Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
Hey, I’m Andy Grant and I make music from a Christian perspective about the journey of life from depressive woes, to finding peace and satisfaction. I work as an electronics engineer to pay the bills, but I create music because it is a therapy for me, and something I am very passionate about. When I am in the zone creatively, I feel like I am doing what I am truly meant to be doing here on Earth. If in the process of my creative self-expression I can help others through their struggles by relating to the music, that is a huge bonus and makes the process all the more fulfilling for me. That is the sort of connection I seek. I am an introvert at heart, but I want to connect any way I can with those that would benefit from it.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
My authenticity and vulnerability in who I am. I embrace my quirky qualities and strive to connect on a human level. I would say I don’t have a large ego, and I take great pride in that. I think true humility is a beautiful human trait and an ideal. I am confident in who I am and my abilities, but I am humble in knowing I am only a man with finite gifted traits. I am very passionate about Jesus Christ, and my hope through him, but I’m also level-headed and down to Earth. I don’t seek to shove my beliefs in anyone’s face, and I am tolerant of others’ beliefs. I am always seeking to learn and understand the passions of others and what makes them tick. My creative process can be very cerebral, and I love to think outside of the box and stumble on ideas that click in my mind. I am not afraid to experiment outside of my typical sandbox.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
When I began writing music in my teenage years, I knew I had something there. I knew it felt very natural to me. I performed at a few open mics over the years in high school, and when I was locked in with my performance, I could sense that the audience would resonate heavily with my emotional expression. That is a feeling I can’t replace outside of a performance. I’ve been writing and recording songs on and off ever since. In the past year, I took a big step forward by joining HRDRV records, founded by CEO Mickey Shiloh, which has shown me a lot of the tools to make me more successful in the music industry and has also given me a community I can connect with. The HRDRV community also helps to hold me accountable to take a step towards my goals each day. Joining HRDRV has been critical for me, and I’m very grateful to Mickey and the whole HRDRV team for the opportunities they create for their members. I do not think it was by chance that I found HRDRV, and although I’m not exactly where I want to be in life yet, I embrace every aspect of the process and find the journey to be beautiful. All in all, music makes me feel alive and liberated, so any time spent pursuing it is invaluable to me.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge I have faced in life, in general, has been getting through the engineering program at the college I attended, as I did not have a strong passion for the area. I would take music classes along with my engineering course load because it made the experience more tolerable for me, and eventually I took enough music classes to minor in music in the process. I made it through by having faith in Christ, persevering no matter what, and joining a group of friends that I could study, share the burden, and feel a sense of comradery. With regards to music, the biggest challenges have been continuing to grind and put out music despite not having a lot of traction yet. I love to make music of course, but sometimes the feeling that not a lot of people are there to receive it, or perhaps it is not up to a certain standard to be enjoyed, even if this feeling is only in my own perception, can be very discouraging. I overcome that feeling much the same way that I overcame my college coursework – through faith in Christ, perseverance, and comradery with other like-minded up-and-coming musicians and artists. At the end of the day, I always lean into my faith in Christ if I have doubts, or am discouraged by anything, but human connection and relation through common struggles are tremendously powerful for me as well.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
The top of the list would be someone I already met, Mickey Shiloh, who I met through joining HRDRV records. If you had asked me a few years ago, I would not have mentioned her, because I only became aware of her about 2 years ago through Instagram, but she has made it feel possible to find my place in the music industry for me, and her no-nonsense approach to giving advice and telling it like it is is crucial to me truly finding my identity. Although I have a lot of anxiety and fear exploring a space I am not super familiar with, it is people like her and the rest of the HRDRV community that give me an extra boost of confidence in the pursuit. I would also just personally like to meet Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 because I feel that I can relate to him a lot, and he made a lot of music I grew up listening to that I connected with deeply. Chris Martin would be another, as I draw a lot of inspiration from Coldplay, and their music has made me feel a lot of warmth and connection through the years – a sense of love, feeling understood, and acceptance.
List the direct links/URL to your social media profiles so people can follow you:
- Instagram: instagram.com/andy_grant_music