Page 7 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 102

BV102 pg06-09 andy black _BV102 pg07 12/09/2019 22:50 Page 2

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paint and make little figurines and learn inspired by just those feelings of I didn’t be kind of silly because I am currently 28
how to play bass and sing in front of a mir- necessarily know how to fit in.” and I, since taking a shower today, have
ror and pretend that I was a big rock star. One of the side effects of isolation is had ten different things that I have regret-
Those were the kind of ways that I passed anxiety - and anxiety is something that af- ted. Just small micro regrets that I have to
my time, but what I realized as I got older fects many of us, even those that are not al- move on quickly past else I’ll go crazy.”
was, I didn’t really adjust socially in the way ways isolated. Anxiety can be caused by Andy has definitely used his anxiety in
that many people do by the time they’re in many different factors or events and sees a positive way though, using it to fuel his
their late teens and early 20s. People go to the individual overthinking situations to a creativity.
university or whatever it is and they have large degree. “It’s inspired most of the art that I’ve
the opportunity to spend time with other Andy says, “I think the problem that I made. Since I was a kid, I’ve always had
people. I just started touring. So I went have is that I regret and am so anxious and this inherent dread that something bad is
from, essentially, no social skills to being fear so many things at all times. It could be about to happen. I always have this feel-
constantly surrounded by people, many of something as simple as walking down the ing… the feeling you have when you’re
which are excited to meet me or see me and hallway and saying hello to somebody but about to ride a rollercoaster and you get to
I don’t really know how to interact with maybe I did it in a weird way. I’ll think about the top and you know you’re about to go
them, and so I always felt that little bit of that for 20 minutes and think about ‘Is that down. I have that feeling a lot through the
isolation; a loner in a crowded room kind of person weirded out by how I said hello?’ To day and always have. And it’s inspired a lot
thing. So the character was in many ways say that I wouldn’t live with regrets would of what I write about and how I interact with

ANDY BLACK