Being a musician in NYC is tough. You have to take a lot of gigs that you wouldn’t if you had the choice, the price of living is high and competition is fierce. In order to make all of your money in music in NYC, you have to be good – damn good. Andy Stack didn’t just survive – he thrived. For 13 years he played every gig in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx that you can imagine, strapping his amp to a luggage cart and his guitars to his back. He took Subways, taxis, and walked blocks and blocks to rehearsals, gigs and recording studios, most often working to promote someone else’s project.

Some musicians are happy to be sidemen/women. There’s a simplicity to it, and if that’s your calling, it’s great. Other people have an inner voice that demands to be heard. You can only suppress a voice like that for so long before you have no choice but to heed its’ call.

Andy had grown disillusioned with the scene and was looking for a way out. A trip to New Orleans to visit his friend Maryanne seemed to point to a move to the Big Easy. He came back determined to pack up and leave. The next night he went out to see a friend play a gig at the 55 bar. There were about 15 people there – and this cute girl in the corner. They started talking – she was a recent transplant to The City, having moved from Nashville, TN, and a Canadian to boot. They exchanged numbers, and as she walked away he thought “Maybe I won’t move to New Orleans”.

Within two months they had a duo band (The Stacks), in 7 months they were married, and a month after that they left New York for Hudson, NY, where their rent money got them a whole house (!) with a big yard and a whole new life. All that space allowed half-finished songs to see the light and new songs to pop up like wildflowers.

One night at Levon Helm’s Barn they heard Lee Falco (drums), Brandon Morrison (bass) and Connor Kennedy tearing it up. The 5 became fast friends and Andy invited Lee and Brandon to come record at his house. Their virtuosic playing combined with Andy’s songs, voice and guitar beautifully. Over 6 months they crafted a lush, soulful Roots/Rock album, with his wife Tania adding string sections and vocals, Jeremy Baum on keys, Rich Hinman on Pedal Steel and a horn section by Andy’s former bandmates Fred Reiter and Kevin Batchelor from his days with the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble.

Released in August 2014, Buffalo Stack’s self-titled album is poised to capture the hearts of anyone who loves old-school Rock & Roll, Blues & Americana music.