When I was coming up in the music scene, and there was a backyard show, Burgundy Blues was almost always playing there. Burgundy Blues is a four-piece indie band that specializes in a groove-oriented, chill sound. It’s jazzy; it’s soft-rock-y, it’s slightly funky, it’s Burgundy Blues! The band just released debut album Vol. 1 with a release show at The Hood Bar and Pizza. For more info, visit instagram.com/burgundyblues. Andrew Russell writes, records and mixes all the songs by himself, while performing them live with a full band. Russell is the latest to take The Lucky 13; here are his answers.
What was the first concert you attended?
From a young age, I would go with my mom to see many bands and artists play throughout L.A. and the Coachella Valley, but the first show I ever went and bought a ticket for was to see Mudhoney. The first big concert I ever went to was to see Korn with my dad.
What was the first album you owned?
Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers on CD, gifted to me by my Uncle Izzy.
What bands are you listening to right now?
I’ve always listened to many bands and artists, and I’m always looking for new music, so it’s always so hard to pinpoint them. However, some of the names I grew up listening to that have stuck with me are Ralfi Pagan, Adriana Evans, D’Angelo, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, 2pac, Biggie, Ras Kass, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Tommy Dorsey, the Beatles—and that’s just the surface. The list can really go on and on.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
I don’t really jive with most trap music or what’s on mainstream pop radio too much. To everyone in customer service who has to listen to those same 10 songs on repeat every day, I feel you.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
I would have loved to see Adriana Evans live around 1997, performing the songs from her self-titled album released that year, which is definitely my favorite album of hers. I’d still love to see her live? Where you at, Adriana?
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
I’d have to say “Don’t Turn Away” by The Cherry Bombs. It’s a song from the 1986 Howard the Duck movie.
What’s your favorite music venue?
Oddly, I haven’t been to too many venues, but I do love Pappy and Harriet’s.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“Why do we travel so far to find ourselves when we already are,” from the song “Farther Than the Eye Can See,” written by my Uncle Israel (Izzy) Acosta/Revol Concept.
What band or artist changed your life? How?
Ralfi Pagan helped me see that having a higher-pitched voice and being vulnerable in expressing feelings and emotion through music is actually pretty gangsta. My Uncle Izzy also had a huge impact on me, and he taught me a lot about music, skateboarding and life in general. Everything that pretty much makes me who I am now, he had an influential part in. No matter what was going on with him, he was always there at my shows. I miss him every day, and I’m dedicated and honored to carry his legacy in skateboarding, making music and life.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
I would ask Keith Sweat why “Nature’s Rising” is only a 56 second song.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Gun to my head and all, I’d probably still say I couldn’t pick one and probably get shot, but if I had to, I’d probably have to go with Voodoo by D’Angelo.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
Any song by Israel Acosta/Revol Concept, and any (or all, why not?) of the songs from my upcoming album, Vol. 1!
