Andy & the Antichrist: Garage Punk Chaos with a Community Spirit
I’m Antone Hempstock, and I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite bands, Andy & the Antichrist. They have been brewing up a storm in the underground scene with their raw energy, DIY ethos, and tongue-in-cheek approach to punk rock. We sat down with the band to talk about their origins, influences, songwriting process, and what’s next for them.
How did Andy & the Antichrist come together, and where does the name come from?
Sjoerd, Stef, and Mart were all volunteers at a local youth center and had started playing together. Mart knew Andy and asked if he wanted to join sometime. He reluctantly agreed, and ten years down the line, he’s still reluctant—but contractually obligated to stay.
After spending ages mulling over different names, a friend of Andy’s pitched Andy and the Antichrist. With a three-to-one vote, the name stuck.
How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard your music yet?
That’s always a rough question. We’ve always said we’re somewhere at the intersection of garage rock and punk, but some people have described it as skate punk, pop punk, or indie. We’re a bit all over the place.
What bands or artists have influenced your music the most?
We all get inspiration from different places. You might find a little Title Fight in there but also some Built to Spill and Dinosaur Jr. at times. Our drummer’s very much into hardcore and punk rock. We have a really nice local scene, too, so our friends’ bands are definitely big influences.
What themes or messages do you try to convey through your lyrics?
Our lyrics mostly explore the human psyche—or at least Andy’s psyche. People can be pretty harsh on themselves and others, and we like to play around with that in varying degrees of lightheartedness. We also throw in biblical references to keep in line with the band’s name. Things can be great one day and suck the next—our last album, Awful/Awesome, played around with that duality.
Can you walk us through your songwriting process?
Usually, one of us has an idea—sometimes it’s a demo, sometimes it’s just some chords and a melody. Then we get together, and the others explain what we did wrong and how we’re going to do it completely differently. We mainly just try to have fun messing about with ideas.
Do you have a favorite song in your catalog?
Mart reckons That’s Alright is good, Stef likes Bathroom Stalls, Sjoerd doesn’t have a particular favorite, and Andy likes Chemicals. But at this point, we’re mainly just really excited about our new ideas.
What’s the most memorable show you’ve ever played?
When we released This Was My Worst Decision, we hosted a release party in an old, unused cowshed on our friend’s property. We got really unlucky with the weather—it was freezing—but everyone still showed up, and the place was packed wall to wall with all our friends.
What’s the best thing a fan has ever said or done for you?
Over the years, we’ve met quite a few people who made their own bootleg merch, which is always awesome. A lot of our fans are our friends, and they often follow us around from show to show. They jokingly refer to themselves as “Fandy’s,” which is weird but kind of endearing.
Your visuals are just as striking as your music. How do you approach album or merch designs?
Our drummer comes up with a lot of ideas for the merch and artwork. He designs a lot of it himself but sometimes outsources it to one of our friends. He has no clue what he’s doing, but we roll with it.
What does punk rock mean to you, and how do you embody it as a band?
Honestly, we don’t really see ourselves as punk rockers. Musically, we all started there, and we definitely still embrace the spirit of DIY and supporting/building a community. So, make of that what you will.
How does your alternative side differentiate your music from traditional punk rock?
We don’t chase the punk ideal or anything; we just write the music we think is amazing. Luckily, we have our friends to tell us we suck, so that keeps us humble.
Do you embrace a DIY approach to your music and promotions?
Yeah, for sure. We organize our own shows, our friends book us whenever they can (and vice versa), we record our albums with friends, we make our own merch, and our friends help us design it and then buy it. Everything we’ve ever achieved is thanks to someone we love.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band, and how did you overcome it?
The metronome. We’re still convinced we lost that battle.
Where do you see Andy & the Antichrist in the next five years?
Hopefully still in the old cowshed.
If you could collaborate with any artist or band, past or present, who would it be?
We’ve never really thought about it. We’re currently planning a couple of collabs with friends (Zanger Niley, Vegan Music, Dôrs), so we’re looking forward to that. Otherwise, we’d have to say Duke Silver.
Do you ever plan on coming to the United States for a tour?
We’d love to! But we’re not sure there would be much demand, and we’d have no idea where to start planning and funding something like that.
Do you prefer recording in a studio, or do you embrace the rawness of DIY home recordings?
Definitely a studio, but we’d probably only trust one of our friends to be the sound engineer.
How do you connect with your local music scene, and what role does it play in your identity?
Oh man, community is everything. I think our other answers explain why we think so and what it means to us.
What do you like to do when you’re not making music? Any surprising hobbies?
Some of us are into woodworking, we’ve got some miniature painters, avid D&D players, visual art appreciators, movie buffs, gamers, writers, and cooks. If it’s nerdy or niche, one of us is probably dabbling in it.
Finally, what would you like to say to your fans and those who are just discovering your music?
We appreciate you taking your time to either support us or just check us out. Don’t overthink it, and enjoy yourself! If you’re ever in the Netherlands, please drop by one of our shows and say ‘hi!’—we’d love to meet you.
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