ANDY CALDWELL @ 414 Sound Bar Tonight

Promoting a DJ show can be a bit strange, like suddenly you have to become President of the DJ's Fan Club and act like a deranged stalker who's bordeline obsessed to try to get people to come see this person whose music you really like spin records. Which is kind of how I'm feeling now as I write this, while listening to Andy Caldwell's latest (awesome) podcast, finding press hits I got for this show in the City Pages, Star Tribune and vita.mn and collecting names for the VIP Guest list. I've met Andy a couple of times through Kaskade because they are close friends and he's super cool - and as I may have mentioned once or 100 times, a total dreamboat hunk - so I am quite excited to bring him to 414 Sound Bar tonight for a fantastic show. If you haven't been to 414 Sound Bar this is definitely a good night to check it out - right on 3rd Ave N down the street from Bev's wine bar toward the new ballpark. They have the best sound system of any club in town by far, plus a fabulous outdoor living room sitch with comfy couches, pillows and billowing curtains in the breeze. Sip some champagne out there while listening to Andy spin his beats and you might just think you're in South Beach...sort of.

City Pages

By Jen Boyles in DJ Q&A

Thursday, Jun. 4 2009 @ 12:39PM

For a time throughout the late '90s up to more recent years, Andy Caldwell was a favorite son of San Francisco, DJing and producing deep and up-front house for the city's cornerstone house label, Om. And then Caldwell did the unthinkable in 2006: He moved. He left Om. He joined forces with trance behemoth Ministry of Sound, of all labels, proclaimed he was going solo, and moved to LA. When we found out Caldwell was about to bring his happy-vibes house music to Minneapolis for a night this weekend, we wanted to check up and see what his new life has brought him.

Gimme Noise: First, the question we always ask: What are your current projects and what are you excited about?

Andy Caldwell: I'm currently supporting the release of my forthcoming studio/artist album Obsession. The second single, "It's Guud" is out now and has been getting hammered on the radio and in the clubs! I'm releasing the album on Uno Recordings in September 2009 so stay tuned! Did I tell you I'm also really excited about this whole frozen yogurt craze that's sweeping the nation??? Also, basketball... I play it at least 3-4 times a week!

GN: Yes, frozen yogurt is the yumz. On another note, we were suprised to hear you moved on from Om to go solo. How's this arrangement working out?

AC: Well, it's as you might have guessed, it's bittersweet. I really miss working with the Om family, they nurtured my career for the better part of 10 years. It's somewhat scary going it alone as I've really got to build things on my own and invest my own money into the releases. I feel that it's the right thing to do, though. As music becomes more availbable digitally, it makes a traditional record label somewhat less important than it used to be. Plus, now I own my masters and all my publishing, so i've got that going for me, which is nice! (Caddyshack anyone?)

GN: Where is home now? Tell me a bit about your environment.

AC: I'm currently residing in Los Angeles and I love it. I spent 12 years toiling away in San Francisco, getting intimately familiar with every nook and cranny. I woke up one day and decided I'd done everything I needed to do there... next stop LA! I pretty much moved straight down here in the summer of 2006 and have been greatly enjoying the gems of Southern Cali. The weather is so amazing here, you've got skiing 45 mins away in the winter, the beach is right here nearly year round plus all the great hiking and outdoorsy stuff. Don't even get me started on all the great restaurants and nightlife! I could do without the small minority of plastic people that populate this great city, but honestly they keep to themselves, plus they really aren't so bad :)

GN: What was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you at a gig?

AC: There were a couple of times when I used to use CDs (I now use Serato), that I accidently ejected the CD while it was playing!! The first time it happened I didn't even realize what I had done and I was looking around the dj booth in a panic. It took a good 30 seconds for me to realize what an ass I had made of myself and hastily shoved the CD back into the deck! Meanwhile the dancefloor stopped, the lights came up and everyone was staring at me in a sorry chorus of disbelief. LOL. Well, head down in shame and a couple shots of Tequila later, I repeated the entire sequence of events! Oh what a mess. Another reason to hate CDs.

GN: What is your favorite track to play at peak set time right now?

AC : I'm going to shamelessly plug my single here... My favorite peak time track is "It's Guud" featuring Mr. V!!! Also love the remix by Matteo Dimarr, you can peep it here.