Authentic Records » Fat Andy

Sharkbitten : Help Parkersburg – Fat Andy

LB — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Sharkbitten : Help Parkersburg : Full Article

Last year, an even stronger storm forever altered the lives of those in Parkersburg, Iowa. More than seventy people were injured and eight died. They’re rebuilding homes, business and schools but more importantly spirits. Their indomitable desire to overcome is evident in an email I received from Iowa-native Jim Stockberger of Fat Andy.

For Memorial Day 1982 my parents decided to take my sister and I to visit my grandfather in Indiana. In those days, the Indy 500 wasn’t shown live so we all gathered around the television at night to watch the rebroadcast. While watching that year’s race the little weather strip came across the bottom of the screen. We watched in disbelief as we saw that our hometown in Illinois had been devastated by a tornado. Frantically we called neighbors and friends to ensure their safety and to find out if our home was still there. We were among the lucky ones, but our little town had faced one of the strongest tornados recorded ever in that area and ten people lost their lives.

Hey Todd,

This is Jim from the band Fat Andy. I just wanted to send you a single that we currently have available on the Authentic Records website. A year ago, a massive EF5 tornado devastated the town of
Parkersburg Iowa, killing 8 people. Almost half the town was completely leveled and hundreds of homes, businesses and the local high school were completely lost. I grew up just down the road from
Pburg and have family and friends that live in this community. I wanted to do something to help the people of Parkersburg so I wrote a song with the help of the rest of the members of Fat Andy, Authentic
Records and Sonic Factory Studios. Like I mentioned, the song is available on Authentic Records site and 100% of the proceeds go towards a Memorial Park for the tornado victims in Parkersburg.

The song, “Parkersburg” is available from Authentic Records. As mentioned, the proceeds will help those folks get back on their feet.

Fat Andy Helps to Raise Money for Parkersburg, IA

LB — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

After reading through dozens of websites dedicated to the Parkersburg tornado, Authentic Records’s artist Fat Andy decided to do their part to help out the small, Iowa town. Parkersburg is a track written and recorded to help raise money for the Community Memorial Site for the Tornado Victims of Parkersburg. If you would like to donate please go to Authentic Records online and purchase the track at whatever price you wish. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

“At 4:59pm, May 25, 2008, a category EF5 tornado tore through the town of Parkersburg, IA destroying hundreds of homes, many businesses, and taking 8 lives including 2 from local New Hartford, IA. It was a miracle that more lives were not lost that day. Since then, the rebuilding of the town has been incredible with help from all over the nation. Memorial Day Weekend 2009 is our Renewal with Remembrance Weekend to not only remember our brave soldiers of the USA, but also for the soldiering on of a town coming back from destruction like few have seen in small town farm country.”
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After reading through a lot of websites dedicated to Parkersburg and the tornado, a lot of money has been raised for Miracle Park, the swimming pool, play grounds and tree replacement ($250,000). However, they are trying to raise money for a memorial site for the 8 people killed in the tornado. They have applied for a grant with the state for funding of this project but, as of right now, have not heard anymore about the funding. They are currently looking for land to build this memorial park but without funding, the project is moving very slow. They are currently calling the project the Community Memorial Site for the Tornado Victims. The plan is for a park-like atmosphere with trees, landscaping, benches and a memorial for the victims that were killed that day.

Fat Andy

LB — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:53:56 +0000

CURRENT AR RELEASE:
Motel Bottle Rocket
BUY | DOWNLOAD

Ask any of the five members of Fat Andy where the band’s name comes from (although they are quite large for a rock band, none of them are fat or named Andy) and you will likely get five different stories. “We choose to let it live in legend,” lead singer Will Petersen says mysteriously.

What is not a mystery is how the band came up with their unique sound. From playing trumpet with Jerry Lee Lewis to rapping with a folk rock band to playing heavy metal in high school, the boys of Fat Andy bring a variety of musical experiences to the group and recording studio; those experiences culminate in something they concisely call Americana Folk Southern-Alt Country Rock.

When the band formed in 2001, they were mostly doing cover songs. The transition to writing original music happened organically, says Petersen; when they started jamming as a band, the first song just flowed out of them. Realizing that they were on to something, they kept writing.

The result is their first album on Authentic Records, Motel Bottle Rocket. Petersen compares the individual songs on the album to individual guests at a motel. “Each song is kind of like its own room filled with people with their own background and own sound,” he says. “When you look at the album as a whole, it adds up to a place you’d want to come back to when you need to get away.”