Andrew Collberg, a 19-year-old graduate of Catalina Foothills High School, will be celebrating his record release tonight at Club Congress.
That’s right, he’s 19. And seeing as this release party will be limited to the 21-and-over crowd, if Club Congress sticks to the rules, he will be the only teenager in the room.
The talented young musician has received high acclaim ever since he was discovered at Battle of the Bands in 2005 by his manager Jeb Schoonover, who was producing the event and heard Collberg play. Schoonover was impressed by the young musician’s mature and different sound and immediately wanted to help him get a record produced.
Collberg started getting into music at a young age.
“”When I was 7 years old, I started playing drums, and I started learning other stuff after that. I’ve always wanted to be a musician,”” Collberg said. “”It just kinda happened the way it did because I never wanted to do anything else.””
Collberg cites the Kinks, the Velvet Underground and other classic ’60s rock acts as some of his musical influences.
“”I grew up listening to Dylan and the Beatles. I just got really into ’60s music and explored it myself,”” Collberg said.
And it is clear that those influences have made an impact on his music. If Elliott Smith and The Shins spawned some sort of musical child, he/she would probably sound a lot like Andrew Collberg.
The songs are minimal, with guitar and vocals in the foreground. Occasionally, in the background, Collberg features tambourine (again, think The Shins), harmonica or banjo.
The indie sound and droning vocals continue throughout the album, making it hard to believe that the man producing this mature sound is only 19.
There has been a constant local buzz around Collberg ever since he received the 2006 Critics Choice TAMMIE award for Best New Artist.
The album was recorded on My Old Records, a Tucson-based label, and covers songs from his two demo CDs as well as new recordings.
“”I feel pretty good because it’s a compilation of two demos that I put out myself. So it’s kind of the best of the stuff that I’ve done,”” Collberg said.
Tickets are $4 at the door, and the show starts at 9 p.m. at Club Congress. The show is for ages 21 and over. Collberg’s debut album will be available in Tucson at Zia Records, CD City and Hear’s Music and will be released nationally Dec. 5.
