Andrew Vladeck
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Andrew Vladeck

New York City, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 1991 | INDIE

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 1991
Band Folk Rock

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"A-Sides Huffington Post"

“Fireships self-titled debut comes at you with an alt-rock, folksy vibe but skews more Americana. Vladeck’s ‘veteranness’ matched with his bandmates awesomeness make for one singular takeaway: it’s a carefully crafted, fun record.“ -


"Popmatters"

“‘Come Back to Me,’ sounds like an indie campfire jam, with a sing-along chorus and a convivial mood making it an ideal invitation for the Fireships LP. Existing somewhere between indie rock and folk revival, Fireships have offered up a promising start.” -


"Leo Weekly"

“Dreamy and cerebral, but with enough punch and melody to make themselves digestible and addicting, Fireships have influences from all across the board, based on both geography and era. And no matter which area of the folk-rock spectrum they are exploring, there’s a certain amount of strange and ambitious energy which makes them likable. Consistent in the right ways, with restless minds, Fireships manages to carve out a little breathing room for themselves in the currently crowded roots scene.” ~ Leo Weekly

“Fiery alt-folk… finely crafted, tuneful, passionate music.” ~ The Big Takeover

“Purely a joy to listen to. Their playful yet smart lyrics combine with brilliant instrumentation to make this one you need to grab… a wonderful album.” ~ Independent Clauses

“Vladeck allows himself to be overwhelmed with beauty… The result is a thoughtful layering of gentle plucking, West African rhythms, soaring harmonies, and electric pop hooks. Each song belies an earnest longing that remains with the listener long after the final hooks have receded back into the clouds.“ – Breakthru Radio

“The perfect blend of Midwestern thoughtfulness and New Yorker gruff.” ~ The L Magazine -


"Village Voice"

While not easy to describe, Vladeck plays a playful brand of folksy, country rock music, with touches of the Modern Lovers and They Might Be Giants. His upbeat music is bold and brassy…this ex-urban park ranger is nothing but fun live. -


"Daytrotter"

“Toe-tapping tunes & heavenly harmonies in our debut from Fireships.“ -


"Smother"

No way did this album happen in New York City. How honestly could you fuse a ukulele and long-neck banjo that glaze Americana and roots rock with a veneer of Midwest attitude that ingeminates Dylan but without sounding like a cliché. Andrew Vladeck has his own voice and people will be taking notice. - Smother.net


"Indie-Music"

Vladeck plays Americana folk/rock on banjos, ukuleles, electric guitars, and in the opening track, I could swear he's bearing down on a violin with a saw blade. Through it all, he warbles in a way I can only describe as a deep-grooved drawl filled with bleary-eyed nights, hot coffee, scuffed boots, and flickering neon diner signs. If you are desperate to hear something completely different, put on this CD... And it will definitely scrape the Top 40 glitter right off your stereo. - Indie Music.com


"Music Connection"

Absolutely entertaining stuff here from an East Coast singer/songwriter…witty wordplay and compelling voice…not doing what everyone else is doing these days...songs sound modern, yet have this historical, Americana feel to them... Van Morrison-esque full-band treatment. - (LA)


Discography

Fireships (2014)

Photos

Bio

New York singer-songwriter Andrew Vladeck's writing chops and idiosyncratic impulses create sharp, lyric-driven songs that fuse the modern energy of the city with vintage folk-blues roots. 

Vladeck's newest album “Visions and Revisions,” integrates work with various renowned producers recorded over the past good while. Some songs are new, others are creative revisitations of Vladeck's lengthy songbook. Listen for work with Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive), Grammy Winner Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris), Grammy Nominee Felix McTeigue (Lori McKenna), Roger Greenawalt (Iggy Pop), Kaia Fischer (Rainer Maria), and Jesse McGrath. 

 

“Visions and Revisions” (title thanks to T.S. Eliot) holds sure-footed beliefs alongside idealistic yearning and emotional naiveté. Musically, it’s mostly classic singer-songwriter roll-down-the-windows soul-searcher rock — with it's quirks. Surprisingly, there seems to be a fair amount of singing in an almost spoken word/hip-hop vein. There’s a harkening back Lou Reed, Beck, Jonathan Richman, Dylan and The Boss. Lyrically it smacks of midwestern intellectual dreamfire with just the right amount of New York attitude.


Vladeck has been a fixture on the New York music scene since the 90s when he made a name for himself with his songwriting and creative adaptation of old instruments (autoharp, banjo-ukulele, banjo). Vladeck's musical journey started with a good fortune: a guitar lesson from his first inspiration, his father's cousin, grammy-nominated Americana legend David Bromberg, who picked out his first guitar, a Martin D-18. After college Vladeck worked by day as an Urban Park Ranger in NYC's Central Park. He become known as "The Singing Ranger," and performed for park events city wide. By night he hot-wired his instruments with pick ups in order to play them with his 9-piece big band in clubs downtown (a sound captured on his 2004 debut Andrew Vladeck LP). He was voted The Deli Magazine’s NYC Artist of the Month and acclaimed in NYC's late Village Voice. 


Over the years he has shared bills with The National, Andrew Bird, Norah Jones, David Johanesen (& The Harry Smiths), Soulive, Beth Orton, Moe., Jeff Buckley, Ani DiFranco, and many more. He's sat in with one of his personal favorites, musician/activist Bhi Bhiman. He contributed vocals to a whimsical project of Mike Gordon (Phish) about legendary bass player Joey Arkenstat. He contributed a song to the compilation Occupy this Album. He's gotten to meet his heroes Allen Ginsburg and Pete Seeger. Smaller highlights include when David Byrne signed his mailing list after Vladeck's album release concert at the Bowery Ballroom – and when Bruce Springsteen literally ran into him coming out of an elevator in midtown. 


Vladeck’s last record, Fireships (2015), features instrumental stylings from legendary composer David Amram, Sydney Wayser (Clara Nova), guitar great Adam Levy, songwriter Lauren Balthrop, and many more. The album was Voted Best of 2016 by The New York Music Daily and was featured in the Huffington Post, Guitar World, Daytrotter, charted on college radio, played the Voice of America – live from Washington DC, and toured the US and Europe. 


Vladeck's songwriting has garnered First Place in the International Songwriting Competition (for "The Songs You Inspire") and multiple honors from Billboard World Song Contest (for 4 songs off the debut album), two Great American Song Contest Semi-Finalist awards (for "Gush" and also "Countdown Time" co-written with Adam Levy), UK Songwriting Awards Semi-Finalist (for "Some Damn Reason" co-written with Jillian Arciero aka Jillian Jacqueline).


Vladeck, along with actor/activist Adrian Grenier and filmmaker Ari Gold, was founding member of 00's Appalachian Glam-Rock band The Honey Brothers. They released three albums, toured four continents, played main stages at music festivals such as Osheaga, All Points West, Bumbershoot. Interesting things happened. Marky Ramone sat in on drums in Cleveland, and Amanda Palmer sat in with them at Wanderlust. All in all it was a very fortunate and very weird time. 

With the release of V+R, Andrew Vladeck is performing around NYC. Look for tour dates around the US and Europe in the coming year. In the meantime catch up with Andrew’s catalog on Spotify and everywhere online.

Band Members