ANDY PRIEBOY

Why did you write it, and what is it about? 
– Owen Hammer

Between the years 1985 and 1993, Wall of Voodoo was under contract to MCA Music Publishing. One of the many perks of this arrangement was they had…

Goodbye Hell, Hello!

1997: Cafe Largo 

To the magnificent strains of "If You Want To Know Who We Are", from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan, my band made their way to the stage, one at a time. The crowd cheered each…

Oh God, you don't want to hear another "then-the-pandemic hit" blog post, do you? No!

Unless it's me, of course. Then you'll want to hear about every fucking moment. 

Well, look out: Here are the three things I accomplished…

I created this collection in 2020 to raise money for Australians and Australian animals impacted by the wildfires.

Once we reached our quota - thank you and bless you - I took the album down. 

Now, some two years later…

About the title track…

Years ago, I stood in the wings watching a fellow songwriter sing about his recent lost love. Oh, the injustice! Oh, the betrayal! Oh, the heartache! His performance was the very wail of pained humanity. 

I…

From "Every Night of My Life"

The current glut of self-hagiographies by my fellow first-gen New Wave/Punk Rock peers was the inspiration for this song. The unreliable elderly narrator in I Had a New Wave Act can’t remember if he…

I am very happy to be back on-line and releasing these songs. It's been far too long.

Before I start, let me point out that the album’s cover features a photo of my piano. This is where I feel I…

For about two years I have been off-line. 

The decline and deaths of two souls who I deeply loved robbed me of my focus. I worked, yes, but it was difficult. As I recovered from losing one, I began to…

Recently, my beloved, Merrill asked me if I had ever written a happy song. 

I responded, "If the question is 'Have you ever written a song about being happy?", the answer would be "once."
However, if you are inquiring whether…

Recently, my friend JtL from WallofVoodoo.com wrote and asked for the lyrics of Blackboard Sky. I am including them here with a little backstory. Thanks, JtL!

I am also offering a solo piano version of the song, gratis!

Download Blackboard…

Lesley Morrall, Adam Ant's Wardrobe Supervisor, thoughtfully sent me these wonderful photos from the 1985 Adam Ant/Wall of Voodoo tour.  

1985 - A Little Back Story:

Our manager, Miles Copeland, had taken on Adam Ant as a client. With a…

During the current California rainstorms, I revived this old, old song. 

The Short Story:
The sequel to Noah and The Flood in modern Los Angeles.

The Long Story:
1987
While gathering songs for the follow-up to Sammystown, I wrote…

Photo by Reggie Ige 1990

I happened upon this old test Polaroid from the photoshoot of 'Upon My Wicked Son'.

There Is A Story Behind This Picture.
Of course there is.
But, long story short? I can't tell it here…

Happy new year. A gift for you.

Why this song? 

I could have used a lot more love - The idea behind the lyric seems simple. At first listen, it appears it is a lament where I wish I had…

Mount Schtick-More by Drew Friedman. 

1985: 
Lords of the New Church front man, label mate, and friend Stiv Bators tells me the following: 

"If IRS Records ever suggests you guys do a live record, your days are numbered. They'll say…

Wall of Voodoo 1984
London
Uncredited 

Just off the plane from LA.,we are about to start The Lords of the New Church/Wall of Voodoo Tour. We had spent the year carving a new band from the old.  In this photo…

When the Heart Awakes 

Listen to When the Heart Awakes

The first song I wrote from this collection, When the Heart Awakes is a mother's lament. It's a portrait of a troubled woman who gave up custody of her daughter…

Honey Don't Be Good to Me 

Last week, I commented on the title track of Virtue Triumphs. Today, I highligh  the album' second track. Not only is it one of my favorite songs, it is also among the oldest.

          Listen…

Virtue Triumphs When the Devil Sleeps  By Judy Schaechter 

Listen to VIRTUE TRIUMPHS

LOST AND FOUND!  

While  digitizing hundreds   of  old cassettes, I have been able to reconstruct my long lost, unfinished  album: Virtue Triumphs. Started soon after the 1990…

The Song of Music Business Executives Who Reject  An Artistic Endeavor By Applying Positive Reinforcement 
       The Backstory

In the 1980s, an artist needed a record contract. We were dependent on the cash advance that would pay for recording at a…

(These Times Are) Crazy-Crazy​  
Johnette Napolitano, Wire Train, Andy Prieboy. 
1993 

Where I found it: 

While digitizing hundreds of old tapes, I happened upon this song in an unmarked cassette. 
My jaw dropped. I had completely forgotten it. 

Johnette is…

"Footnotes " came to me in a roundabout fashion.  

A while back, a friend of mine was very ill. To cheer him up, I would make recordings. Informal. Songs of mine or cover songs. That sort of thing. One…

BUILD A BETTER GARDEN has a history almost as long as the Book of Genesis itself. 

The original was written about 1993. It took me many weeks and cigarettes to write. In those pre-google days, I put together the list…