Andy Frasco

Andy Frasco & the U.N. are a party band that blends soul, blues, jazz, and rock influences into a good-time, slightly raunchy mix. Led by Frasco on vocals and keyboards, the group's sound is rooted in '60s and '70s influences in their pursuit of a soulful R&B groove and their celebration of good times and positive energy. Their 2016 album, Happy Bastards, captured their high-spirited sound in the studio, 2017's Songs from the Road documented their raucous live show, and 2019's Change of Pace showed they could approach more serious material and still move the crowd.

A California native, Andy Frasco had a powerful interest in music from his youth, but rather than promoting his own work, he started to pursue a career in the music business as a teenager. He worked with the indie pop/punk label Drive-Thru Records, and landed a job at Atlantic when he was just 18. After moving to New York City for the Atlantic gig, he was crestfallen when the job fell through, but felt this was a sign to start making his own music. Frasco learned to play keys, wrote some songs, bought a van, and started booking shows, initially finding bandmates through Craigslist. Andy Frasco and the U.N. hit the road in 2007, and while most of the group's membership has been a revolving door, guitarist Shawn Eckels and saxophonist Ernie Chang have functioned as mainstays since the group's inception, helping Frasco keep the band and their shows solid.

Andy Frasco & the U.N. released their first album, Love, You're Just Too Expensive, in 2010, and from that point forward they demonstrated a strong work ethic, touring and recording on a regular basis. Three studio albums followed in quick succession during the first half of the decade -- Road Life Revival in 2012, Just a Good Ole Time in 2013, and Half a Man in 2014, which they supported with festival appearances around the world. Released in 2016, Happy Bastards gave the group further momentum, and in 2017, they released their first live album, Songs from the Road. Frasco and company kept up their busy schedule with 2019's thoughtful Change of Pace, but as he began to buckle under the stress of constant touring, frayed relationships, and a growing appetite for drugs and alcohol, he took to writing poetry as a means of self-care, working out his thoughts about mental illness and a healthier outlook on life. As the poems grew into songs, Frasco took them into the studio, with Dave Schools of Widespread Panic and Kenny Carkeet of Awolnation producing the sessions. 2020's Keep On Keeping On, the band's first album for SideOneDummy Records, arrived in April of 2020. BIO BY : ALLMUSIC.COM