Well, here we go again. Got this when Johnny registered for sickthings.com. Thought it'd make a cool picture for this page, so let me know what you think.

Big Andy

When we left off last time, things were starting to change in the newly formed "Nut". Better things were soon to come and by the beginning of '73 they would be a reality.

As I recall, Shevy and I were discussing the fact that we really weren't going anywhere with the people that we had in the band. Shevy told me he knew a really good guitar player who might be looking for a band. The next thing I know I'm taking a bus up North to meet this guy.

Wearing my black fur coat (nobody had one like it) I brought along my accessories (Rainbow hat, cowbell, and mike) and arrived. Shevy then took me to this house where guys were practicing downstairs. I must have been quite a sight, strolling down the stairs and announcing Big Andy was there.

Seems that Johnny H. had a gig and I later learned that Shevy walked in and introduced me as Andy, the new singer for the band. The next thing I knew we were all loading up and going to the gig.

Towaco (the name of the town we were playing in) is a small town in Northern N.J. We happened to be playing at a local church. Little did they or Johnny H. and his guys know what to expect.

Things went pretty smooth until the Alice Cooper songs started. Some kids wanted to hear Alice Cooper and Shevy and I decided it would be pretty cool to fill up this doll we found with tomato sauce. We found a rope and made a guillotine and put it around the dolls head. As the song played, we swung the doll around and smashed it on the floor. Being 1973 and in a church our reception was less than enthusiastic.

After the gig we got a ride back to Bayonne (a few miles from where Johnny lived) and walked back to his house at 2 a.m. in the morning. We'd step into phone booths and laundromats just to stay warm. It was the most fun I'd had in years. Years later, people would still come up to us and say they remembered us from Towaco and that the gig was one of the craziest things they had ever been to. That's the first time I met "Johnny H."

He was tall for back then (about 6'4"), long hair, lean, and mean. Never said much, just played his guitar. After hearing him play (he actually knew songs!) I knew we had to have him. Shevy and I agreed that we wanted him in the band and asked if he wanted to come and jam. He agreed.

Little did we know it, but the trio that was to be the nucleus of the "NUT" had arrived. People came and went but The Left Nut was and will always be Big Andy, Johnny H., and Shevy.

Listening to the early tapes, the differences in musical tastes are obvious. From the hard rock influences of Cooper, Zeppelin, and the Stones (Johnny H.) to Mountain, Sabbath, and Deep Purple (Shevy) and vintage rock of Chuck Berry and Steppenwolf (Big Andy) it was an eclectic blend of musical tastes.

I think the defining moment in Left Nut history was when Johnny H. joined the band. Up till then, we were a rag-tag bunch of guys with very little musical knowledge. Johnny H. gave us a taste of what it could be like and the urge to strive for bigger and better things. Now, don't get me wrong, Johnny H. and I didn't see eye to eye from the beginning, but time and the absence of alcohol enables us to put a new perspective on an old friendship.

Early gigs were a trip. People not knowing how to tune their guitars and songs being carried by keyboard improvisation. Then, having people who knew what they were doing. It was quite a leap! Our early gigs depended mostly on stage flash rather than musical showmanship. Hanging on swinging ceiling fans, dancing on top of buildings, and lewd and lascivious behavior were common elements of any gig. The crazier the better!

We once went down to Joe Pops (a local club) to get loaded. You must remember that at this time the legal drinking age was 21. I, of course, having made fake I.D. was already known in these places, but Johnny H. and Shevy (also being underage) were admitted with me without question.

Well, one night this band (Red Rover) was playing and we went up and asked them if we could do a few songs during their break. We'd never done a "Club" gig but had accumulated enough courage (from the alcohol) to try. I remember running up and down the top of the bar knocking drinks over in the process. I then proceeded to hang on a spinning ceiling fan. At the end, their Bassist, Stu Day (who sang back-up on Alice Cooper's "Muscle of Love") told Johnny H. that he (Johnny H.) reminded him of Glen Buxton. At the time, no finer compliment could have been paid.

"His meat was hanging out through a hole in his britches""Many people came from miles around""To see his meat hanging on the ground"

Big Andy 1973

The Coop. Sickthings.com.