VH1 Save the Music benefit tour to make two stops in Emporia

Courtesy of Andy Frasco.

Andy Frasco will be performing two shows in Emporia as part of his VH1 sponsored benefit tour. He will be at Josie’s on Tuesday and at Emporia State on Wednesday.

California native Andy Frasco and his band by the same name are bringing their VH1-sponsored Save The Music tour to Emporia. In the middle of the first trimester of the tour, Frasco took some time to talk about his band and their tour.

“I wanted to raise $20,000 dollars to help get music education back into the public school system,” Frasco said. “So I decided to book a 96 show tour in120 days and get some sponsors and raise some money and we’re doing it.”

This is only the piano-based rock band’s second national tour and a portion of the proceeds will go to the VH1 Save The Music foundation. According to their Web site, The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring music education in public schools. More information is available on the organization’s Web site: http://www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music.

Andy Frasco is scheduled to play five of the 96 shows in Kansas, two of which are here in Emporia.

“We love what we do and its for a great cause so we’re having a great time,” Frasco said. “We’ve been getting a great response. We’ve sold out three of our shows now,” Frasco said.

With a sound akin to Jason Mraz channeling Billy Joel, Frasco’s music has a lot of energy but maintains a positive message behind the songs.

“We like to encourage people to do things because they love to do it, not because someone tells you what you should do,” Frasco said. “You have to do things for you to be happy. That’s why we’re doing what we do, because we believe in this music and this project.”

Out of their growing number of fans, Andy Frasco and company appreciate their biggest supporters, their families.

“Our families are so good to us, they really believe in us,” Frasco said. “I feel like in this industry, a lot of people are more worried about their self image and not about the music itself and the people who are supporting them. It makes it everything incredibly better, it makes the music more soulful, its like when you first find love.”

Frasco has been involved in the music industry since he was in high school.

“I used to manage and market bands before,” Frasco said. “When I was like 16 or 17, I used to work for a band called Hellogoodbye with DriveThru Records.”

In 2004, Frasco quit managing acts in order to focus on his own musical career. He soon left the West San Fernando Valley to embark on his first tour.

“We’ve been getting such a great reaction, its just unbelievable,” Frasco said. “Everybody really likes what we’re doing, so we’re just going with it.”

Frasco met bass player Matt Romero through managing bands, and found drummer Greg Garman through Craigslist. The three have been having a blast on the road together and are trying to make every show different from the last.

“Most of our set is all improv,” Frasco said. “We really don’t have a set list so its always different. We make every show different so people want to keep going to the shows and make each one a unique experience.”

The band has scheduled over two hundred shows in 2008 and are loving life on the road.

“We just love being on the road,” Frasco said. “There’s nothing like it. Seeing new people every day and playing music. It’s the best job in the world.”

Frasco recently released his fourth record ‘Growth and Progress.’ The record was recorded entirely in a small apartment in New York City.

“I moved to New York by myself and I was sure I wasn’t going to leave until I recorded a record,” Frasco said. “It took six or seven months but I finished it.”

Fans can check out a number of tracks by Andy Frasco on his MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/andyfrasco.

Despite a strenuous tour schedule, the group has already made plans to record a follow up to ‘Growth and Progress.’

“We have to do 220 shows this year, so we are going to keep playing,” Frasco said. “But in five months we’re going to move up to northern California and write a record.”

Andy Frasco is scheduled to play at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Josie’s, 19 East 6th street, and at 7 p.m. on the Emporia State campus on Wednesday.