Central Jersey-based Andy B.AND SoulFolk is a new roots-rock band fronted by Andy Bernstein, center, of The VooDUDES and featuring VooDUDES guitarist Gary Ambrosy, far left. Also pictured from left to right are keyboardist Matty Hahn, drummer Bill Homeyer and bassist Paul Daloia. PHOTO BY MIGUEL PAGLIERE
Veteran VooDUDES front man Andy Bernstein’s third solo outing, "Tellin' Myself Weird Li’l Stories," on Deko Entertainment/ADA Warner Music, marks the recorded debut of his new band, AndyB.AND SoulFolk.
The 10-song collection combines yarn-spinning lyrics with a range of roots styles and grooves. The band calls its sound “Garageband Americana,” a form of homegrown pub rock that spans many genres with a small combo vibe.
The combo of Andy B.AND SoulFolk consists of VooDUDES guitarist Gary Ambrosy, as well as bassist Paul Daloia, keyboardist Matty Hahn and drummer Bill Homeyer. Album guests include Blues Leaf recording artist “Juke Joint” Jonny Rizz on acoustic guitar and Nuggets of New Brunswick vocalist Barbara Homeyer-Hahn.
I spoke with Andy about his latest album, his new band, and the prospects for both. Enjoy!
Were you born and did you grow up in New Brunswick?
Yup, I was born in Saint Peter's Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ.
What was your first band, when, and what was your role?
The first band that really got out of the garage was Moonshine. We started as a bunch of high school friends who had been jamming and put together a couple of sets to play a Sweet 16 party. It took off from there.
The founder of the NJ State Teen Arts Program lived locally and heard us at some party or school function. She put us on that circuit. Before I had my driver’s license, I’d played Rutgers, McCarter Theatre in Princeton and any number of library concerts, school dances, and swim clubs.
Walt Sear, an associate of (electronic music pioneer) Robert Moog, heard a live cassette of the band and invited us to record in his NYC studio. But like so many teen bands, we were all pulled in a 1,000 directions, and everybody had different ideas of what to do. Thus, it ended as fast as it began. Moonshine's other members were my brother Bob, Cary Miller, Ed Cohen, Ted Klaus and Lance Carter.
How and why has New Brunswick and its music scene most significantly changed since that time?
When I was at Rutgers in the late ’70s, nothing was happening in Hub City. You could play frats, the Ledge and the Student Center, but there were no clubs.
I left to seek fame, fortune and adventure. Made a few friends who went on to bigger things, who, surprisingly, still take my calls. But I didn’t really settle anywhere.
I came back here for a job in advertising. By that time, there was a nascent club thing happening in New Brunswick, which definitely got my attention. I took the ad job, but I dove head-first into the Hub City music scene.
Now I find the Hub City music scene moribund, which is sad. And the same gentrification that killed it is happening in Asbury Park.
In 1989, you formed The VooDUDES with Jim Beckerman. What impact did The VooDUDES have on the New Jersey music scene, how and why?
The VooDUDES got out of rehearsals and into gigging around 1990. Original members were Jimmy Beckerman, Ron Tullier, Dave Ross, myself and a rotating group of guitarists. Dave Ambrosy replaced Ross in ’92. Gary Ambrosy became our permanent guitarist in 1995 or ’96.
I think what we did was two-fold: We brought roots music into the Jersey music mainstream and we were a writers’ band. Competing with each other for song space in sets made us all better writers. Audiences familiar with our tunes would actually request originals. That really launched my songwriting. But I have to admit that Beckerman's humorous tunes were always the attention grabbers.
Are The VooDUDES still together? If so, who’s now in the band, how often do you play out, when and where are you performing, and are The VooDUDES still recording?
Yes, the VooDUDES still exist. We played a half dozen gigs in 2025, including a Fat Tuesday event, several municipal concerts, a festival and a private party. Members are Dave and Gary Ambrosy and myself usually with Dan Caruso and John Pittas on bass and keys respectively.
We’re not recording. The band has a repertoire of about 30 tunes -- both originals and covers -- that are favorites of our audiences. Those are what we play at current shows. But no one is writing for the band any longer.
Right now, The VooDUDES are on break, as Gary and I are planning a return to the studio with John Pittas as executive producer.
Andy B.AND SoulFolk have released their debut album, “Tellin’ Myself Weird Li’l Stories,” on Jersey-based Deko Entertainment. ARTWORK BY KEN HESS
When and why did you start Andy B.AND SoulFolk?
I very specifically composed for The VooDUDES musical niche. But I never ditched my love for other genres of music. I wanted to record those other efforts.
SoulFolk didn't exist for my first recording, which was completely indie. John and I used a cast of thousands (laughs). I liked the resulting recording enough to send it out and was surprised by the response from radio stations. Consequently, Fish Creek Radio, an online San Antonio station, invited me to Austin for a satellite event they sponsored during 2019 SXSW.
I played that showcase with a pick-up band in an Austin roadhouse. I came back with a distribution deal from Indie On Air Records, who wanted that ‘roadhouse’ sound. So I commenced putting together SoulFolk.
Who’s in Andy B.AND with you?
The current and I hope final lineup is: Gary Ambrosy, guitar/lapsteel/mandolin; Paul Daloia, bass; Matty Hahn, keys, and Bill Homeyer, drums. Everybody sings. I've also been lucky to get help from the third musical member of the Hahn/Homeyer clan, vocalist Barbara, who people know from Lenny Kaye and Glen Burtnik’s Nuggets of New Brunswick. John Pittas is and has been the executive producer on all my recordings. His knows me well from the years with The VooDUDES. We work well together in both performance and production.
How and why is Andy B.AND different from and similar to The VooDUDES?
The biggest difference is the far-ranging genres I write in: the Nick Lowe-type ‘Y’Know I Love You,’ the ‘Chest Fever’ attack of ‘Listen to Ol’ Levon,’ the California cow-punk sound of ‘That Hank Williams Feeling’ -- Americana Garage Radio compared that tune to Dave Alvin -- and my holiday number, ‘Xmas Eve in Venice Beach’ that mixes Tom Waits with The Stones.
I'd also mention Matty Hahn's keyboard playing. While steeped in the organ and piano styles of roots music, he brings other ‘flavors’ to our arrangements. There is definitely a Garth Hudson vibe in his playing.
The biggest similarities: Gary's guitar approach to each new song. He was pretty much a blues six-stringer before The VooDUDES. But he grew with that experience and continues to do so.
Then there's the groove of my songs. I always have to have the beat and the bass under my tunes. Bill and Paul really lock up tight on that. And, of course, there’s my basso profundo voice tying it all together.
How did Andy B.AND SoulFolk hook up with Deko Entertainment?
The holiday number was completed before the rest of the songs for ‘Tellin’ Myself Weird Li’l Stories.’ I sent it to Rock On Radio DJ Danny Coleman. He invited me to his on-air holiday show. In the course of the interview, I said that my last label deal was over, and I was seeking another. Danny recommended me to Bruce and Charlie at Deko. I met with them, and the rest is history.
Is ‘Tellin’ Myself Weird Li’l Stories’ Andy B.AND’s debut LP?
It is really the debut of Andy B.AND SoulFolk. While most of the guys played on my Indie On Air recording, they were listed as being featured rather than being the band. For me, it’s the third solo project.
What is the theme of the album?
I was visiting my brother Bob in Santa Monica. I told him I was going to visit someone who only lived a few blocks away. I disappeared for the entire day. When I finally returned, Bob already knew I hadn’t gone where I told him, and he wondered quite vehemently where I had been. I told him the weather was so nice, and I was telling myself little stories, so I lost track of where I was and how long I’d been gone. He thought I’d had a stroke or lost my mind. When I finally convinced him otherwise, he said, ‘Telling myself weird little stories’ would be a great album title. And it is!
The idea was to write songs or arrange covers that had a unique story to them.
Of the nine songs you wrote for the album, which inspire you the most and why?
As you know, The VooDUDES did some road dates with Levon Helm after he beat cancer the first time. I can’t speak highly enough about that wonderful man. There are two songs on the current release influenced by him, the aforementioned ‘Listen to Ol’ Levon’ and ‘Northbound Love.’ To me, those constantly inspire Levon's belief that age, health and betrayal can be overcome by music.
Starting back with The VooDUDES' ‘Let’ Em Roll’ and continuing on through all my solo efforts, there’s always been a song about my late partner, Lori Tallman Martin. She was the best thing that ever happened to me, so I keep her alive and share my music with her through those songs. On the current recording, it’s ‘Y’Know I Love You.’
Lastly, there’s ‘When Nancy Played Some Blues.’ It captures ‘Big’ Nancy Swarbuck and her Supreme Court band, the Court Tavern in its heyday, and the wistfulness for younger days and musical comrades who’ve passed. I sent a copy to Nancy’s sister before the release. She sent back a beautiful letter how the song portrayed the halcyon days of the Hub City music scene that her sister introduced her to.
Why did you cover ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ and how did you make it your own?
The arrangement on ‘Tellin’ Myself Weird Li’l Stories’ is by bassist Paul Daloia, ‘Juke Joint’ Jonny Rizzo and myself. We cooked it up over several tours in 2012-13. Juke Joint appears on our recording picking acoustic guitar.
I’m fascinated by songs that every generation knows but have no known composer and whose origins are lost in the mists of time. There are those who trace ‘House of the Rising Sun’ back to the British folk tradition. It’s just obscure enough to be applied to any ominously tragic situation; it can be sung by a man or woman about a gambling house, a brothel, even an opium den. Now from a story-song point of view, that’s gold. Paul, Jonny and I tried to capture the atmosphere of the singer's fall from grace.
Have you started writing Andy B.AND’s next album?
Yes, but I'm not sure it will be a whole album. Right now, I'm thinking about an EP: four new original tunes and something traditional.
Do you plan to work with Deko again, why or why not?
I would definitely work with Bruce and Charlie again. However, several SoulFolkers would really like to try for Bloodshot Records. Truth to tell, I have not thought that far in advance about the next release. My thoughts are focused on locking down the arrangements, teaching those to the band and laying down the tracks.
When and where will Andy B.AND be performing?
Another good reason to have more current music out there. I have a rudimentary electric press kit ready to go out and a website that’s under renovation. The consensus in the band is to do some low-key bar gigs in the winter while applying for festivals and concerts in the New Year.
Best thing to do is check the website http://www.andybandsoulfolk.com or follow me on my Facebook page Andy B.AND.
Andy B. plans to release an EP next time out. PHOTO BY MIGUEL PAGLIERE
Do you have any other music or entertainment projects on which you’re working?
I stood with ‘Juke Joint Jonny’ and his Vietnam Vet buddies at NO KINGS in October. He mentioned he might like to do a few dates next year. Now playing with Jonny is like running away with the circus – it’s big fun. Plus, I got the arrangement for ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and the song ‘Whisky, Black Powder & Cigarettes’ out of those last tours. Who knows what might come from going back out with him.
Is there anything I didn’t ask on which you would like to comment?
If your readers found this interesting, check out my YouTube channel and buy some Andy B.AND SoulFolk from the Deko website. Know a good place to play? Message me through my Facebook page.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and Instagram and contact Bob at [email protected].
