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Blue-eyed, blond-haired southpaw singer/songwriter born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1970 to immigrants from Brazil. Pronouns but antiadverbs. Cat lover (animal lover, really, but especially
cats, penguins, and squirrels).
Had his tonsils removed. Got his first computers (Timex Sinclair 1000, Commodore VIC-20 and 128) in the '80s.
Got out of religion and got into the Beatles, and started a lifetime fascination with rock music. Won both a school-wide and a city-wide spelling bee. Discovered Monty Python, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and "Doctor Who" all around the same time, and
only learned many years later about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things (and these things in particular). Visited Brazil with his family, twice. Carried around a lot of pairs of sunglasses in, and wore a lot of buttons on, his Members Only
jacket.
Took part in his first protest as a high school junior, and helped get the school's summertime dress code altered. Worked a few days as a busboy, and a few months (after a relatively late bout of chicken pox) as a produce clerk at a Pathmark supermarket. Played
some tennis, even in the rain, and tried teaching a handful of others to play over the years, too.
Met a couple of lifetime friends in Rutgers' Dean's Summer Scholars Program in New Brunswick, NJ, where he also co-wrote and played some parody songs with the Hellevators. Danced in the rain. Learned to
drive, using turn signals and without crossing double-yellow lines or cutting corners (and still drives that way — how 'bout you?). Went to three high school proms. Graduated as salutatorian at Paterson's John F. Kennedy High School. One-time Toys "R" Us kid
(and employee),
two-time college dropout (Glassboro and Montclair State Colleges). Spiked up his hair with orange Tang. Saw the Who at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 1989. Shot a few different types of guns (safely, on private property). Ice-skated at Rockefeller Center
numerous times. Bought a right-handed electric guitar, and started tinkering with playing it left-handed and writing songs in his twenties, alone and as half of Not An Exit. Shaved off his eyebrows...
twice. Spent a little time in various mosh pits. While standing on the side of the road, was asked, "Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy jeans you're wearing?" by a female passenger in a car
driving past (they were not; they were black bondage pants).
Handled hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash as a bulk currency teller at United Jersey Bank. Once picked up a hitchhiker. Moved out and into his first apartment. Did inventory control, then production, and eventually MIS management for AA World Class
Embroidery in Ridgefield, NJ. Sat a few rows closer to the stage than Pete Townshend did for "The Who's Tommy" on Broadway (in previews). Became a Renaissance (Faire) man. Got a pager. Bought his first
Macintosh.
After being asked repeatedly "Do you want a cat?" by a friend, took the tabby off her hands. Shared a chuckle with John Lydon at a book-signing. Saw Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd within a month of each other. Got poison ivy, and didn't like it. Wore an
asymmetrical goatee (mustache on one side, beard on the other) for a short while. Published a 'zine for most of 1995 and attended the second
annual Underground Press Conference in Chicago that August. Tried his hand at telemarketing very briefly, but really disliked it.
Danced on a bar at least once. Drank a lot of tequila in Cancún and climbed the Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo) in Chichen Itza (not as a result of said tequila, probably).
Took a date to the Meadowlands Fair, where she promptly got sick after a ride. Got thrown out of a lounge in Hoboken. Threw a "Seinfeld" finale party. Switched his ISP and Web hosting to BowieNet for a while, and spent way too much time on ICQ and IRC. Sang his
share of karaoke. Got his first cellular phone (an Ericsson). Taught a few adult night classes on computers and Microsoft Office in Fair Lawn, NJ. Visited Brazil again. Put up the first version of andersensilva.com in March 2001. Very briefly in the
running for the 2001 semifinals for Sexiest Geek Alive. Yeah. Rode a lot of public transit, and left New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal by bus 15 minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center (three miles downtown) on 9/11. Collected a lot more
computers, and a few more guitars.
Went to his first Tori Amos concert, in the company of a redhead. Got poison ivy again, and liked it even less than the first time. Started working for Microwize Technology in technical support. Wrote
and recorded songs in earnest and released an album, Joy in the New, in 2004. Verified in person that Cleveland rocks. Stood on line to get an iPhone the day it
was first released. Spent a lot of time seeing local (and non-local) bands in NYC, and eventually performed at an open mic and then at several Make Music New York events. Snorkeled in Hawaii. Earned an
IMDb entry for stunt and acting work in the "Hassel" series of short films by Rick Ford.
Did 'Four Meals in Four Cities in 24 Hours' (breakfast in Washington, D.C., lunch in Philadelphia, dinner in New York, and another breakfast in Boston) just to see if he could. He could. Met the astronauts of Space Shuttle Atlantis mission
STS-125 at a NASA Tweetup in 2009. Served as a grand jury foreman in Bergen County. Met Dave and Sam Barry, Amy Tan, and Scott Turow at a Rock Bottom Remainders concert (a photo
was taken of Andy standing between Dave and Scott, though he's never seen it). Attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. Went ziplining and scuba diving in Costa Rica in 2011. Played a bit of guitar at Joey Ramone's grave in Lyndhurst,
NJ.
Blacked out in the shower once, resulting in one of many head injuries over the years; at least that one didn't require stitches. Wrote for and lettered a weekly webcomic, Slime, for a
year and a half. Marched with the Occupy Guitarmy in New York (in support of the Occupy Movement) and even got on stage
behind Tom Morello (along with dozens of other guitar players) on May Day 2012. Drove to Louisville, KY after Hurricane Sandy led to the flight being canceled. Engaged briefly, then unengaged. Fleetingly considered leaping into the Housatonic River at Lovers
Leap State Park, but (spoilers!) ultimately did not. Did visit H. P. Lovecraft's grave in Providence, RI (no guitar this time). Took part in both the No Pants Subway Ride
and Pillow Fight Day in New York City in 2014.
Jammed in the studio as a member of Greta's Unmentionables on and off for three years before they succumbed to the inevitable 'creative differences.' Did three obstacle races (the Spartan Sprint,
the Rugged Maniac, and the Warrior Dash) within three months, and ran two 5Ks. Saw Monty Python Live (Mostly) at London's O2 Arena
and crossed Abbey Road.
Hit all five of New York City's boroughs within twelve hours. Had his selfies at a Titus Andronicus show in Brooklyn photobombed by a silly young blonde woman he didn't know (still doesn't). Got a photo op with "Doctor Who" actors
Karen Gillan and Jenna Coleman while cosplaying as the Ninth Doctor at the Boston Comic Con, and a pic with eleven Vixens En Garde at the New York Renaissance Faire.
Threw together even more songs and released a double album,
I'll Live, in 2016. Walked the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and saw a girl from Ipanema. Became a firewalker at
Tony Robbins' "Unleash the Power Within" event in Miami in 2019. Felt a spark rekindled, which led to a love renewed. Went to
SoJo Spa Club for the first time and did not want to leave.
Assumed the role of senior editor for Practice of the Future magazine for a spell, and some punctuation. Went railbiking in Cape May. Got stung by a wasp, which
promptly stung his girlfriend, too (pretty sure it was the same wasp, anyway). Survived a relatively mild case of COVID-19 (omicron style!) at the very end of 2021. Enjoyed some New Jersey wine at some New Jersey wineries. Watched
the sun set over Karnak, touched hieroglyphs in the Valley of the Kings, rocked a galabeya, dipped some fingers in the Nile, and rode a camel at the Giza pyramid complex.
Walked back into Cheers after 20 years, yet no one knew his name. Went kayaking on a Vermont lake and paid his respects at Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard. Fell onto his knee dismounting a horse in
Brazil. Survived the NJ Mw 4.8 earthquake of April 5, 2024 and the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. 'Acted' in a short video promoting a Cybertruck for Kids giveaway for Vosita Healthcare. Tried (and loved) Frank Pepe's pizza. Just barely caught
the aurora borealis in spite of northeastern NJ's light pollution. Got reminded of how much fun keyboards can be.
Laid off from Microwize suddenly (after 21 years!) in the spring of 2025. Hit the Jersey Shore at Point Pleasant Beach, Wildwood, and Cape May within less than two weeks. Fell out of a
kayak (in shallow water). Moved into a new apartment (after 22 years!), still in Lyndhurst, near the end of 2025. Received a mini kalimba and a LEGO Lucky Bamboo. Saw a few wild capybaras, off in the distance. Dug his way out of a lot of NJ snow in
January/February 2026. Found a bunch of basil plants growing in the garden of his new apartment. Surprisingly, still rockin' with no broken bones or major surgeries yet.
Asbury Park, NJ; Assateague Island, MD; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Barre, VT; Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, VT; Boston, MA; Brazil (Castro, Curitiba, Joinville, Paranaguá, Ponta Grossa, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo); Cancún; Cape Cod (specifically Harwich), MA; Cape May, NJ; Chicago, IL; Chichen Itza; Cleveland, OH; Costa Rica; Egypt (Aswan, Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Marassi, and Sharm El Sheikh); Fort Lauderdale, FL; Foxburg, PA; Grafton, VT; Key West, FL; Kona, HI; Las Vegas, NV; London; Long Beach Island/LBI, NJ; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Ludlow, VT; Miami, FL; Mystic, CT; New York, NY; Ocean City, MD; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Point Pleasant, NJ; Portsmouth, NH; Providence, RI; Red Bank, NJ; Salem, MA; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seaside Heights, NJ; Sedona, AZ; Spring Lake, NJ; Springfield, VT; State College, PA; Tampa, FL; Virginia Beach, VA; Washington, D.C.; Wildwood, NJ; York, ME
