“Life is hard, but there are moments, sometimes hours – and, if you’re really lucky, full days – where everything feels just right.”
― Andy Grammer
“One of my favorite things is to have a three-hour conversation over coffee with someone.”
― Andy Grammer
“We always need little reminders that it’s gonna be all good.”
― Andy Grammer
“Well, there are two kinds of happiness, grounded and ungrounded. Ungrounded happiness is cheesy and not based on reality. Grounded happiness is informed happiness based on the knowledge that the world sometimes sucks, but even then you have to believe in yourself.”
― Andy Grammer
“Life is hard, you know. If I can give someone on the radio three minutes to make them feel happier, that’s a cool thing.”
― Andy Grammer
“When you’re spending eight to 10 hours out there, the homeless guy is no longer homeless; it’s Dave. They become people to you. I think we’re really good in this country about saying that they’re homeless and, therefore, they don’t exist.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’m a humble guy, but I’m audacious.”
― Andy Grammer
“The fact that ‘Honey, I’m Good’ made such a splash and that people were catching it on radio, on Spotify, on Pandora, it’s driving everybody to go hear the album.”
― Andy Grammer
“It’s like freedom of speech – they can’t tell you not to do it. When no one will put you on at a club or venue, you can go to the street, just start singing, and get a lot of good feedback from people as they walk by. I got really good at lip reading and seeing if a song is working. It was a good way to start.”
― Andy Grammer
“You hear a lot of songs that are about people cheating or about infidelity. I haven’t really heard one before about connecting with the noble part of yourself. I know it sounds a little bit cheesy, but that’s the real deal. There are a lot of people who are making a genuinely good, sweet decision on a daily basis.”
― Andy Grammer
“As a musician, you just want to be able to do what you love.”
― Andy Grammer
“I know that sounds almost horribly cheesy, but that is what has to happen if you’re gonna make a relationship work for a long time: You have to keep learning new things that are interesting about this person or having them catch you off guard and have these little moments of intense appreciation.”
― Andy Grammer
“I love magic. Like, ‘pull a scarf out of your fake thumb’ magic. I have a legit bag of ‘Magic Stuff’ in my garage.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’m from New York, so I’m simultaneously a snob and will also eat any pizza you put in front of me.”
― Andy Grammer
“I feel like if you told me I would be having a son, I would be like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna be a parent – I get that.’ But when the doctor was like, ‘You’re gonna have a girl,’ I was like, ‘What? Who am I?’ It’s the craziest piece of information that changes who you are. It’s sweet.”
― Andy Grammer
“Sure, yes, there are smoking-hot girls. But my girlfriend’s smoking hot, my wife, whatever.”
― Andy Grammer
“It’s really fun to have the spotlight and feel ready for it. Not in a conceited way. But just like, ‘Man, I think I’m going to give you what you need.’”
― Andy Grammer
“Women take so long to get ready, but when they get out of the bathroom, they look smokin’ hot. That’s the struggle of men throughout history, waiting by the door. The wait is so worth it. Always.”
― Andy Grammer
“Whether it’s a 16-year old girl, or a mom, or a guy, or anybody, as long as they come up and they’re excited to meet me ’cause they’ve had some sort of relationship with something I’ve created, it’s the coolest thing ever. It never gets old. It’s awesome.”
― Andy Grammer
“I don’t really think in terms of goals.”
― Andy Grammer
“You have to do what you want to do, and I genuinely believe that if you start interacting in the world that way that there is a respect in that.”
― Andy Grammer
“To be a good musician, you need to give people what they want, what they need.”
― Andy Grammer
“I am so blessed and lucky.”
― Andy Grammer
“Album 1 is proving that you’re worth listening to, album 2 is proving that it wasn’t a fluke, and album 3 is the most authentic thing I’ve ever done.”
― Andy Grammer
“Once you see the impact that you have on people, either at a meet and greet or after a show, you think, ‘Oh man, they need to feel better today.’”
― Andy Grammer
“It’s not hard to create a song, but to write a song that’s really going affect somebody? That takes a hell of a lot of time.”
― Andy Grammer
“’Honey, I’m Good’ is a song about temptation, and we wanted to show what is possible if you can beat it.”
― Andy Grammer
“Anywhere in the world is a great gig if the people are pumped to hear some music.”
― Andy Grammer
“Stevie Wonder makes my heart happy and is my spirit animal. That is all.”
― Andy Grammer
“We all need songs that bring out our inner swagger just listening to it.”
― Andy Grammer
“I don’t know how to dance, and I don’t have any extra flexible skills.”
― Andy Grammer
“When I hear an interview that I’ve done, and I’ve said ‘like’ a bunch of times, it just cheapens the sentiment.”
― Andy Grammer
“I love me some ‘Family Guy.’”
― Andy Grammer
“I love songs, and I love to tell stories, and so a lot of times, if you really want a good story, you got to flip the radio dial over to country.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’m a singer-songwriter, but we get loud and we jump around. We have dance moves; we freak out. It’s really fun, man!”
― Andy Grammer
“Seeing what kinds of songs work in other cities and other parts of the world was pretty eye-opening. I know it changed how I approached the second record big-time.”
― Andy Grammer
“The first album was more born from busking – they were the ‘me-and-my-guitar’ songs. Going out on the road and opening for big acts changes you. You look out at those audiences and start to think, ‘OK, I need to write some music that’s a little bit bigger.’”
― Andy Grammer
“I do radio gigs, three-minute spots, solo shows, so I still get plenty of practice at the sniper attack – me at a piano or with a guitar, having to win people over fast.”
― Andy Grammer
“When I get back with band, the lights, and the whole production, that’s me with the full artillery. A quick radio performance keeps me sharp for the big show.”
― Andy Grammer
“I had my whole life to write a bunch of crappy songs and then play them in front of people and think, ‘All right, that one out of these seven is really good; it’s a keeper.’ But on this second album, to be honest, I probably wrote about 50 songs where I was just trying to write a hit.”
― Andy Grammer
“Who are you writing this for? For a commercial reason, or because you want to make great art and give it to your fans?”
― Andy Grammer
“’The Good Parts’ is me telling as much as I can of the deeper sides of myself that I haven’t shared before. It’s like an onion that gets deeper every time you cut it.”
― Andy Grammer
“I wrote my first single, ‘Keep Your Head Up,’ and that’s what got me on the radio and helped me develop a whole base around the country.”
― Andy Grammer
“Touring is really hard because you’re gone for three months at a time.”
― Andy Grammer
“I saw my dad doing it and thought to myself, ‘I can do that.’ I would be backstage watching him and running around the country with him singing to children. He would sing songs that taught children really good morals: like, ‘Teaching Peace’ was a song he used to sing to kids a lot.”
― Andy Grammer
“You get way better from playing to the passing public. You learn how to entertain. But it took me a good three years out on the promenade to figure that out. You also learn what makes them stop dead in their tracks and what doesn’t.”
― Andy Grammer
“Basketball was every day of my life. Wake up with a ball – sometimes I’d sleep with it because someone told me that was better for you.”
― Andy Grammer
“In a typical day, I would wake up about 8 A.M., pile all my stuff into my mom’s minivan – my guitar, my amp, CDs to sell, a table and a rug – drive it down to the street, and unload it all. I’d wait until about 12, then play for two hours. You could only play in two-hour intervals, so then I would move it all somewhere else.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think I was 15 the first time I wrote a good song.”
― Andy Grammer
“You gain a level of fearlessness performing when no one’s there to see you.”
― Andy Grammer
“You either create something there on the street, or nothing happens. It’s brutal. But if you go through that for two or three years, it really toughens you up.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think it would be really brutal to put on a persona and get famous for that persona. Like, ‘I’m number one, I’m the best!’ because that sounds like a lot of pressure.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think that’s what makes a great show: when the performers onstage aren’t putting on a show, they’re legitimately just having a freaking awesome time.”
― Andy Grammer
“I am happy to join AutoNation in the fight against cancer. This disease hits close to home for me with the loss of my mom in 2009. Raising awareness and finding a cure is really important to me.”
― Andy Grammer
“Everyone deals with temptation. It’s just there.”
― Andy Grammer
“It’s a weird business. You’re trying to write something that’s built on magic, which is pretty stressful.”
― Andy Grammer
“Seriously, until I was 16 or 17, I didn’t care about anything other than ESPN.”
― Andy Grammer
“I grew up a huge jock, a lot of basketball and football. We had a pond in my back yard growing up, and we played a lot of hockey, too. I loved to score goals.”
― Andy Grammer
“For each person, they live their life and their truth and how it works for them, and that’s just kind of how it works for me. I’m not good at doing whatever the other way is – it wouldn’t work for me.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think if you pick someone that you love, you will continuously fall in love with them.”
― Andy Grammer
“Hunger is an issue that I’ve cared about for a very long time and is incredibly personal and important to me.”
― Andy Grammer
“That I even get to play a sold-out show where people know the words and I’m singing about things I’m connected to is such a blessing. It’s the equivalent of a nine-year-old saying, ‘I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,’ and then getting to go to the moon.”
― Andy Grammer
“As an artist, you have an opportunity to get in and move things around in people.”
― Andy Grammer
“Any time you make the transfer of ‘I’ve created something, and I’m giving it to you, and I hope it makes you happy,’ that’s good.”
― Andy Grammer
“For me, it’s always been about a mix of hip-hop, acoustic singer/songwriters, and piano rock. I pull all those together. Each song may lean more heavily on one than the other, but they all have all three pieces.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’ve never cheated on my wife, ever. But to say that it doesn’t exist or it doesn’t happen and saying you never deal with it would be lying.”
― Andy Grammer
“I thought I wanted to be a clown, because what would be better than making people laugh?”
― Andy Grammer
“What’s so wonderful about the street is it’s organic music. No preservatives. There’s no other reason to be out there except you just love music and want to play.”
― Andy Grammer
“I found that music was my favorite art form.”
― Andy Grammer
“My third album, that will definitely be about this little girl and the process of watching your wife get pregnant. It’s crazy.”
― Andy Grammer
“From losing my mom, I’ll never be okay; I’ll never be put together again.”
― Andy Grammer
“The first song that I had that went platinum was ‘Keep Your Head Up,’ which was a long time ago. Then, you get ‘one-hit wonder’ with that.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’m a big fan of talking about God. Whether people believe in God or not, that’s so fascinating. Or where you go when you die is fascinating.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think anyone in a relationship has to deal with temptation if they’re being honest with themselves. People don’t talk about it very much, but it’s very honest. Guys and girls both have temptation.”
― Andy Grammer
“There are pretty girls all over the place. But there are still a lot of people standing strong, doing their thing in loving relationships, actually staying true. I wanted to write an honest love song from that point of view.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think there’s a song for every moment. I don’t think there’s one right love song.”
― Andy Grammer
“A big part of my upbringing was being with an instrument and kind of figuring myself out through music. So I feel a strong desire in any way that I can to help do that for other kids.”
― Andy Grammer
“One of my passions in life is to try to inspire people. I don’t know if that sounds cheesy, but I genuinely love to do that.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’m just trying to write things that resonate with people. And when we’re all going through something together, I think you smile after that – I hope that people leave inspired after one of my shows.”
― Andy Grammer
“You know when you hear a lyric and you can tell that the person means it? That is really hard; that is so much harder than it seems: to find the topics that you’re passionate about and have it come across as like, ‘Yeah, that guy needed to sing that song.’”
― Andy Grammer
“I think that you just understand, as any creative person, that there’s a beast that you have to beat, and it never goes away. I’ve resigned myself to that, and it’s kind of what keeps you going. Writing is the worst and the best.”
― Andy Grammer
“The alarm on my wife’s phone is ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered,’ so that’s a great way to wake up.”
― Andy Grammer
“I think I’m genuinely sincere, and that’s what hopefully makes it work. I take that very seriously when I’m writing.”
― Andy Grammer
“The fact that people put on ‘Honey, I’m Good’ to get their day started – that’s really sweet.”
― Andy Grammer
“I love going places that could sound cheesy but, when you hear them, just sound sincere.”
― Andy Grammer
“When I was a street performer, before I had any songs of my own that anybody would stop and put in money for, I would always be doing covers. Even with covers, people wouldn’t stop in the beginning.”
― Andy Grammer
“We’ve all got vices, and we’re all freakin’ trying.”
― Andy Grammer
“’Fresh Eyes’ was my own little discovery of having been in a relationship for a while and realizing that my favorite part of it is being surprised.”
― Andy Grammer
“I’ve been surfing several times, and I’m terrible at it. But what I found was that you’re usually waiting on the board, hanging out, watching the waves come in. And one that you think is a big wave is not actually one.”
― Andy Grammer
“It sucked to make my own CDs. I’m bad at that. It sucks to figure out how to power my amp. I don’t know that stuff.”
― Andy Grammer
“My dad is a children’s singer. His name is Red Grammer. He’s literally one of the happiest people on the planet.”
― Andy Grammer
“Street performing can be a great teaching ground and a barometer for what you’re doing. It’s rough and unforgiving at times, but it can be wild and fun and a real open canvas for your creativity.”
― Andy Grammer
“You need to be growing and getting better, and in L.A., it’s so hard to get bookings. You literally have to pay clubs to book you. It’s pay to play, and then you only get 30 minutes. That’s no way to get good.”
― Andy Grammer
“There’s two things that are tough when you’re trying to be a songwriter: Number one is, how do I write a great song? The second thing is, how do I write a great song that’s right for me?”
― Andy Grammer
“I tend to be an all-in-type of guy, so I get in a zone to write, and then that’s all I do. I’ll spend eight hours doing nothing but chasing that one song. That’s what works for me.”
― Andy Grammer
“I made a deal with myself that no matter where I go, if I see a street performer, I’d tip them. It’s sweet to know that you can get started from the generosity of others.”
― Andy Grammer
“You can’t have Thanksgiving and not just be like, ‘All right, where’s the football.’ It’s been branded very, very well. You can’t have one without the other at this point.”
― Andy Grammer
“I loved all sports, and New York’s a pretty good sports town, and the Giants – I don’t know why we chose the Giants over the Jets, but we chose the Giants.”
― Andy Grammer
“Even a song like ‘Give Love,’ in my head, there’s a question as I’m writing it, going, ‘Is this cheesy? Is it too on the nose to say ‘give love?””
― Andy Grammer
“You want to hit people’s ears to make them want to dance in their kitchen. So that is what a hit is to me.”
― Andy Grammer
“A lot of the albums that I’ve been really into are like, ‘Oh man. That doesn’t make him look like a perfect human. That actually shows his warts and his scars, and for some reason, I’m super drawn to him now because he shared that or she shared that with me.’”
― Andy Grammer
“Anytime I hear songs that are so honest, whether they make the person who’s singing it look good or not, there’s a level of honesty that resonates with people.”
― Andy Grammer
“I really wanted to write a song like Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight.’ It’s just such a sweet sentiment. It’s so simple but so genuine.”
― Andy Grammer
“I love ‘Seinfeld.’”
― Andy Grammer
“I don’t really connect with super-sad, somber songs.”
― Andy Grammer
“If I write a sad song, at the end it’s gotta be like, ‘Dude, things are looking up!’”
― Andy Grammer
“I always try to find things worth saying, things that are supposed to be said instead of being contrived. I do a ton of writing.”
― Andy Grammer
“’Dancing With the Stars’ was fun, and it opened me up to dancing.”
― Andy Grammer
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