Ok, I thought we needed a topic dedicated to this guy, because he's amazing!!
He and David were in the band Mid West Kings together, and now Andy has completed an EP under the name of To Have Heroes.
Here's his myspace page (for those of you who have myspace). He's pretty phenomenal. http://www.myspace.com/tohaveheroes

A cute note from Andy on his myspace page:
What do you do when you’re not a band, but you’re not a solo artist? You give it a name. I chose, "To Have Heroes", to be that name. This is my "project". Over the past eight years of my life I’ve become friends with some incredible musicians. Some live in Tulsa, some in Austin, Nashville, and New York. Oh yeah, and one lives in American Idol. To Have Heroes is my way of beginning to see what I sound like with the help of all of these different "musically inclined" friends. Right now I’m writing and recording some new songs, and maybe hanging on to a few old ones. There will be new music very soon so please keep checkin' in. I hope you dig it, if not, go somewhere else.
Peas,

-andy skib


Share you thoughts.

He seems like a really nice guy, and his music is pretty good too!

I remember when I first heard of Midwest Kings. Andy walked into my parents restaurant and I thought he was one of the best looking guys I've ever seen . Then, my mom told me that he's in some band called Midwest Kings. So I looked them up and I fell in love with Andy's voice. My friend and I were obsessed with Andy and MWK for the longest time. (Actually, I never even noticed David was in the band ><) After a while, my MWK listening experience kind of died down as I explored different artists. Then, when I heard about David Cook and found out that he was part of MWK, I started listening to them again (and can't believe I stopped) and gave To Have Heroes a listen. I didn't know if I'd like it since Andy's old side project (The Pearls) wasn't my favorite. But THH is amazing and I am recommending To Have Heroes to everyone. Andy has a lot of talent: great writer and amazing vocalist. Everyone should give Midwest Kings and To Have Heroes a listen. Both bands just released an EP each.

I got to listen Andy because of that woman Glozell. LOL But I'm so glad anyway. Better Day is my current favorite song.

Glozell done a good thing. I love his music and he's pretty sweet himself. Oh and he has vblog up on his myspace thanking Glozell and the WordNerds.

That's such a cool story! Thanks for sharing

AWW! I loved that!
He really does seem like a great person!

Okay. So he kicks ass.
I need that EP. *buys*

Hee hee, he's so cute!
I just sent him a message on myspace last night and he replied back to me this morning... less than 8 hours later. Such a sweet guy

I just listened to some of his stuff on his myspace and I LOVE his voice. I requested him on myspace, so hopefully he'll respond soon. He seems such a sweetie and down to earth. You all in the midwest know how to raise em!

100% Agreed!!!

I'm sure he'll add you the next time he's online, which seems to be every day!
It's so exciting to see him getting the recognition he deserves

We do know how to raise them here in the midwest...except I haven't found one for me

~Steph

To Have Heroes = L.O.V.E.

Agreed!

Bumping this because Andy is amazing and I want everyone to know it!!!

Go here now: To Have Heroes

Yes, I know it's been posted but it bears repeating!

Thanks for bumping this!
I adore your siggy

Aw, thanks! Forget Mavid, Davandy is my favorite bromance!!!

Mavid's hot too though

ditto

Haha. Davandy... clever

If anyone's curious, Andy posted a video on his myspace page of an acoustic version of Reasons (I adore that song)
Here's the vid:

love that video. i have it on my myspace. it's awesome. (of course, what else can we expect?)

LOVE IT.


All of this is thanks to that interview! Hahaha.
I'm buying the EP when it comes out on hard cover. Can't wait!

Oh my gosh! I know!! Thank you, thank you Glozell!!!
And me too, I definitely want to buy the cd.

I agree, thank you, thank you Glozell! Andy is such a find, sweet, cute and talented, just like DC!!! I can't wait to get his CD when it comes out!

I hope Andy releases the EP on CDBaby.com on hard cover. I like the idea of owning the actual disc rather than just the mp3s.

I love Andy's cover of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"

thanks for sharing that jackieisme
I loved it!!

The "I'm Yours" vid was great! Thanks for sharing! That song is so cute!

I'm so jealous of people who've gotten to see him perform live... no fair!

Maybe one day...

I know!! I wish he would come to Canada....
...... ....... one day isn't coming fast enough!!! .....

I just watched David's new vlog. Andy makes it hillarious. Did anyone hear him say "I shit my pants" (or something like that)? Haha, I love Andy. I really hope that he is able to gain more success from David's Idol success.

Here is a story in the Tulsa World about Midwest Kings and how Andy's dad bankrolled their CD. Now, Let's see the time frame.... when did David become part of MWK. Maybe the Dad bankrolled MWK before DC?
Concert Preview: Father knows best


By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer
6/6/2003
Last Modified: 4/26/2008 5:42 AM



The Midwest Kings: Unsure of the location of the party.
Calien Guhl

Below: MWK bassist Justin Briggs. See him Friday at Liquid's.
Tulsa World file


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Midwest Kings gets a boost from executive producer-dad
Dr. Robert Skib thinks his 17-year-old son Andy is doing something even more challenging than anything he's tried in life. Andy wants to make it in the music industry with his band the Midwest Kings.

Skib knows it won't be easy for his son.

"In this world, it's extremely difficult to make it because there are so many pitfalls and it's such a capricious environment out there," he said. "We believe in them so much that we're doing everything we can to make it happen for them."

The good doctor financed the band's self-titled debut album, which will be released Friday at Liquid's, and has an executive producer's credit on it.

Andy said he marvels at his father's devotion to the band.

"Sometimes I think my dad wants it more than I do," he said. "He kicks our butts and tells us to get out there and play for anyone and do anything we can."

The Midwest King's bassist Justin Briggs said Skib has the same zeal about supporting his son's band as another father might have about his son's football team.

Guitarist-lyricist Neal Tiemann said it's the little things that Skib does that mean the most to him.

"On his BMW 540, he has a Midwest Kings sticker on the paint," Tiemann said. "Man, I wouldn't even do that. That's loyalty right there."

Skib said the Midwest Kings have several things going for them, especially when it comes to songwriting. He called Tiemann a poet.

Tiemann said the album's producer, Jimmy Newquist, lead singer of the band Caroline's Spine, helped him to hone his songwriting skills.

"The thing I got out of working with Jimmy was that every one of my songs was a five-and-half minute epic, so he took them and ripped them all to pieces -- along with my pride," Tiemann said. "At first it sounded like (expletive) but then it slowly evolved into these really cool three-and-a-half minute songs that I'm really happy with."

Singing those lyrics at Yellow Dog studios is one thing. Performing them live is another for Andy. Since joining the band, Andy said he has learned to overcome his shyness -- taking a lesson from his father.

Skib also was shy in his youth, but has conquered his timidness and appeared in local productions of "Annie" and "The King and I."

"He always wanted to do that as a little kid, but he never did because he was too shy," Andy said. "Now he's grown up and he's doing that stuff so he wants me to not be shy and to not hesitate."

Briggs said he remembers Andy as a very introverted character who wouldn't look directly into the audience when he first joined the band. However, he has since overcome his stage fright.

"Now he takes the stage by force," Briggs said.

In the last year, Briggs said the band has evolved together.

"We've all become the four brothers separated at birth," he said.

With that internal support, Skib said he doesn't worry about his son, even when Andy plays gigs around town until 2 a.m. on school nights.

The only thing Skib asks is that his son stay on the honor roll at Holland Hall High School and graduate. He wants Andy to have options in life.

"If his dream doesn't pan out, it's a rough world out there," he said.

Whatever the future has in store for the Midwest Kings, Skib said he'll be there for the band.

"Obviously, we're living vicariously through our children. But, you know what? Why the hell not."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Midwest Kings
When: 9:00 p.m. Friday, with New Science
Where: Liquid's, 18th and Boston Ave.
Admission: $8 in advance, available at the Full Moon Cafe, and $10 at the door.



By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer

That's such a cute story . I'm completely in love with To Have Heroes and i hope Andy gets to make music for a long time.

Awww.... I love I'm Yours. Don't you just love it when fandoms collide?

Jason Mraz + Andy Skib = WIN.

I think he's releasing an actual CD? I've been checking cdbaby almost daily for it. LOL

Haha, you're awesome!!
Keep us updated if you hear anything

in LJ-land, they call them Dandy

Thank you for the info. I have just logged in and purchased all of the music he has available. Wouldn't you know that David's friends would seem to be just as nice, humble and talented as he is.

That was a really cool article.

Here's another one I found. It's more about Neal Tiemann (MWK lead guitarist and lyricist), but it Neal says some really cool things about Andy. Plus, Neal writes some amazing songs too.

Guitarist Neal Tiemann fought the wall and the wall won
There's a screw in the left hand of Neal Tiemann, the Midwest Kings' guitarist and primary lyricist.

It found its way there after the now 21-year-old local musician went mano a mano with a brick wall.

The wall won.

Tiemann was 18 then, and as angry as if his beloved Firebird had burned to ashes.

But Tiemann couldn't very well wallop his then girlfriend, or the bloke she was with. So, he accidentally shattered three bones in the his hand -- a match for his fractured heart.

Funny thing is, the day before, Tiemann had recorded a tune called "Splinter."

MWK included the tune, and another song that addresses the same relationship, "Waiting Room," on its latest disc, "Judging a Bullet."

Its chorus speaks of a splinter lodged in his hand that's always there to remind him how the past can tear him down.

The screw/splinter actually almost tore Tiemann's musical career down, like some vacant, derelict shanty.

Ultimately, Tiemann got over the girl, but couldn't bear being estranged from his six-string, so he opted for the screw instead of a procedure that might have fixed
his hand better, but also had the risk of making him unable to play.

Tiemann can play the guitar, but arthritis-like pains plague him every morning and every night.

Breaking his hand, though, was a good thing, if you're a look-on-the-upside kind of person.

"That was kind of the end, metaphorically, of my teenage aggression," he said. "I broke my hand and then I learned that I need to channel that (emotion) through my music and stop being so pissed off at the world and hitting brick walls."

"Judging a Bullet" seems to find Tiemann still venting that aggression, as he grinds and wails a musical path for lead singer Andy Skib to blaze over with a voice some might compare to that of Caroline's Spine front man Jimmy Newquist, or Jason Wade of Lifehouse.

Skib has said he marvels at Tiemann's guitar work and songwriting, while Tiemann said he admires Skib's vocals.

"If I was in a band competing with Andy, I'd quit," Tiemann said. "Andy has such a beautiful voice. He's got something that's real reminiscent of early- to mid-'90s grunge singers.

"To me, his voice is something real fresh, something that's not around right now," he said. Tiemann also said Skib's voice also seems reminiscent of some hitmaking vocalists, "which is kind of the way to sell records, and to get to people."

Some might only know Tiemann as a formidable guitarist, but he's also a prodigious songwriter whose creative flow rarely ebbs for much longer than a day.

When he gets on a streak, he'll sit up in the second story of his house, next to a window, and just keep filling the pages of his haggard notebook with lyrics and words jammed onto every line and in every blank space.

When he gets a complete song, he'll dog-ear the page and then pitch it to his band mates.

Usually, he keeps his musical ideas for the songs to himself until his cohorts find their own musical direction.

As far as the lyrics go, Tiemann doesn't consciously keep their meanings cryptic. It's just that Skib usually understands their basic meanings without explanation, and the rest of the band "just wants to rock."

"As long as it's not about something too vulgar," he said, "they're OK with it."

Here's a few insights into some of the 11 "Judging a Bullet" tracks:



"Judging a Bullet" (co-written with Zac Maloy)
"It's about a girl you meet at a bar and she tells you that everything's great in her life, but you know there's bad stuff. It's about people putting up fronts.



"'Til I'm Blue"
"I had a friend die last year when I wrote this and my great-grandmother passed away right after that. Death was on my mind when I was writing and it was winter so it was all gloomy.

"I was thinking about how if I was in love with someone, and I died, could they live without me? That whole song is about that question."



"8 Ways to Decay"
"That's about being mad and not being able to let it out, and how some days you just want to go out and fight."

That's cute too! Dandy and Mavid, haha! Dandy or Davandy, I love them both!

I just listen to his songs..he is freaking awesome..I want that cd too..any word on when it's gonna be aviable?

Wikipedia could be a good way to get some publicity for Andy
Are any of you registered on wikipedia.org and proficient at writing mark up languange? I just checked and there's no Andy Skib page yet (just a link to Analog Heart when you search). I think he would really benefit from his own wikipedia page, and links to it on the both Analog Heart wikipedia page, and David's quite lengthy and wonderful wikipedia page. I know enough to add a line or make a correction on an existing entry, but I would have to examine other entries and am way too slow to do an entire page. I'm also not quite sure how to do footnotes, and to make those links (although I figured out how to put in links to related outside websites). Anyway, just an idea.

Just to let you know that over on the Word Nerds site, they have been communicating with Andy about a fan thing based on love for David and Andy both and are calling it the Word Heroes. they are giving out official Word Heroes numbers and making it a fan thing for both guys, if anyone here would like to check it out click on the following link. For those interested, you do have to register with the site first to go on the forums I think.

http://wordnerds.omgforum.net/music-lyrics...scuss-t1716.htm

I know! David and Andy must come to Canada.
They are basically all I'm listening to at the moment, I'm dying to see them live!!!

Me too!!

Eventually, they'll come.... they always do

New blog:

"To all the Word Heroes out there....WOW! This is seriously amazing to see all of you out there doing what you're doing to help ME. As a lot of you have pointed out, It is getting a little harder for me to respond to every single message/comment. I'm doing my best so please bare with me if you don't get a response back. The past week has been great here in LA. Hanging with Dave, and a few other friends, has been a blast. Obviously we had a good time the other night (as you saw in his VLog).

I'm working on a few very cool prospects at the moment, which I hope I will be able to tell you soon. In the meantime a great way for all of you to help "the cause" would be to call up all of your local radio stations and tell them you want to hear my music on the air. Hopefully, if we can bombard them with requests, they might eventually get the hint. If you were wondering which song to get them to play, I'd tell you "Reasons".

On another note, my EP (the hard copy) should be available to order in a day or two from CDbaby.com. They have it, and are preparing it to sell as we speak. I'll make sure to let you all know when it's ready. Thanks you guys and gals! Much love to all of you *knuckles*

-ANDY P SKIB"

Yay! New blog and a shout out to the Word Heroes! He is adorable.

I just requested to be a friend with Andy on Facebook, and he happened to be online and accepted immediately. We then exchanged a couple of emails. He is definitely cut from the same cloth as David. There's no way those two could not be best friends. We know David is truly a beautiful human being (inside and out-especially after Lindz's experience), and I suspect Andy is the same.

Thank you so much for posting that crazyforcookie... I hadn't seen that yet

Yay! Hard copy is available soon
.... *looks around for money*

I really like that idea. I'm not registered on Wikipedia, but I think I will register soon and type something up. I'll post a little rough draft soon and you all can, hopefully, add some things.
Also, I created a little Facebook group for To Have Heroes if any of you would like to join:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21652491861

Great, thanks for your efforts Jackie! I will join that facebook group right now... I'm fairly new to Facebook, joined a month or so ago, and I'm loving it. Seems more manageable than myspace... more features than linkedin but less overwhelming than myspace!

Awesome! Thanks Jackie I was just thinking today that I would check and see if there was a group on Facebook for him. I'll definitely join it.

And Scott, I read your post and totally forgot to reply to it! It's a great idea, but unfortunately I don't know too much about him... so I wouldn't be a good one to set up a wikipedia page on him.

Wow, that post just made me think about how much I actually do know about him. And I don't even know him. That's a little creepy. But yeah, I'm definitely stoked for this wikipedia article.
Everyone should invite their friends to that Facebook group. We need to get THH's name out there.

Definitely! I'll spread the word to my friends on facebook

Andy is the best! I sent him a message on mysapce last night, and today he sent me one back! It so made my day! I felt like sh!t last night so it made me so happy.He really is so sweet, I want his EP does anyone know when/if it will come like at stores?