Andy Frasco has been playing 250 shows a year since he was 19. He started at Drive-Thru Records, an independent label known for its pop-punk sound when he was only 14. He’d manage and book bands—and they’d all inevitably break up.
After years of this cycle, he took his Bar Mitzvah money, bought a van, and started touring as an artist in his own right, cold-calling venues to book gigs and using Craigslist to find other musicians to join him on stage.
His band, Andy Frasco & The U.N., is now in its 15th year with ten records under their belt. Frasco refers to The U.N. part of the band as an open-door policy, comprised of whoever wants to jump on the road and make music together.
In speaking about his musical style, Frasco said he’s trying to bring optimism to depression. After suppressing feelings throughout his youth, he’s been able to use music to open up and show the world that even people with huge smiles and light-up-the-room laughs get sad sometimes too.
His latest single, “What We Used To Be Is Not Who We Are,” is Frasco’s direct attempt to shine a light on this taboo topic, and he spoke openly about collecting wristbands to cover the scars. Festivals made him feel safe, and this single is as much an invitation to his fans to open up and ask for help as it is a request to let people grow beyond your first impression of them.
Frasco is certainly not the man he used to be, and he gives a lot of credit to the healing power of music, good talk therapy, and the psychedelic frontier we call Denver with helping him start to love himself.
“A lot of people aren’t fortunate enough to open their soul,” Frasco says. But that’s exactly what Frasco’s music and shows are all about.
During his concerts, Frasco breaks the fourth wall and gets everyone involved, whether that’s bringing up fans to sing with him or doing the hora with 20,000 Germans in Nuremberg. He doesn’t want it to feel like just hearing the album live—he aims to create experiences at every show.
This is all part of his goal to stay more present. Creating a home for himself here in Denver has also been a crucial step in helping him live in the moment and enjoy life off the road.
“I built a home to show I could have something other than my work,” says Frasco.
He grew up in LA, and people always expect him to come back, but Denver has become Frasco’s home.
“I like this little life,” says Frasco while describing the neighbors who bring by cookies and ask about his latest tour. Here, he has hobbies, goes to trivia, and has discovered the joy of the PlayStation.
He thinks loneliness is the hardest drug, but he’s not alone anymore in Denver. Frasco used to travel and tour to find that sense of community, connecting with fans all over the world, and now he’s found that love and acceptance in Denver too.
When he bought his self-proclaimed bachelor pad, it wasn’t quite to his taste, but he’s definitely keeping the leopard carpet, an homage to the past. He loves old-school things and is striving to keep alive some of the beauty of what was, even as he builds something new.
This month, Andy is looking forward to hopefully discovering his long-lost Frascos in Italy. On September 14, he’ll be performing at Red Rocks with Greensky Bluegrass. He’s also working on his own record label, aimed at putting more of the money right in the artists’ pockets.