Andy Stochansky

Last updated
Andy Stochansky
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Drums
percussion
vocals
piano
guitar

Andy Stochansky is a musician and songwriter [1] from Toronto, Canada, currently living in Los Angeles, United States.

Contents

Early years

Born and raised in Toronto, Stochansky began tinkering with the family piano at the age of five. To stop him from making music with anything he could get his hands on, his parents bought him a toy drum kit. By the time he was in his 20s, he had become a touring studio musician for Ani DiFranco. With DiFranco, Stochansky played 150 shows a year for seven years, until he felt it was time to start expressing himself beyond the drums.

Solo career

He switched instruments, taking up guitar and piano, and released his solo debut album, Radio Fusebox. Critics called it one of the best albums of the year. Radio Fusebox won the 2000 Canadian Juno Award for Best Album Design (Michael Wrycraft - Creative Director). "The press was so amazing but I wanted to switch gears and make more of a song record, something definitely different than Fusebox. I didn't want to repeat myself . The day after my final Fusebox Tour show, I started writing something on the long drive home that would set me on a new course so I wrote "Stutter". He quickly had 25 new songs and wanted to let anyone hear them. He was approached by an independent promoter in California who wanted to know if he would play six shows in and around Los Angeles. On the second night of that tour, Stochansky was approached by 3 different record companies, all wanting to sign him. One of these was RCA Victor. In the summer of 2001, 5 Star Motel was released. The album was produced by Ian Lefevre. Two songs, "Wonderful (It's Superman)", produced by Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse), and "Stutter," produced by Tom Rothrock ( Beck/Elliott Smith ) received considerable radio attention. Songs from this record would appear in TV shows and movie soundtracks. Stochansky kept writing: "Anywhere, anytime I would have the guitar in my hands or steal away with headphones and mini keyboard I was truly addicted". Stochansky chose Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik to produce his follow-up album, 100 Out of all the people I talked to to produce this, his absolute love of songwriting, had me sold. Although the album was completed and mastered, a restructuring of the RCA record company, along with the firing of the very people who signed him, put Stochansky out on his own and he decided to pitch the songs to be able to get traction while figuring his own live career. The first would-be single from 100, "Shine," was covered by Australian artist Shannon Noll. The song was an immediate hit and holds the record for most weeks at Number One on the Australian Airplay Chart. A second single, "House of Gold", received radio success for Stochansky himself when released in Canada on the Canadian independent label Linus. Noll would have another Top 10 single again the following year when he covered "Loud", another song from 100.

Andy is now making his next full-length record and is hitting the road soon.( 2024 )

Writing career

Stochansky was solely concentrating on writing / producing for and with other artists. He resides full-time in Los Angeles.

Just some of the writing highlights include:

White Elephant Orchestra

Stochansky's passion project, White Elephant Orchestra, is an art-pop project which released the album, Debut. Highlights included singles being played by NPR World Cafe, and KCRW KEXP radio airplay. Written, produced and played by Stochansky, Debut features Lola Lennox and Martina Sorbara (Dragonette) on back-up vocals and tracks mixed by mixing engineer Dave Pensado (Michael Jackson, Pink, Peaches).

Discography

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Goo Goo Dolls</span> American rock band

    The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, currently consisting of guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Takac.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie DeShannon</span> American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)

    Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock and roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the writer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes", which became hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Noll</span> Australian singer-songwriter (born 1975)

    Shannon Noll is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top-ten albums, including two number-one multi-platinum sellers. Noll's first ten singles all peaked inside the ARIA top ten, including three that reached number one. He is the only Australian male artist in Australian chart history to have ten consecutive top-ten singles. Noll's debut single, "What About Me?", was certified 4× platinum and became the highest-selling single of 2004 in Australia.

    <i>Thats What Im Talking About</i> 2004 studio album by Shannon Noll

    That's What I'm Talking About is the debut studio album by Australian singer Shannon Noll, released on 9 February 2004 and debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts. The album includes his number one, 4× platinum debut single, "What About Me".

    Basil Glen Ballard Jr. is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill and Dave Matthews Band's 2001 album Everyday. As a songwriter, he co-wrote songs including "All I Need", "Man in the Mirror", "Hold On", "Hand in My Pocket", and "Believe". As a producer, he has worked with No Doubt, Shelby Lynne, Goo Goo Dolls, P.O.D., Annie Lennox and others.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">New Radicals</span> American alternative rock band

    New Radicals was an American alternative rock band formed in 1997 in Los Angeles. The band was centered on the duo of Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois, and augmented by session and touring musicians.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola (song)</span> 1970 song by The Kinks

    "Lola" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies for their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter in a Soho bar between a young man and the eponymous Lola, who is possibly a trans woman or cross-dresser. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards Lola, who "walked like a woman but talked like a man", yet he remains infatuated with her.

    Phillip Carden Thornalley is an English songwriter, musician, and producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He produced the album Pornography by The Cure and was later their bass player. He began releasing his own music in 1988 and briefly joined the band Johnny Hates Jazz. In later years he worked principally as a songwriter, and is perhaps best known for co-writing the song "Torn" and for writing two UK number one hits for Pixie Lott. Starting in the 2010s he released more solo music under his own name and as Astral Drive.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Shine (Shannon Noll song)</span> 2005 single by Shannon Noll

    "Shine" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll. It was released as the first single from his second studio album, Lift (2005), on 26 September 2005. It debuted at number one on the Australian Singles Chart, giving Noll his third solo number-one single, and earned a platinum sales certification for shipping over 70,000 copies in Australia. In April 2009, the song was released in the United Kingdom, coinciding with Noll's run in the stage version of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.

    <i>Lift</i> (Shannon Noll album) 2005 studio album by Shannon Noll

    Lift is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 16 October 2005. Noll co-wrote eleven out of the thirteen songs in the album. The album debuted at number 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association album chart on 23 October 2005 with a platinum certification and was eventually certified three times platinum. All four singles released from the album reached the Top 10 of the ARIA single chart, and proved to be very popular radio hits, with both "Shine" and "Now I Run" ending 2006 within the Top 10 most played songs on Australian radio.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">22 Steps</span> 2007 single by Damien Leith

    "22 Steps" is a song originally released by Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Stochansky on the 2002 album Five Star Motel. It was covered by Australian singer-songwriter Damien Leith and was the first single from his 2007 debut studio album Where We Land. The song was released on Australian radio on 22 June 2007, with a physical release on 21 July. The Australian release includes two B-sides, "Song for Jarvis" and "Who You Are". A bonus track, "I Still Miss Us", is available only at the Australian iTunes Store.

    <i>Where We Land</i> 2007 studio album by Damien Leith

    Where We Land is the first studio album by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 18 August 2007, and in Ireland on 28 September 2007. Leith produced the album for seven months and created the album entirely with acoustic songs. He wrote or co-wrote nine of the twelve songs, collaborating with Alex Lloyd and his music director Paul Gray in a few songs. All of his original songs were inspired by his friends and family. Leith included two cover songs in the album, Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" from the album Rumours and the traditional Irish song "Danny Boy". Where We Land received mostly average reviews from critics. It debuted in the Australian Albums Chart at number-one and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The album spawned the singles "22 Steps", "All I Want Is You" and "Not Just for the Weekend". Leith embarked on a national tour across Australia to promote the album in November 2007.

    Shaun Escoffery is a British soul and R&B singer and actor.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway (Goo Goo Dolls song)</span> 2000 single by Goo Goo Dolls

    "Broadway" is a song recorded by the Goo Goo Dolls. The song was released in March 2000 as the last single from their sixth studio album, Dizzy Up the Girl (1998). Although not as popular as the albums previous singles "Iris" and "Slide", the song entered the top 30 in the United States, peaking at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and coming in at number 84 on the Billboard year-end Hot 100 singles of 2000. The single also peaked number seven on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and number six on the Icelandic Singles Chart.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Summertime (Brian Melo song)</span> Brian Melo song

    "Summertime" is a song written by Greg Johnston and Andy Stochansky, and recorded by Brian Melo for his first album Livin' It (2007). It was released as the album's third single in Canada in 2008.

    <i>Something for the Rest of Us</i> 2010 studio album by Goo Goo Dolls

    Something for the Rest of Us is the ninth studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls. It was released on August 28, 2010, in Australia and on August 31 in North America through Warner Bros. Records. The recording process took place during the spring to fall of 2009 in the GCR Audio studio in Buffalo and Paramount Studios as well as "the Ark" in Los Angeles, with producer Tim Palmer.

    <i>A Million Suns</i> 2011 studio album by Shannon Noll

    The fourth studio album from Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll is called A Million Suns. It was the 1st release through Universal Music Australia on 14 October 2011 in Australia.

    Eleven Past One, also known as 1:11, is a Canadian pop music band, most notable for their single "The World Is Ours".

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola Lennox</span> British singer and songwriter

    Lola Lennox Fruchtmann is a British Israeli singer, songwriter, and model. She is the sister of British fashion model Tali Lennox, and daughter of Scottish singer Annie Lennox and Israeli film producer Uri Fruchtmann.

    <i>Raw</i> (Shannon Noll album) 2021 studio album by Shannon Noll

    Raw is the sixth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll. Upon release, Noll said the album "features some new songs plus new recordings of many of the songs you love hearing at my live shows plus covers of some Aussie classics."

    References

    1. Seida, Linda. "Biography: Andy Stochansky". Allmusic . Retrieved April 15, 2010.