Andy Blackwood was the product of a
teenage affair and was rejected by his mother
shortly after his birth. She said she was way too young to be a mother
and allowed her mother to adopt her baby son. To this day, Andy
considers his maternal grandmother to be his mother and knows little
about the woman who gave birth to him. He does not know his father at
all.
From a very young age, Andy exhibited mood swings. He was a very volatile child, throwing wild tantrums and becoming erratically violent. It was not until he hit his teens that they were finally able to diagnose his condition - he was a Manic Depressive. Through the drug Lithium, Andy's spells were able to be kept to a minimum, but they still came every so often.
Andy married Stacey Mullett in 1980, right around the same time he agreed to help friend Joel Gibson build a record label. At the time, Andy was working as a real estate agent (after having fabricated a glowing resume) and was reluctant to plunk down his life savings into this project, like Joel suggested he did. Stacey seemed confident that the gamble would pay off and Andy eventually relented. He now calls that the smartest thing he has ever done.
JLN Records took off in 1982 and Andy was thrilled with the realization of his and Joel's dream. However, he was disappointed that Joel did not give him a more executive role in things. He had been named Vice President in Charge of Production, but that title basically meant nothing. It was Joel who pulled the strings around JLN - and it was Andy who stayed out of Joel's way.
Still, Andy managed to find a calling in the studio, producing several of the early JLN projects. Despite the fact that he proclaims to be tonedeaf, Andy still did amazing things with the albums, winning respect in the industry - but not from Joel.
In 1984, Stacey gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Dinah. Andy became fiercely devoted to his little girl, who, unfortunately showcased some of the same early aggression that he had so long ago. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in early 1987, when Andy was involved in a serious car accident. To this day, he doesn't remember the exact accident itself, just waking up in the hospital and being told his daughter had died.
Dinah's death - and the knowledge that he caused it - plunged Andy into a very deep depression. Everyone around him was worried, given his problems staying on his medication in the past, but eventually life did settle back down. Andy threw himself into work to ease the pain, something that proved more frustrating than anything else, because of how little faith Joel had in him to efficiently run things.
In early 1988, Joel took an extended vacation and finally gave Andy the chance he'd so dreamed of - he left him completely in charge of JLN. Finally able to live his dream and prove what he could do, Andy ended up pulling the coup of the century - he got Tony to sign back onto the label, something Joel had never been able to do. Unfortunately, he'd gone a somewhat unorthodox route in doing so - a very sweet contract - and Joel was not thrilled. He vowed to never again leave Andy in charge.
Fortunately for Andy, Joel did change his mind, appointing his VP as acting president of JLN while he was on paterinity leave. Almost immediately, the new power went to Andy's head and he began taking the entire label, even tearing up the existing contracts of the artists and replacing them with ones he believed to be more fair. Joel was indescribably angry when he found out about this, but then did an abrupt about-face, resigning from the President and CEO position and naming Andy his successor.
Although thrilled by this chance, Andy quickly became overwhelmed with the amount of work he has to put into the position, as well as a little resentful of Joel for not infomring him better of what exactly he would be getting into. Guess the old saying is true, isn't it? You know, the one that says,Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it...
From a very young age, Andy exhibited mood swings. He was a very volatile child, throwing wild tantrums and becoming erratically violent. It was not until he hit his teens that they were finally able to diagnose his condition - he was a Manic Depressive. Through the drug Lithium, Andy's spells were able to be kept to a minimum, but they still came every so often.
Andy married Stacey Mullett in 1980, right around the same time he agreed to help friend Joel Gibson build a record label. At the time, Andy was working as a real estate agent (after having fabricated a glowing resume) and was reluctant to plunk down his life savings into this project, like Joel suggested he did. Stacey seemed confident that the gamble would pay off and Andy eventually relented. He now calls that the smartest thing he has ever done.
JLN Records took off in 1982 and Andy was thrilled with the realization of his and Joel's dream. However, he was disappointed that Joel did not give him a more executive role in things. He had been named Vice President in Charge of Production, but that title basically meant nothing. It was Joel who pulled the strings around JLN - and it was Andy who stayed out of Joel's way.
Still, Andy managed to find a calling in the studio, producing several of the early JLN projects. Despite the fact that he proclaims to be tonedeaf, Andy still did amazing things with the albums, winning respect in the industry - but not from Joel.
In 1984, Stacey gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter, Dinah. Andy became fiercely devoted to his little girl, who, unfortunately showcased some of the same early aggression that he had so long ago. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in early 1987, when Andy was involved in a serious car accident. To this day, he doesn't remember the exact accident itself, just waking up in the hospital and being told his daughter had died.
Dinah's death - and the knowledge that he caused it - plunged Andy into a very deep depression. Everyone around him was worried, given his problems staying on his medication in the past, but eventually life did settle back down. Andy threw himself into work to ease the pain, something that proved more frustrating than anything else, because of how little faith Joel had in him to efficiently run things.
In early 1988, Joel took an extended vacation and finally gave Andy the chance he'd so dreamed of - he left him completely in charge of JLN. Finally able to live his dream and prove what he could do, Andy ended up pulling the coup of the century - he got Tony to sign back onto the label, something Joel had never been able to do. Unfortunately, he'd gone a somewhat unorthodox route in doing so - a very sweet contract - and Joel was not thrilled. He vowed to never again leave Andy in charge.
Fortunately for Andy, Joel did change his mind, appointing his VP as acting president of JLN while he was on paterinity leave. Almost immediately, the new power went to Andy's head and he began taking the entire label, even tearing up the existing contracts of the artists and replacing them with ones he believed to be more fair. Joel was indescribably angry when he found out about this, but then did an abrupt about-face, resigning from the President and CEO position and naming Andy his successor.
Although thrilled by this chance, Andy quickly became overwhelmed with the amount of work he has to put into the position, as well as a little resentful of Joel for not infomring him better of what exactly he would be getting into. Guess the old saying is true, isn't it? You know, the one that says,Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it...