Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? "Andrzejki” is the Polish name of St. Andrew's Day. The day in the Polish tradition is similar to Halloween - children dress up as witches and augur future. We had the idea that the name of our band should be connected with German Helloween and we wanted to make fun of stereotypical intolerant Polish people, who often criticize Halloween. "Typical Andrew" is an internet meme. This series of memes ridicules stereotypical flaws of Poles, and Mr. Andrew is a pudgy guy with a mustache. Intersection "typical Andrew" from the epic power-metal is the basis of our work.

How was the band formed? Two years ago my buddy played in an extremely weak band. They protected themselves against a well-deserved criticism, saying that "if ou don't record anything, you can not criticize us." I started the band for fun and to make fun of his own. I wrote on facebook to my friends and asked, "Hey! You want to play in my metal band?" It is worth mentioning that none of us is a professional musician - we are all amateurs. Everyone agreed and we started to invent the name of band, lyrics and music of our songs.

Can you tell about your band? Our band at the time is at the stage of formation. Last year we released “Proroctwo” ("The Prophecy") - our demo. Since that time, we've been working on material for a full-length album, but it's a tedious process. We've created a concept album that contains the story of the adventures of the Archmage Andrew - about how he possessed the magic power and defeated the eternal evil. We want the album to be polished and bear witness the power of metal.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? Andrew I is a singer, Andrew II is a lead guitarist, I’m a rhythm guitarist, Andrew IV is a bass player and Andrew V is a drummer. We don’t use our real names, all of us use “Andrew” and a number instead of a name. I've heard rumors that the band are only three people and the rest are session musicans. We all live in Warsaw, capital of Poland.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We had no special ambition. We wanted to make one or two songs to be able to tell the truth about a band of my colleague. However, the appetite grows with eating, now we have a lot of plans, and operate only two years.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? We try to combine the power and severity of US Power metal like Manowar and melodies of European power-metal. This is the simplest explanation.

Where was your first gig? The first gig of Andrzejki was in our hometown – Warsaw.

Where was the latest gig? It was our own concert – Andrzejfest – in Komorze on the North of Poland.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Me and Andrew II create all the songs. Usually I write lyrics; and Andrzej II composes music, but there are exceptions. “Sto Tysięcy Słońc (Odbitych W Klindze Mego Miecza)” ("A Hundred Thousand Suns (Reflected in the Blade of My Sword)”) I invented myself and on the album there will also be songs written entirely by Andrew II.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? Probably Andrzej II. He studies astronomy and has a very specific mathematical sense of humor. Nobody laughs at his jokes, but many learn from him.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? Our biggest drawback is that we are amateurs. We can not devote as much time to play even if we want. At the same time it is our advantage - we play our music, we do what we want with it. We are very creative. Often we invent something, then we begin to wonder how to do it. Our music is part of the poetic power-metal, although technically we are missing many of the leading representatives of the genre.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We are all fans of bands like Blind Guardian, Helloween, Iced Earth, and many others. Everybody is also fans of fantasy and scince fiction. It could not be otherwise.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We mainly write our own material, but a few of our songs are based on the works of other bands and we don’t hide it. On our album we will include among others the song "Ruszam Więc" made to the tune of "Sail Away From Avalon" by Ayreon. However, in many of our songs you can hear melodies inspired by many bands, we want to pay tribute to them this way.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We released a demo, and now we are working on the album “A imię jego będzie Andrzej…” ("And his name will be Andrew ..." - the name is a paraphrase of a quote from "Dziady, Part IV," written by one of the most important Polish poets - Adam Mickiewicz).

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5B4lL6phfg7mXhlYqgaW3g

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? "Andrew" stood on stage for the first time recently, but each of us has already played.

What year was the band started? Andrzejki started in 2012.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Currently, we focus on the work in the studio. We plan a promotional tour, but first we finish the album.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen?

It was Blind Guardian or Grave Digger. 
[I] That's a tough pick, it depends on what is the most important thing for you in a live show. I like it when musicians don't just stand there in regular clothes and play their songs the same as they do on the album. In terms of professionalism, the scale of theatrics and overal epicness I would have to pick Behemoth. Especially since the release of their latest album.
[II] The best concert I’ve seen was surely a show played by “Kabanos” (Alternative metal/Idiot-core) during “Przystanek Woodstock 2014” festival. Over 3 hours (and over 30 songs) of abstractive humor, razor-sharp riffs mixed with songs everybody was singing in kindergarden (brush your teeth FTW!) and nonstop sing along (I couldn’t speak the following week after).

What are your sources of inspiration? We derive inspiration from computer games (such as Baldur's Gate), books and movies. We are inspired by "serious" bands - Blind Guardian, Manowar, Ayreon, Grave Digger but also humorous - Gloryhammer, as well as many Polish bands.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I think the problem is serious, if the sale is the main source to maintain musician. We are amateurs and do not plan to maintain with music. Our albums can be purchased to support us, but we plan to share all of our work for free.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I listen to many bands of metal, punk and rock. I have a great fondness for the music of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Motorhead, but my favorite bands are Blind Guardian and Turbo.
[I] I love music in general, I think you can find quality artists in any given genre. Recently I've listened to quite a lot of electronic music. In terms of metal I like a lot of oldschool black metal, us power, doom. Jazz, prog rock or any other genre is also fine by me. If I had to name some of my favorite artists for today, I would point Venetian Snares, Alan Stivell, Billy Cobham, Cirith Ungol, Vibrasphere, Blind Guardian, Darkthrone, Pulp, Run The Jewels, Miłość, Pink Floyd, Behemoth, Paradise Lost, Infected Mushroom.
[II] My 3 all time favorite bands are Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Ayreon (all of A.Lucassen’s projects included). Moreover almost every kind of guitar music, from Blues and Sung Poetry to Viking Metal. Everything is better with guitar I said.

Have you been in any other bands? Andrzej II played in a blues-rock band called Hewen.

How important are your fans? We do it all for them. Music gives us a lot of fun, but we are happiest when we share it with others.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I heard that a group of girl guides sang "Sto Tysięcy Słońc (Odbitych W Klindze Mego Miecza)" on Scout rally. 

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?

My favorite is "Sto Tysięcy Słońc (Odbitych W Klindze Mego Miecza)" and “Dziedzictwo – Triumf Słowa Mocy” ("Heritage - The Triumph of the Word of Power"). The second isn’t recorded yet.
[I] I don’t choose between my own children.

[II] I like “Proroctwo”(The Prophecy) for its complexity and additional sounds. Including song which aren’t released yet I’d choose “Dziedzictwo – Triumf Słowa Mocy”. It’s gonna be epic when we finally finish up all those awesome dark melodies and heavy riffs. Trust me.

Do you have any webpages? Welcome to our Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Andrzejkiband