For many of us, attending an AA meeting is something we do to keep us out of bars. But Harrisburg area party band Asking Andy holds its A?A meetings right in some of Central Pennsylvania’s hottest venues. These meetings do not require any daily affirmations, and drinking is a must. So be on the lookout for flying toilet paper rolls, projectile marshmallows and, of course, the sheep. Yes, sheep. These anatomically correct sex toys are just part of Asking Andy’s always unpredictable stage show.
“So I’ll stick my microphone in the hole and make people sing out the ass of the sheep,” says Keith Hoppes, singer, with a laugh. The sheep, along with the other on-stage “crazy antics” and A?A’s selection of “danceable rock” combine to create one of the area’s self-proclaimed premier party experiences.
Whether they’re playing newer hits by bands like Fall Out Boy and Green Day, or some ’80s hair band classics (you know exactly which ones I’m talking about), Hoppes guarantees one thing: “You will pretty much know every song we do.” Their repertoire of songs is rapidly reaching the 100 mark, all with the intention of keeping people dancing and singing along. A?A does, however, play one song that no one knows. Actually, if you can guess who sings the song during an A?A meeting, you receive a free band sticker. In the year and three months that Asking Andy has been playing together, only three stickers have been awarded. “Everybody sings along when we play it,” says Hoppes. “But they don’t know who sings it.”
Asking Andy formed about a year and a half ago with the fusion of former members of the bands Adickdid, SomethingFluid, rU21, Strange Reality and Broke By Tuesday. Everything aligned when Luke Barnhart, the drummer, called Darrell Adams, the guitarist, and asked if he wanted to put together a band. Adams then called Hoppes, and Hoppes later called Brian Miller, the other guitarist. This all happened within three days. Patrick Riordan, the bassist, was found at a picnic.
“He was dating one of my friends and he was like, ‘Hey, I play the bass.’” Hoppes asked him to audition for the band, and shortly after, Riordan was on board. In a short time, the members of Asking Andy have managed to become one of the hardest working party/cover bands in the area, partying up to four nights a week. And they don’t use the word party lightly.
A?A’s mission is to have a good time and to make sure that the crowd is having a good time too. “Basically, we’re out there to have fun and to entertain people and have them have fun,” says Hoppes. “So I don’t know that we’ll ever be an all-original band.” Even though A?A may not plan on being a full-time original band, members are currently working on some original material. The band hopes to have two new songs finished by the end of the year and six or seven more by next summer. “Just in case opportunities arise where you need to have originals,” says Hoppes.
In the meantime, Asking Andy will continue doing what it does best – throw parties and play music that “makes you want to get freaky on the dance floor.” So if you think you’re ready to come to an A?A meeting, the band will soon be bringing its “crazy antics” to York for the first time.
As Hoppes says, “You never really exactly know what we’re gonna do.”