As he ties his thick dreads back, Rand Anderson orders a medium coffee at Late for the Train and contemplates the remainder of the afternoon. He jumps into his unassuming, extended white tour van, with the sole sticker reading Freshly Baked on the front bumper, and pets his aging Chihuahua, Jerry.
As a resident of Flagstaff for a mere three years, the multi-talented Anderson has made an indelible mark on his home with both his original music and his record producing.
I like Flagstaff because its a college scene. There are different types of music that people appreciate, he says.
This factor is what has made Anderson such a well suited player for the town. His style varies from the blues power of Eric Clapton and the soaring leads of Carlos Santana to the fusion of Wes Montgomery and Buddy Emmons.
As a kid, Anderson gravitated to music naturally, and his life has been dominated by it for the 30 or so years since. Beginning as a drummer after his fourth Christmas, he took piano lessons shortly after with his older sister, who quickly eclipsed him. Guitar was the next logical leap for Anderson, and soon he was engaged in the world of rock and early R & B. Andersons initial learning experiences were prototypical of the time period: Billy Joels album Glass Houses, Louie Louie and Booker T. and the MGs Green Onions made up his first tunes on the guitar. He says his idols (were) less like Robin Hood and more like Sid Vicious.
After several years, his musical prowess took another leap forward when he began experimenting with the newest technology of the time.
Around 12, I began experimenting with programming MIDI and computers, Anderson says. MIDI allows a musician almost unlimited control over an instrument, calling up a nearly infinite number of sounds on a whim. As his childhood coincided with the technological revolution of the 80s, Andersons interests began to diversify. He describes his musical pursuits as a marriage of the analog and digital worlds.
As I listened to Andersons body of work, I noticed a trend of dichotomy. Reggae and metal, folk and punk, electronica and bluegrasshis influences and styles seemingly clash and contradict, but end up expressing the broadness that he describes as multi-genre, a term he uses often.
Anderson is both a musician and a producer.
As a musician, he has performed in more bands than even he can remember. Growing up in Los Angeles and Phoenix, he absorbed the culture of both cities. But his sound is also a combination of laid-back, mountain music and free flow jam band looseness. Andersons most successful band thus far has been the L.A.-based Freshly Baked, a funky rock band that toured extensively throughout the U.S. for several years until their final show at the High Sierra Music Festival in 1999.
Flagstaff was a hub for the band, always garnering positive responses from their shows and always creating a sense of home away from home, which made it a perfect move for Anderson away from the chaos of Southern California. As a guitarist and songwriter, he has had a broad range of experiences, such as jamming with Brad Nowell, the late leader of Sublime.
But on the other side of Andersons coin lies a studio perfectionist. Recently, Anderson recorded local bands such as Ism and Telescope, as well as his own projects. In 1998, he engaged his skills with sound production when he worked with Microsoft giant Paul Allen in creating his multimedia Experience Music Project in Seattle. Anderson describes this experience as a pinnacle of his career.
The Rand Band
Currently, one of Andersons main projects is the Rand Band, a foursome that brings together various styles to interpret his original tunes. Everyone but Anderson is a Flagstaff native. Band members include Peter Farness on keys, drummer Larry Craig and Rafe Sweet on bass. Anderson assumes guitar and vocal duties, even though he has been refining his pedal steel and mandolin playing over the last couple years. Overall, the band is an electrified folky, bluegrass, reggae and rock fusion, using the chemistry and the stylistic gaps between the members. They take advantage of the members improv abilities with extended jams.
Break out the dancing shoes and dont miss the Rand Band performing at Mogollon Brewing Co., 15 N. Agassiz, on Fri, Aug 29.
— Arizona Daily Sun