Just heard from Amy that Andyman
died last night. He was vacationing in Michigan and
apparently drowned. A call from Molly, his wife, to
the station is all the information we have. I
immediately went to his Facebook page and saw his last
post…
…and proceeded to just lose
it. This morning when I read the NYTimes the last
story I read was about the "Ghosts of Facebook" on the
issue of what to do with the Facebook pages of those
who have passed. Spine-chilling coincidences, and to
look at that final picture... a punch to the stomach
that I can't stop feeling right now. I tuned into
CD101, and I called Marty Moose to tell him the news.
Marty and I had such a close bond through CD101 doing
the Late Show and we were speechless. I finally had to
hang up. But now I know I just have to
share.
I want to say all the wonderful
things Andyman did for the community and how he
touched so many people's lives one on one… but
the redundancy is too much. I've gained so much
reading/hearing other people's recollections that I
will simply add my own.
I was the Production Director (in
charge of everything on the air other than music) at
CD101 for 2 years in the late 90s and worked hand in
hand with Andyman who was the Program Director. As
well, Andyman let me have my own weekend radio show
doing craziness. It totally didn't fit the format of
CD101, but he liked me and let me play.
However what I, and everyone at
the station will remember about us - was that we went
at it. It was always out of love, but I had no problem
yelling just as loud as him and we just sparred. A lot
of it had to do with the fact that he defended me at
nearly every turn. When I did something crazy on my
show and it got back to the suits and salesman, they
would go to him. If anything was wrong with a
commercial, they gave him shit. And believe me, shit
went wrong. Even if it wasn't my fault (just as it
wasn't his fault) I got Andy's shit. It does indeed
roll downhill. And "sparring" is just the best word I
can give for it. 'Cause at the end, we just loved each
other and were just handing shit back and forth. In
fact, I need to put together some of the audio I have
that shows that. He said some really nice things
on-air about me, and Joe was nice enough to read my
comments tonight on the air. Lemme just put it
together now.
Ahh, the best emotion. Laughter
through tears. So glad Joe read those comments for me,
'cause "Sex with Andy" just doesn't work on it's own
right now. Ha. Oh that reminds me of one of my
favorite Andyman stories:
I premiered that song on a Friday
night without telling Andyman 'cause I was scared he
wouldn't let me play it, and it was a pitch-perfect
parody song. Andyman is so well respected for his
charity work in the community - it was just really
risqué. And I'll never forget the Monday
morning when Andyman walked into my
office…
"Play the song."
"What song?"
"Play the song."
He didn't have to tell me what
song, clearly someone told him about it and he didn't
catch it. So I brought it up on the computer and held
my breath. He just stood there. As each cring-worthy
verse came up I looked for any facial expressions and
finally after "I feel like I just shit a chair" I got
a smirk, and he turned away just a bit to hide it. He
listened to the entire thing… took a breath and
then walked out of my office. HA. He didn't say a
word, and I certainly didn't ask about it and just
played that bitch EVERY SHOW I COULD. Considering that
yelling at me was a sport for him - for him to say
nothing spoke volumes. He clearly liked it and I ended
up using it in my 4tvs gig. I played at his bar a few
months later with my 4tvs act and singing that one was
quite a joy.
This could literally continue
forever. I will probably do randoms for the rest of my
life with stories. He was bigger than life and I loved
being around him. Every time I would visit CD101 in
the last 10 years he would let out a yell (which still
made the hair on the back of my neck stand-up) and
he'd immediately start showing me all the cool stuff
that had changed since the last time I was there. He
made you feel so goddamned special and hearing
everyone's recollections simply makes your heart break
because he touched everyone in the same distinct
way.
I feel so honored I got to spend
so much time with him. I'm so happy that I didn't back
down and went at him like a brother. I know he
respected that and in the end? The station always
sounded better. I miss that family so much (this year
of all years) and truly have to wonder if I'll ever
feel anything like it again. I'm afraid I know the
answer to that already. If you'd like to read and
listen to more about the late show and CD101 please
click this:
That's the when I released the
CD101 section of The Journey. Gives a nice overview
and a link to all 101 entries at the bottom. So fun to
listen to. It sounds clichéd but there is
absolutely a hole in my heart. I had no idea how
precious a figure he was to me until he was ripped
away. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and
those grieving at the station right now. Tomorrow is
going to be a such a difficult day as everyone goes
through their shifts for the first time.
So to Andy, I will just say thank
you for making everyone feel so welcomed and loved. I
am going to do my best each day to do the same with
everyone I meet, though I will fail miserably
compared to you. Big shoes brother, big shoes. Rest in
Peace. And one more shot of you announcing at the
Chill Games.
