Andy Von Pip shares a joke with a famous friend
In his first flush of youth a cherubic fresh-faced young Andy fell in love with something his parents described as a ‘god awful cacophony of talentless, directionless anger’. Yes he had fallen hook line and safety pin for the musical enema that was Punk, a savage incendiary explosion that effectively flushed away the egotistical histrionics of becaped hippies obsessed with Arthurian legends, who regularly produced spirit crushing self indulgent wankathons known somewhat grandly as ‘rock operas.’
Although too young to experience the first wave of punk it inspired young Andy to form a band, dye his hair various shades of red, blue and yellow and wear a safety pin through his ear. This made his parents VERY proud. His band the little heard, barely talented Distant Echos was built primarily around Andy’s distinctive songwriting style which could be described as “a mesmerising folly of epic proportions”.
In 2007 his music blog the Von Pip Musical Express (VPME) was born under the slogan “asking dogs how they feel about lampposts so that you don’t have to”. Since its inception Andy’s humble musical organ has been voted in the BT Digital Music awards top ten music blogs and nominated in the Record of the Day Journalism and PR music awards, being named as runner up in 2009. Andy was also a member of ‘The BBC’s Sound Of 2010 taste-makers panel’ and has had press accreditation for numerous gigs and festivals including Liverpool Sound City , The Great Escape And Glastonbury. He is also a some time promoter in his home town of Liverpool putting on gigs featuring some of the most exciting up and coming bands about these here parts and beyond. The challenge still remains, to try and give great new bands a platform and to loosen Cowell’s cankerous grip on popular culture. It’s a tall order, but somebody has to try for f**ks sake. Who’s in ?