Andy Prieboy (born April 17, 1955 [1] ) is an American musician, songwriter, and author. He was lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo from 1983 to 1988. Later, he produced solo albums, musicals, and a novel.
Prieboy was born in Los Angeles and raised in East Chicago, Indiana. Early in his career, he was in the San Francisco art band Eye Protection, which had one track on the compilation Rising Stars of San Francisco: "Take Her Where The Boys Are". They also recorded a 7-inch single called "Elroy Jetson" with a b-side of "Go Go Girl" on Eleph Records.
In 1983, he replaced Stan Ridgway as lead vocalist of Wall of Voodoo. Seven Days in Sammystown was the first Wall of Voodoo album to feature Prieboy, which was followed by Happy Planet , and finally The Ugly Americans in Australia (a live album recorded to fulfill their recording obligations to IRS Records).
His first Wall of Voodoo single "Far Side of Crazy" is featured in the film Head Office . [2] His demo for the song "Man Talk", which would finally appear on the album ...Upon My Wicked Son , was featured in the early Brad Pitt film Cutting Class as well as other unreleased Wall of Voodoo demos. These same demos appeared in the film C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. . He also appears in the film Blood and Concrete along with a few of his original songs (in that movie, Jennifer Beals sings his song, "One Girl in a Million").
After leaving Wall of Voodoo, Prieboy signed with MCA Music Publishing as a songwriter and went to work on new material for his first solo record ...Upon My Wicked Son , which featured the song "Tomorrow Wendy," about a woman dying of AIDS. The song featured a duet with Johnette Napolitano, whose band Concrete Blonde also recorded the song and released it on their album Bloodletting the same year. The music video was directed by Thomas Mignone. MTV initially rejected the song's lyrical content and tone but Prieboy and Mignone decided to feature the decaying cities of Hammond and Gary in Indiana as the "Wendy" character and the video received Buzz Bin status at MTV. The song was also covered by the industrial project System Syn in early 2000s. Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris covered his song "Loving the Highway Man" from the same album. Prieboy then released an EP called Montezuma Was a Man of Faith which featured a country rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin, featuring an uncredited Johnette Napolitano from Concrete Blonde. Prieboy's second solo album was entitled Sins of Our Fathers .
In the mid- to late-'90s, Prieboy played shows at the Los Angeles club Largo with Rita D'Albert where they worked on an ongoing musical, White Trash Wins Lotto; a Gilbert and Sullivan-esque treatment of the rise and fall of an Axl Rose-like character. It was also performed at the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip for three sold out weekend-long engagements as well as two sold out weekends at New York City's PS 122. Prieboy and crew also performed a medley from White Trash on the Conan O'Brien show.
Prieboy is also the co-author with Merrill Markoe of the novel The Psycho Ex Game, based on his song "Psycho Ex". Markoe and Prieboy have lived together since 2004. [3]
He released several songs via his website for online purchase. In 2012 Prieboy released the four-song downloadable EP Every Lady Gets A Song, featuring accompaniment by former Dils bassist Tony Kinman and Devo drummer David Kendrick. [4]
On December 20, 2016, he released his lost album Virtue Triumphs. The album was left unfinished and abandoned in 1992; it was meant to be the follow-up to his first solo work, ...Upon My Wicked Son. A corporate regime change ultimately swept him out, and the album stayed behind. [5] This was his first body of work that was not beholden to Wall of Voodoo.
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1990 | ...Upon My Wicked Son | Doctor Dream Records |
1995 | Sins of Our Fathers | Doctor Dream Records |
2016 | Virtue Triumphs: The Lost and Unfinished Album 1990 - 1992 Vol. 1 | Andy Prieboy |
2022 | One and One Make Three | Andy Prieboy |
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1991 | Montezuma Was a Man of Faith | Hot Mustard Records/Doctor Dream Records |
2010 | The Questionable Profits of Pure Novelty | Andy Prieboy Music |
2010 | Don't Tell That Guy Anything (Sketchbook Volume 1) | Andy Prieboy Music |
2011 | Every Lady Gets a Song | Andy Prieboy Music |
2019 | Every Night of My Life | Andy Prieboy |
Date | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1990 | "Tomorrow Wendy" | Doctor Dream Records |
2008 | "Shine" | Andy Prieboy Music |
2008 | "Shine 2" | Andy Prieboy Music |
2012-10-05 | "The Death of New Wave" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2013-04-08 | "My Happy Ending" | Andy Prieboy |
2013-04-24 | "Someday" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2013-05-17 | "Wasn't That a Time?" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2013-07-02 | "A Thousand Gorgeous Lies" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2013-07-11 | "Donny and Goliath" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2013-07-27 | "Your Side of Town" | Malibu Ghraib Recordings |
2015-11-21 | "How High My High" | Andy Prieboy |
2015-12-10 | "A Lot More Love" | Andy Prieboy |
2016-03-10 | "Too Late for Plans" | Andy Prieboy |
2016-04-22 | "Tomorrow Wendy" (Day One Basic Vocal Track 1989) [feat. Johnette Napolitano & Scott Thunes] | Andy Prieboy |
2016-09-20 | "Build a Better Garden" (Unedited Version) | Andy Prieboy |
2016-09-21 | "Footnotes" | Andy Prieboy |
2016-10-06 | "It's Not a Negative No" | Andy Prieboy |
2017-04-06 | "Heaven or Anaheim" | Andy Prieboy |
2019-12-17 | "All of Your Hard Times" | Andy Prieboy |
2019-12-18 | "That Way Again" | Andy Prieboy |
Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV and alternative radio. The band was known for surrealist lyrics drawing on iconography of the American southwest.
Concrete Blonde was an American rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1994, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album Bloodletting (1990), its top 20 single "Joey", and Johnette Napolitano's distinctive vocal style.
Marc Moreland was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo album under the name Marc Moreland Mess.
Merrill Markoe is an American author, television writer, and occasional standup comedian.
Johnette Napolitano is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde.
Bloodletting is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde. Released on May 15, 1990, the album marks a shift for the band toward gothic rock. It features guest appearances by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Wall of Voodoo's Andy Prieboy.
Walking in London is the fourth studio album from alternative rock band Concrete Blonde. It features the song "...Long Time Ago" which played over the ending credits of The Shield's series finale.
Mexican Moon is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Concrete Blonde.
...Upon My Wicked Son is the first solo album by Andy Prieboy, released in 1990. The album cover is "Fallen Angel" by David Sandlin.
Sins of Our Fathers is the second album by the American musician Andy Prieboy, released in 1995. The album cover graphic is by Josh Agle and is based on Hougoumont by Robert Gibb. The cover art depicts the repelling of Jerome's noon assault at the Battle of Waterloo. The album was recorded in a Los Angeles garage.
Montezuma Was a Man of Faith is an EP by Andy Prieboy, released in 1991. The EP cover is an original stained glass piece created by Judith Schaechter. The inner photograph and image on the CD are by Ann Marie Aubin.
Happy Planet is the fourth and final studio album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in 1987. It marked the return of producer Richard Mazda, who had produced their 1982 album Call of the West.
Vowel Movement is the debut and only studio album from Vowel Movement, an American music collaboration between Holly Vincent and Johnette Napolitano, which was released by Mammoth in 1995.
Will Crewdson is a London-based guitarist/writer/producer best known for his work with the UK band Rachel Stamp, US singer Johnette Napolitano and Adam Ant.
"Joey" is the ninth track from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde's third studio album, Bloodletting (1990). The song was released in 1990 and was written and sung by the band's frontwoman, Johnette Napolitano. The song was written in a cab on the way to a photo studio in Philadelphia; it was the last vocal recorded on the album due to Napolitano's reluctance to record the lyrics, which were hard for her to deal with.
Bruce "Ravens" Moreland is an American rock musician and songwriter. He has worked with such bands as Wall of Voodoo, The Weirdos, Nervous Gender, and Concrete Blonde among others. As of 2011, his current project is known as Ravens Moreland.
"Tomorrow Wendy" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Andy Prieboy. Released in 1990 as the lead single from his first solo album ...Upon My Wicked Son, Prieboy recorded the song as a duet with Johnette Napolitano. In 1990, Napolitano would also record the song with her band Concrete Blonde for their third studio album Bloodletting.
"Heal It Up" is a song from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in 1993 as the second single from their fifth studio album Mexican Moon. The song was written by Johnette Napolitano, and produced by Concrete Blonde and Sean Freehill.
"True" is a song from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in 1987 as the second single from their debut studio album Concrete Blonde (1986). The song was written by Johnette Napolitano and James Mankey, and produced by Earle Mankey and Concrete Blonde. The song reached number 42 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.
"Still in Hollywood" is the debut single by American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, which was released in 1986 from their self-titled debut studio album. The song was written by Johnette Napolitano, and produced by Earle Mankey and Concrete Blonde.