One of my favorite songwriters today is one of the rarely-recognized, under-appreciated singer-songwriters of our time.  Andrew Osenga is the founding member of The Normals and was a 6-year member of Caedmon’s Call.  He recently released his 6^th solo album, Choosing Sides, and is doing a long string of solo concerts for the first time in his career.  I sat down last month to catch up with Andy.

DT:  Where did the inspiration for your new album Choosing Sides come from?
Andy:  Choosing Sides is pretty much just a culmination of the songs I wrote over the last year and a half. I stopped touring in the year 2009, and was just home all year, just working in the studio and being able to see my kids and my wife everyday which is really necessary. I’ve toured since I was 18, I’m 31 now. So that was my year of being 30. That is where the title comes from and where the songs are out -- making decisions on who I want to be and then acting on them -- in my faith, in my family, and my friends. Not that I was wasting time before, but I wasn’t being as intentional about those things as I felt I ought to be. Because I was working in the studio all the time, I didn’t just go “I’m going to make a record and its going to be about this.” If I had a couple of days free I would work on a song. Or Ben Shive would be over playing on some other record I was producing, and if we got done a little early I was like, “Hey, will you play on this?” …and I’d pull up a song I was working on. And I love working that way. I’m probably half way through my next record, just cause I’m always doing that. I just really enjoy it -- so, that’s where the record came from.

DT:  What’s it like to get out and do solo concerts this year?
Andy:  Well, I’ve always traveled.  I was in The Normals for about 4 & 1/2 years, I was in Caedmon’s Call for 6 years, and that’s been the bulk of my touring.  For 11 years, I’ve always been in a big group of people. On my own I’ve done maybe 20 shows in that 11 or 12 years where it’s just me and a guitar. I always made records just because I love doing it. And they were always just for me.  Caedmon’s would always let me play a couple songs. And then last year when I came off the road & told Caedmon’s I wasn’t going to be traveling anymore. You know, nobody really quits that band, it’s somewhat like a family, so I was just like “I’m going to sit it out for a while.”  I had some stuff scheduled, some time a few months ago and a lot of things had opened up, and I was like “What am I going to do with that time?” I had just put a record out and somebody asked “Why don’t you play some shows?” And I was like “Well… maybe.” So, I just put it out on Twitter, asking, “Would anybody want to help me do a couple shows?” There was this overwhelming response. I just took them on their word and figured out where everybody was that said “Come here” and I put it on the map and was like “OK, I can...I can make that work..Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago...Ok I can hit those together.” I thought, maybe I would go do 5 or 6 shows, which by the time I did the math, I said “I just booked 25 shows… and I did it all through Facebook and Twitter in about 3 days!” [laughing] I’ve never played my songs this many times in a row. It’s been awesome. When you play and when you always roll with 10 or 20 people and you’ve got 4 busses and lights & sound – that’s really fun and I have have been blessed to be a part of those kind of things. It’s kind of what you dream about when you’re in high school playing guitar in front of your mirror and I’ve gotten to do that.   Doing it with people that I love, and play music that I love -- it doesn’t get any better. But when I was thinking about hitting the road this time, I want to do just the opposite. No expectations --  I just want to go to your town and play some songs. So, in the 25 shows, I’m doing 3 photo studios, a pub, 5 or 6 churches, 5 or 6 coffee houses, 8 or 9 living rooms, & a library -- just wherever you will have me. I have 3 guitars, some t-shirts, CD’s, & a suitcase that I can fit in my Toyota… and let’s go. And it’s been fun!

DT:  What’s the story behind your new song “What I Know Now”?
Andy:  That song came out of an experience where I was just surfing the web & found this story of some tragedy. In the picture on the page there was this girl who was involved somehow and it was this girl that had gone to my church when I was a kid and I had not seen in 15-20 years.  Her name wasn’t mentioned in the article. And I was so sad because I didn’t know it either. The things that had happened to her in her life were awful for her to be in this position. I was just thinking... my friends & I who love Jesus -- she was there in our lives and we obviously did nothing. I was just really sad about that, just hoping to do better the next time. Then the second verse is about an older man that I know who’s caught up in looking like everything’s great. That’s just exhausting, and it kind of alienates everybody - he wants so desperately to be loved and approved and tries so hard to show that he’s worthy that it’s kind of hard to hang out with him. You just want to be like “Dude, it’s okay - just let it go. You don’t have to be perfect. Nobody’s asking for you to be perfect, Jesus did that for you. Just be yourself.” The moments I had to tell him that I didn’t. I’m just looking at those places of regret. I’m glad I can be forgiven for my inaction in those scenarios and also I hope that I can learn from this and act next time. The love of God is not a passive thing – it’s an active thing. And if it works in us, it needs to be working in us. We need to be seeing ourselves doing, acting. Not that that’s why God loves us or why He approves of us – it’s not. But because he loves us and approves of us we’re compelled to live like that’s the truth. I like that song. I enjoy the way it turned out.

DT:  How have you enjoyed your experience doing some house shows for the first time?
Andy:  It’s been fun.  I’ve never done a house show until last month, but I have friends (like Andy Gullahorn) that do them all the time. Jon Troast is from Wisconsin and I’ve played on a bunch of his records.  I just think he’s phenomenal.  And I went to a house show that he did in Nashville, after knowing him for years and never seeing him play live.  That was so fun. I never, ever would’ve thought that would be fun. As audience members, my wife and I thought, “That was awesome. That was way better than standing in some smoky room which is where you normally go see a band play.” It was just super fun -- he took requests and people asked questions… and I want to do that. So recently I’ve ended up playing songs from my catalogue that I totally forgot. I made a two notebooks -- one of songs I reasonably know, and one of just songs that I’ve written that I have no idea how to play. I’ve written hundreds of songs and so a few people have called for things out of the “big” notebook, and I’ve attempted some of them. I’ve had a great time so far.

DT:  Help me make sense of this.  Who oh why did you do an ‘electric’ version of your song “Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates”?
Andy:  [Laughing] Blame Cason! Well, I put that song on Letters to the Editor and it’s just two high strung acoustic guitars. That song was really dear to me the moment it popped out. Like “This one’s special!” But when I’m in Nashville, I have a band who I play with who are awesome. They’re mostly former road guys who have real jobs -- which generally means they’re always in town. They are so good. And so we would play that song as a band, because I’m not going to stop in the middle of our rock and roll show and do this acoustic number. We came up with a really cool arrangement. Then Cason Cooley – who was in The Normals and is in Sixpence None the Richer, we’ve been fest friends for 12 years -- he had heard us do that and he had some ideas. So we just ended up doing another recording of it.  That was our one tracking session for this record. We had a couple guys and we did three songs in a day, and it was so fun. We really wanted to do a “Peter Gabriel” sort of version, cause it’s this epic song that has this tiny recording -- which I love the intimacy of that.  Then we were like, “Yeah, but what’s it hinting at?” So we went for that. If you don’t like one, you can hopefully like the other.

DT:  What’s are your pastimes and hobbies away from music?
Andy:  Yeah, thats a good question. Music is my hobby, for sure, which is one of the fun things about it being my job, because I get to justify buying guitars. I really like science fiction. [laughing] I’ve taken up running, that’s fun. I have two little girls, so... I’d love to read. I’d love to just sit and read Hemingway and Arthur Clark, but that doesn’t happen anymore. Maybe that will happen again in ten years -- I don’t know.  Right now, I’m either in the studio playing guitar, or on the road playing guitar, or I’m at home playing “Pretty Pretty Princess.”  And I love it! Aside from that I’m really involved in my church and our community/ neighborhood group and I feel like most of my free time that’s not spent playing music or with my family is spent with my community.  Sometimes that means doing really difficult things. Sometimes that means helping somebody plant flowers. We’re really active in each others’ lives and that’s honestly -- besides my family and music – that’s my biggest hobby…  being a part of that group of people who I get to serve and who serve me really well.


We feature the interview and music of Andrew Osenga on this week’s “Under The Radar”.  Look on our website for a chance win an autographed copy of “Choosing Sides” and an Andy O. Pint Glass!