181. Andrew Christopher Performs LIVE and Talks About Overcoming Loss

Aaron Pete hosts an intimate live event with singer-songwriter Andrew Christopher, exploring his artistic journey, the challenges of balancing family and art, and his bold pivot to original music and meaningful projects. Through heartfelt performances, Andrew reflects on personal loss, his creative process, and the healing power of music.

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Episode Transcript

Aaron Pete (00:01):
How is everybody doing?
Are you having fun?
Is it everything you expectedand more?
Okay, let's have a vote.
Who thinks I pull off the tophat?
Okay, perfect, it was a point.
I just wanted to make a pointthat I can pull it off.

(00:22):
Thank you guys.
All so much for coming.
This has been a blast.
I hope you're having fun.
I hope the food how was thefood?
How did it hold up?
Good, yeah, I'm so excited tobe doing this again.
It's been since, I think, junethat we last hosted one of these
and people are so nice andsupportive of everything that
we're doing here and I'm sograteful that you were all.

(00:43):
No pressure on you, man, nopressure on you.
I would not want to be that guy.
This is such a blast to host.
Like the goal of these hasalways been just for people to
have fun.
Like I want everybody to knowpeople here, feel comfortable
and be able to have a good timewhere you're connecting with
people that you know and notfeel like you're walking into a

(01:06):
room I hate going to eventsRebecca can attest to this where
I don't know people and I feeluncomfortable, and so the goal
of these is always for people tojust be able to have fun with
their friends, family, peoplethey know, and just relax, eat
great food and enjoy amazingmusic, which is what we're doing
tonight, and so thank you allfor coming.

(01:26):
I hope that.
How did the jello shots hold up?
Did anybody expect it or was itgood?
Did it hold up?
I'm glad I get bullied all theway leading up to it that I'm
doing something like jello shotsand people are like people
aren't going to like that andyou guys ran those out.
And the last time we did it,which was the first live event
we did nobody had any of themand I looked, I was pouring them

(01:47):
out and Rebecca looks over atme and she's like this was such
a waste of time for you and sowe killed it this time and you
guys all finished it.
We're like out of alcohol.
So kudos to you guys forfiguring that out.
Tonight we're listening to amusician I've had the pleasure
of interviewing previously andhe's taken a new direction and

(02:08):
that's why I wanted tore-interview him, speak with him
again, because I think and Idon't know if all of you know
this, but like the challenges ofbeing an artist, like they're
real, like people aren't alwayslike they say they support you,
they say they want you tocontinue, but like it's an
uproar battle and nobodyunderstands the grind of trying
to get it on social media,trying to get views on, like

(02:29):
Apple Music or all of thosethings.
So I hope that you canappreciate the amount of work
that goes into this.
This is his whole lifededicated to producing and
creating music that we're goingto be hearing from tonight.
It's not an overnight thing,it's 10 years to create
something like thisno-transcript out tonight to

(03:13):
support what we do.
And we're trying to do thispodcast, we're trying to host
these live events and I just Ireally want you to appreciate
yourselves, because you're thepeople who actually show up.
Like I message out to peoplehey, this event's going on and
people go.
Yeah, sure, I can make it, butmaybe I'm busy that night I'm
doing chess or something andit's just like ouch, ouch, I get

(03:34):
it, but ouch.
And so all of you are thepeople who do support
entrepreneurs, creators, peoplewho are willing to put
themselves out there.
So, without further ado I don'twant to bore you, but without
further ado, can we please givea gigantic round of applause for
the man, the myth, the legend,andrew Christopher Appreciate it

(04:00):
buddy.

Andrew Christopher (04:00):
Yeah, no offense, that's what they said
again here.

Aaron Pete (04:06):
Oh, you are so late, you missed all of that.

Andrew Christopher (04:09):
She got the grand entrance.

Aaron Pete (04:11):
Before we start, I just want to do a huge cheers
whether it's water, pop,whatever you guys are drinking
to coming out tonight, tocelebrating the endeavor of an
entrepreneur.
Please, cheers for all of youguys coming out tonight.

Andrew Christopher (04:27):
Cheers buddy .
Thanks, I missed you.

Aaron Pete (04:33):
So before we start, I want to pull it back to the
beginning and just understandlike I think it's important for
people to understand why you'rehere.
Like, how do you start on amusic journey?
Where did that start for you?

Andrew Christopher (04:45):
Well, I think I always kind of bring it
back to my being raised in thechurch and joining the church
choir and being in piano lessonsas a kid.
That's kind of where I wouldsay that music got started.
You know, singing in churchchoir and taking piano lessons.
And my three older sisters, youknow singing in church choir
and taking piano lessons.

(05:05):
And my three older sisters, youknow same, they took piano
lessons.
And you know Carolyn took it abit more seriously than
everybody and so I saw herreally excel in that and I would
think that's a big part of itfor me is seeing her take it
seriously and so, thankfully,she kind of kept playing music

(05:28):
and so it was always around.
And then, you know, getting intohigh school, I joined a high
school band.
I played drums throughout highschool band and picked up a
guitar in grade 12, I believe,joined my first band in grade 11
, maybe just singing for someolder guys that were starting a

(05:54):
band and needed a singer.
That band was called Argyle.
So that's your trivia note myfirst band ever was called
Argyle.
And yeah, so I guess those arekind of the real early
beginnings.

Aaron Pete (06:07):
Was it a way of expressing yourself or sharing a
part of yourself that peopledidn't understand?
When did that start to become apart of why you participate in
music?

Andrew Christopher (06:20):
You know, I think a lot of the early days
were more centered around megetting a bit of attention.
I think I liked performing andyou know I played a lot of
sports and did pretty well at acouple of them, and so I always
kind of had a lot of attentionon me and I think I liked it.
You know, I think I've grown abit out of that, I think I would

(06:43):
say, but as a kid, you know, Ithink a lot of kids want to be
kind of welcomed in that way andand paid attention to, and so
anything I could do that was wasgrabbing some attention from
people I I kind of was drawntowards, and music was one of
those.
I again I was, I was lucky, Iwas pretty naturally gifted at
it, I believe, and so I think,more so than expressing myself,

(07:06):
it was about having people youknow kind of looking at me,
paying attention to what I wasdoing.
I think that was the draw atfirst, and then it evolved more
into the expression part of it.

Aaron Pete (07:19):
Could I challenge that maybe a little bit and say
maybe needing attention.
But I think for so many youngpeople they want to be seen,
yeah, they want to be recognizedin a positive, pro-social sense
yeah, yeah, I think.

Andrew Christopher (07:33):
so, you know , and, and there was a lot going
on in my childhood years andadolescence and and reasons that
I would want to be seen, Ithink, and performing.
I think there was a lot goingon around the home that didn't

(07:53):
really sit well with me, whetherI really knew it or if it was
more subconscious, and so, again, music and sports, I think,
were a way of excelling atsomething that people would
recognize me for and a way forme to express myself.
I think in an extent, but itmight have been, as I said, a

(08:16):
bit more subconscious at thattime of my life.

Aaron Pete (08:21):
The other piece I just want to understand is what
do you think your, why is now?

Andrew Christopher (08:28):
Now, you know, over the last few years
it's definitely developed moreconnecting with people to help
them through something theymight be going through whether

(08:49):
that's trauma they've beenthrough as a kid or things
they're going through as anadult, any tough times they
might be experiencing and toreally connect with people on a
deeper level, which I think isreally important and I think is
getting more and more lost insome ways in some aspects of

(09:09):
society.

Aaron Pete (09:10):
Can you talk about your early music career?
Parliament of Owls, those earlydays.

Andrew Christopher (09:15):
Yeah.
So, as I said, the first bandwas called Okay good, well done.
Okay good, well done.
And then, you know, I joined aband called Pardon my Striptease
.
It was a group of localChilliwack.

Aaron Pete (09:33):
Somebody knew that.

Andrew Christopher (09:44):
Yeah, yeah, somebody just band.
That was my first kind ofserious project.
I would say, um, and that was,uh, you know, fresh out of high
school.
I was, I was going to collegeand joined this band and decided
to drop out of drop out ofcollege to take this band more
seriously, and um, and that was,uh, you know we, we did quite
well locally, you know, aroundthe province, and and a few

(10:05):
accolades, uh, were built.
You know we did quite welllocally, you know, around the
province, and a few accoladeswere built up, you know, in a
bit more than just local here.
So that was a good experience.
That was ultimately kind of whatended that, because we had to
take a break while I was helpingtaking care of my daughter,

(10:25):
lily, who had brain cancer whenshe was only 10 months old.
She was diagnosed and so wewere in the hospital for a
couple of years or going throughtreatment.
She eventually passed away, andduring those couple of years,
you know, the band obviously wasslowing down.
We couldn't do much, and thenone of the other members said
that was kind of it for him, hewas moving on to other things

(10:50):
and and so so that's when,pardon, my striptease ended, um,
and I started doing more solostuff, just, uh, busking a lot
on Granville Island I did tomake some money.
Um, that's where I got a lot ofmy logged, a lot of hours just
performing and perfecting all mycover songs that I did.
And then the next originalproject that came up was
Parliament of Owls, with afamily friend you know.

(11:13):
We both had young kids andconnected out in White Rock with
Jamie Rowe.
Jamie Rowe is the friend thatwe wrote all these tunes for
Parliament of Owls together andperformed a few shows and it
kind of ended up being a bitmore of a one-off project but it
was awesome while we did it andit was more so a friendship,
you know, and connecting overother things.

(11:35):
But he was a great guitarplayer and he would write a lot
of just guitar lines andstrumming chords and then I
would write lyrics and sing overtop of them, and so it worked
really well that way.
Way and he moved to the island,I moved out this way and we
still write together, um,whenever we can get together, we
still like to get the kidstogether.

(11:56):
They're still good friends and,um, yeah, so I guess you know
that kind of brought usParliament of Owls.
That album came out in 2019.
And that was the last kind oforiginal project I had and now
going back towards a bit moresolo stuff.

Aaron Pete (12:13):
So that's my goal for everybody here tonight.
My hope is that perhaps you canplay some music from those
early days and then, at the endof the night, you can play music
that you're doing right now.
And my dream, if I had a dream,and then, at the end of the
night, you can play music thatyou're doing right now?
And my dream, if I had a dream,is that people would be able to
see that journey and thedifferences and perhaps your
growth over those years.

(12:35):
So could you take us back?

Andrew Christopher (12:37):
Sure, do the first couple here.
Now let's do it, okay Iseverybody ready for live music?

Aaron Pete (12:42):
Yeah, let's do it.
Yeah, they're done with me, man.

Andrew Christopher (12:47):
Yeah, let I get this.
So the first one I'll do hereis uh, I wrote it.
I was probably about 20 yearsold.
I wrote a few songs in highschool, um, and then, uh, this
one, about 20 years old, I wastraveling around New Zealand,
australia at the time, and it'sa very innocent, you know.

(13:09):
Love is the answer.
Love everybody, love everything.
It says love a lot in it, whichyou know is a value I
definitely still hold today.
It's, you know, about helpingeach other and just caring for
each other.
And this another part of triviahere for you guys, this is the
only song of mine that I know ofthat has its lyrics tattooed on

(13:32):
somebody.
It's called Cookie Jar.
I didn't plug in, tim, should Iplug in?
It's called Cookie Jar.
It's called Cookie Jar.

(14:00):
It's something that should besaid every day.
A four-letter word, that's okay, but sometimes we get so caught
up in it all, get stuck withthe backs against the wall, so

(14:20):
don't forget.
Tie that bow around your finger.
Say it right now, don't let itlinger.
This song is just to say I loveyou and I think the whole world
loves you.
In case I don't get the chancetomorrow, I'll say it right now,

(14:47):
just so you know that I, I, I,I love you.
This isn't just for my girl,this isn't just for my girl or

(15:11):
my brothers or my sisters, or mymom or my dad, but for every
race and every nation of thisworld, cause we're all gonna
need it bad sometimes.
We all should give it, we allshould show it, we all should
give it, we all should show it,we all should receive it.
So, everybody, everywhere,throw your hands in the air,

(15:35):
sing with me, and I know thatyou'll be there.
This song is just to say I loveyou and thank the whole world
of you.
In case I don't get the chancetomorrow, I'll say it right now,

(15:57):
just so you know that I, I, I,I love you.

(16:20):
Well, life should be easy.
There should be no cuts, noscars, just people helping
people reach those cookie jars.
So be someone's bridge overtroubled water.

(16:44):
Love a perfect stranger, like amother loves her daughter.
It's going to happen soon, withsome help from above.
It's not that hard.
All you need is love.
This song is just to say I loveyou and thank the whole world

(17:11):
for you.
In case I don't get the chancetomorrow, I'll say it right now,
just so you know I, I, I, Ilove you, I, I, I, I love you.

(17:43):
Thank you, thank you.
So that one's on a record I didcalled Gone this was kind of
during the Pardon, my Stripteasedays towards the end of it and

(18:06):
an acoustic album, just myguitar and I, I a couple
features of other instruments onthere and, yeah, there was, I
think you know, 10 songs or soin that variety that that I had
written in my younger days, umand uh, and then I'm gonna do
one more.
So this, this one then kind ofjumps right ahead to parliament
of vowelsls and a song, one ofthe first songs I wrote with

(18:27):
Jamie Jamie Rowe, my friend fromthe island there, and he kind
of came to me just with thestrumming pattern that he had
been working on and, as I said,it was a friendship thing,
family.
We had a couple of young kids,you know, in our relationships
and, um, and watching the girlsplay and and grow up and uh, we

(18:47):
would take awesome tripstogether, you know, to the
sunshine coast or something andrent a place out and um, that's
where this song really gotsolidified.
It was on one of those trips andum, it's talks about the
emotion of, you know, going onvacation and when vacation's
done, you, you gotta go home butyou don't want to leave and
Kind of morphs into a bit of anysituation you're in where you

(19:09):
don't think you really want toleave it, because it's such a
nice feeling, it's a goodsituation, but you know that
eventually, you know all goodthings end someday and you got
to move forward.
So this one's called VacationSong.

(19:30):
The sun knocks at my doorstep,but I'm not ready to leave.
No, I don't.
No, if I'll ever Be ready to goback home.
The waves crash at my doorstep.

(19:53):
How could I ever leave?
I don't know when I'll be back,but I'll be back, you best
believe.
And I don't know if I'll everBe ready to go back home.

(20:17):
You can't stop a train on arailroad track.
You can't turn around if youdon't look back.
Life's not about where you'vebeen, my dear, it's where you go
from here.
The clouds are taking over andit's starting to rain.

(20:42):
Too young to care, with curlyhair.
They just kept on playing and Idon't know if I'll ever be
ready to go back home.
So you can't stop a train on arailroad track.

(21:06):
You can't turn around if youdon't look back.
But life's not about where yougo from here, it's where you go
from here.
Hey, guitar solo A late nightat the driveway.

(21:46):
She put her hand in mine.
I could take it slow, but Iknow, I know she wouldn't mind.
No, I'm not ready To go backhome.
No, I'm not ready to go backhome.

(22:17):
Oh, no, no, no, no.
Thank you very much.

Aaron Pete (22:40):
One of my favorite lessons of that song is that,
like that really is how life is.
Like I proposed to Rebecca andI spent two months, three months
planning how that was gonna go,and then it's over in moments
like it's it's gone out of yourhands in such a short period of

(23:02):
time.
With these events, like when westart planning them what did we
start planning this five weeksago?
And then we get here and Ispend all this time worrying
about what are we gonna serve,what are we gonna do, how are we
gonna do it?
And then it's over.
And then we get here and Ispend all this time worrying
about what are we going to serve, what are we going to do, how
are we going to do it?
And then it's over, and thenit's a memory already and it
just gives you a deeperappreciation for time.

Andrew Christopher (23:18):
Yeah, for for the moment and making sure
you really enjoy it.
But then also, I think one ofthe one of the things in life
that'll help you the most isknowing that you know there's
always the next thing you knowor there's something to look
forward to coming afterwards too, right, and and uh.
So you know, don't, don'thesitate to move into something
new, or to, or to to move on andenjoy the moment while it's

(23:41):
here, but then make sure you'reyou're not stuck looking back at
that moment and you're you'reinto the next moment fully, you
know there's another piece herethat I think I think a lot about
.

Aaron Pete (23:53):
I feel like so often we give the wrong people our
time, like somebody wrongs you,somebody cuts you off in traffic
, or maybe a loved one ispushing your buttons in the
wrong way and they're notappreciating you.
You're doing your best way andthey're not appreciating you,

(24:13):
you're doing your best and thenyou give all your mental time to
them.
when the good people, the peoplewho are on your side,
advocating for you, supportingyou, showing up for you, it's
like thank you.
But you know who really pissesme off, it's these, these other
people, and like, I think a lotabout that because I hear so
much of like this person bothersme, that person's frustrating
me, and it's like, but like, howdo you make sure that you don't

(24:34):
give all of your time to thepeople who aren't like, really
on your team?
And how do you make sure thatin these moments, in these
vacation song moments, how doyou make sure you appreciate the
people who make that momentpossible?

Andrew Christopher (24:50):
Yeah, you know, and I think you'll
probably hear this theme a lotbut I think it starts with you
know, making sure you know whoyou are and aligning yourself,
surrounding yourself, to peoplethat aren't jiving with you or
that are pissing you off all thetime or getting on your nerves.

(25:13):
You know you might start bylooking in at yourself and what
maybe you're unhappy with inthere that sometimes you can be
projecting onto people as well,or it could be that they are
just a shitty person that youknow you should cut out of your

(25:33):
life.
But but you know that's onething I learned is sometimes you
know the.
The thing you dislike aboutsomeone is often reminding you
of something you dislike aboutyourself.
Um, and so I mean it just comesto you know, yeah, don't be too
judgmental.
You know every time you point afinger, how many are, how many
are back at you, and, and, andand.
Then, if it is a negativeinteraction or a negative person

(25:54):
, try and let it roll off yourshoulder, brush it off and and
find that person that is makingyou feel, feel good, or take
some time to yourself and andfind happiness there.

Aaron Pete (26:06):
I think you you mentioned this earlier and I
it's an incredibly heavy topicthat you've raised and it was
the loss of your daughter and Ican't even imagine how that
impacts you.
But I want to understand whatare those next steps?
It's not comparable, buteverybody goes through something

(26:30):
and how.
Like it's not comparable, butlike everybody goes through
something and like I'm just I'mcurious what are those next
steps when you're, when you'regoing in a direction of trying
to grow.

Andrew Christopher (26:38):
I'll start with the comparable thing.
You know, and a friend of minesaid to me you know, well,
everybody's gone throughsomething terrible and the worst
thing to happen to you is theworst thing that's happened to
you.
You don't, you don't know anyworse than that, right?
So, you know, everybody canrelate in some way to the worst
thing that's happened to them intheir life.
You know, and um, in terms ofhow do you kind of start growing

(27:00):
and moving on?
Um, again, I would turn it, turnit inwards, you know, and and
really thinking about what youbelieve and what you value, um,
and uh, you know, it took mequite a while and and there was
a big speed bump in the wayafter, after Lily passed away,
when I was, you know, startingto grieve and and trying to

(27:21):
figure all this stuff out, um,and then a lot of really
terrible stuff came out about mydad and things that he was
doing and brought up a bunch ofstuff from my childhood and so
that really interrupted thiswhole grieving process that I
was in and threw a wrench inthere that you know, I've only

(27:45):
recently really started gettinga handle on and starting to
figure out, really startedgetting a handle on and starting
to figure out.
You know, in terms of Lilyspecifically, it was, yeah, it
was tough for quite a while, youknow, and I'm not proud of some
of the things I did or who Iwas really following that, but
that's something I've had toaccept and forgive myself for,

(28:08):
you know, and people that maybeI hurt in relationships where I
wasn't my at my best, and um,and friendships too, and um,
it's, uh, yeah, it's, it'sdefinitely a healing process.
That's, that's ongoing and um,and then, like I said, when this
stuff with my dad got thrown inthere and now it's been working

(28:28):
out, stuff from when I was akid and got thrown in there and
now it's been working out stufffrom when I was a kid and and
then seeing you know how thataffected me as I was trying to
deal with what Lily was goingthrough, and then the aftermath
of that and how I was grievingand and these uh, you know
things about myself that had tolook inward and and try, try
fixing and, um, know, andyesterday was Lily's birthday Uh

(28:51):
, it would have been her 14thbirthday Um, and uh, yeah, it's
still still hurts, that's forsure, you know, it was still
shed a lot of tears about it andand um, yeah, it's, it's tough.
You know, the biggest thing thatI come back to is I just feel
like it's so unfair that shedidn't get to experience life

(29:11):
like, like we do, and you knowthat's, that's one of those
questions that you know willalways, will always kind of
haunt me.
You know, no matter what I findout or learn or believe you
know about life and spirituality, it's, uh, it's still something
that'll always, always bug me.
You know, and um, and dealingwith that it's just taking the

(29:32):
time again, some quiet time withyourself and letting the
emotions out writing them down,playing some music something.

Aaron Pete (29:45):
Yeah, the piece that I find really important is like
people have ways of expressingthemselves, whether it's writing
in a journal, going for a run,like there's different ways.
Do you find that music is yourway of kind of processing this
information, or it is.

Andrew Christopher (29:57):
It definitely has been a big part
of it.
Um, I think, uh, over the lastfew years I've developed some
other practices that are maybeeven more powerful for me
personally.
Um, but in terms of the music,there's been, uh, you know,
revelations happening on stagewhere I'm playing a song and I

(30:18):
finally really feel the lyricsor really know what they're
about, kind of read themdifferently this time or sing
them differently, and I'm likeWhoa, that it really hits me
hard and then, yes, I, you knowit completely changes that song
for me when I'm even as I'mperforming it, and so there's
been a few very healing momentsin that way and uh, then,

(30:40):
otherwise, you know, I think,writing, writing in general.
So I have started journalingevery day, you know, and writing
more kind of essay style orblog form.
Um, writings that, uh, that havereally helped, you know, just
getting those emotions andthoughts into the world, you
know, physically, right like onpaper, writing them down.

(31:00):
It's that's really helped me.
And then the other, the otherpart of it is just stillness,
quiet.
Um, you know, I've taken up ameditation practice over the
past four years and that's wherea lot of help has come from
there, just creating the spaceto allow some of these thoughts

(31:22):
to figure themselves out andideas and feelings to come to me
that I can wrestle with a bitand then put to rest.

Aaron Pete (31:31):
With that knowledge that this is a one of the ways
you process your emotions andyour experience, can you share
some of those songs now?

Andrew Christopher (31:39):
Yeah, yeah, let's, let's do that.
I think I'll start with withthe one about Lily.
Jean is also also on theParliament of Owls album.
And yeah, this one I wrote Icouldn't quite tell you when
probably around 2015,.
No, probably earlier than that,2013 or something, let's say

(32:03):
2014.
And yeah, it's calledSweetheart.
It was just written to herafter she passed away.
Yeah, let's get that mic.
It was just written to herafter she passed away.
Yeah, let's get that mic.
Hey, thanks Tim, thanks Eric.
Did I move that much?
Here we go, here we go.

(32:36):
I'll always remember the startof September and the rainy day
when it ended.
I hope this reminds you Of Oahu,chilling under the palm tree,
ohana, just me and my family.

(32:57):
The way that you'd sing alongto all of our favorite songs
Help keep the peace between meand your mom.
We'd eat everything for you.

(33:17):
We'd do anything for you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
Nothing's ours for you.
If I drink, I'll drink to you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
When I sing, I sing to you.

(33:40):
If I sleep, I'll dream of you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
You can't count the sands oftime, but I wish I could give
you mine.
You're slipped away and wefroze inside.
I scream out at night now,trying to reach you somehow.

(34:05):
I hope you're somewhere outthere Up above the clouds.
When I dance, I dance for you.
When I drink, I drink to you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
When I sing, I sing to you.

(34:26):
If I sleep, I dream of you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
I'll always remember the startof September and the rainy day

(34:54):
that it ended.
When I dance, I'll dance foryou.
When I drink, I'll drink to you, sweetheart, sweetheart.
When I sing, I'll sing to you.
If I sleep, I sing to you.
If I sleep, I drink to you,sweetheart, sweetheart.

(35:18):
When I dance, I dance for you.
If I drink, I drink to you,sweetheart, sweetheart.
When I sing, I sing to you.
If I sleep, I dream of you,sweetheart.

(35:46):
Thank you guys very much.
That one's for Lily Jean.

Aaron Pete (35:56):
If you have to go to the bathroom, please go.
The last time I hosted one ofthese, we're leaving and people
are like you did not let me goto the bathroom and they were
not happy, so please go.

Andrew Christopher (36:08):
Take them up on it.
Take them up on it, yeah, happy.
So please go say no, but ittake him up on it.
Yeah, should I move on to thenext song?
Still, or do you?
Would you like me to wait?
Yeah, no problem either way.
No problem either way.
This next one I've onlyperformed once before, and this
one again was the.

(36:29):
The guitar part was written byJamie Rowe and he was out here
once a few months ago and hejoined me for a few songs at
Major League Pub there and weactually did this one, but no
one was listening.
So, thank you guys very much.
And a somewhat fitting holidaysong, just because it says Happy

(36:51):
Christmas in it, although thesentiment is not of a joyous
celebration or anything, youknow, it's kind of tongue in
cheek, happy Christmas that wealways had, although, having
said that, you know I should becompletely honest that.
You know, I do have a lot ofgood memories of my childhood
and good Christmases, you know.

(37:11):
But you know things you kind offigure out and learn about
later in life that that make youlook back on things a bit
differently, um, and so this oneis very personal, uh, you know,
and kind of written um as aletter to to my sisters and my
family and, um, you know, kindof almost some, some things, I

(37:35):
think maybe they've.
They've dealt with, uh in, inregards to our dad and our
relationship with our dad.
They've dealt with in regardsto our dad and our relationship
with our dad.
And you know, the kind of theguy that the guy that I thought
he was anyway is kind of gettingturned upside down and not
quite, not quite being who who Ithought he was, and so it's
called Happy Christmas, I guess.

(37:55):
Yeah, and I'll just try it herefor you guys and see how she
goes.

(38:18):
She took ten years.
On Tuesday, she started whenshe was young.
Her dad gave her her firstbottle.
You should have known whatshe'd become.
Well, half her life was wastedand the other half was dry.

(38:39):
The only way of coping Was outthere getting high, but we
always had a happy Christmas.
You could have swore he wasreligious.

(38:59):
You could have swore he wasreligious.
He always drove us there topractice, but he never passed
the test.

(39:21):
We all thought she was the goodone, but she struggled all the
same.
She never could let herself behappy.
She pushed them all away.
So before you close your Bible,can I make one last request?

(39:45):
Learn to read between the linesand go forth and repent.
We always had a happy Christmas.
You could have swore he wasreligious.
He always drove us there topractice, but he'd never pass

(40:19):
the test.
My sisters, I'm still sorry.

(40:41):
I was too confused to help.
I tried once and it backfired.
That's the scar I've alwaysfelt and I still feel.
It Could never heal it.

(41:13):
Thank you very much.

Aaron Pete (41:23):
I'm curious as to how you process your career to
date, because that's a lot to gothrough.
How do you reflect on thatperiod?

Andrew Christopher (41:37):
As far as my career goes, you know I think I
was preaching a lot to myselfand even to some people that I
wasn't quite practicing myselfor not comfortable practicing
yet.
And, um, you know I'm I'm at aplace now where I'm very
comfortable, um, talking openlyabout, you know, anything that's

(41:58):
you know that I've, that I'vebeen through that I think could
be relatable or could helpsomebody and, and you know that
started with, you know,conversations with my family and
and letting them know that youknow I'm pretty comfortable with
this stuff.
You know, and it's something Iwant to start putting out there
and um again, in hopes of ofhelping and healing and, um,

(42:18):
yeah, it's, uh, it's been a beena journey.
You know there's been a journey.
You know there's some pivotal,you know, moments I can remember
that really kind of crackedopen this new piece that I want
to start working on and, youknow, living a life more aligned
with the values that I know Ihave, more aligned with the

(42:42):
values that I know I have, andI'm really putting myself out
there and putting the work intoit.
That should get me to where Iwant to be.

Aaron Pete (42:52):
Before you came on, I talked about this journey of
being an artist.
You talked a little bit aboutperforming in Granville Island,
the work that goes on there,performing at bars.
Can you reflect on that?
Like you're choosing to walkaway from a lot of that right
now, like this month, you'rechoosing a new path.
Can you talk about why you'repivoting away from that?

Andrew Christopher (43:13):
You know, and I think that kind of that
time of my performing career inmusic was, you know, getting
those 10,000 hours thateverybody talks about before you
can master something.
And so that was that.
I spent time busking aroundAustralia when I was there, and
in England just performing onthe street, more so, singing

(43:34):
these songs for myself andpracticing as people are walking
by, practicing as people arewalking by.
And then that turned into thebar scene and the and the pubs
where I've held down a fewlong-term residencies that, uh,
you know, one has come to an endalready um, at the Jolly Miller
.
There it was just time to moveon and, um, part of that is is
again surrounding yourself withpeople you want to be, want to

(43:56):
be around, you know, every weekor in places where you want to
be, and, um and uh, it was timefor something new there.
And so that kind of that partof the career was, yeah, really
building up towards this.
I'm, I, I think, and, um, interms of now I've, I've written
a lot of songs, tons of songs,more, more songs in the last six

(44:18):
months probably than I have inmy entire life Um and uh,
learning from all these othersongs that I was playing so many
times, you know, and learningso much music of other artists
and bands that I really loved,and now being able to kind of
let that fester in my musicalmind and and up with something,

(44:40):
you know, that that I would liketo think is original.
You know, we're all buildingoff the shoulders of people
before us, or what is it?
You know, standing on theshoulders of giants and, um,
yeah, so it's, it's all got got,it's it's start from.
From all this music I learnedto play of other people's and
kind of developing my own styleor my own taste for what I think

(45:03):
I like.
And now that's really where Iwant to put the focus on my own
music and my own ideas andwriting, as well, as I said, and
bringing back the podcasts, youknow.
And yeah, that's kind of whereI'm at today is trying to just
make it more personal and a bitmore purposeful to me.

(45:26):
You know, I I found in the lastfew years that all these cover
gigs I was doing that I wasn'table to put my best foot forward
because I knew I had more togive than than what I was doing
there.
Um, and and I think I was, youknow my purpose lately, over the
past decade, let's say, even umwas my family.

(45:50):
You know my kids, that I that Ihave, you know I've got a
beautiful daughter who's 11years old and my son who's five
um, and my stepdaughter who's 16.
And uh, that was my focus andthat was my purpose and and I
think that's a very good valueto have to make that your number
one.
But then I started to learnthat there's something else that

(46:13):
the people need a drive and apurpose outside of that, you
know, to to kind of spread tothe community and and and help
others and and that's wherethese bar gigs and stuff it
wasn't really lining up with apurpose that I, that I could
find Um, and so I think I've.
I've found that now more umwith my original music and and

(46:36):
and these other things I'mreally enjoying getting into.

Aaron Pete (46:39):
Can we hone in on that a little bit more?
Because, again, before you cameout, I was just talking about
the challenges of being anartist that, like so many of us,
see somebody doing somethinggreat and we go like
congratulations.
But like you're giving up aresidency spot at a bar
guaranteed income, reliable, youknow that it's coming.
Like you're giving up thesepositions where you know what

(47:01):
next week is gonna look.
Like yeah, for sharing yourpurpose.
And like it's the same with thepodcast.
Like nobody's paying me to dothis I don't have a big sponsor,
I don't have any.
Like this is because I love itand I believe in what I'm doing,
but nobody's guaranteeing nextweek.
I'm chasing something because Ilove it and you're doing the
same and that's like I justthink that risk that you're

(47:24):
willing to take on to share yourgift and what you have to say
sometimes goes unnoticed or likeunder recognized, perhaps in
terms of like your commitment tothis pivot.

Andrew Christopher (47:46):
I think that risk and taking those chances,
doing something scary oruncomfortable, is very important
in everybody's life.
To put yourself out there likethat and I think that's where
the biggest rewards lie, youknow, and those rewards you know
not not financially always, butbut you know things that you
value other than that that canlie in places that you only get
to if you take those risks andtake those chances.
And yeah, you know I've had alot of nervous, excitement,

(48:10):
scared feelings over the pastfew months as this is all
approaching and now it's kind ofhappening and it is a little
scary.
It's, like you said, giving upsome comfort and a regular
paycheck for something that,honestly, I don't know if it's

(48:31):
going to work out the way I wantit to.
I'm really hoping it doesbecause I do think there's a lot
of value that I can give if Ican, if I can focus a bit more
on on this, uh, originaloriginal work and and speaking
like this and writing and um, Ithink, uh, it's it's good to

(48:53):
take those risks if you're goingto put the time in and the
effort.
And, um, one thing you you saidI heard you talking about was,
yeah, putting yourself out thereand hearing people you know
that want to support you andthat love you and that say, yeah
, we'll, we'll always be there,you know, supporting you, and
and it's a tough conversationwhen you call them to the table,

(49:14):
kind of right, and say, well,now, here it is, this is what
I'm doing, you know you'veyou've said you'll always
support me and and you know it'sit's weird because there is the
money side of it, right, when,yeah, you still got to pay the
bills.
You want to do somethingpurposeful that you really feel
passionate about, but noteverybody can do that, and I

(49:36):
don't even know if I can do that.
You know if I can really doubledown on this and make a living
at it, or if I go back to theJolly Miller with my tail
between my legs, which I don'tthink I'm going to do.
I was thinking aboutlandscaping, if this all doesn't
work out, you know.
So any good landscapingcompanies out there?
I love being outside on thisstuff.

Aaron Pete (49:59):
It's an important conversation because, like to be
completely transparent, likethis was a risk when I started
it.
Like I remember having theconversation with rebecca.
Like I was traveling back andforth between law school, ubc,
driving all the way out here,and and I was listening to a ton
of podcasts like eight hours aday of podcasts and going like
maybe I could do this.
And like the thing I alwayssaid was like I can't quit until

(50:26):
I know that I've I've done whatI wanted to do in the space.
And it was a huge risk at thetime.
Like I was a broke universitystudent who invested $2,000 in
podcasting equipment, betting onthis and just continuing to
chase it and there isn't a clearend point and you're asking

(50:47):
people to commit to anundetermined amount of time to
your goal.
And my vision was always likethere are voices we're not
hearing from, there'sconversations we're not having
that.
I know we're not having that.
I want to have and I want be apart of that.
And take that two thousanddollar initial investment.
Now I'm personally spendingtwenty thousand dollars probably

(51:09):
a year to do this because it'sall love for what the voices I
get to hear from.
Like I wouldn't trade this foranything, like when other
opportunities come up.
Like this is what I love to do,like speaking with individuals
like yourself, highlighting youlike there's.
I wouldn't trade thisopportunity for any other
business job, any otheropportunity, because it's a

(51:30):
privilege to hear from peoplewho have something to say, who
have a gift that they need toshare, and any opportunity you
can highlight other people whoare doing something beautiful.
It's like that's a gift to meto be able to do that and, like
with all of you here, like youmake this possible.
Like this is.
I'm not being sponsored by somebig company that pays me to do

(51:50):
this.
This is all because of peoplelike yourself supporting the
vision of individuals likeyourself, and I'd like you to
all quickly give yourself around of applause for supporting
individuals like yourselfquickly give yourself a round of
applause for supportingindividuals like yourself.

Andrew Christopher (52:02):
and I want to speak a bit to to you as well
, and because we did aninterview a couple years ago now
and and that was kind oftowards the the end of the
podcast I was, I was doing, andyou know, as I kind of wrapped
that up and that was mainly justuh, kind of me figuring out
where I, how much time I have toput in in different areas of my
life and and the time wasn'tquite there.

(52:24):
But then as I wrapped it up andand I started seeing a lot of
of your podcasts and the way youwere running yours and and I
looked at that and I said, wow,that's, that's a guy who's doing
it right, you know.
And and it really solidifiedfor me that.
For me I was like I need totake some time, you know, and
and I didn't do that Right.
No, no, no, no, no.

(52:45):
This was the after effect butthen it was just reassuring to
me to know that you know, if I'mgoing to do something like this
, like the podcast for me, Ijust flipped a switch and
started to talk to people Like II didn't really have much of a
vision it was.
It was more of a hobby, a funthing for me, um.
But then looking at how you ranyour show and how you built it

(53:05):
and where you are now, it'sincredible and and and I, you
know, intentionally thought youknow there's, there's a guy
who's doing it right, puttingthe hours in, putting the work
in, and and so that kind of itwas always in the back of my
mind that this podcast mightcome back for me.
But I always said, you know,never until I'm ready, until I
have the energy and the time todo it right, you know, to really

(53:27):
know what I'm talking about andto really know what I want to
put out there.
And that's something that Ifeel like you had right away and
you just built on it and madeit better and better and it's
been awesome and I I reallyappreciate the opportunity to be
here.
So round of applause foryourself.

Aaron Pete (53:45):
I was not expecting that.
I'm not great at takingcompliments, so I'm just gonna
laugh it off and get used to mybest.
Can you tell us about this nextchapter?
What?
What does it look like?
What are some of your goals?
How do people support such anendeavor?
Because you have this righthere.

(54:06):
I believe they're right overthere for people to purchase.
Can you tell us about this nextchapter?

Andrew Christopher (54:12):
So you know, I knew I needed to put a new
album out and I knew I had thesongs and I tried getting in the
studio with a full band andtrying to figure that out and
really piecing it together.
But man, people are busy andstudios are busy and I was still
pretty busy and, um, so acouple of the players I wanted I

(54:33):
really wanted to play on theywere on tour with other acts and
it wasn't going to line up.
But I knew I needed to getsomething done and get something
out there.
So that's specifically wherethis album came from.
It's a live acoustic album.
I had finished a home studio atmy place that I knew could fit

(54:53):
a decent-sized audience.
You know about half of this andso that kind of morphed into
the idea of, yeah, I'm going todo this live recording at home
of these songs, just my guitarand I, because that's kind of
what it's been for the last,however long.
You know, most of the time I'mout there on my own just with my
guitar and you know, sometimesDylan, my drummer, is still with

(55:16):
me, but he's also getting verybusy and very successful doing
what he's doing with Drumeo.
You know the Drumeo website andthe videos and, um, so so I
thought I just got to do it.
You know, I've I've put thework in, I'm, I'm ready, um,
whether I have the band aroundme or not, um, I'm ready for
this.
And and then the writing piecesuh, I was, I was doing it for

(55:40):
fun, in my journal, you know,writing quite long form stories
and thoughts and ideas that Ihad, and I thought, you know, I
think some of this could behelpful to some people if I can
explain this well enough in avery informal way.
You know, I say that I'm a feela feel guy.

(56:01):
You know, I'm not an expert andit was actually my, my golf
coach in university who saidthat to me.
Actually, you know him, mr drchris bertram.
There you go because and it wasmore so a joke, because I never
spent enough time practicing,because I was just a feel player
.
That's what they call.
Someone just goes out and hitsthe ball and he feels his way
around the golf course.
He's not worried about thetechnicalities of it, you know.

(56:24):
And so I've felt a lot and I'vepracticed a lot, and it's what
I'm hoping is that I can be thatkind of middleman between the
experts and between the commonperson, who might not understand
all the expert advice they get,and where I can and I'm just
talking from my lived experiencein things that have helped me

(56:47):
and things that I've beenthrough and what I've felt and
what I've helped or what'shelped me.
So that's what a lot of thewriting is and that's where a
lot of the podcast will come in.
We'll come into that podcastwill come in, will come into
that, and and I just decidedthat you know, between you know

(57:09):
the music, all this originalmusic I have that I want to
release, um, and, and all thepeople that have always said,
you know, they would support meand and and then, with this new
studio space I had, I thought Ihad an opportunity to try
something a bit unconventional,and so you know, the music isn't
going to be for free on Spotifyand Apple Music.
It'll be on well, so the mainwebsite is called Patreon.

(57:32):
It's an app on your phone aswell or a website that'll host
content for creators, and a lotof podcasters use it, a lot of
bands use it for extras, formerchandise or special edition
cds or vinyl and that, and so Ilooked at that and I said, well,
hey, you know, if I cansupplement the income that I,
that I used to make at themiller and the lakeside, these

(57:54):
kind of things, that these pubgigs that, uh, just weren't
quite doing it for me anymore,and I can start putting my
original work and myself and mypurpose into this a bit more and
online for people to access andview, and if I can start

(58:16):
changing those gigs, the freepublic cover gigs, into a few
more ticketed events.
You know, at spaces like this orspaces like the cultural center
, you know, a few bigger eventswhere it's just my music, um,
for people that really want tohear me, um, instead of doing
smaller gigs a couple of times aweek where it's easy people can
come see me anytime they want.
So it's creating a bit ofexclusivity around my work and

(58:40):
and uh, um, and my performancesand um, so it's all kind of
behind this paywall.
You know of patreoncom slash,andrew, christopher, um if
you're taking notes this is thetime to do so.
And and it is.
It's a subscription, you know,just like you would for Netflix
and and some podcasts have.
You know, just like you wouldfor Netflix and some podcasts

(59:01):
have.
You know, strictly subscriptionbased content, and you know
there's different tiers,different levels of it, where
you'll get this content, or thenext year you'll get this
content.
The next year, you know, youget a show at your house, and so
there's lots of different perksfor each tier is kind of what
it comes down to and you kind ofsign up for what tier you're
comfortable with.

(59:22):
Um and and that's kind of where,where the music will be, where
the podcast will be, where mywritings will be, and and one of
the main goals that I'm tryingto explain to people that I feel
very passionately about and andI'm trying to word in the right
way on the website is is takingthese small monthly
subscriptions from from peoplein the right way on the website.
Is is taking these small monthlysubscriptions from from people

(59:44):
in the community, um and usingthat money to be able to to help
youth around chilliwack and andum to help involve them and
show them the power of music.
Have them come work with me atthe studio.
Just try out any instrumentthey want and hang out and jam,
you know, and just introducekids to to music.

(01:00:05):
That and then see, you know,hey, yeah, I do really like this
.
Maybe I do want to go and takelessons and but keeping the cost
away from their families sothat there's no, no cost to
their families and it's kind ofsponsored by my subscribers.
Um, that's kind of sponsored bymy subscribers.
That's kind of the humanitarianpitch in there, you know, and I

(01:00:30):
also think that there's valueon that page that a lot of
people or a friend of a friendcould really relate to and grow
that community where we can talkabout things and help each
other out.
That's kind of the main goal isintroducing music to kids and
helping people and conversingand connecting with people on a
deeper level.

Aaron Pete (01:00:50):
I think we need to hear some of this new music.
I think we're incrediblyexcited.
I'm going to open the doorbecause I can hear people's legs
starting to move and I thinkthey need to go to the bathroom.

Andrew Christopher (01:00:59):
Yeah, yeah, no problem.

Aaron Pete (01:01:00):
So I'm going to open this, this door.

Andrew Christopher (01:01:02):
Please give it a beat, and then we can get
started so this one is actuallywhere the, the title of the
album, came from, and because atone of these live shows so I

(01:01:25):
had two groups I recorded thealbum over two nights with a
group of about 25 people whocame to the studio and again it
was just my guitar and I andplayed these songs and I did a
lot of talking in between aswell, which is kind of on the on
the recordings.
You can skip that part and justgo to the songs, or you can.

(01:01:46):
You can listen to the storiesabout the songs and and this one
.
I kind of talked a little bitabout how I think this could be
a great song with, with drumsand with the guitar and, and,
and I said so, you know, picturethe imaginary band behind me,
and so if you hear a guitar solo, just play it in your head, and
if you can hear the drum beat,then, yeah, move along to that.

(01:02:07):
And so that's where the namethe andrew christopher and the
imaginary band is is what thealbum's called, because it's
just my guitar and I've been.
So this song is, uh, that's kindof got a weird name called
Polka Bands and Poker Hands.
We had just gone to a 40thbirthday party where there was a
polka band, and the first versetalks about a band.

(01:02:30):
The second verse is my favorite.
It's about my son Ledger beingat the pump track.
He loves going there, and so alittle message about just do it.
If it feels good, go for it.
Don't overcomplicate things and, yeah, take some chances once
in a while.

(01:02:55):
The cover charges.
Past the cold check, a callgirl's business card.
A wooden bar stool sings acreaky tune and the band can't
quite find the groove.
But you swear this is the placeshe walked into.
You finally find her face in acrowd, making eyes up at the

(01:03:19):
bass guitar player.
She catches you creeping as sheturns around.
If there's a shot in the dark totake, take it.
You'll never hit if you neverplay.
You can't complicate somethingcomplicated, baby, and I really
think it's better that way.
Chalk on the pavement andpopsicles the biggest friggin'

(01:03:50):
drop of your life.
You're so close.
Now, boy, don't look down, justclose your eyes and go for a
ride.
If there's a shot in the doctor, take it, take it.
You never hit if you never play.
You can't complicate somethingcomplicated, baby.

(01:04:11):
But I really think it's betterthat way.

(01:04:35):
I'm out.
The river card makes you wantto scream.
If there's a shot in the doctor, take, take it.
You never hit if you never play.
You can't complicate somethingcomplicated, baby.
I really think it's better thatway.
If there's a shot in the doctor, take, take it.

(01:04:57):
You never hit if you never play.
You can't complicate somethingcomplicated, baby, and I really
think it's better that way.
Yeah, I really think it'sbetter that way.
You know, I really think it'sbetter, really think it's better
.
I really think it's better thatway.

(01:05:24):
Thank you very much.
Are we still on track if I dotwo more?
Yeah, is that cool, yeah.

Aaron Pete (01:05:37):
Is everybody just comfortable sitting?
Stretch your legs, do what yougotta do.
Stretch your legs, stand up.
Stretch your legs, take a.
You got to do.

Andrew Christopher (01:05:41):
Stretch your legs.
Stand up, stretch your legs.
Yeah, take a look at the CDs ifyou want Both.
There's two albums there.
There's the Parliament of Owls,one which I've done a couple
songs from, and then there's theImaginary Band live acoustic
album that these last threesongs are from.
This next one's another prettypersonal one, and then I'll
finish it on a on a happy note.

(01:06:01):
This one is a bit of the storyof of me changing my name, and
so now I'm Andrew Christopher.
I I decided to to drop thefamily name a few years back,
and and again, things just notlining up with my dad and who I
thought he was, and something Ijust wanted to do for myself.
And I kind of make a joke aboutit when I meet people and say

(01:06:22):
my name's Andrew Christopher,two first names, and so this is
a bit of a juxtaposition of that, where it's a bit more of a
serious side of that story andwhy I might have changed my name
.
Yeah, so it's called the manwith Two First Names.

(01:06:54):
The band keeps pace.
Trying to outrun the darknessIs a never ending race.
He's got some skeletons in hiscloset.
Some are his and some are hisfather's.
He is the man With two firstnames.

(01:07:19):
He is the man.
He is the man.
He is the man.
The two first names.
Is it the living or the dead weshould envy, you said.

(01:07:42):
Even though they're gone, theyrest In a better place than this
.
So it's the darkness of deaththat we should embrace instead
Of living a lie, instead ofliving a lie, instead of living

(01:08:03):
a lie.
He is the man.
He is the man.
He is the man With two firstnames.
And if you tell her, I knoweverything will change.

(01:08:25):
And if you tell her, I'm afraidthat she'll run away.
And if I tell her, I knoweverything will change.
For the man With two firstnames, for all the good he's

(01:09:02):
done, the bad keeps pace.
He is the man With two firstnames.
He's got some skeletons in hiscloset.
Some are his and some are hisfather's.
He is the man With two firstnames.

(01:09:27):
Two first names, two firstnames.
So if you hear this, it'sgoodbye, just go on with your

(01:09:48):
life and I'll be fine with twofirst names.
Thank you very much.
Okay, I promised I'll end it ona fun note here, so this is a

(01:10:13):
tune that I wrote, one of myfavorite things to do.
I spoke about creating space toallow things to happen healing
or thoughts or ideas and so I gowalking my dogs up the hill
from my place and nice and quietarea where I live, so walk the
dogs up there.
Usually the first 20 minutesI'm listening to music or a

(01:10:36):
podcast, as it's uphill, gettingmy workout in, and then the
next 20 minutes I kind of do alot of thinking, kind of deep
thinking, I like to call it.
I'd like to think it's deep,and then the last 20 minutes
it's trying not to think toomuch and letting those thoughts
kind of sink in.
That's where a lot of learninghappens.

(01:10:58):
It's kind of like when you goto sleep you learn a lot in your
sleep right of things thatyou've been working on or
studying, and then you go tosleep, you wake up.
Oh, that's figure it out.
Sometimes that's how you learnsongs or memorize things, and
it's the same thing.
If you can take that time,break up your day with some
meditation and seated stillness,and a lot of things can work

(01:11:20):
themselves out in your brain oryou can learn things and
remember things you've beenthinking about.
So I write a lot of songs onthese walks, and this one in
particular.
I was picking up garbage, as Ilike to do once a month or so.
I bring a garbage bag with meand pick up everybody's old

(01:11:40):
Milwaukee beer cans or weedwrappers.
There's always a lot of likegummies, weed, gummy wrappers or
those tubes that the jointscome in and listen.
I anyway, I drink old Milwaukee.
I smoke weed but, as you'lllearn in this song, I don't
litter and the last thing Ifound was a bunch of McDonald's
garbage.
There's always fast foodgarbage out there too, right?
So I picked all these things upand I set it down on the porch,

(01:12:04):
because during my thinking andthen my meditating I came up
with this song and I got homeand put these things on the
porch and my wife said why arethose things on the porch?
and I said come here and I'llshow you I wrote this song while
walking my dogs, picking uptrash along the way.

(01:12:26):
It's kind of short butimportant.
Like a psa Smoke weed, drinkbooze and eat your fast food,
but please, please, don't litter.

(01:12:47):
Smoke your weed and drink yourbooze.
Go ahead, get yourself backEating all that fast food, but
please, please, don't litter.
When I got home from walking mydogs and I heard my big gas

(01:13:11):
powered generator on cause thepower at my house had gone out
and I thought howenvironmentally friendly could
that be?
Well, I don't know, but atleast I don't litter litter.

(01:13:50):
So, smoke weed and drink boozeand eat your fast food, but
please, please, don't litter.
Smoke your weed and drink yourbooze.
Go ahead and have some funeating all that fast food, but
please, please, don't litter.
Well, yes, I was 19 once and Ithought that it was fun to drive
around in my friend's pickuptruck chucking beer cans out the

(01:14:17):
window window.
I'm really sorry about that.
Yes, this is me confessing Iwas young and dumb, but that's
what life's all about and Ididn't know a song like this one
to tell me not.
To tell me not to Smoke weed,drink booze and eat your fast

(01:14:42):
food, but please, please, don'tlitter.
I smoke weed and I drink booze.
Even sometimes I will eat fastfood, but I do not litter.

(01:15:09):
Thank you very much, thank you.

Aaron Pete (01:15:18):
My apologies.
I just feel like you deservethe stage all to yourself
sometimes.
You earned it.
You earned it.

Andrew Christopher (01:15:23):
I like the talking too.
You killed it, man, Thank you.

Aaron Pete (01:15:26):
Tonight has been a blast.
How's everybody feeling?
Was this live up to whateverybody expected?
I, for one, I'm so proud of thedirection you're choosing to
take.
All of this.
Like that's exciting.
It's a big risk.
Hopefully people subscribe onPatreon.
Thank you, yes, but it's suchan exciting risk because it's

(01:15:48):
your voice and I think, likefreedom of expression gets
talked about a lot in today'sculture, polarization, I I think
, is increasing, but the ideathat, like you're, you're, you
have a responsibility to shareyour voice, I I don't think that
can be understated and I thinkthat's that's what you're
choosing to do with this is istruly share your voice and and

(01:16:09):
put out what you're experiencingyeah, you know, I think a
problem today is, I think a lotof people are scared to talk and
share their voice for manydifferent reasons, but part of
it being that, like you said,everything is so polarized right
now that people don't feelcomfortable talking about
certain topics and in fear ofgetting in trouble, you know, or

(01:16:33):
saying something wrong orstupid.

Andrew Christopher (01:16:34):
But I say stupid things all the time and
then I correct myself or I lookfor better information, and you
know, I do see that that's aproblem and that's something I
want to try and correct too issay, yeah, let's have these
conversations, you know, anddon't worry if you don't know
something.
Ask or say what you think andthen maybe you get corrected and

(01:16:56):
then you decide what youbelieve or not.
But you got to be able to talkabout it, that's for sure.
And and yeah, you know, andespecially on the mental health
side of things you know, and formen especially, is something
I'm very passionate about, aboutdiving into is is being an ear
for people and and again, justfrom my lived experience you
know, giving my advice on onwhat's helped you know and what
can help people and and I thinkthat does often just start with.
Just from my lived experience,you know giving my advice on on

(01:17:16):
what's helped.
You know um and what can helppeople, and I think that does
often just start with talking,you know, in a safe place with
someone you love or um someoneyou trust.

Aaron Pete (01:17:27):
You've talked briefly about the podcast.
What is the podcast called?
What are you talking about?
You've just brought it back, Ithink a week or two weeks ago.

Andrew Christopher (01:17:42):
Yeah, so it's.
It's still under the title theac show.
You know it's on patreon andthe podcast can get linked to
your spotify page and your applepodcasts.
Um, but it's a locked page, soonce you subscribe then you
unlock that content.
You know the first one'sdiscussing a lot about what we
talked where I'm heading withall this, and actually it was a
story about this ten dollar billI found on my walk taking the
dogs and found this $10 bill onthe side of the road and then
lost it by the time I got homeand then two days later went on

(01:18:05):
the same walk and somehow,through the rain and storm, that
$10 bill was somewhere else onthe road and I found it again
and I thought, wow, howfortunate that is.

Aaron Pete (01:18:14):
Did you lose it?

Andrew Christopher (01:18:14):
again, I, kept it.

Aaron Pete (01:18:16):
It's in my bar.

Andrew Christopher (01:18:17):
So there's a whole other story behind it
this nice young man I met on thewalk who I want to give him
this $10 bill, if I find it,because I thought, oh, maybe
it's his, but didn't see himagain, anyway, and then it's a
lot about things we do in lifeto maybe deserve good fortune or
not, and what we think isfortunate and and um, that's

(01:18:39):
kind of the deeper, deeper sideof it is is, uh, is that?
And?
And some of the podcasts aregoing to be very music, specific
music I grew up with or loved,and talking about some of my
favorite bands and playing thosesongs, and, uh, as well as
explaining the stories in more,more in depth about my original
music, um, and then a lot of ofhealing.
You know healthy practices,self-improvement, you know
growth, um, that's kind of thethe main topics that I'll be

(01:19:02):
covering on there so your albumis sitting right over there.

Aaron Pete (01:19:05):
If anybody wanted to pick that up, how would they go
about doing such a thing?

Andrew Christopher (01:19:08):
so I'll selling them here for 20 bucks a
piece.
Um, I do have a square uh tapthing that would work.
Um, or, if you feel so inclined, to jump on the Patreon right
now and sign up and then you cangrab one.
If you're at that tier, you'llsee the options there.
Otherwise, grab one from mejust for cash or whatever, and

(01:19:29):
then check out the Patreon pagelater and see what you feel you
want to do or not.
Grab one here.
That would be a great way tostart.
But again, yeah, if yousubscribe now, I'll flip you one
for free.
There's a deal.
This is the thing I'm going tohave a hard time with.
Is this salesman kind?

Aaron Pete (01:19:47):
of strategy.
Right, I don't want to do that.

Andrew Christopher (01:19:50):
So what I think I'll have to for the first
few months is try and sellpeople.

Aaron Pete (01:19:53):
We'll keep you over here.
If you want to buy them,they're over there.
Okay, the thing I want to endoff with is an opportunity for
the audience to be able to askyou any questions that they have
.
I don't have any notes, I don'thave anything.
We just sit down and I kind ofgave you a rundown of kind of my
vision of how this would flow.

Andrew Christopher (01:20:12):
but I got nothing.

Aaron Pete (01:20:17):
So if anybody else has better questions, more than
welcome.
I think rebecca has has themicrophone.
Does anybody have any questionsfor mr christopher, front row,
right here, now that you startedup your podcast again, how are
you running?
Are you just flicking theswitch and uh?

Andrew Christopher (01:20:31):
talking.
So now I've again a lot of theideas have come on these walks
that I take and and so I'll getthose ideas in my head and
sometimes jot it down on myphone.
But I like to, I like to kindof pressure myself to remember
them, and again, that's when themeditation, I think, really
helps, and and then I've gonehome and I'll scribble out those

(01:20:53):
notes and and then, uh, youknow, maybe look at it the next
day and start piecing ittogether and so, a bit more
writing.
So a lot of it will kind ofcome out in the blog form as
well, and then the podcast wouldbe even more expansive than
than the blog is, and um, it's,uh, and I'm playing with the
idea again of of having guestsmight.

(01:21:14):
In the first 84 episodes I didof the AC show it was, it was
mostly with with guests and andI would like to incorporate that
again um, I think the first fewI'll be I'll be doing on my own
, and then, uh, yeah, so I wouldlike to think, a bit more
preparation than just flickingthe switch this time and again,
coming from a place of reallywanting to be able to speak

(01:21:37):
passionately about what I'mfeeling and and and uh, connect
with people that way, so doesthat answer it a bit, yeah any
other questions.

Aaron Pete (01:21:49):
So I've heard you play the piano.
I didn't know, you played itwhen you were young.
But do you solely write withthe guitar or do you do stuff on
the piano?

Andrew Christopher (01:21:57):
What's the difference?
There's been a couple, a couplesongs recently-ish that I that
I did write on the piano, um anduh, yeah, the difference being
I think it it for me with thepiano I play it less
rhythmically.
If I'm playing the guitar andstrumming some chords, there's

(01:22:18):
always a rhythm to it.
With the piano it leaves a lotmore room for the melodies,
rhythm for what I'm singing,because I'm just playing chords,
kind of open chords, and thenthe next one, because I'm not
that great at piano, but it doeshelp.
It definitely helps createdifferent sounds and different

(01:22:38):
melodies and rhythms that Iprobably wouldn't get on the
guitar.
So that's one difference thereand I should play it more and
write that way, and I probablywill, the good news being that I
haven't struggled to write moremusic yet with my guitar, so
it's just been coming prettynice and nice and easily, which,
knock on wood, it keeps going,um, but then, yeah, I've, I've

(01:23:01):
definitely sat down at the pianosometimes and just hit a couple
of chords and and, uh,different melodies seem to come
and, and I think maybe that's abit of space, and and just the
voicings of the chords are a bitdifferent on piano as well.
I guess the way I'm playingthem.
There's less notes than thereis on the guitar.
If I'm strumming a chord, I'musually just hitting three notes

(01:23:23):
on the piano at a time, and sothat leaves a bit more space
again to something different tobe created.

Aaron Pete (01:23:33):
Thank you, andrew, for being willing to do this and
share your gift with everybody.
I will again recommend peoplego check out your albums.
We also have calendars withAlex.
Would you mind standing up?
We have calendars with Mr AlexHart.
He took all of the photos forthe calendars and we've got a
2025 version available foreverybody.
Thank you all so much for beingwilling to attend tonight and

(01:23:57):
to celebrate this gifted artist.
I appreciate you so much forbeing willing to come out
tonight and share your gift witheverybody.

Andrew Christopher (01:24:03):
I'm very thankful to be here and for the
opportunity.
Thanks, man, give me a hug.
Love you, buddy, thanks.

Aaron Pete (01:24:12):
All right, I'm going gonna open the doors now.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you enjoyed this, pleaseconsider liking, commenting and

(01:24:33):
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