Andrew has a huge heart. He knows when to be silly and serious, but often both at the same time. He has a lot of great stories to tell, and you can read a fraction of a fraction of them here. If you ever have the chance, sit down with him and ask him about his life. For now, I’d like you to meet just a little bit of what is Andrew.

You’re a history teacher at a girl’s school. What is your favorite era of history?

My favorite era or class to teach is US History 2, which covers the progressive era into the cold war but, 1910-1940 us history is the best; I think that it’s when the US really becomes what we think it is now. I did however; write my graduate thesis on the history of English/American music in the late 60’s and 70’s. That was a good time too.

Tell us about being Straightedge.
Being straightedge has shaped my life immeasurably. When I was young I thought it was about being superior to others, like I was leading a personal revolution. As I got older I realized that it was just about being the best version of me, being a stronger person. It’s like this, during times in my life when I was unsure of myself, who I was, what I believed, what the future held, whether I was strong enough: it was something very concrete to believe in, something that I could hold onto when I felt like I had nothing else, it gave me strength when I felt I had none. It is so much a part of my identity now; I don’t know who I am without it.

Who is your personal hero(s)?
My grandfather, Bob Powers. Hard work, honesty, and family are the most important things in the world to him. James Brown is the hardest working man in showbiz, but my grandfather is the hardest working man on earth. He built the coffee tables in my house when he was 23; he built a barn last year, fell off the roof, broke his hip and drove himself to the hospital because an ambulance would be a waste of money. Everything I learn about him is amazing. 3 years ago, he said he was proud of me for the first time and I wept manfully. He has told me a few times since and I cry each time. I wrote a song about him a few years ago, it was called “the waltz” because he is such a good dancer.

You have a love for comic books. What drew you to this?
When I was 4-5 my parents got divorced. As a result my father was around considerably less for a couple years. My grandmother on my father’s side was afraid that she would lose access to my brother and I, she would not have, so she volunteered to take us every other weekend. My mother of course accepted. We spent our weekends with Grandma Judy exploring many activities, sports, ham radio, music, but our favorite was that she would always take us to the comic book store and give us 5-10 dollars. She was just encouraging us to read. My grandmother is amazing.

You are always starting bands and music projects. Tell us about loving all kinds of music.
How great is music. I mean, think about the first time you hear a song you like or have heard a million times, maybe it just makes you smile, maybe it genuinely fills you with joy, maybe it makes you feel strong, fills you with energy, makes you want to dance, soothes you, or that rare occasion when a song really speaks to you, perfectly expresses your feelings or tells you what you need to hear. How great is when you are going to see a band live? You are excited to see them and then they play your favorite song/s and you and your friends are just singing at the top of your lungs or dancing as hard as you can, sweating. Even better is when you show up to a concert feeling alone but by the end you feel like you belong, that has only happened to me a few times and it is an amazing feeling. It is the closest thing to love I have ever felt.

You are a playwright. Can you tell us about why this makes you happy?
I am not a playwright, I am barely comfortable with being called a musician and I’ve made a lot of musicians. I wrote that first play because I thought it would be fun to try. It was fun, for me, and I hope the others involved. The 2nd was obviously for revenge, and the prequel I’m working on is because someone told me not to write another play.

Do you believe people are innately good?
I do. Every human being is beautiful, talented, valuable, and amazing. We all struggle, and make mistakes, and are capable of overcoming those struggles and mistakes. We are all capable of glorious things.

You’re so positive and happy. Tell us about what keeps you so.
The world is a horrible place that is always trying to kill us and fuck us up but this totally hostile environment that we all fight for our lives in is made of a million brilliant white points of light. There are so many reasons to be happy. We all feel stress, we have all known fear and pain; but glory comes from the struggle. When Ryker was a baby, I was doing my student teaching and working full time at a restaurant, then I was made Head Coach of the Soccer team. I saw my wife 1 hour a night and my son on the weekends. Sometimes I felt like I was holding up the roof of a burning building but then I would think about how great this victory would be, how glorious a triumph, because of how hard we struggled, and that gave it a certain sweetness. I was right. It was glorious, and so is every day since. I tell the boys on the football team to fight until they have nothing left to fight for or nothing left to fight with. Once the work brings you as much joy as the win, you do nothing but win. My life is amazing and I am thankful for it.

Also, I ate some great tacos yesterday.

You and your beautiful family love birthdays. Tell us why!
Because we are still here, we survived longer. Because you fight and struggle every day, you deserve to be treated special at least one day a year and I didn’t get married until I found someone who agreed. Plus how great is getting older, not just the surviving but getting closer to my goal of living forever. Every year you learn things and do great things. Peter Pan said “to live would be an awfully big adventure” and a birthday is just the celebration of that adventure.

When was the last time you felt brave?
3 days ago, every day, when Nikolai was born, never, I guess it depends on what level of bravery we’re talking about.

Give us one piece of advice.
Don’t take your clothes off unless you mean it?