Yes I do mean "release." It was really cute how he became an instant entrepreneur. Chris and I watched him one night as he designed his little packaging with the usual Landrew motif, not at all making  fun of him, it was just so cool how he took on the project like it was his job. We made a fire and listened to it over and over. I remember Chris's face -- that look when he's thinking super hard -- and I really think that was the moment he got the ballad fever and it surely influenced songs like Wooden Jesus and other Cornell classics. Then Andy went out and left them at every record store in Seattle and you know what? Every copy sold and none of us were surprised.
I love that part of his history. I know it was not that easy and still isn't for many musicians. You can have the dream but making your melodies golden is a whole other kind of talent. I love how even before he was locally famous, his music was immediately appreciated and loved. I have said it a million times, that Seattle didn't need the rest of the world's approval, we knew we had our man of golden words.

On this day 23 years ago the man of golden words wrote for us no more. Here is one of my favorite Landrew Melodies and Dreams songs, dedicated to the memory constant contact of the spirit world

Siempre Contigo, Stargazer

                                                                                                                         

Photos by Lance Mercer and retouched with love by Leah Anne Prezio