On Broadway - Andrew Bone & Ham Sandwiches
On Broadway is a bi-monthly web series that delves into the food memories of the talented musicians of Broadway in downtown Nashville. Every other week, we’ll pair those memories with a relevant recipe and information on how to listen to each musician’s material. Our aim is to connect the passion of food to the passion of music—two mediums that evoke instant reactions and memories, and remind us of the incredible people that pour their heart out every day to make their living in our backyard.
We’re kicking the new year off with a kickdrum! Or rather, a person who plays one. Andrew Bone is one of the crazy talented drummers on Broadway and in Nashville, and a great drummer is the backbone of any great band. Though, as is the case with most residents, Andrew didn’t start here. He grew up in Kansas City on a healthy diet of Rock and Roll. “I was a KISS fan. That was it. Everyone had [a tape of] the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, I had a behind the scenes documentary live video of KISS in the early 90s, and I watched that when I was 3 or 4. I loved the fire and the rock stardom. I was singing and [such] and wanting to be involved.” So, around the time he was nine years old, his parents offered up guitar or drum lessons to an eager young Andrew, bursting with creative energy. “Something about drums I gravitated [toward] and I don’t know why. [But] I got into this business to be a rock star, not necessarily to be the greatest musician in the world. I got into it before girls were on the radar, otherwise I probably would have picked guitar,” he says with his signature dry chuckle.
As a typical teenage musician, Andrew got involved in school programs such as marching band and had his own rock band in his spare time. “I got my taste for performing… I loved it.” This lure to the stage propelled his decision to attend Berklee College of Music after high school, though his attendance was brief due to finances and, it appears, a feeling of restlessness. When he thought about what was next, it seemed that Nashville or Los Angeles were the clear options. Nashville won.
“It was slow in the start when I got here [seven years ago]. I had no radar. I definitely did not have a plan; I didn’t have any of the experience that I should have had before I packed up all my things and moved relatively cross country. But I showed up just thinking that I would make it work, with no idea how I would make it work, but that I just would. It was really the only option.” A tale as old as time for many creatives.
Andrew worked some dead-end day jobs, sometimes several at a time to make ends meet. “I tried to get out of the tremendous cliché of answering Facebook ads and Craigslist ads, and eventually landed with an artist here named Darryl Perry. I absolutely owe him my career. I auditioned for him when I was 22. Got the gig, went out on the first weekend and absolutely bombed. He should have fired me, but he kept me on, and I ended up playing with him every weekend - just kind of van and trailer stuff and casinos. I definitely learned how to be a big boy and a professional.”
After honing his skills with Darryl and company, he left to play on Broadway (or to try to). “I thought I had a regular gig locked down and I did not, so [it was] maybe my second ill-advised major decision and I ended up not working as much as I thought for a long time. I got into the audio circuit downtown – Honky Tonk Central, etc. - sitting behind a sound board.” As with so many things on Broadway and in arts careers, opportunities come about through word of mouth. “People found out I played drums and it grew very organically from there.”
Though now very successful in Nashville, splitting his time between Broadway and touring with Josh Gallagher (formerly of The Voice), Andrew has certainly come a long way in country music. “I could kind of sing the chorus of Ring of Fire, and Friends in Low Places, and that was the extent of my country knowledge when I moved here so that was a big learning curve since I did not grow up with any sort of country music.” Well, one thing is for sure. Whatever learning curve or challenges were in his way, they don’t show. Watching him is an exercise in perfectly balanced talent and humility; professionalism and humor. Entertainment for the sake of being entertained.
He might not have had a wealth of country music in Kansas City, but he did have an abundance of something else: barbeque. Andrew is, as expected, picky about his barbeque (and don’t get him started on his bloody marys). He generally won’t eat brisket from anywhere else, though he will admit he likes Edley’s. Since he saves his BBQ for KC, he shares another memory with us.
“My little brother passed away a few years ago. He was a really funny kid and we were super close. For a few months [after he moved here], he was crashing on my couch. He came home from work one day – he was a welder - and he hadn’t really eaten all day. It was hot- he had sweat through all his protective gear – and he comes out of the kitchen with two sandwiches on his plate because he was just that hungry. I was taken aback, ‘Two sandwiches?? Way to go!’ And the way he retold it, because he thought I was ridiculous, was hilarious. Every time I see somebody order two sandwiches from catering on tour or whatever the situation, it makes me laugh.” This is a simple memory, but one that slices me through (no pun intended). What a perfect example of how food – even something so simple - truly binds us to family, to friends, to moments, to memories. A small reminder of warm snapshots in time that carve their places in our hearts.
Andrew’s little brother happened to be enjoying the simple classic of ham and American cheese on white bread, but we honor him and this memory with this recipe for oven-roasted Porchetta, perfect for slicing and filling whatever sandwich you’d like. Ah, what the heck – make yourself two.
When he’s not on tour, you can catch Andrew at The Stage, Legends Corner, Second Fiddle, Crossroads, and both Tin Roof Broadway and Tin Roof Demonbreun. Follow him for all the latest @andrewbonedrums.
