Andy Babiuk | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andrew Michael Babiuk |
| Born | November 27, 1963 Rochester, New York, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, garage rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, author, consultant, vintage guitar/gear expert |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | 429/ Universal, Nippon Columbia Japan |
| Website | andybabiuksfabgear.com |
Andy Babiuk (/bəˈbjuːk/ bə-BYOOK;[1] born November 27, 1963) is an American musician, author, consultant, and owner of Andy Babiuk's Fab Gear in Fairport, New York. He is a founding member and bassist of the supergroup The Empty Hearts[2][3][4][5] and was also a member of The Chesterfield Kings.[6][7] Babiuk is the author of Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio (2001),[8][9] The Story of Paul Bigsby (2009), Rolling Stones Gear (2014)[10][11] and Beatles Gear – The Ultimate Edition (2015).[12] He is a staff consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as to auction houses in New York, London and Los Angeles.[13][14]
Andrew Michael Babiuk was born on November 27, 1963, in Rochester, New York. He is of Ukrainian descent and both his parents immigrated to the United States from Europe in the early 1950s. Interested in music from a very young age, Babiuk taught himself to play the guitar when he was nine years old.
At age 16 while attending high school, Babiuk landed a job at a local music store. There he connected with other local musicians and joined the garage band The Chesterfield Kings in 1979. Babiuk, a member of the band, bassist and songwriter, toured with the Kings throughout the United States, Europe and Canada, helping to breathe life back into a fledging garageband scene. During a career spanning over 30 years, The Chesterfield Kings recorded 11 albums and 15 singles, performed live on television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and made an appearance on the HBO hit show The Sopranos. The group disbanded in 2011. In 2014, Babiuk, together with Elliot Easton of The Cars, Clem Burke of Blondie and Wally Palmar of The Romantics, formed the supergroup The Empty Hearts.[5] The band released its debut album in August 2014 before touring the United States and Japan. In August 2020, the band released their second album titled The Second Album which featured a guest appearance by Ringo Starr on drums.
In early 1990 while still performing with The Chesterfield Kings[6] by night and working at the music store by day, Babiuk saw the need for a book about The Beatles' gear when he tried to emulate some of their recorded sounds with his own band. Babiuk embarked on six years of research for Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments, during which time he interviewed over 400 people who worked with or were closely associated with The Beatles, listened to hundreds of recordings, watched miles of film, and amassed a vast library of documents and historic photographic evidence of The Beatles using their instruments and equipment. Released in 2001, Beatles Gear remains a critically acclaimed, best-selling work and has earned Babiuk the respected title of the world's leading authority on all the instruments and equipment used by The Beatles. As a result of the accolade, Babiuk's expertise and notoriety as a vintage guitar expert grew in popularity in very important circles in the music industry. Fred Gretsch of Gretsch Guitars commissioned Babiuk to research and write the Story of Paul Bigsby The Father of the Modern Solid Body Electric Guitar, which was published in 2009. As a follow-up to Beatles Gear, Babiuk worked for nine years researching and writing Rolling Stones Gear,[10][15] a detailed history of all the equipment used by The Rolling Stones. The book was published in 2014. As had been the case when he did his research for Beatles Gear, Babiuk was granted unprecedented access to and worked directly with members of the Stones and their camp, securing permission to photograph The Rolling Stones' guitars and equipment.[16]
Babiuk served as the Associate Music Supervisor and Technical Consultant on the film Not Fade Away,[17][18] a drama film released by Paramount Pictures, directed and written by The Sopranos creator David Chase. Babiuk is a staff consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[13][19] and in 2013 he authenticated Bob Dylan's electric guitar which Dylan first played at the Newport Jazz Festival.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] It sold at auction for just under a million dollars.
In 2015, he authenticated John Lennon's Gibson J-160E that was lost for over 50 years.[9][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] It sold at auction for 2.4 million dollars.[35][36]
Having worked closely with The Beatles' insiders, Babiuk's presentation offers a closer, more intimate look at the Fab Four and their collective influence on music and pop culture. Appealing to all types of audiences, universities in particular often invite Babiuk to present to their students studying various disciplines ranging from music and audio technology programs to sociology and pop culture.[37][38][39]
In 1990, Babiuk married Monica Rodrigues and they are parents to six children, four girls and two boys. Monica is vice-president of Andy Babiuk's Fab Gear.[40]