I eventually went to law school and formed a band upon completion. I am still friends with our lead
guitar player Bob Mack, who runs all technology for the ABC Radio network. We played all over New
York City, and we did really well live, getting great reviews, but no deals. Eventually we recorded an
independent demo record backed by a woman named Elissa Epstein, who I knew from law school.
This demo ended up getting on the front page of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Weekend Section,
where Ken Tucker gave us a great review. Eventually Leslie Berman gave us a very favorable review
in Rolling Stone. We had big law firms represent us, but our lawyers were never able to get a contract
they thought would be fair to us. We stopped recording in 1986.
On an unrelased album we'd recorded in 1986 I wrote a song for Zacherley entitled, "Overdrawn at
the Blood Bank." Someone wanted to include it on a Zacherley album, so I called the studio where I
had the copy master, but they had moved and thrown out all the tapes. This led me to finding all my
old tapes, and eventually going into a studio in Merrick Long Island to digitize them. There were a lot
of problems with them, but eventually what Leslie and I had recorded was saved, and turned it into
our two CD compilation, Somewhere Near Pop Heaven.
Sometime in late 2003 I got an email that I thought was a joke from Croatia. Then I got another. They
were from a woman named Nina Zorrica who was the Music Director of “Radio Split,” a Croatian radio
station. I sent her a set of the CDs. In less than a month we were being played almost constantly on
major Croatian stations. In November 2003 we went Top Twenty, and despite not having any CDs in
the country for anyone to buy, we stayed in the Top Twenty for a while. It was a strange and
wonderful feeling to see and hear our twenty year old song "Someday Forever" played as a hit single
before and after the Black Eyed Peas.
Andy Zwerling is currently putting the finishing touches on a new album. He has been a
practicing attorney for a number of years, and when asked why he chose that field he said,
“I became a lawyer so I would know how to deal with the record companies. But since they chose not
to deal with me....”
Mr. Zwerling has graciously allowed our readers to download a couple of tracks from
Spiders In The Night, which, at the time of this writing, have yet to appear on CD.
“Knife Man”: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X7IGT8QP
“Sifting Around In A Haze”: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJUJ6LHY
--Bart Bealmear
guitar player Bob Mack, who runs all technology for the ABC Radio network. We played all over New
York City, and we did really well live, getting great reviews, but no deals. Eventually we recorded an
independent demo record backed by a woman named Elissa Epstein, who I knew from law school.
This demo ended up getting on the front page of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner Weekend Section,
where Ken Tucker gave us a great review. Eventually Leslie Berman gave us a very favorable review
in Rolling Stone. We had big law firms represent us, but our lawyers were never able to get a contract
they thought would be fair to us. We stopped recording in 1986.
On an unrelased album we'd recorded in 1986 I wrote a song for Zacherley entitled, "Overdrawn at
the Blood Bank." Someone wanted to include it on a Zacherley album, so I called the studio where I
had the copy master, but they had moved and thrown out all the tapes. This led me to finding all my
old tapes, and eventually going into a studio in Merrick Long Island to digitize them. There were a lot
of problems with them, but eventually what Leslie and I had recorded was saved, and turned it into
our two CD compilation, Somewhere Near Pop Heaven.
Sometime in late 2003 I got an email that I thought was a joke from Croatia. Then I got another. They
were from a woman named Nina Zorrica who was the Music Director of “Radio Split,” a Croatian radio
station. I sent her a set of the CDs. In less than a month we were being played almost constantly on
major Croatian stations. In November 2003 we went Top Twenty, and despite not having any CDs in
the country for anyone to buy, we stayed in the Top Twenty for a while. It was a strange and
wonderful feeling to see and hear our twenty year old song "Someday Forever" played as a hit single
before and after the Black Eyed Peas.
Andy Zwerling is currently putting the finishing touches on a new album. He has been a
practicing attorney for a number of years, and when asked why he chose that field he said,
“I became a lawyer so I would know how to deal with the record companies. But since they chose not
to deal with me....”
Mr. Zwerling has graciously allowed our readers to download a couple of tracks from
Spiders In The Night, which, at the time of this writing, have yet to appear on CD.
“Knife Man”: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X7IGT8QP
“Sifting Around In A Haze”: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJUJ6LHY
--Bart Bealmear
Richard Robinson took an A&R job at RCA and left Kama Sutra
before Spiders came out. The company actually got some
airplay for it on major stations across the country, but when I
told them I wanted to record a rock-n-roll album, they weren't
thrilled. By this time I was in college on a scholarship. I really
couldn't tour, and was playing rock-n-roll (I found guys I could
play with). Paul Socolow is now known as a world-class bass
player; he's played with Herbie Mann and many others. Mark
Soskin has played keyboards with Sonny Rollins. Bruce
Malament played Little League with me, and wrote the music
for the Common hit, "The Light." Back then we played in my
living room. Eventually Paul and Mark went to Berkeley in
Massachusetts.
After Richard left the label, Kama Sutra was very happy to give
me my release. I thought I would sign with RCA and do the
rock-n-roll songs there, but Richard left RCA after producing
Lou Reed's first solo album, and that was the end of any RCA
deal.
My "band" was away at the Berkeley School of Music, so my
before Spiders came out. The company actually got some
airplay for it on major stations across the country, but when I
told them I wanted to record a rock-n-roll album, they weren't
thrilled. By this time I was in college on a scholarship. I really
couldn't tour, and was playing rock-n-roll (I found guys I could
play with). Paul Socolow is now known as a world-class bass
player; he's played with Herbie Mann and many others. Mark
Soskin has played keyboards with Sonny Rollins. Bruce
Malament played Little League with me, and wrote the music
for the Common hit, "The Light." Back then we played in my
living room. Eventually Paul and Mark went to Berkeley in
Massachusetts.
After Richard left the label, Kama Sutra was very happy to give
me my release. I thought I would sign with RCA and do the
rock-n-roll songs there, but Richard left RCA after producing
Lou Reed's first solo album, and that was the end of any RCA
deal.
My "band" was away at the Berkeley School of Music, so my
sister Leslie and I just made tapes of my new songs in our living room. I would send the tapes to
record companies, and Paul Nelson at Mercury agreed to meet us. He told us that the company
wouldn't let him sign anyone, but he listened to my new songs, and took us into a recording studio
right away. My guys came home from Boston, Leslie took a day off from junior high, and we made a
demo. Mercury didn't sign us, but we were introduced to someone at CBS. That led to a demo at
CBS studios in New York. CBS seemed very interested, and a real deal was discussed, but it never
reached a contract.
record companies, and Paul Nelson at Mercury agreed to meet us. He told us that the company
wouldn't let him sign anyone, but he listened to my new songs, and took us into a recording studio
right away. My guys came home from Boston, Leslie took a day off from junior high, and we made a
demo. Mercury didn't sign us, but we were introduced to someone at CBS. That led to a demo at
CBS studios in New York. CBS seemed very interested, and a real deal was discussed, but it never
reached a contract.
I had two very different kinds of songs that I was writing: I had
the acoustic, quiet, Oar-influenced/weird (and some intended
to be funny) kind of songs that ended up on Spiders. I also
had the first batch of rock-n-roll songs that I'd written, which
were influenced by everything that I'd loved about AM radio
from 1964-67. I didn’t have a band at that point, and didn't
think I could record rock-n-roll material in sixty-four hours
anyway. Before it was finished, much less released, I had
enough rock material for a couple of albums, and I intended to
follow Spiders with the rock stuff. Though the album was
ultimately marketed as "psychedelic," the truth is that I never
used any kinds of drugs. I couldn’t even stand to be around
cigarettes.
the acoustic, quiet, Oar-influenced/weird (and some intended
to be funny) kind of songs that ended up on Spiders. I also
had the first batch of rock-n-roll songs that I'd written, which
were influenced by everything that I'd loved about AM radio
from 1964-67. I didn’t have a band at that point, and didn't
think I could record rock-n-roll material in sixty-four hours
anyway. Before it was finished, much less released, I had
enough rock material for a couple of albums, and I intended to
follow Spiders with the rock stuff. Though the album was
ultimately marketed as "psychedelic," the truth is that I never
used any kinds of drugs. I couldn’t even stand to be around
cigarettes.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Another case of no brains/no fear. I wrote an article and mailed it to Rolling Stone. Ed Ward
and Greil Marcus liked it, and I started writing reviews and a few feature stories. This was
probably in early 1970. There was a New York horror host named Zacherley that I watched on
TV when I was a little kid. He was one of the first to interrupt the old movies with comic skits. He
had a Top Ten hit in the late '50s called "Dinner with Drac." I wrote a story about Zacherley for
Rolling Stone, which never ran, but we became good friends, and remain great friends to this
day. At the time I wrote the story Zach was an FM disc jockey in NY. I really liked an album by
the Flamin Groovies, and reviewed it for Rolling Stone. Zach called me up and told me to come
to the station, because another disc jockey there had produced the Flamin Groovies album.
Zach introduced me to Richard Robinson. Richard was working for Kama Sutra Records, and
that led to me recording a demo tape in his apartment. I think we recorded three or four songs
that ended up on Spiders in the Night. Richard was able to get me a record deal with Kama
Sutra; I was mostly thrilled. I had a friend at Rolling Stone named Laurel Gonsalves. She had
music business experience and graciously went over the contract with me. It's safe to say that
recording contracts in early 1970 were not written in a way unfavorable to the record company.
But there was no way I was going to turn down the contract or the sixty-four hours I got to make
a record.
and Greil Marcus liked it, and I started writing reviews and a few feature stories. This was
probably in early 1970. There was a New York horror host named Zacherley that I watched on
TV when I was a little kid. He was one of the first to interrupt the old movies with comic skits. He
had a Top Ten hit in the late '50s called "Dinner with Drac." I wrote a story about Zacherley for
Rolling Stone, which never ran, but we became good friends, and remain great friends to this
day. At the time I wrote the story Zach was an FM disc jockey in NY. I really liked an album by
the Flamin Groovies, and reviewed it for Rolling Stone. Zach called me up and told me to come
to the station, because another disc jockey there had produced the Flamin Groovies album.
Zach introduced me to Richard Robinson. Richard was working for Kama Sutra Records, and
that led to me recording a demo tape in his apartment. I think we recorded three or four songs
that ended up on Spiders in the Night. Richard was able to get me a record deal with Kama
Sutra; I was mostly thrilled. I had a friend at Rolling Stone named Laurel Gonsalves. She had
music business experience and graciously went over the contract with me. It's safe to say that
recording contracts in early 1970 were not written in a way unfavorable to the record company.
But there was no way I was going to turn down the contract or the sixty-four hours I got to make
a record.
I saw a lot of great live bands when I was fifteen at the
Village Theatre in New, which eventually became the
Fillmore East. I saw the Who, Moby Grape, Cream—pretty
much the whole late ‘60s list. Since I knew a couple of
chords, and I loved seeing the music live, I didn't see any
reason why I couldn't write and record songs too. Not
having a clue about melodies or composition didn't hinder
me, because I listened to the radio a lot and was too
young to know any better. I also liked Rolling Stone
magazine. I figured I wouldn't just start to write songs,
but I would write about the music too.
Village Theatre in New, which eventually became the
Fillmore East. I saw the Who, Moby Grape, Cream—pretty
much the whole late ‘60s list. Since I knew a couple of
chords, and I loved seeing the music live, I didn't see any
reason why I couldn't write and record songs too. Not
having a clue about melodies or composition didn't hinder
me, because I listened to the radio a lot and was too
young to know any better. I also liked Rolling Stone
magazine. I figured I wouldn't just start to write songs,
but I would write about the music too.
The songs on Spiders are bittersweet tales of an American suburban upbringing and a
longing for the innocence of childhood. But with adulthood right around the corner (he
was seventeen at the time) they come from the perspective of a young man with just
enough wisdom to know that it was time to move on. His modest voice airs over an
equally low-key arrangements (often just acoustic guitar and electric bass; there are no
drum tracks on the record) created by Zwerling with help from producers Lenny Kaye and
Richard Robinson, who both play on the album.
Many of the songs are lyrically straight-forward, and recall Brian Wilson’s more direct
numbers like “Busy Doin’ Nothin’,” while others possess an almost Syd Barrett-like
wordplay (sample title: “Turtles vs. Green Ants”). Like Syd’s The Madcap Laughs, Spiders In
the Night is an early example of lo-fi production, and as with Paul McCartney’s first solo
record, Spiders resembles an intimate home demo recording. The tunes here also bring to
mind another outsider, Alexander “Skip” Spence, and the psych-folk of his lone LP Oar,
which Zwerling himself claims as an influence.
The following is Andy Zwerling’s own recollections of coming of age in the late 1960s, the
recording of Spiders In The Night, music business craziness, and the surprise chart
success he experienced decades after the release of his enduring debut.
longing for the innocence of childhood. But with adulthood right around the corner (he
was seventeen at the time) they come from the perspective of a young man with just
enough wisdom to know that it was time to move on. His modest voice airs over an
equally low-key arrangements (often just acoustic guitar and electric bass; there are no
drum tracks on the record) created by Zwerling with help from producers Lenny Kaye and
Richard Robinson, who both play on the album.
Many of the songs are lyrically straight-forward, and recall Brian Wilson’s more direct
numbers like “Busy Doin’ Nothin’,” while others possess an almost Syd Barrett-like
wordplay (sample title: “Turtles vs. Green Ants”). Like Syd’s The Madcap Laughs, Spiders In
the Night is an early example of lo-fi production, and as with Paul McCartney’s first solo
record, Spiders resembles an intimate home demo recording. The tunes here also bring to
mind another outsider, Alexander “Skip” Spence, and the psych-folk of his lone LP Oar,
which Zwerling himself claims as an influence.
The following is Andy Zwerling’s own recollections of coming of age in the late 1960s, the
recording of Spiders In The Night, music business craziness, and the surprise chart
success he experienced decades after the release of his enduring debut.
In 1971 the Kama Sutra label
released an LP by one Andy
Zwerling entitled Spiders in
the Night. The record didn’t
have any chart success and
quickly vanished from sight.
But like many out of this world
albums, this fantastic piece of
vinyl has been quietly waiting
to be discovered.
released an LP by one Andy
Zwerling entitled Spiders in
the Night. The record didn’t
have any chart success and
quickly vanished from sight.
But like many out of this world
albums, this fantastic piece of
vinyl has been quietly waiting
to be discovered.