Those of you who went and watched the video that was posted here earlier of Andy Skib, friend and MWK bandmate of DC, found out what a great singer and sweet guy he is.
Original post link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZgVvO6o8dg
I know that lots of us took the time to hit his MySpace page and have a listen to his music and found out what an incredible singer he is. (He must be if he sang lead and DC sang back-up!) He really is incredibly nice and took the time to personally answer those who asked for an add to his friends on the To Have Heroes site. I even sent him the link to the original posting to show him how much the Cookie fans were diggin him, and he wrote back just tickled. He's now posted a video blog on his site and he's addressing the new fans that have come on board since the interview with Glozelle hit YouTube and he mentions a special thanks to the Word Nerds! I would love to see the Word Nerds and Cookies find a way to help this guy get the attention that he deserves. Right now he's just recorded an EP that is available on his site and it's got some fabulous music on it. At this time however, he's an independant artist and is trying to find a way to get a manager and label to sign him. I was wondering if anyone that reads this has any ideas of how we can help him. Is there anyone you know that has any connections to the music industry? Would an email campaign to the majors labels do any good? Are there any influencial DJs that could be convinced to take the time to listen? What about Seacrest? Anyone have a line on how to get in touch with him via his radio show, etc. One thing we can all do is take a look at his home page at www.myspace.com/ToHaveHeroes and there is a way to download his banners to your website to give him some advertisement you can show your friends. Lets all get behind Andy and give Dave's buddy a chance to share his music too!
Also, would any of you that post on other sites share this with the fans over there too, maybe we can figure something out together

i personally think it would be a great idea to try and get andy some recognition because when i checked out his music i was blown away! i don't really have any connections to anyone in the music industry or anything of that manner but if anyone does i think that would be an interesting idea to try and get them to relay info about andy to them! this guy really does deserve some attention though because he really is a great artist!

I am sure he would appreciate anything that can be done, but wouldn't David be one who would have the connections and be able to help his friend? I am sure that he would do whatever he could to help him out by introducing him to people in the industry. He is probably busy with the tour and recording his own record but I still think that he would still try. JMO He seems like such a caring person.

In my opinion, I too think it would be good to give dear Andy the recognition he needs, considering how blown away I too felt when I heard his songs on his MySpace profile, which is a good start IMO, considering that other singers too got recognised and signed, with credits to MySpace.

I too may not have any connections with any record companies whatsoever, but I sure will do whatever I can to give Andy and his music that needed exposure. For starters, I've also added his song into my MySpace profile.

Radio deejays too play an important role for new-and-upcoming artists to get their big break, so I would think it would also be good if they can be contacted about that, and that also includes Seacrest (I would prefer him over any DJs - don't ask me why!). =X

It would indeed be a shame if a rare talent like Andy doesn't get discovered. I have faith that he would make a great record, just like his good ol' friend/former bandmate David.

As far as Dave giving Andy a boost, I'm sure that he will do what he can. He's a very caring guy after all and I can't see him not sharing the wealth, so to speak, especially with a good friend who let you join his band. But he is EXTREMELY busy these days and he may just not have the time or feel like he can take advantage of his brand new connections just yet. After all, he's only just started in this business big time himself. And I really think that the Andy that I've come to know a little from emailing him, wouldn't want to impose on their friendship in that way. I mean, if you're a nice guy who's friend's hit the big time, would your first thoughts be on what he can do to get you a record deal? It might occur to you that he could help out or you just might want to feel like you've made it on your own merit. Anyway, I'd like to do what we could for him as fans & friends. If anyone has any idea how to contact Seacrest, could you let me know and I'll get the word out so we can bombard him with requests to check out Andy.

Andy is cute....

What's the myspace address?

www.myspace.com/tohaveheroes

Let him know what you think, he's really a great friendly guy (& pretty darn cute too!)

Thanks for the tip.
I really like this guys voice.
Makes me think about how many good singers and musicians there are out there that most people never heard of, and probably never will either. And then I think about the fact that DC once was one of them and then I realise that whatever your thoughts are about AI and 19 and the TPTB and all, without them, DC would still be unknown to most of us.

Go Andy, I will keep an eye on you and your music.

This is so nice of him to thank us!
We are the ones that should thank him for sharing his beautiful music with us!
I think there will be great things for him in the future. He is very talented and I do plan on purchasing the EP when it is ready for us Canadians. Yay!

Word Nerds are supporting you all the way!

That's one of the things I have learned from this DC experience. Pay more attention to local bands.

I downloaded a couple songs and have his banner on my blog and will probably upload the song onto a post this weekend. He's talented and seems pretty cool too so I am happy to help if I can.

Thanks guys. I'm going to keep bumping this to keep it in the eyes of fans on here.!



I think his comment in the Vlog about Canadian fans is because I had whined to him that the Snocap store that you can purchase his EP through doesn't take Canadian Visas! He's said he'll get back to me when he has the CDs that he'll sell are shipped to him. And according to the vlog, it sounds like that could be soon! The only thing is that he keps adding sounds to the store and they aren't likely to be on the CD

i went and listened to his music on there and he is just amazing
and didn't take long for him to accept my friends request on myspace

his video blog was really sweet and he is just adorable

Does anyone know if you can only purchase these songs from MySpace if you're in the US??

I've got a Paypal account, but it's linked to a UK billing address. I've tried purchasing via paypal and I keep getting an error ..........

It's a shame 'cause I really like the songs!!!!!

I had the same problem with getting a error message from paypal. It kept saying that a purchase agreement was set up with snocap, but then snocap would send an error message. That's why I was planning to just do a credit purchase, but it wouldn't take Canadian credit card. It should work with a US card. I know others have said they downloaded them, so something must work in the U.S. You could always email Snocap or Paypal directly I guess. I was able to add the player to my MySpace page and listen that way. Or the player on Andy's page is detatchable so you can listen while doing other stuff. Just some ideas!

bump!

Bump again! I want to get this to the top of the list! I know lots of you have read this from the numbers listed. Please read my update that I posted on this and reply if you think you can help Andy out. I want to keep him in the loop on what we're doing for him over here at D-C.org

email Ryan Seacrest at ryan@kiisfm.com

Thanks Kentuckykat ... that's the problem I was having too.

Didn't know about the player on Andy's page being 'detachable' .... thanks for the tip ..... I can now listen to them while looking at other sites!

Hopefully once the EP is available either on itunes or CDbaby I'll be able to get a copy so I can listen to them on my Ipod too!

Kaz

Andy's new EP is available for purchase on Snocap.com

It can be saved to your iTunes....and trust me you'll want the exclusive myspace song.."Forever."

Amen, sistah.... me too

Since so many people are digging Andy's voice, be sure to check out the new MWK EP "Luna Despierta"...it is on cdbaby.com right now. And I understand that it will be available on amazon and itunes really soon. David worked on some of it..."Anodyne" for certain. [size="4"][/size]

I tried to buy the tracks but couldn't even set up the account - it appears you can only be in the US to purchase. I emailed them to check and the reply was that due to a high volume of emails they couldn't reply personally but they read every mail - didn't really help with an answer!! The EP should be available for purchase soon which I'm looking forward to

I just wanted to sing the praises of Andy and his To Have Heroes project! His songs are already getting high play counts on my iTunes, especially "Reasons" and "Forever". So beautiful!

I'm diggin the MWK EP, Incoherent... the one DC is on (so I've read). "Make Me" is my favorite!! Aah! It's amazing.

Back to Andy, he definitely seems like a genuinely nice person, responding to everyone who writes to him and posting that vlog. I plan on supporting him any way I can!! I'd love to see him live though I doubt he'd come out to the east coast any time soon.

That guy is a hottie.

I didn't like that black girl very much. She said David's hair bothered her. I think it is perfect.

I thought that I'd add another comment to this to keep it up. Check out the fan video that he's posted on his ToHave Heroes myspace page of him singing Reasons or click on this link to go to the youtube page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxLrR6XISMQ

kentuckykat - can you PM me or post a message here when you find out that the CD/EP is available for purchase. I have the MWK Incoherent... which I bought from CDbaby - I would love this one too. He has an amazing voice.

Thanks

I asked his permission to post it on my MS page, and he said "absolutely!" So everyone can link it, if they like and add it to their page!

Kentuckykat:

I have not forgotten about writing regarding Andy - I have been involved with my mom and will try to get something out for the weekend.

I am loving Andy's music.

Annette, how many ways can I say that I think your great?! I hope your mom's doing better and of course she is your priority right now! I would never expect anything less. I hope all is well and thanks again for all your support!

I am debating on downloading now or waiting for the EP.
I've never used snocap, but I see that you have. What quality are the downloads, 256 or 128 or ?

Wish we could download it from amazon!

Woody - in answer to your question - the quality is very good. I downloaded the ones that are featured, I have them on my MP3 player and I am really enjoying.

Good Luck.

Thank you kentuckykat for reminding us about Andy. I had gone to his page before but I must not tried to add him as a friend. His music is great and I want to support him musically, so I will be on board for him!

Thanks Liza! he appreciates all the support he can get. If we can just get someone to pay attention to this guy, he'll have a built in fan base!

Thanks, Annette. Maybe I'll go ahead and download.
(But the new Amos Lee and Coldplay that I pre-ordered are here now, so I should take a few days to listen to them first. I MUST start listening to something beyond David Cook!!!)

BTW, I searched for Andy and THH on amazon today. Then I wrote them a request saying I wanted to buy it from them and so would many other David Cook fans. But I wonder if he earns more from snocap?

I have two other ideas re Andy ...
(but first I MUST write an important email to welcome my new future exchange student).


With his talent, voice and attitude, I am sure it will happen for him!
(But won't it be fun if we feel that we helped.)
Wish my son was still a DJ at UCLA.

I was just on Andy's site again (I'm there a lot!) and noticed comments about forming fan group known as
WORD HEROES.
Does anyone know anything about that?

Yesterday I bought Forever from Snocap. The quality was 160 kbps, not as good as Amazon's 256, but good enough. I bought MWK's Luna Despierta from iTunes last night.

Getting impatient for more Andy, I just bought the rest from snocap.
They did not download, but I'm not panicking. I'll figure it out.

BTW, I'm adding Andy to my playlist called David Cook +, which is the only one I listen to any more.
It includes David, Axium, songs David covered, Jason Castro, and now Andy and MWK.

I saw the "Word Heroes" thing as well and while I don't know any more about it, I think it's a pretty cool name! I'd definitely consider myself a Word Hero!!

I love your comment about the only playlist you listen to anymore. My playlist that contains DC, To Have Heroes and MWK is called DC and Friends. It's been on heavy rotation for awhile now.

I bought it on itunes tonight... so its definately avalible in the UK.

Word Heroes is a group that started over on the new word nerd home by some fans that love both David and Andy and their music. Andy said he likes the Word Heroes name(he was given a few to choose from) and he seems to be happy about the support he has gotten from the Word Nerds.

This is a tough one. Andrew Cook is going thru the same thing (although he's obviously much less experienced than Andy). The glib part of me says he should audition for Idol, but I have listened to Andy and he's so talented - I really don't want to be a smart ass about this! Here's my take... David's clout will grow and he will be Andy's best chance at achieving success. Not that Andy will ride his coat tails, but that he might catch a meaningful break through David and his contacts. Other than that, as fans we can start numerious campaigns to Radio Stations, record labels and help him go "viral" on youtube. I'm all for it... as my mother would have said, "it couldn't hurt."


David and Andy's friendship and professional collaborations go beyond MWK. Andy is credited on Analog Heart with being one of the engineers and performing backup vocals on Silver. I agree Andy won't want to impose, but you can bet they will continue to collaborate and that will also help Andy. I know 19/RCA is known to "pick" the session musicians for former AI contestants who get a contract (Daughtry had very little say in who joined his "band"), but David might be a different story. He's got roots in the biz and lots of respect from established artists. So he may be able to help Andy. But, as I said in my other reply, if we can help as fans en mass, we should. I think getting his youtube stuff to go viral can have a big impact.

If anyone is interested in getting a Word Hero number let me know and I'll give you the info. It's all about spreading info and getting the music heard and hopefully loved.

I just downloaded Incoherent with Desire to Move On last night and I absolutely love it!! I'm kinda upset I waited this long.
Then for the past fews weeks I've been listening to To Have Heroes via myspace because I don't really like to venture outside the realm of iTunes to buy music online but I finally broke down and got the songs off Snocap. It's so nice to be able to listen away from the computer!
I am most definatly a Word Hero now!

Hi cookiedough,

Yes, I would like a Word Hero #! Andy is so sweet and mega talented! He personally answers the comments you put on his myspace page! I have put his banner and THH tunes to buy on my myspace page. I want to do whatever I can to help him get recognition and get on his own way to success.

Hey, who's 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, along with links to his page from the Analog Heart wikipedia page, and from David's quite lengthy and wonderful wikipedia page. Midwest Kings could use a page too with links! I know enough to add a line or make a correction on an existing entry, by 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. I'll also post this in the other thread in the "off topic discussions" forum.

Things are definitely going to start happening for Andy, I have no doubt! I 'Googled' his name and came up with over 10,000 matches! lol I sent him this image, and told him "I know they probably aren't all for you, but hey it looks pretty damn good! WTG Andy"

Scott, you're right of course, and seeing Andy on David's vlog made it seem even more likely that their friendship can't do anything but good things for Andy. I guess my point was more that if we fans on here could help move things along in any way, it would be a fabulous thing to do. The Word Nerds site and their efforts to start up a Word Heroes fan thing (with Andy's blessing, & so one assumes that DC knows about it too), is a start. I like the ideas given here of viral videos and wikepedia, etc. It's not in my field however and so in another post I had suggested inundating Ryan Seacrest with emails (@ ryan@kiisfm.com) urging him to give Andy a listen and look see on his myspace page. Maybe even make it a tease about HIM being the next one with a great discovery all his own (since there seems to be a good natured rivalry there, sort of playing on Simon discovering Leona Lewis.) I've written one email already and I'm going to be writing another one tomorrow. Seacrest may come to hate the site of my name in his inbox, but maybe, just maybe if enough of us do it, he'll become intrigued and check Andy out?!

I also downloaded the MWK's "Incoherent With Desire" EP from CDbaby and it's fabulous! David plays and sings back-up on that one and I have it going in my ipod constantly! I also downloaded the new MWK EP that came out recently"Luna Despierta" and it very good too. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Andy's voice!

Kentuckykat:

Just an update from my end - I did email both of my contacts and I have sent Andy copies of both of the letters which he has received and has acknowledge receipt.

As soon as I receive feedback from the two contacts, I will share the feedback with Andy.

In regards to "Incoherent With Desire" EP from CDbaby and "Luna Despierta" can point me to the link were I can down load these two mentioned?

I too love Andy's voice - my MP3 consists of only David and Andy.

Ryan Seacrest's radio show probably isn't going to be the best target at this point. There is a radio station in Manchester, VT ( http://www.weqx.com/ ) that will only play independent artists. When Daughtry's first single came out, I requested over and over by email they play it . Finally I received a response: "We will NEVER play music from an American Idol!"

I'm sure there must be other local radio stations that are similar. They have segments where they play new music and listeners vote whether to keep it or dump it. I'm at work right now, and the computer I'm on doesn't have speakers, so I haven't listened to Andy's music. But, the consensus seems to be that Andy has talent. In that case, listeners would very likely vote to keep it.

Bottom line...
In my opinion it is futile to request independent music on a station that plays mainly Top 40. It should be helpful to seek out radio stations that play only independent music.


Doesn't DC have a brother named Andy? Isn't it more likely that he was the Andy sitting behind DC in he vlog?

It was definately Andy Skib behind David in the vlog. Look at his face, you can see it twice, and then look at his photos on his personal my space. He lives here in Tulsa, so I definately know it is him. He is in LA for the summer trying to get some stuff to happen. He has played at a couple of coffeehouses in Hermosa Beach area and I think he has been trying to line up some stuff for when DC gets back to LA. I think we are going to be seeing them working together in the future. At least, I hope. Andy Skib's Dad bankrolled Andy and David's Band, Midwest King and I kind of think that Andy's dad was the one that came through to bankroll David's independent Analog Heart, so I think DC is very committed to making things happen for Andy Skib.

Thanks for clarifying that for me!

--

I'd also like to say that it is wonderful to see the influence that this American Idol has in so many areas. For example, Word Nerds are organizing to raise funds for The American Cancer Society because of DC's brother's brain tumor. Also, this thread is dedicated to promoting a talented artist that DC had connections with pre-Idol. And again, I have been introduced to independent musicians through Myspace because DC has mentioned them in interviews. I've been listening to those artists because DC said that he listens to them and would like to emulate an album like, for example, Our Lady Peace.

I'm not sure I'm wording this correctly... I haven't had much sleep for the past 2 days. My point is, DC, because of his talent which won him AI, has brought to the forefront many worthy causes/artists. To paraphrase my signature: "The Universe Smiles on David Cook [and others through him]"

As was mentioned, it was definitely Andy Skib behind David, his face is very identifiable--he has HUGH eyes!
One of the reasons I had suggested Seacrest is that he has contacts in the music biz. Not so much that he would play him, but could find him representation if he was impressed with him. Also, the KIIS website actually has an area for unsigned artists to submit their music & or videos, with the object that if they think they are good enough they could play them. Which I suggested that to Andy. As well, the Yahoo music site has a page called the Next Thing that undiscovered artists can submit videos and music to. As you can tell, I have tried to do some homework on this. It's not just a whim. I think this guy deserves to be noticed and I decided to do what I could to help him out. There are so many Andy fans on this site that I just thought I'd ask for help and any other ideas that you guys could all come up with. Annette is doing what she can with her contacts (why are you still up girl?) and that's what I was hoping we could all do...just whatever we could in our own way. Maybe it would work to contact the stations that play the independent artists, if that's what you can do in your area, then I think that's a great idea! Anything to help is never wrong, and all exposure can only help, right? Well almost any exposure




Hi Annette! Your mp3 player sounds alot like mine! Except that I asked Andy to recommend someone he liked and he sent me to the band Augustana, that I instantly fell in love with, so they have a place there too. Give me a shout on myspace and let me know what's happening with the emails, what did you say, what Andy said etc. I'm on pins and needles! The way things are going on the Word Nerd site, and the support here, plus his being seen with David, makes me wonder if something's not up. Hmmmmm!?