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Andrea only started playing guitar seriously when Mark roped her into it. She played as a kid but never practiced because her first guitar teacher was a nutcase. He was a religious fanatic who insisted she only play with 2 fingers because jazz great Jhango did. But this was some seriously messed up logic, because 1) poor Jhango only had 2 fingers and Andrea had like five, and 2) he was Jhango Rhinehardt. Hello?
Of course Rocco (that was the weirdo's name) wanted her to play all this classical stuff and at 8 years old Andrea only wanted to learn how to play the Beatles' Yellow Submarine. There was the added discomfort of being surrounded by the largest and most intricate nativity scene ever constructed in northern New Jersey during her lessons. Picture learning fingering while being distracted by real blood oozing crucifixes and other religious condemnations as well as the overpowering smell from a toxic waste dump nearby.
Rocco wasn’t a well man physically either and many times he’d be coughing into his handkerchief splattered with blood. All these things contributed to Andrea’s immediate and absolute disinterest in playing music. But she always regretted having given it up and is thrilled to have picked up the guitar again and learned to write songs. Now all she wants to do is play.
And Mark encouraged her, especially when she was hovering over his shoulder in their tiny studio on 14th street.
Andrea: “Maybe someone could sing this part?”
Mark: "Uh, who would that be honey?"
Her first songwriting contribution was “You Are Alone" part on The Monkey.
She began to butt in so often that Mark said to her, “hey, why don’t you write your own song." So she did, penning "I Don't Know God" with Mark helping her out on song structure. Not a bad start to write your first song with 9th chords and suspended 9th chords.
Andrea has also been working on a novel for like the last 8 years. She is a sometimes shutterbug (check out her exhibit) and a hopeless poet.
So here is one of those poems—
always a writer
always a girl
left the guitar in the closet
went out to seek the world
returned within again
found she had music
despite earlier rebuttals
gypsy urchin
lost and found
And this is the poem she read as her wedding vow to Mark--
Come now, you be me
And I’ll be you
for we’ll be each other
forever true
Days are sweet cravings
with you near
the dearest of the dear
My best friend,
my laughter companion
my beautiful inspiration
You chase sadness away
wherever it tries to stay.
For you, I’ll always be here
even if I’m far away
because we’re so close
my breath is heavy with you
and within me such love
it feels sun-shattering.
Marry me
and I’ll always be happy.
(And he did!)
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