Andy Leftwich

[Scotti Adams]

..A buddy of mine over the weekend give me a DVD of Andy and Rob Ikes that he shot the video of. I think he said it was at last years IBMA event. These two cats were just sittin in chairs playing some great stuff. Andy is a monster mando player...I believe hes my new fav...He was gettin some great tones out of that Gil...great, great stuff...

[Bradley]

Yep, I tried to tell everyone a few months back when his CD came out that he was the Real Deal.........I was shot down then by the Ricky Haters http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Watch out Chris Thile...well at least Andy has a normal haircut http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Mando4Life]

I'll second the vote for Andy's album....he's a great mando and fiddle player.....and from what I've read about him a heck of a fine young man too.


The future is in good hands.

'Ricky Haters'...that's great. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[John Flynn]

I asked this question on a thread a long time ago and no one had an answer. Is Andy Leftwich related to Brian Leftwich, the well known old-time fiddler? Is so, what is the relationship?

[ethanopia]

yeah go check out his show on Woodsongs, Rob Ikes is on there too, andy does alot of mando playing there, Killer stuff.

-e

[John Zimm]

I just got Andy's album and I love everything on it. He seems way too young to play that well. Yeah, Thile better watch it. I wonder what would happen if Andy and Thile sat down jammed for a while. It would be like the Lennon-McCartney of bluegrass I bet.

-John.

[adgefan]

I got Andy's CD a few weeks ago after seeing him on Woodsongs and I love every track, but Shining Waters is probably my favourite at the moment.

As for him jamming with Chris Thile, that's something I've been wishing for since I first heard Andy play. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later.

[Scotti Adams]

..I could see alot of Chris' playing in Andy..or is that the other way around?http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[mandopete]

I saw Andy and Rob play at Wintergrass and I was a bit disappointed in there did not seem to be the "conversational" approach to duet playing that we had experienced with the Thile/Marshall duo in the past. In January we had Russ Barenburg and Bryan Sutton here in Seattle and they were great together. They were both listening to each other and expanding on each other's ideas. I did not hear a lot of that with Andy and Rob. Don't get me wrong, Andy is a talented musician, but I found the duet a little flat.

Yeah Andy rules.. Chris better watch out..Better than that Andy rules on fiddle to!!

[earthsave]

I asked that question a while back too and I think I remember the answer being that they were not related.

[DMC]

Andy Leftwich is an astonishing player. Like Thile he can play with amazing speed and accuracy and every note is crystal clear!

But as for the comparisons......I know people are just kiddin around but IMO Thile has gone beyond the point of having to look out for anyone. It's interesting to compare them seeing as they are both very young and immensely talented but I think Leftwich took up the mandolin at like 11 or 12..........by that age Thile was already one of the best in the world. (Now, IMHO he's technically the best player there's ever been) It would be great to see them play together some time.

[John Zimm]

DMC-

I think you are right, Thile does not really have to worry about competition. He will be the maestro for the forseeable future. While I don't care for Nickle Creek one bit, Thile is amazing and I could listen to him play all day.

That said, I think Andy Leftwich should also make a name for himself in the coming years. What I love about the songs he wrote for Ride is that they are unique sounding and very melodic. One of my problems with bluegrass is that sometimes all those high-octane pyrotecnics can make every song sound the same. Andy somehow avoided that on Ride.

All in all, I hope Andy and Thile understand that at some point they are going to have to do their service to the music community and record an album together. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

-John.

[DMC]

Ha ha. Well said.

We don't just expect it we demand it!!!

[John Zimm]

Ha ha. Well said.

We don't just expect it we demand it!!!
That's right, the people have spoken. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

-John.

[Mandomusic]

Andy is a truly amazing musician. #He plays fiddle on 17 of the 18 tracks on my new CD. #He is masterful on many styles of music. #He is equally great on the mandolin. #Even more important, he is a wonderful human being. #He deserves much success in life.

Mark

[Mike Bullard]

Was fortunate to see Andy play at a Christmas pickin' back in late December. I filmed most of it and was astonished at how well this young man plays. He is definately gifted in the art of music and has a bright future ahead. Also a down to earth person.

[diamond ace]

from what I've been told Chris and Andy are friends. I'm almost positive Chris was a judge at one of the mandolin contests that Andy won a few years ago. Andy learned a lot from Chris when he started playing mando. Andy told me once that he practices 10 hours a day! No wonder he is so good.

[John Zimm]

Yikes, when I was a classical guitar freak I only managed to practice 6 hours a day. That's insane. Like you said, no wonder Andy is so good.

-John.

[beanbass]

On one of the PBS Allstar Bluegrass Celebration programs, you can see Andy and Chris play back-to-back solos in "Rawhide" at the end of the show. If I remember correctly, Andy soloed over the "A" section and Chris soloed over the "B" section. Ridiculous stuff.

[diamond ace]

scotti, is there anyway I could get a copy of that DVD?
if so post or e-mail me. I will pay for disk and shipping. thanks