Andy Shernoff

Café Nine

New Haven, CT

January 2010

By Cary Doll
(SugarBuzz CT/NYC)

SugarBuzz Magazine

It was a chilly night in the Elm City. When I arrived, I spotted Andy talking to Big Fat Combo’s Tom Hearn, and Peter from the Reducers. It was a smallish crowd of maybe 35 people that night but not too bad considering it was a very chilly night when only the bravest ventured out, and a Tuesday night as well. Most of the people in the bar were there because of Andy. I’m sure of it. I know I was. Certainly it was “the place” to be, that Tuesday night in Connecticut.

For those of you who somehow never heard the Dictators, they were a combination of testosterone-fueled, stripped down rock ‘n’ roll, mixed with a lot of humor, and yes, even sensitivity! They also had a lot of balls. Who else would have had the nerve to cover “I Got You Babe”, the Sonny & Cher tune, on their first record? The Dictators wrote songs about cars and girls, rock ’n’ roll, and the weekend! They dressed in jeans, leather jackets and Converse sneakers, ‘cos they knew they didn’t look & feel so comfortable wearing satin or spandex pants. Little did they realize they were starting a trend! They actually pre-dated the Ramones first record release, and paved the way for others to follow.

Andy perched on a stool with his guitar and some notes, and recounted his (most interesting!) background from school days through the Dictators days, and a bit beyond. It was most interesting hearing all about it.

He grew up in Northern Queens, (NY) - Jackson Heights area, and attended the same elementary school that a Johnny Genzale a.k.a. Johnny Thunders attended. He went to high school at the same time as Gene Simmons and some of the Fleshtones, continuing on at SUNY New Paltz. He also put out a very small circulated rock ‘zine called Teenage Wasteland Gazette, for which friends Richard Meltzer and Lester Bangs contributed articles. He interviewed Muddy Waters for Oui Magazine, and also wrote for Creem (Boy Howdy!)

Through connections with Richard Meltzer, Sandy Pearlman saw them rehearse and promptly booked them to open for Blue Oyster Cult and Iggy & the Stooges. The group put out their debut album The Dictators Go Girl Crazy circa 1974. He recounted how the band first heard their music coming through a jukebox in an S & M club. A few years later, they toured England with the Stranglers and played at the Roundhouse at the height of the English Punk scene. The English kids didn’t know what to make of their ‘oh- so-tame’ lyrics/music. He recounted a trip to Germany and the wild adventures they had there. When he wasn’t’ telling stories about his past, he played some of his and our favorites like “New York, New York”, “Find Something Beautiful”, “Baby Let’s Twist”, and “Stay with Me” ( the latter two songs from the band’s album Bloodbrothers.) It was a honor for the band when Dion covered “Stay with Me”.

Andy recounted working with both Dee Dee Ramone (with whom he wrote the song “Chinese Bitch” which he played for the crowd) and about how he met Joey Ramone at the Coventry, a rock ‘n’ roll bar in Queens, NY , as well as his close friendship with Joey. He explained how you could really only be friends with one Ramone at a time, because of the issues each band member had with each other. Andy played on “Stop Thinking About It” which appeared on Joey Ramone’s solo release “Don’t Worry About Me”, released shortly before Joey’s death from lymphoma.

Over the course of his career, and more recently, Andy has played with other musicians, has produced many musicians, and has also had his songs recorded by many people. He has had songs included in movies and TV as well. For more info on the man and his music, here are some links to explore:

myspace.com/themasterplannyc

myspace.com/andyshernoff

www.thedictators.com

SugarBuzz Magazine