By THERESA WINSLOW, Staff Writer
    Published 08/05/10
    Photo by Shannon Lee Zirkle, The Capital
OK. First things first.

Let's talk about the hair.

Andy Poxon gets asked about it a lot, which is understandable given that he sports what is essentially a giant red Afro. And he's fine with it, because, as he says, that's just him. It's the way his hair grows.

Nevertheless, it provides an instant identity for the 16-year-old Crofton teen. That is, until he picks up his guitar. Then, his hair and his age become irrelevant as the cool blues flow.
Poxon's precocious musical abilities are on full display in his new CD, "Red Roots," which was released last month and features 13 of his original songs.

He plays in a trio bearing his name, and leads two men whose combined ages are more than five times his own. In fact, bassist Russ Wasson's guitar, which he calls "Beulah," is older than Andy, a lot older.

The Andy Poxon Band plays a lot of area gigs, and rehearses at drummer Mike O'Donnell's Huntingtown home - stops that, for the most part, Andy's parents have to drive him to because he doesn't yet have his license."I have a year-and-a-half-old car and it has 47,000 miles on it," joked Andy's mother, Karen.

Her younger son's infatuation with the guitar began at about age 9 when he found an acoustic model in the basement of his home and asked his mother to teach him the few chords she knew.
"He fell in love with it," she said.

Up until then, Andy had been playing the violin, like his mother. His father, Michael, plays piano, and older brother Will, 19, is studying for a bachelor's degree in music education, so musical ability definitely runs in the family.

That doesn't mean Andy doesn't work at his craft, however. He practices whenever he gets the chance, plays with other bands to broaden his musical horizons and even accompanies girlfriend Carol Anne Drescher in a country-tinged duo. (They finished second in the 12th annual county Battle of the Bands this past winter).

"There's plenty of people who can give rave reviews of Andy," said Bob Thompson, one of the owners of the Old Bowie Town Grille, where the band recently held a CD release party and where Andy is a regular at blues jams. "He's got so many fans here."
Andy's work ethic extends to academics, where he's due to graduate from South River High School next spring, a year early. Not surprisingly, he wants a career in music.

Despite his talent, his guitar teacher, Rob Fiester of Bowie, is pushing for Andy to go to music school. Fiester said there are teens like Andy in every state, and while his student might be among the best of the best, a broad-based music education would make long-term success in the music industry more of a possibility.

"He's a joy to teach," Fiester said. "(But) as good as he is now, his potential is unfathomable."

Andy said he'd like to attend either the University of North Texas, which is known for its jazz program, or the Berklee College of Music in Boston. "I love the blues, but there isn't much of a future in it," he said with a shrug. "I want to do whatever I can do to keep playing music."

When he first started playing guitar, Andy gravitated to heavy metal and hard rock on the guitar, but that didn't last long. He eventually became entranced by the blues and tunes dating back to before the time of Wasson's bass guitar, which was made in 1961. His favorite blues artists are B.B. King and Joe Bonamassa.

"People will tell you a teenager can't sing the blues, but he does a good job," said Carol Anne, 17, of Riva.

Banded together

Andy's band got together a little over a year ago. The trio met through a variety of performances at the Bowie pub.

Wasson, 58, said he was a bit skeptical when Andy first sat in with him, but was soon a believer.

"As soon as he got out his guitar and played, he dispelled any concerns I had," the bassist said.

At a recent practice, the band members played a couple selections from their album, then covered an Elvis song and a tune by Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Andy stood close to the microphone and in front of O'Donnell and Wasson.

"He's young and he's got cool hair," joked O'Donnell, 30, about why he joined up with the teen. "My hair's falling out."

The same sense of humor pervaded the rehearsal, and it's clear that despite their age differences, all three band members enjoy each other's company. The song-writing process is equally affable, with Andy coming up with the lyrics and some chords, then taking it to O'Donnell and Wasson for their input.

"We're all just open with each other and get along," said O'Donnell, whose full-time gig is as a music teacher at North County High School.

Andy said he gets the ideas for his songs from a lot of different sources. For instance, "Quitters Never Lose," the third cut on the CD, was inspired by his brother's crush on a girl. The concept for "Stop" came from a former teacher of his who wouldn't stop talking.

"He's an old soul (in terms of) singing, playing and song writing," said Wasson, who lives in Arlington, Va., and works for a trade association for electric cooperatives. "I haven't ever seen a (teenager) write songs like Andy can write."

His mother said some of the selections on "Red Roots" were composed when Andy was just 14.

Although he doesn't shy away from practice, he said he greatly prefers performing, which is why he's doing as much as he can, especially during summer break.

"I'm happy when I'm on stage, that's when I have the most fun," he said with a smile. "This is my summer job and it's been a fun summer job."
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For more information on The Andy Poxon Band, visit the website www.andypoxonband.com.
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twinslow@capitalgazette.com
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