Welcome to another Weekend Warrior profile, where we chat to a fellow keyboard player on the front lines of music making. If you’d like to be profiled yourself, here’s how.
Say hi to Andy Liggins! Aside from being in a band with one of the best names ever, he has a great train wreck anecdote and a WW2 era keyboard heritage – doesn’t get much better than that!
Name
Andy Liggins
Band Page / My Musician Page
https://www.facebook.com/share/15dxjdwCnX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Band Name
SKIP INTRO
Also play keyboards / guitar in an Anglican Church approx monthly
What genres / eras does your band cover?
Soul, rock, pop, mod, post-punk
How many years have you been playing gigs?
45 years
What inspired you to become a keyboard player in the first place?
My grandfather played piano in a dance band in WWII and after, and I must have heard him play (mostly by ear) as I grew up. I had a few months of piano lessons aged 11 but gave up. When I was 15 I started copying a friend who played piano and started playing again myself, mostly from guitar chords. I can read music but not to sight read (unless the guitar chords are on the music or I add them!).
What is the keyboard rig you currently use when gigging?
Yamaha YC73
IEMs
Is there a piece of gear you’re lusting after?
No 😳 although I’d love to try playing on a real B3 and Wurly
Aside from keys duties, do you have other roles in the band?
I generally compile and print off the set lists.
Most memorable gig you’ve played and why was it memorable?
I played (guitar) and my son played violin for my father’s funeral. We played an Irish folk song “Give me your Hand”.
Dance band at nephew’s wedding party.
Otherwise playing our local pub in front of friends is generally good and a few wedding gigs spring to mind. I play piano at a Taizé service which I can really get into (improvisation etc and spiritual).
Has anything ever gone spectacularly wrong for you at a gig that you’re happy to share?
Played some hymns / songs at a mental health unit. Someone else had put up the X-stand and in the last verse, it all crashed to the ground. I played the final verse on the floor. A patient shrieked when it all fell down but after said she felt much better after her outburst!
Are there songs you love or hate to play?
Love – ones we’ve just worked up – our latest is Up the Junction by Squeeze.
Hate – US 80’s rock… 🙄
Who are your keyboard player inspirations and why?
Jon Lord – organ
Roy Bittan & Steve Nieve – piano
Terry Lawless – U2
Subconsciously my grandfather?
Fantasy time: you get a call from your favourite band of all time, asking you to play keys next week at their gig. Who is that band and how would you pull it off?
U2
I’d ask Terry Lawless and then fake it
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Playing residential care homes.. 😂
Your 5 Desert Island Discs
Selling England by the Pound – Genesis
Aladdin Sane – David Bowie
Boy – U2
Alchemy – Dire Straits
Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
