Innes has worked as a session musician, in addition to the six albums he has recorded on for the late Johnny Clegg. He has also worked with Jackson Browne, Dave Stewart, Peter Gabriel.
Now Innes is bringing members of the Johnny Clegg band back together under the name “Zasha!” Mandisa Dlanga (vocals), Andy on (guitar), Barry Van Zyl (drums) and Dan Shout (sax/piano) will come together for a one-off show in Cape Town called 'Under African Skies', featuring popular South African hits, at the Artscape Opera House on 29 April 2023 as part of the Suidoosterfees programme.
I chatted to Andy ahead of the show.
To do more good than harm in the world and make great music along the way.
Music is a way of expressing my feelings in a different language. One more suited to expression of feelings than words are, actually.
Joy, sorrow, history, groove.
Keep moving forward. Never look back.
Who knows? Fleeting at best.
I’m dead.
Spiders or banjos.
Anyone who brings fresh ears and their unique vision.
Nature, poetry, or my studio.
Feeling a piece of music really working. It’s especially enjoyable in a live environment when a really good show hangs together. There is beauty in a thing which exists only for the moment that it was created between the synergy of the performers and the audience, never to be repeated in quite the same way.
The Crossing comes to mind. We’ve played it more times than some people have had breakfast. Always fresh.
Always! I recall on one French tour the stage manager left the cleaning brush in the sax player’s tenor horn. It was only discovered when he stepped out to play his first solo for the night in front of a huge crowd.
People who quietly change society and the world for the better. The unsung heroes.
…not something I think about much.
Imtiaz Sooliman. A person who puts the needs of other South Africans at the top of his agenda, saving lives and changing the world.
A bottle opener from the Warner Theatre in Washington DC. Embossed on top: “STOLEN FROM the Warner Theater”. (It was given to us by hospitality at the theatre for our tour bus).
Water – on a health kick.
Royal Albert Hall, London.
Amplifiers.
Magwaza.
Well… I worked as a cashier at the Hyperama when I was a student. Hein Kaiser worked at the photo counter. Maybe we could have started a juggling duo given time
Loyal, skeptical, South African, persistent.
The Ballad of Bill Hubbard, Elegy for Dunkirk, Holocene, Ivolovolo (Big Zulu), My Maserati Does 185.
With all the budgets going into series now and the A-listers starring in them I’m going to expand your category and say Breaking Bad or GOT S1 tied for first place.
There are usually a few at a time… right now: Orientalism – Edward Saïd and The Better Angels of our Nature – Steven Pinker
For the better: San Jacinto by Peter Gabriel – Secret World Live. Simply breathtaking.
For the worse: Mediterranean Sundance by Rio Ancho – Friday Night Live in San Francisco – Di Meola / De Lucia / McLaughlin. I gave up guitar for six months at the age of 14 when I heard it for the first time.
My children.
Lately: “polyculturalism” – a concept which describes people who hold multiple cultural orientations or frames of reference, but in the context of culture as a fluid and changing entity which interacts with its environment.
Japan in springtime.
My children.
Stage 6 load shedding.
That my inverter batteries will die halfway through a session
Not for the faint-hearted.
Concentrate.
Less is more.
A trip with Johnny Clegg to play in the Golden Triangle on the Thailand / Myanmar border. Proper adventure that one.
Not formally, but I do some stuff with several young musicians talking to them about career strategies, music rights, contracts, royalties, streaming, etc. I also do some work as a volunteer researcher.
World peace and a slice of cheesecake (gave up sugar three months back).
Twitter: @andyinnesgtr
Instagram: andyinnesgtr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andyinnesmusic/, https://www.facebook.com/andyinnes.sa
