1. Well as most of you know I was in California playing shows in LA and San Francisco. It was quite a trip. It was my first time playing in LA and my first time even seeing San Francisco. I really like San Francisco. Once I got out of the downtown area, I REALLY loved the way things looked. There's tons of pics from my trip in my "pics" section so I won't post them here, but here are some videos from the trip...

my first Animal Style Fries...




This is an ADORABLE couple we saw at Karaoke...Millie and Jerry...


My first time on the Pacific Ocean...

The View from The Wedge

Here I am at the Full House house...

Here's my first ride on a cable car...



2. And speaking of videos, here's a video I took at about 5am the night of my CD Release show. This is a snore off between my two friends Dan and Cory...


3. Grandpa was right...decaf coffee really is "water made worse".

4. I would like to hereby once again profess my LOVE for Apple. As I was sitting at my desk eating cereal and watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", I heard my cat Shammy start to throw up so I started to stand up, and as I did, my ENTIRE bowl of cereal and milk spilled directly onto the keyboard of my Macbook. The screen went gray and my heart stopped. I ran into the kitchen, got paper towels, and ran back to get to work cleaning it up. Thank GOD I had a keyboard cover on as well as my screen protector. After cleaning it for about 15 minutes. I turned it back on, and it worked like a charm. God bless you Apple. PCs don't work even when you DON'T spill things on them. Thank you for making a quality product. It's a rare thing these days.

PS: Windows 7 my ass! Get a MAC and come into the light!!!

5. If you're easily offended don't watch this...but seriously...this is pretty much the funniest thing I have seen ALL year. I've watched it about 12 times. It only gets better!

And yes, they are serious.

6. One of the only positives of severe anxiety...I've lost 10 pounds in the last month. Woo hoo!!!!

7. I have a new favorite food...Eggs Benedict. I've had it about 10 times in the past month. I'm addicted.

8. I can honestly say that the whole "Things move slower in California" is VERY true. From the second I got off the plane, everyone seems to be taking their sweet ass time. I was walking with a friend down the street and cars didn't pull up to our legs to get by us as fast as possible, the servers didn't run through the restaurant with your food, and the cars didn't honk at each other. It was all so strange to me.

9. Within an hour of landing, I found Golden Girls Seasons 5 and 6 for $30!!! Thank you GOD!!!

10. James Taylor, we need to talk. Your songs are amazing. They changed my life, literally. Please stick to them. EVERY time you cover a song, you ruin it. Seriously. Stop. Now.

11. I had my first time adjustment issues in years. I ended up falling asleep my first night in LA at 9pm, and by 4am, I was WIDE awake with only Married with Children and Saved by the Bell to keep me company. The next morning I woke up at 5am. Ah, progress. I've never watched so much Zack Morris in my life.

12. Speaking of which, holy God is Saved by the Bell terrible! I mean, I knew it was bad. But man, it's TERRIBLE! And there's some REALLY politically incorrect moments in it. I watched one scene where Slater and Zack made motions like they had cerebral palsy and both said "gadaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh" in unison. I was like, "Holy shit, you can't do THAT anymore!". It's amazing how much we change.

13. The Amtrak train in California is VERY different from the one in New York. They're much cleaner, they have double decker trains and the seats are all kickass with cool swivel trays and all. I was impressed.

14. PF Chang's...very nice. My first time there as well. Not amazing, but not bad.

15. I am officially a fan of Ross' in California. I scored an $8 shirt that fits me like it was made for me. It's kind of like Daffy's here in NYC. Great store!!!

16. I recently heard Lady Gaga say that she is very influenced by Judy Garland. Hmmm...really...

"Let's have some fun. This beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."

Yes, NOW I can see her imprint on you.

Statements like this make me physically ill. It's like when Miley Cyrus started talking about how she feels it's time to express herself as an artist. Really? Ok. Yeah. You've paid your dues in life. I REALLY want to hear HER message to the world. What is it?

 "Buy more glitter pens!"?

17. Props to where they're due...I would like to thank Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines. I had absolutely NO hassles, lost anything, time delays, etc...Hell, my flights were even SMOOTH. I was still nervous, but it was pretty amazing. Good customer service does exist. Who knew?

18. So my friends showed me an episode of "The Mighty Boosh". I had heard of it but had never seen it. I can't say I'm a fan. I guess it's just a bit too far out for me. It has too much weird and not enough funny. Thought I did only see one episode.

19. I recorded a Christmas song!!! If you go to...

http://www.myspace.com/aholidaybenefit

you can pre-order the album. I did a cover of one of the only Christmas songs I like, "Merry Christmas Darling" by The Carpenters. The proceeds go to charity.

20. So I saw a doctor last week for the first time in about a year. He told me that I have bad allergies and acid reflux. He said it's quite probable that that's why I've been having so many singing issues lately. I'm on some pills now that should help. Yay!!!

21. In the past week, I have seen about TEN "Struggle Fantastic" streetlights. Ya know, where both the hand and the walk are both up at the same time. I wonder if it's a sign (no pun intended). And if so, what am I supposed to do?

22. I'd like to introduce you to my friendly neighborhood Post Office...


That's right. Not ONE person working. Not one. Can ya see why I'm a little upset with them?

23. I was invited to play at a memorial service at a group home in Manhattan for several people who recently passed away from HIV/AIDS. I played "The Right Place". And when I was done, a sea of "beautiful" and "gorgeous" filled the room. That made me smile and for a split second made me remember WHY I started making music.

24. I'm sorry, but this is just hilarious...

Risky Business Gone Wrong

25. This will be (presumably) my last blog before Thanksgiving. I wanted to close by saying that I am TRULY thankful, for YOU!!! For all of you who care about me and my music, I am so thankful. I still need all of the help I can get. It's very hard to keep pushing for something that constantly seems to push back. And without you guys behind me pushing me back forward, I simply wouldn't be able to keep going.

So God bless you all, THANK YOU, and have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Andy Mac
http://www.MySpace.com/AndyMac
http://www.Facebook.com/..AndyMacMusic
http://www.Twitter.com/..AndyMacMusic
http://www.YouTube.com/user/..AndyMacMusic

Wow. Well...it's been three weeks now since my last blog. "Things I learned last week" will be up later tonight. There are many reasons I haven't blogged, but the main one is anxiety.

Which I wanted to talk about in its own blog...

It seems like no one likes to talk about their personal mental issues. I can't say I blame them. But when I found out I have general anxiety disorder, I felt like I was going insane and that all of my friends would think I'm crazy (more so than usual :)). Only after I talked to many of them did I find out that MANY of them have had similar issues.

"You?!?!?!" I'd say. "You always seem to have it all together".

So, I made a decision around that time to just be completely honest about it. I wouldn't have been so afraid to admit and work on my issues if I'd have known how many "normal" people have had the same issues. But I felt like a mental outcast in a crowd of happy, sane people.

If you're fighting Captain A, trust me, you are NOT alone!!! You are NOT crazy! Those things you can't believe you're thinking, I have thought them too! The nights you can't sleep, I have been up like you!

So, from here on out I promise to continue to be open and honest about my Captain A issues, and honest about what is helping me and what isn't. I know I'm supposed to only show my happy face and my confidence for my career's sake. But before a musician, I'm a human being. And I'm as flawed and fragile as you are. I refuse not to show it. That's my decision.

So, here we go...

When I first got diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, it really messed with me. While I do get sick a lot, I've never had any mental health issues. We were talking last night about the stigma related to mental health issues. It seems like people (including myself for sure) have viewed physically ill people in a much different light than mentally ill people. As if mentally sick people brought it upon themselves. I guess to be honest, I've always had much more sympathy for physically sick people. But I did grow up with a mother who has MS and a brother who is diabetic. So I guess maybe it's natural I felt that way.

But whatever the reason, now that it's happening to ME, understandably, my opinion has changed significantly. The term "sanity" isn't quite as clear as it has been to me. Some of my own thoughts scare me. A lot. And for a control freak like me, not having complete control of your own mind is a terrible thing.

For almost all of 2009, I have been afraid. Very afraid. I have woken up with fear, felt it inside of me every day almost as if I'm hosting it by my own will, and tried to fall asleep at night just to not feel it for a few hours. As soon as I wake up, I can literally feel it welcome me to my new day. Almost saying...

"Don't forget...I'm still here. You do NOT deserve to be happy or content, and I'm going to make sure you're not. Remember all the bad things you've done in your past? Need me to remind you? I will!! You are a bad person, your music is worthless or you'd be farther along in your career, you look like shit and your life is a joke."

Even with the release of TWO brand new albums, my first shows in California, selling more music than I ever have in my life, making amazing new friends and having a new family member, 2009 has been the worst year of my life. How is that possible? What I found after fighting Captain A for a year is that it doesn't matter what you're doing, if you can't truly enjoy it.

And I've now spent a year without any REAL joy. There's a numbness in my heart and soul that won't go away. And it's like it negates the beauty of the world. I will see a beautiful snowfall and KNOW that it's beautiful, but I don't FEEL that it is. I will get a message from some kind person telling me how much they appreciate me and my music...and I know I should feel validated or at least thankful...and I try, good God. I do try. But I'm just left numb to it. It's as if there's a locked box inside me with good feelings inside of it that demons are guarding, and they do their job well.

There have been a few sporadic days when it would leave, and to feel "normal" again, felt like heaven.

When did this change? Is this just part of growing older? Things used to be good when they were "good". Now things are good when they're "not horrible". Is that REALLY how we're meant to live our lives? I don't believe that. I don't believe that I was put on this Earth just to get through my life nice and quietly. To die as painlessly as possible and call it a day.

Because honestly, forgive my language, FUCK THAT! While I do indeed believe in an after life, I only have one here on this Earth. And while I'm pretty much feeling like the biggest screwup amongst my family, friends and everyone I know, I believe that a few of the things I have done with my life will remain once I am gone. That's what's truly important to me. The thought that something I have written or said or done can genuinely help someone years after I'm gone makes me come as close to smiling as I have this year. If I died right now, I think people WOULD care. I think people would spread my music around and try to keep it alive. And that's important to me. That's what matters most to me.

So, to close, today is my first day on anti-anxiety pills. I have never been on prescription drugs in my life (save for a cold or infection) and it's scaring the hell out of me. But, I need to get better. I've now lost a YEAR of my life to Captain A. That's more than he deserves, and I'm not willing to give him any more.

I'm done.

Thank you all for caring about me. Your support has helped immensely. I will keep you updated.

Andy Mac
http://www.MySpace.com/AndyMac
http://www.Facebook.com/..AndyMacMusic
http://www.Twitter.com/..AndyMacMusic
http://www.YouTube.com/user/..AndyMacMusic

What a week it was...let's see...

Before I start, HELLO to all of my new friends! There's a lot of you this week! That's a great thing!!! Welcome!!!

1. As requested, here's me at Halloween...

..

Yes, I know it's pretty scary. I had a couple of friends who seriously couldn't look at me. Here's some other pics from the party.....

Nice.

2. And speaking of pics, Sunday morning was the New York City Marathon which goes right down my Ave...




And as we walked along 4th Ave to go to breakfast, I noticed a sign out of the corner of my eye...I couldn't believe it...




So apparently there's two of us in NYC. The lady was kind and let me take a pic of the sign. Maybe it was a sign for me, too?

3. I was going to make this a blog of its own, but I saved it.

I call this abomination of American Life...

"This is Legacy. I'm hanging up now."

It's like this...

Last Thursday my father flew into JFK to visit for the weekend. I told him I'm pick him up. So I got on the train, sat down, and started reading my paper. And just as I heard "Stand clear of the closing doors, please", I realized that I didn't have my cell phone. Since I was on the Long Island Rail Road and not the regular subway, I couldn't go back to get it.

So now, I had to go pick someone up at the airport without a phone. Should be interesting. But I had my wallet. This shouldn't be TOO bad, right?

Once I got to the Airtrain, I caught a pay phone out of the corner of my eye. I went up to it, picked it up, and realized it was out of order.

Awesome.

So, I got my card for the Airtrain and headed out to the terminal.

Just one small problem, I realized on the Airtrain that I didn't know what airline my father was flying in on. So I had NO clue what terminal to go to.

I got off at Terminal 3 which is the Delta Terminal. As soon as I exited the Airtrain, I saw another pay phone. I went up to it...it was also out of order.

Awesome.

So I walked forever to get to the Delta Terminal itself. I went in and saw a bunch of phones. But once I got up to them, they were all direct connection phones for hotels and car services.

Awesome.

So I asked the (enter sarcastic tone here) incredibly polite security guard where the closest pay phone was. His reply...

"Dwonstersss"
"Excuse me?"
"DWONSTEEERSSS"
"How do I get downstairs?"

To which he just pointed to an elevator.

So I went downstairs and found three pay phones and one of them was working (YAY!!). Now, I had no change, I only had bills and my debit card. I called home to see how much they'd ask for...I knew my Dad's cell phone would be more expensive because it's a Buffalo zip code.

"puleeze...deposieet...fifty....cents".

That sounded right. Of course, the phone had no bill slot and no credit card slot, so I had to find change. So, like you do, I went over to the vending machines.

Being an airport, I knew that snacks and drinks would be more expensive, but I kid you not, EVERYTHING was even dollar prices. Bottled water=$2, chips=$1, etc...

Awesome.

SO, I went back over to the pay phone to try and use my debit card.

'For help: 411'

I dial 411.

"puleeze...deposieet...fiftee...cents"

Hmmmm, ok. Don't have that.

I pick up the phone, and go old school...

I dial "0"

Here's where it starts getting fun...

'Welcome to Legacy...
to make a collect call, press 1

I press 1.

"Please enter the number you wish to call"

I enter the number.

"I'm sorry, but this number cannot be contacted for a collect call."

Awesome.

I hang up and dial "0" again.

'Welcome to Legacy...
to make a collect call, press 1
to make a call using a credit card, press 2...

I press 2.

two rings...

"Thank you for calling Legacy, this is Jamal. May I help you?"

"Yes, hi, my name is-"

"THANK YOU FOR CALLING LEGACY. MAY I HELP YOU?"

"YES, HELLO? Can you hear me?"

"Thank you for calling Legacy. I'm hanging up now."

WTF?!?!?!

So I call back again and press 2.

""Thank you for calling Legacy, this is Julie. May I help you?"

"Yes, hi, can you hear me?"

"THANK YOU FOR CALLING LEGACY. MAY I HELP YOU?"

"HELLLLOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!"

"Thank you for calling Legacy. This is Julie. I'm hanging up now."

Awesome.

Why did they have to tell me that they're hanging up on me? They were SO polite about it. Honestly.

SO, having had no luck, I thought to myself,

'I KNOW that they have pay phones AND a Dunkin' where I can get change at the Jet Blue Terminal."

As it was getting late, I ran back to the Airtrain and rushed to Terminals 5/6, The Jet Blue Terminals.

Sure enough, as soon as I got off the escalator I saw the pay phones. Two of them. I didn't really want to buy anything just to get change so I thought I'd try "0" again. So I went right up to the first one and pressed "0".

'Welcome to Legacy...
to make a collect call, press 1
to make a call using a credit card, press 2...

I press 2.

to make a call using a calling card, press 3...

I press 2 harder.

to make an international call, press 4...

I press 2 HARDER!

to make a...

I PUNCH the keypad with my fist. Yes, I have issues.

Awesome.

Screw it! I'll use the other phone!!

I pick up and press "0".

'Welcome to Legacy...
to make a collect call, press 1
to make a call using a credit card, press 2...

I press 2.

Two rings...

"Thank you for calling Legacy, this is Steven. May I help you?"

"Yes, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!"

"THANK YOU FOR CALLING LEGACY. MAY I HELP YOU?"

"OH YOU'RE F%^#IN' KIDDIN" ME, STEVE! HELLO?!?!?!"

"Thank you for calling Legacy. I'm hanging up now."

At this point, ya know that sweat on the back of your neck that can start in cases of panic or frustration (or both)? Yeah, that was on.

'F it. I'll go to Dunkin, buy something and get change' I thought to myself.

So I find the Dunkin' but I don't see any employees.

Finally after waiting a few minutes, I look behind the counter, there is a small girl sitting and talking on her cell phone.

"Are you open?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes, stands up, and comes to the counter (while still talking on her cell phone).

"I really just need quarters so I'll take anything as long as you can please give me my change in quarters".

She says nothing to me. Just grabs a donut, throws it (literally) into a bag, and rings up $.96. I give her two dollars and she gives me my change in quarters (while still talking on her phone).

Normally, I would complain to this person, but I was in a hurry.

I wolfed down my donut and walked back over to the pay phones, put in $.50 and called home.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I left my phone there, can you PLEASE call my Dad, find out where he is and ask him where I should meet him?"

"Sure"

"Thanks! I'll call back in 5 minutes."

"Ok, bye."

Down to 50 cents.

I wait my five minutes, and call back.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me again. I-"

"HELLO?"

"Hello can you hear me?"

"HELLLOOOO?!?!?!?"

"OH MY F'IN LORD YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! HELLO?!?!?!"

"ANDY IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOUR DAD SAID TO MEET HIM AT THE LUGGAGE CAROUSEL!"

"WHAT AIRLINE?!?!?!"

"I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME...THE LUGGAGE CAROUSEL!! BYE!"

Awesome.

At THIS point...I came close to screaming. No joke. I felt like I was going to punch the next person I looked at.

I figured I'd have to call my Dad directly. So I dialed his number...

"Please...deposit...one...dollar"

Ugh. OK...

Awesome.

I was SO done with the Dunkin' "lady", so I found another shop, asked how much the bottled waters were...

"$2.75"

Of course! Why wouldn't a small bottled water be $2.75?

I bought one with a $5 bill and got all my change in quarters.

I walked back to the pay phones.

I put in four quarters and dialed my Dad's number...

"Duh dah deeeee! I'm sorry, you must dial '1', then the area code, then the number you wish to reach. Please hang up and try again".

Awesome.

I hang up and wait a sec for the quarters to fall...

and wait...

I press down to hang up AGAIN!

and wait...

and wait...

NO quarters.

Nothing.

I paid a dollar to hear that message.

Awesome.

I was red. I was BURNING red!!!

Out of the corner of my eye I see a number listed on the phone to call for refunds.

I call the number...

'Welcome to Legacy...
to make a collect call-

no. No. NO. NOOOOO NOOOOOOO!

Awesome.

I hang up.

I had ONE dollar left. Good God. Please.

I lift the receiver, put in four quarters, dial 1, then my Dad's number...

two rings...

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Andaaaa. What's up?"

"Dad...listen VERY closely...where...are...you?

"I'm still on the plane. We'll be out soon."

"What...airline?"

"Delta" (the airline terminal I had FIRST gotten off at)

"I...will...meet...you...at...the...Airtrain...of...Terminal...3"

"Um, ok. Are you alright?"

"no. NO, I am not alright at all but I'll tell you later."

"Ok, see you then.

"Bye".

So I went BACK to Terminal 3, and greeted my father.

Good...God...I...hate...Pay...Phones.

And if I EVER find out who's in charge of Legacy, I'm going to buy a new golf club (with "This is Legacy, I'm hanging up now!" engraved on it) with which I will beat them within an inch of their life.

4. May as well keep the negative ones together...

To hell with The Yankees!!!

Many of you see me bitching about The Yankees and I know you all don't know why. It's  very simple...

I have a regular Wednesday night show that is the same time, same place, every Wednesday. It's an Irish Pub called Rumours.

Whenever there's a post season Yankees game (playoffs or world series), I get canceled so that people can listen to the game.

While these Wednesday nights do vary, I make a flat rate plus tips each week. Meaning, any time I'm canceled, I lose a LOT of money.

I don't know about you, but I need money. And to me, it's NOT ok that I lose so much of it each year to The Yankees who make more money than I do while they're in the bathroom.

So, I say again...to hell with The Yankees!!!

5. Saw VI...is pretty twisted. Also, it's VERY relevant to the current healthcare debate. I know, strange, right? But it is. It fits in VERY much with what's going on. I liked it.

6. I found out how much I've missed public speaking. I was invited to speak at a music panel last Tuesday. My topic was "raising donations for albums". I do have experience with that. 

And it felt GREAT! I really think I could've been a good teacher (my original life plan). Not to blow my own horn but I felt like I was articulate, funny, yet informative and interesting. I'm sure my years of stage experience didn't hurt. 

7. I have a new hero...

Amazing

And such a good voice, too!

8. I received the most confusing Fortune Cookie I've ever seen in my life...




WTF?!?!?!?

9. Not to end on a sad note...but for those of you who know who he is...

Captain A is back. And I think he's on steroids. It's gotten really bad again.

Wish me luck.

Thanks as always for reading.

Mac

I just wanted to remind all of my California friends that I'm coming out your way in just two weeks!!! :) I play at Genghis Cohen in LA on November 11th and at The Union Room in San Francisco on November 13th!!! PLEASE come on out! I can't wait to FINALLY meet you all!!!

1. I still love Halloween!!

Yesterday we had our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving/Halloween Movie Marathon...




Recognize mine? I should hope so!!!

The highlight of the night was watching "The Haunted". That movie is SO terrible it's a blast. The acting is a joke!!! Seriously, if you want a good time, pick that movie up and invite me over. I promise you laughs.

2. I finally found a decent and recent video of me playing percussion. Many of you have asked me for a video of me playing drums. They were my first instrument.

Well, even though it's only acoustic percussion, here ya go...

This is me backing up my good friend Matt Jones...

3. And speaking of videos, I was invited by my buddy Ben Wagner to take part in a charity Christmas Album. Everyone submits a song and then you do a group song together...I selected to do The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling" and I'll be recording it soon. In the meantime, here's a small behind the scenes look at the group song...

4. I wanted to mention something as my #4. It was looking quite probable that I was going to have to cancel my trip to California. My cd release put me SO far in a financial hole that I didn't think I would be able to pay my rent, let alone make a trip out West.

But, because of AMAZING support from people like Shannon Wolfe, Ron Wenick, Dee Loesch, Sheila Marrs, Carley Bain, Sarah Christianson and more, I now (hopefully) have my flights covered, and places to rest my head. The support to make sure this mini tour happens has been amazing!!!

Bless you guys!!! :) I'm not a religious man, but as of late, I've found myself saying "God bless ya" to almost everyone I know. So, God bless ya! :) I can't wait to make the trip.

Wow, TWO positive blogs in a row. What's going on here?

Thanks for reading!!!

Mac

Holy Andy Mac overload!!!

I cannot BELIEVE how much I have to tell and show you. It's overwhelming.

Where to start...

1. I have MISSED CD Release parties!!! I had an AMAZING show last Friday. It was the CD Release Show for my new album, Struggle Fantastic!!! It was packed, I sold a lot of cds, and I felt very loved. It was beautiful. My album is finally out in this world. Thank God.

Here's some videos of the show...

Highwire

Nothing's as Good

Over and Over

What I Need

The Right Place

My favorite pic from the night...




2. Speaking of my CD Release...did you miss my surprise?

If you did, HERE IT IS!!!

410

Yes yes yes. I made TWO brand new albums! SURPRISE!!!

I'm very proud of BOTH of them!!! I've actually had several people tell me that they like 410 even more than Struggle Fantastic. What's that? You'd like an autographed copy? Well, just email me at andymacmusic@gmail.com and we'll make it happen!!! And honestly, act fast! There are not that many copies left!!!

3. And speaking of 410, I was very fortunate enough to be invited back by my good friend Roger to do his podcast. I gave an interview talking about the details of "410" and the making of it. It's also the ONLY place you can hear any of the songs before you buy a copy!!!! The interview starts after the first two songs played...

Here's a link for ya...

The Vinyl Experience

A million thanks to Roger for having me back. I hope you enjoy the interview and the songs!!!

4. And back to Struggle Fantastic, it's now on Itunes!!! If you have Itunes, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go and leave a review for it! It'd mean so much to me to have your kind words up there so that everyone can see. Here's the Itunes link...

Struggle Fantastic on Itunes

5. Yesterday, I heard "All You Need is Love" on a CREDIT CARD commercial! In my humble opinion, that should be ILLEGAL!!! It's a crime.

6. My voice isn't doomed!!! On Saturday, I had a show planned from 4pm-7pm in the West Village. I really didn't want to do a show the day after my CD Release but I REALLY needed the money. Saturday morning, I got an offer to do ANOTHER show from 10pm-1am in Times Square. And again, I couldn't turn it down. So I did 6 hours worth of singing the day after my CD Release. And strangely, my voice felt GREAT up until the very end. I wasn't struggling at all. It felt wonderful. Yay!!! I'm not doomed!!! Yay!!!

7. Speaking of that Times Square show, I had (quite possibly) the strangest request I have ever received in my life. Just as I had finished my last song, a younger English man came up to me and asked me to play one more song. I told him very politely that my voice was pretty much done and that it had been a long day. He said he'd pay me $4 to do one song, and again, I REALLY need money right now. I'm in some financial trouble to be honest. ANYWAY, he said he'd pay me $4 to do one song but there's one condition...I asked what it was...and he said in his accent...

"Yaauu nahd do suy da werdz, 'Korean Ninja Dwarf' in the song".

I asked him to repeat that. And he did. I had heard him right.

I asked him if it needed to make sense in the song, and he said no (thank God). So my first thought was the syllables...there are six in that phrase. So, then I thought, 'What hook has that exact amount of syllables? My first thought was that "I'm a Believer" does...and, I was right. So, I began to sang.

The English guy and his friends came up in front of the stage, and began to jump up and down (kind of dancing), and when the chorus came, we ALL sang good and loud...

"KOREAN NINJA DWARF!!! I'M A BELIEVER!!!!"
"KOREAN NINJA DWARF!!! NO DOUBT IN MY MIND!!!"

That's easily the strangest $4 I have ever made.

8. This is amazing and I wanted to share it...

Hero Dog

God bless them. Humans should take note!!!

9. I'm on Pandora!!! I didn't even know!!! Why not go and make your own "Andy Mac" radio station??

Andy Mac on Pandora

10. I had a very NYC moment happen to me. As I was walking home from my subway stop at about 2am on Thursday morning, three guys were walking past me on the sidewalk. One of them walked right up to me and said, "Give me all of your money. All of it". He didn't shout, he just said it calmly. Now, the weird thing is...I didn't stop, look, or even acknowledge him. I just kept walking. And after about three steps, what he said hit me. I turned my head around as I quickened my pace to see if he was following me. Thank God, he wasn't. I'm about 99% sure he was kidding, but it blew my mind that I didn't even stop. I was just too pissed off and tired. LOL! THAT'S a New Yorker!! A stupid one? Maybe! Ok, yes.

11. My weather is finally here!!! It's been SO beautiful in NYC. SO beautiful. Anyone want to take a walk? I'm your guy!!!

12. Target brought back Boo Berry and Frankenberry!!! YAY!!!! I need to stock up but I'm broke!!! Anyone have stock in General Mills?

13. I went to a wedding a week ago that was one of the most amazing weddings I've ever been to. I was honored that I was asked to perform "God Only Knows" before the ceremony with my good friend Jessi Robertson. It was the most musical wedding I've ever seen. It took place at a VENUE!!!! Two stages! Congratulations to my friends Bryan and Emily. Give 'em hell!!

14. Today I experienced one of the worst things that's ever happened to me in my life. I received a message from a "man" on Facebook. He said that he's a huge fan of my music. He went on to tell me how much my music gives him peace and that it's needed in this dark time of his life. Honestly, I'm blessed enough that I get messages like this quite a bit. So I was just honored to hear it again. Then he went on to ask if I might be so kind as to send him a free copy of my new CD. He said he's suffering from Cancer and is in terrible physical condition as well as overwhelmed by the hospital bills.

Normally, I don't send out my cds for free. It's a pet peeve of mine when people ask. I work VERY hard to do what I do. And I find it incredibly insulting when people are surprised that I won't send them my music for free.

"Well why not?"

Oh I don't know, maybe because IT'S MY SURVIVAL?!?!?!?! You wouldn't walk into a restaurant and ask the chef for a free meal.

Sorry, I digress.

So I told this "man" that I normally don't send out free cds, but that it seemed that it was truly deserved in this case, and that if my music could give him any sense of peace, then it was my honor. So he sent me his info and said that if any of my friends would be as kind as me, that it'd really mean a lot to him. So I began to email my musician friends asking them to send him a cd.

Then, just to check, I entered his address into Google and found a page showing that he's a scam artist!!! They had his sample letter which was the EXACT one he sent me. I felt like the biggest fool on this planet.

The thought that someone would use Cancer as an excuse to SCAM independent artists out of their cds blows my mind. How low can you POSSIBLY be to do something like this?

I honestly felt like crying.

15. I have become addicted to watching episodes of "Kung Fu". I'd only seen the pilot one (the movie) and none of the actual episodes. They're hilarious. David Carradine doesn't look even REMOTELY Asian, yet everywhere he goes they call him "yellow" and the like. It's really some bad casting. I love them. I just laugh the whole time.

16. I saw James Gandolfini in midtown Manhattan before a show. It was bizarre for me. He just looked like a regular guy. He was all dressed down and waiting with his son for his car at a parking garage. It's weird when that happens. I'd like to say something, but WHAT?

"Hey James...um...way to go on being famous!!!!"

??????

17. My fellow Horror fans, IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!!!

New Freddy

18. I would like to close with the BIGGEST "Thank You!!" I can. So many people came to my CD Release. So many people are helping me get Struggle Fantastic out there!!! So many people found out about 410 and ordered a signed copy (I'm almost sold out, HURRY! :)). So many people have showed so much love this past weekend. It's amazing. You may have noticed that (next to the scam artist) there's next to no pessimism or negativity in this blog. There's a good reason for that. I DON'T FEEL ANY!!!!



Thank you all so much and God Bless Ya!!! :)

Mac

This made me smile...

"""""hi I'm from Indonesia, I am fans of you. I like music and your voice. I want to once every day listening to music and your voice . you have SPIRIT me. Indonesia is experiencing an economic crisis and the global crisis. I hope you can come to Indonesia to always give encouragement to us. we are your fans in Indonesia. if you please I want us all to get your CD, so we I can always listen to you. please ...

I hope so always listen to music and your voice"""""

God Bless the whole world.

Mac

Well, I'm lying in bed. I put on Halloween 4 and I have a sickness knocking on my door. I thought it might go away but it's getting worse now. So I'm going to write this before I get too dizzy.

BUT, before I do, there's something I want to say. Most of you reading this read my last blog. I have never received a response regarding one of my blogs like I received last week. I had a woman GO OFF on me for my comments about my "selling a baby to a train conductor for fresh coffee and a cinnamon roll" line. Apparently, I'm the only person who knew I didn't mean that literally. She got into all of the "how dare you say that about one of God's creatures" and all of that.

This woman told me I should do something positive instead of negative. I asked her if she had listened to my music. And of course, she hadn't. I asked her to listen to "The Right Place". She wouldn't.

Let me make something clear...I write my blogs for relaxation and amusement. And some of you seem to enjoy them. I don't know about what you think I should do, but I'd rather pour my positive energy into my music and meanwhile write some things that remind me what I've been going through and make myself and some others smile at the same time.

If you DON'T like what you read, it's very simple...you don't have to read it. This is America. I'm allowed to say what I think and feel and no amount of hate mail from uptight, over religious, self righteous ignoramuses is going to stop me.

ANYWAY...

1. Screw the I-95!!!! We played a college show on Friday night at Connecticut College. It's a 2.5 hour drive from NYC. We left Brooklyn at 4:30pm...we arrived at 9pm. Have you ever been stuck in a NYC traffic jam while you're having serious anxiety issues? Not fun. Thank God for good music keeping me sane.

2. Say hello to my new merchandise suitcase...




Thanks to my awesome twin sister, Carrie, for working so hard on this. The outside looks amazing too. It's going to be great to take this on tour.

3. So I was lucky enough to go to this...




It was an AMAZING night. Ray Lamontagne also sang. And we sat in a crowd with Steve Buscemi, Rhett Miller and Josh Ritter. Just an amazing night. The Apollo Theatre is gorgeous. I had never been there. Such a history. SO many legends have performed there. There's construction outside right in the next lot, and the doors are COMPLETELY covered with well wises for Michael Jackson. It was really beautiful.

4. So, my father, Francis Eugene McNamara had his retirement party last weekend. I gave a speech and started to cry...he gave a speech and started to cry...it was a beautiful night. This is he and I with my brother Jim...




I would just like to publicly thank him for everything that he's done. Words can never express how amazing he has been. I'm so proud to be his son. I love you, Dad.

Thanks for reading.

Mac

Well, I've been incredibly busy, and I kept meaning to blog, but I just never got around to it. There was always something a bit more pressing to be done. But I've actually been getting complaints from people, so here we are...

1. Ok, negativity first to get it out of the way...

HUGE Rant time...

a. ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH with the f'in vampires!!!! You hear me? ENOUGH!!!! Listen, even IF vampires were real, he would NOT be a hot, pale ass 16 year old kid who would want to satisfy your every sexual desire before telling you that he loves you too much to make you like him. He would be an old as hell, nasty, blood thirsty freak who would kill you before you had a chance to say, "wait you're not a hot pale young kid who can't act!!!'. ENOUGH. Stop. Now.

b. The 2009 Nissan Cube...are you f'ing kidding me??? The last time I saw one of these it was at the end of a stick I was holding over a fire!!! That's not a car, it's modern art on four wheels!!! And it's ugly!! I guarantee you this car will increase road rage merely by its presence. I saw one last week and it pissed me off just looking at it. I want to figure out a way to beat this car up or at least hurt its feelings.

c. Speaking of cars, let's talk about the wonderful world of car rentals. Kiss my credit cardless ass!!! Apparently, you can't use a debit card to rent a car. This makes NO sense to me. Oh, by the way, it made no sense to me standing out in the pouring rain at the Avis on 43rd street as my cajon and luggage got soaked!!! So you're ok having access to a credit card not my bank account?!?!?! Explain THAT one to me. Now I want to get a new credit card, just to rent a car from you, get the insurance, and drive it right through your front office window while blaring "I'd like to teach the world to sing" over the car stereo.

d. PARENTS...let us chat. No, I do not have children. You do. Great. I'm happy for you. Seriously, I am. I know children are a blessing. However, just because YOU brought something into this world does NOT mean that I have to find it adorable. And in most cases, I won't. Especially when your small little bundle of annoyance goes from traincar to traincar, screaming, and trying to touch everything they see...while I'm trying to sleep. And don't get me started again on your kid's name. So help me God if your kid touches my laptop with his drool soaked hand and you had the balls to name him "Everett", I will go Honky Tonk Man style with my guitar over your brainless yuppie skull and sell your child to the train conductor for fresh coffee and a cinnamon roll.

e. This has never really bothered me before, but I think we should make a law against dead people being in new commercials. Oh I don't know...such as....

The Beatles Guitar Hero Commercial

Now, at first, this commercial looks absolutely amazing. And that's what's scary to me. George Harrison and John Lennon are dead. God bless them, they're gone. And I don't care what you say, just because their widows allowed this, doesn't mean they would be ok with it. In fact, Lennon and Harrison were not ok with MOST things. (I guess they were good role models for me ). Where does this end? What if they allow them to do that with, I don't know, say a Starbucks commercial?? I may be way off base but I think if they're dead, they should not legally allowed to be used in new commercials. That's just me.

Rants done.

Ok, enough with the negative.

2. Some video fun...

I want one of these in my apartment...(I'm the guy on the left )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaS7D9sIdDQ

This guy...I don't even know what to say. But watch until the end...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqVMC4yJVZY&feature=PlayList&p=586813237AB11CDD&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9

3. I have discovered a new love...Monster Mix. It's a trail mix that consists of peanuts, M&Ms, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and raisins. Good God!! It's amazing. I have only found it at Target. It's dangerous though. It's like $7 and we finish the whole jar in under two days. We have to stop buying it.

4. I will close by saying four words...

1. my
2. surprise
3. is
4. done

It will be revealed on October 16th, the same day as the release of my brand new album, "Struggle Fantastic"!!!!!!

You should order an advanced autographed copy of Struggle Fantastic from me before it's released! Just email me at andymacmusic@gmail.com.

Thanks!!!

Mac

1. I learned that I LOVE doing Podcast audio interviews!!! I had the honor of being featured on "The Vinyl Experience Podcast"...

and HUGE props and thanks to Roger for giving me such a long interview and playing so much of my music. Go over and give it a listen!!! You can count how many times I say "uh" and "um"

2. Not to toot my own horn, but I've come a LONG way as a drummer. I imagine it's all the drum gigs that I've been doing in the past year. I realized it on Saturday night as I was playing in the West Village. I have SO much fun playing drums now. And I've really developed my style, both musically and visually. It feels good. Hopefully someday soon I'll have a video for you guys and you can tell me what you think.

3. I present to you...my favorite YouTube video of the month...and seriously, LISTEN to this singing...it's messed up!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6tem5CXgU

4. Final Destination 4 in 3D...so bad it's good. Seriously, can you imagine if the world was able to actually have that many coincidences happen?

I think I'd like to make a movie where the opposite happens. As in, the BEST outcome possible for someone.

Ya know, like, saaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy...

1. A burglar goes into the store and robs it.
2. He runs away with thousands of dollars and starts bolting up the street.
3. At that exact moment, there's a woman leaving a McDonald's on the same street with 40 McNuggets, two large fries, two apple pies, two cherry Cokes, and a pre signed and yet blank recording contract with Capitol Records.
4. I start to walk down the same street with an amazing coffee that I have not yet started to drink.
5. There's a moving truck with movers clumsily unloading various apartment items into a stairwell on the street close to the lady leaving McDonald's.
6. As the burglar sprints along in his black beret, a black and white horizontally striped shirt and his big bag with an oversized "$" on it, he realizes that he's starting to lose his grip on the bag because it's SO heavy with the thousands of dollars in cash.
7. The lady walking to her car from the McDonald's drops her keys and has to do an impressive balancing act to retrieve them...which of course, takes some time...
8. As I walk along I come across a HUGE, brand new, black garbage bag just blowing in the air in front of me, "American Beauty" style.
9. One of the movers carelessly drops a microwave off the back of the truck and it comes falling to the ground with a "kerrPAHHHH!"
10. I grab the huge, new, clean and empty black garbage bag and continue along my way, while still holding my coffee but not starting to drink it yet.
11. As I round the corner, the burglar, the lady with the McDonald's/recording contract, and myself all come within 100 feet of each other.
12. The lady who is moving into her new apartment comes running outside to yell at the mover who dropped her microwave. She is pale, redheaded, with an amazingly gorgeous face, EEE breasts, a waist so small it can't be seen, and yet she has an ass that could pull a bus.
13. The burglar, running faster than ever, turns his head around as he runs to see if anyone is chasing him.
14. The lady coming from McDonald's looks up to see the burglar headed right toward her at TOP speed...she stops dead in her tracks like a dear in headlights.
14. Speaking of headlights, the gorgeous redhead (who is also a member of Mensa), asks the mover if her microwave is still going to work or if it's broken. He replies, "I guess you'll have to try to microwave something to see."
15. As I walk, I begin to wonder why my huge garbage bag was just floating in the wind. And being curious, I stop and open it up WIDE just to double check that it is indeed empty. As I switch my coffee to my left hand to do so, I notice that it's starting to get cold.
16. At that PRECISE moment, the burglar SMASHES into the lady on the sidewalk, FLINGING his bag with thousands of dollars, The McDonald's feast, and the empty but pre-signed recording contract from Capitol Records into the air.
17. The burglar and the lady both die instantly but in a real cool way that's awesome to watch.
18. When I hear the smash, I look up to see two bodies falling to the ground (in that wicked awesome cool way), and the raining down of God's Holy bounty fall STRAIGHT into my huge, beautiful and no longer empty garbage bag. Everything falls in a perfect and non-spilling order. As I look into the bag to see what fell into it, it turns out that the bag wasn't empty to begin with after all. There was a brand new, sealed bag of incense inside. I pull it out to read the label. It's says..."SCORE!!!"
19. At that exact moment, the EEE bouncing redheaded lady (who also owns a red 1964 convertible Ford Falcon that she's been looking to give away to someone) comes running up to me, asking me if I would be so kind as to accompany her up to her apartment and donate my coffee to the cause of checking the functionality status of her recently and clumsily dropped microwave.

20. Cut to a fading crane shot of me, looking into the camera with the biggest grin on Earth, a thumbs up with my left hand, the huge black bag of perfection being held over my shoulder with my right hand, and the redheaded EEE havin' bus-pullin' convertible ownin' genius lady gently leading me up into her new apartment.

The End

p.s.-Earlier that day I had graduated from Ninja School

Thanks for reading!!!

PLEASE pass this blog on if you enjoy it!!!

Mac

Ok, while we were on the road late Sunday night, we saw a display for coconut M&Ms. But of course, they were all gone. If ANYONE sees them, please buy them and send them to me, and I will pay you back.

1. Rant time. So, though I always forget it's coming, every year around this time I suddenly have random young Jewish boys come up to me and ask me,

"Excuse me...are you Jewish?"

I don't get this. And every year (after about the 5th day) it starts to piss me off. Not that I would mind being Jewish, but why do you have to eyeball everyone in a subway car trying to figure out which of them is Jewish, and then question the ones you're not sure about? I don't know any other religion/culture that has asked me that in a random moment.

And if I was Jewish? It's something about trying to get me to pray with them if I'm not mistaken.

I'm going to start the Irish version of this. I'm going to go up and down a subway car and ask random people if they're Irish. And if they say yes, I'm going to pull out two pints of Guinness from my pants and try to get them hammered. Maybe Guinness would sponsor this time of "Irish Rekindling".

We could call it "Puking and Promises".

2. I have a new addiction..."It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". It's absolutely hilarious, although it does take more than one episode to get into the swing of it. But once you do, you will thank me for it. It's really brilliant. Check it out if you can.

3. So I had the chance to listen to some Christian Radio. And I found it so interesting that I kept listening to it for about 3 hours while I was driving around.

Now, I'm not here to offend anyone (I'm a "live and let live" guy), but I couldn't get over how AFRAID everyone on the radio station was. Every call was "we should all be trembling and amazingly afraid of what's going on...everywhere...all the time. I also recently saw a shirt that said "The first step to wisdom is the fear of the Lord". I don't believe that. I don't believe that the first step to wisdom is fear. People used to fear rain and other natural orders of nature, and made up Gods to explain what they didn't understand. And they feared those Gods.

If I had to guess what the first step to wisdom is, I would guess that it's an open mind...not a mind living in fear.

And of course the main topic on the Christian radio ended up being about Obama's Healthcare Plan and how it's going to kill every elderly person and unborn fetus in America. It was all "death panels" and "my tax dollars going towards abortions". All I can say is, would you PLEASE read something and check out some FACTS?!?!?!?! And that goes for both sides. You can't just say "I'm against the war in Iraq" and not have a logical reason why. If you only listen to and believe what radicals (on either side) tell you, you're not forming your own opinion.

It's your American right to think and speak for yourself. But if you only echo the words and actions of a loud voice, you're not thinking. You're merely an impression of an ill-informed, ignorant, political agenda. Again, that goes for right AND left. And that's when you start showing up to town meetings with boxing gloves. The debates going on now are simply ridiculous.

And while I won't spend hours talking about MY opinion of the plan, I'll just close #3 with a wise sentence...

"If you have money to hurt people, you have money to help people."

4. Speaking of money, in order for me to pull off my surprise in time, I need to raise some money with the quickness. I thought of maybe auctioning off my favorite black hat (the one in my profile pic and on my new album). Anyone wanna buy it? Hey, when the album blows up you can sell it on Ebay for big $$$$!!!

Thanks for reading as always.

Mac