SMU's "Battle Rapper" Astronautalis (Andy Bothwell)

[MrMustang1965]

Although he cut his teeth as a rapper, Astronautalis has always had an indie-rocker's heart.

"The records that most influenced me are Radiohead's `OK Computer' and Neutral Milk Hotel's `In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,'" says the 24-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla.

And like those two extravagantly experimental sonic showpieces he admires, his genre-jumbling new disc, "The Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters," wades into relatively uncharted waters (especially for hip-hop), trolling for bigger fish.

"I wanted to make a record about being a teenager before I sounded too old," says a chuckling Astronautalis (Andy Bothwell) via cell phone from the Detroit area, where he is visiting friends and family on a day off.

"It's about growing up in four acts. It's not a rock opera with a linear story. The songs are more a collage of events that define each act."

The first act, he explains, is "discovering a new part of your life, a lust for life, where you skateboard off stairs, make out in movie theaters and drink beer. Then you move on and feel consequences. Then you figure out how you deal with those consequences, how you balance happiness and health. Then, all of a sudden, you're on your in college, or you have a kid, or you're 40 years old and your kid has moved out."

Being the product of what he calls "a mix-tape culture," where a track by The Wu-Tang Clan can follow one by Modest Mouse, Astronautalis' goal "was to have each song sound like it was made by a different musician."

To be sure, throughout "The Mighty Ocean," slivers of lo-fi dream-pop, country and blues meld with synthetic hip-hop rhythms and Astronautalis' hushed rap-style vocalizing. Acoustic guitar, piano, banjo, accordion, harmonica, glockenspiel, synth strings and all manner of electronic clicks and blips and rhythmic noises supply the accompaniment.

In particular, the gently catchy "Xmas in July," the edgy "Astigmatism," the wistful "Love Song for Gary Numan" and the shimmering "Short Term Memory Loss" have a character all their own.

Live, Astronautalis raps and plays a laptop while DJ Rerog (Roger Hinkle) works a turntable and a Kaos pad for effects.

Astronautalis, who was born in Fairfax, Va., and grew up in the Baltimore-D.C. area, was introduced to hip-hop when he was in the 8th grade by his "very cool older brother Seth."

"He gave me a tape with New York rapper Lord Finesse's `Return of the Funky Man' on one side and Gang Starr's `Hard to Earn' on the other," Astronautalis recalls.

"He explained to me what freestyle rapping was, and in my suburban naivete I thought I could do this.

"I did it in my bedroom with the lights out with the volume very low. It wasn't until two years later I told anybody about it. My parents wouldn't let me have rap records because of the cursing on them."

Astronautalis moved to Florida when he was 13, after his Amtrak executive father was transferred, and earned a rep as a "battle rapper" while a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. (He graduated in 2003 with a degree in theater studies.)

Astronautalis finally got around to recording with Rerog in 2001, ultimately releasing a compilation of three EPs the two recorded together as "You and Yer Good Ideas."

Even then, the spirit of old-school punk and indie-rock stuff guided him.

"I always admired people like the Halo Benders, Modest Mouse, Beck, Built to Spill and Olivia Rumor Control," he says. "They were people who didn't give a crap. They just made the music they wanted to make."

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 715683.htm

[ThadFilms]

Good to hear that ol' Bothwell is doing his thing. I remember I was a year out of school and one of my classmates calls up and says he's going to see Andy rap tonight - ANDY BOTHWELL?!?!?! Yes, he says. So we venture to South Dallas for a battle rap show. I had never been to a true "rap club" before - it was a tad surreal seeing Andy - at the time and student at preppy/exclusive Southern Methodist - verbally duking it out with some more rough and tumble gangsta' rap artists. Sporting a yellow "Worlds Greatest Lover 1986" tee shirt Bothwell (Astronautalists) captured the heart of the crowd and the respect of the other rappers. I believe that was only his second or third show, but there were already people there just for him - not friends like me, mind you - but folks who had heard about this guy and had to come "check him out".

I remember, years earlier than that, theater parties (I was a film student) where impromptu rap-offs who would occur. It was more for the comedic value. The double entendre rhymed with a meal you had just consumed and the like. Andy was always great at these battles... always going up against the extremely comedic Brandon Bales (who was also the man who called me about heading to the show, and is doing well in his own right as he is set to have a large role in the new Terrance McNally play that is premiering in Philly of all places). The elder statesmen B. Bales - always funnier, seeing as the man could make you laugh at the dinner table with merely a fork and a facial expression - would duke it out with the young Bothwell in these uproarious moments. The dawn of Astronautalist became clear as the upstart contender seemed to have more pure talent at the battle rap game.

Andy Bothwell is indeed one talented individual - I though for sure he would find success as an actor as he has a real gift - but, looking back, he was never happy just acting though, creation was always his game. From the apartments in the Village to the club scene around the country. Pretty cool. I look forward to picking up the album.

It is wonderful to follow the exploits of my college buddies. From the two mentioned above to my friends in Chi-town and their theater company - The House Theatre Company of Chicago - to all the other folks in New York and L.A., it's been fun to see.

Just a note. Mercury News: your writers and editors need a little indy pop culture refresher course - it's The Olivia TREMOR Control. I don't know where that "Rumor" got started.

[ThadFilms]

Bump.......



Andy is performing in Dallas tonight! Twice -

Jul 1 2006 4:00P
GOOD RECORDS INSTORE! Dallas, TX
Jul 1 2006 9:00P
Liquid Lounge Dallas, TX


Wish I could be there. C'est la vie.


Go check him out. I've been listening to his record - it's pretty darn good.