Interview: Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Photo Credit: Stephanie Parsley
Interview by Margaret Corona
I spoke with Andy Frasco & the U.N.’s frontrunner — you guessed it! — Andy Frasco on the opening night of their “Try Not to Die” tour. The band is heading to Boston March 1 at Paradise Rock Club. We chatted about life on the tour bus, his widely successful World Saving Podcast, and his dream music and podcast collaborations.
Margaret Corona (MC): You just wrapped up your Jam Cruise. How was that?
Andy Frasco (AF): Oh, man, I think I left my liver in the Gulf of Mexico [laughs]. Yeah. No, we had a blast. It’s nice to get to know the community for five days. So, you know, you get to hang out with everyone in the jam scene, see all your friends’ bands, you know, and then we all get to play together. It feels like summer camp, because we never get to see our friends’ bands that much, and for all of us to come together and have dinner together, stay up all night drinking water and stuff. You know, it’s a lot of fun.
MC: That’s awesome. That sounds so fun. You mentioned that you’re in Charleston now. How are you guys feeling? I saw you went to a seafood boil last night.
AF: Oh yeah. We slept. We haven’t slept for like two days. The last day of the boat, though, is the craziest, where everyone just, like, goes out and parties, and then you wake up at 7 a.m. and you have to get off the boat so, like, no one goes to bed. So we didn’t have a hotel, so we chilled in the lobby of a hotel and just stayed up until our flight was at 7 p.m. It was a long day of drinking. We got through it, and finally we had dinner, and then we finally got to the hotel and crashed for like 12 hours. Now we’re ready to start our tour. So, yeah, I don’t know about you, but like, if I fall asleep at 4 p.m. I’m gonna be up at like 4 a.m. or 3 a.m. and can’t sleep, so at least get to like 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. and then I could sleep.
MC: Yeah, then you can get a full night. Totally.
AF: Yeah, totally. We’re ready. It’s gonna be fun as shit, dude. Try Not to Die tour!
MC: This sounds like it’s gonna be an awesome time. And clearly, you guys have a pretty hefty tour coming up, like, the number of spots you’re hitting, how are you able to find that balance?
AF: We got a tour bus now, so we can go to bed at night. We used to just party and then wake up at 7 a.m., now we get, like, control over what we’re doing and get some sleep, you know, because we leave at night now, so we can actually get a full 10 hours and not have to wake up at 7 a.m. I think that was hardest part of touring is, you know, getting a hotel, getting in at 2 a.m. and then waking up at 7 a.m. to drive seven hours. So now we just drive through the night, and, yeah, we get some sleep, and we get into the city, and then we can go find a breakfast spot in the city. I love this new lifestyle. It’s awesome.
MC: I love that you started out DJing Bar Mitzvahs at 13 and eventually cold called 2000 venues. Can you tell me a bit about your drive?
AF: Oh man, you know, I thank my dad for my work ethic, because I’m just a workaholic. I never wanted like a nine to five, or to work at a restaurant, or start my own business and be my own boss. And my dad always told me, if you’re going to be your own boss, you’re gonna have to work double than you think, because you’re starting a business from scratch, and you have to make everyone believe that you’re worth being the boss. So it, you know, just taught me how to keep going, keep pushing, and never take no as an answer. Just keep fighting for it.
MC: Yeah, that’s awesome. Do you remember off the top of your head of all the venues you called, how many callbacks you got? Oh, yeah.
AF: Oh yeah. My first year, I called like, 500 venues, and I got about 20 callbacks.
MC: Okay, not bad!
AF: Oh yeah. And that’s why, like, we started getting popular in Kansas and Oklahoma and Missouri, because they were the only people who would call me back [laughs]. So I was like the only Jew rolling into Manhattan, Kansas, you know [laughs], it was a lot of fun, and one thing led to another, you know, word of mouth, because I also didn’t play an instrument, really, so it was like I was just bullshitting these people that I was good, and I would Craigslist musicians in every city for the first year. So it was a lot of moving wheel places, you know. So [laughs] they didn’t even know, you know, they thought I was just like a scam artist, which I probably was, but I entertained them, I entertained the crowds, you know? All of that kind of got me to be a good front man, and then 10 years later, I started really diving in on songs. And now it’s all about the songs, and, you know, I’m trying to be a really good songwriter.
MC: Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s so cool, the U.N. part of your band, that it’s kind of this open door policy for musicians. What inspired this approach? And do other artists do this? Because this is the first I’ve heard of it, and I think it’s so sick.
AF: Yeah, I don’t know. It’s just like, if someone doesn’t want to be in the band, I want a fluid group of people who understand the assignment. We want to build the craziest rock show. We want to rock and we want to have intention, you know? I want people to be happy when they’re on stage. I don’t want people to feel like they are doing this because they have to.
MC: Yeah, absolutely.
AF: Yeah. So like, if you want to leave, go be a doctor, have a kid, then have a kid.
MC: [Laughs] Totally, that’s great. So I love that your music has evolved to address these really deep and vulnerable issues that a ton of us experience. I was curious how this has affected your life as a musician, especially the relationships with your fans.
AF: Man, I think we started building real fans when we stopped, like, writing songs about partying I think [laughs], and we started writing songs about, you know, my mental health problems and how I cope with it. It’s an intimate thing. Yeah, it’s like, we like to have fun. We’re not saying we’re prudes now, like, we like to still have fun. But also we like to think about, you know, what’s going on in our hearts and our minds and and my goal as the ring leader is to make sure our fans and everyone else has a balance. You got to think about the other stuff. You can’t just think about partying and can’t just think about the sad stuff. You got to think about it as a full range thing, because life’s about ups and downs and lefts and rights and all that stuff. We have to be considerate to every part of it, not just one part.
MC: Yeah, that’s great. That reminds me of your mantra, “If you’re not evolving, you’re dying.” I think that’s a really powerful message.
AF: I’m thankful, yeah. I could have just been that crazy frat boy partier my whole life. But I think it’s cool to change; it’s cool to get older. People are scared to get older and trust themselves. So I just want to show people that you know, still have fun, but keep evolving. Gotta keep finding out who you are.
MC: Yeah. Okay. So tell me a little bit about your World Saving Podcast.
AF: Yeah! 300 episodes. It’s crazy. Yeah, I started it seven years ago when I was like, partying a little too hard and trying to cut it down, but I was too scared to go to therapy, so I’d call all the old heads, like George Porter and stuff and like, ask them advice about how to keep going in this life without over burning out or partying too much. And that’s how I started. I realized, like, maybe everyone else should hear too. So I started recording the episodes one by one, but then I got better at interviewing and stopped like, talking over people and actually listening. And then I think that’s when I started to become a better listener in life. So I’m thankful for the podcast. Taught me how to listen and shut the fuck up every now and then.
MC: [Laughs] Totally. God knows I need that message, too. Who was the most nerve-wracking guest that you had on the show?
AF: Oh, yeah, Tony Hawk was pretty crazy, because I just used to play his video games all the time. And now I’m getting interviews from like Harvard PhDs and stuff. And sometimes I feel like my one semester San Francisco State University education [laughs] won’t be able to handle the conversation, as I get a little intimidated when I’m talking to like PhDs in chemistry [laughs], but yeah, they’re not looking for me to be a brainiac. They’re looking for me to ask the right questions of what they’re teaching me at the moment, you know? So, yeah, I trust myself that I’m a good interviewer and a good listener.
MC: Yeah, absolutely. And it very much seems like you are doing both of those things based on the pod. So that’s awesome.
AF: Depends how early the interview is [laughs].
MC: What are the earliest ones that you have to do?
AF: Sometimes I gotta do a 9 a.m. interview after playing till 3 a.m. and then going out. Yeah, strung out, asking someone about mental health feels contradicting [laughs].
MC: [Laughs] Totally, totally. Do you have any podcast episodes ahead that you’re excited about?
AF: Yeah! I got some guys from the Grateful Dead I’m about to interview.
MC: Wow! Oh my God!
AF: Yeah! It’s gonna be great. And everyone wants to be on the podcast now, which is super killer, and I’m like, “Wow, maybe I am doing something right with this stuff,” like a lot of athletes, like Dennis Rodman we’re bringing on the podcast. You know, I want a wide range; I want to bring on a bunch of comedians, a bunch of athletes. I want to still have some musicians. But, yeah, it’s cool. I get to pick who I want now. And, you know, I can’t get like the Pope or anything like that but…
MC: [Laughs] Not yet.
AF: [Laughs] That’d be tight. Yo Pope, it’s Rasco. Tell me about your mental health.
MC: [Laughs] You’ve collaborated with a ton of super cool artists like Goose and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Do you have any dream collabs ahead on your wishlist?
AF: Ooh! That’s a good question. Yeah. Like, let me think about this. I would love to do Jesse Welles or Dr. Dog or Ripe, right from Boston, I’d do like a Ripe collab, and then, like, Mt. Joy would be awesome. Yeah, I want to get into that whole indie songwriter world, you know? I mean it would be sick like, you know, a John Mayer collab. But I’m not getting my hopes up.
MC: Well, you guys can meet — John and the Pope. You can all meet up [laughs].
AF: My God, just ripping nitrous with the Pope and John Mayer, that’d be a dream team [laughs].
MC: You can just only go down from there [laughs]. So your album, Growing Pains, comes out on May 23. How are you guys feeling? How’s the process going?
AF: Oh, man, it’s done. I’m so proud about this record. I know it’s like the best work I’ve ever done, and I say that every year, but I’m still not sick of this record. I still love it, and I worked extremely hard on it. And really, I’m just proud of the lyrics, I’m proud of the boys, I’m proud of the creative process of it. It’s like a step up for songwriting for me, and I hope it shows people that I leveled up. I’m really excited. Yeah, it’s gonna be awesome.
MC: Yeah. That’s awesome. Okay, so my last question for you: What are you most looking forward to on this tour?
AF: Um, water [laughs]? No, no, I think what I’m most looking forward to on this tour is showing people these new songs, I mean, the whole completely new set. So it’s like, you’ll still get some old songs, but I really want to showcase all the new songs we’ve been working on, because I’m really proud of them, and, to me, they’re really good, and I hope they’re really good for other people, too.
MC: That’s great. That’s great. Okay, well, I just want to turn it over to you Andy, make sure there’s nothing else you want to include or add.
AF: I just want everyone to say happy, even through all the craziness in the news and stuff. Keep trying to find yourself, keep loving yourself.
MC: Yeah, right on, right on. Well, thank you so much. Oh my gosh, that was great. Thanks for chatting with me, and best of luck tonight. I’m excited to hear how it goes.
This interview has been edited for clarity