Andy Shernoff
Encyclopedia
Andy Shernoff is a musician, songwriter, record producer and oenophile.

He is a founding member of The Dictators
The Dictators
The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth." The Dictators are represented in the "Punk Wing" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio...

, one of the original New York punk bands, in which he wrote nearly all of the songs, played bass guitar and keyboards, and sang backing vocals and occasional leads. He has been involved with a variety of other musical projects, most notably the heavily Dictators-populated Manitoba's Wild Kingdom and Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...

's sole solo studio album, Don't Worry About Me
Don't Worry About Me
Don't Worry About Me is the only album released by Joey Ramone as a solo artist, although he previously had many releases with the Ramones as their lead singer. It was released posthumously in 2002, as he died in 2001. The album was produced by Daniel Rey, who also did most of the guitar work on...

.
Shernoff's current projects include garage rock band The Masterplan, featuring members of The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...

 and the Waxing Poetics. In the fall of 2009, he embarked upon a series of solo shows playing songs he wrote or co-wrote and telling the stories behind them. In the spring of 2010, those shows would become "When Giants Walked the Earth - A Musical Memoir by Adny Shernoff," with several tour dates scheduled in the Eastern U.S. and Canada. Shernoff sang "California Sun" in the official Major League Baseball promotional video for the 2010 All-Star Game
2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 81st midseason exhibition between the All-Stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball...

.

Career

Shernoff grew up in New York City, in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...

. He attended elementary school with Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders
Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...

 and Flushing High School
Flushing High School
Flushing High School is a four-year public high school in Flushing, in the New York City borough of Queens. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education....

 with the Fleshtones
The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...

. After high school, he attended the SUNY New Paltz Music Department. There he started the music magazine The Teenage Wasteland Gazette, known for its sarcastic, wise-guy attitude. The publication's contributors included famed rock critic Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....

, who invited Andy to write for Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...

magazine. Shernoff's early profession of choice was rock journalist.

As both a journalist and a musician, Andy Shernoff is often credited as "Adny Shernoff," a deliberate typo transposing the second and third letters of his name. Shernoff has never explained the reasoning behind this stylistic quirk.

The Dictators

While at SUNY New Paltz, Shernoff met Ross Friedman, aka Ross the Boss and they started a band with Scott Kempner
Scott Kempner
Scott "Top Ten" Kempner is the rhythm guitarist with The Dictators since they formed in 1974. He is also a founding member of The Del-Lords....

. (Later members included roadie turned singer Handsome Dick Manitoba and several different drummers.)

The band then linked up with Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...

's management/producers Sandy Pearlman
Sandy Pearlman
Sandy Pearlman is an American music producer, artist manager, professor, poet, songwriter, and once was a record company executive...

 and Murray Krugman to record the first Dictators album, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! for Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 in 1975. Shernoff penned the vast majority of the songs, a pattern that would continue throughout the group's career. Lauded by Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...

as a "wickedly funny, brilliantly played and hopelessly naïve masterpiece of self-indulgent smartass rock'n'roll," the album nonetheless failed to connect with the general public at the time and Epic dropped the band.

Disillusioned, Shernoff left the Dictators for a short time and was replaced on bass by Mark "The Animal" Mendoza
Mark Mendoza
Mark "The Animal" Mendoza is the bassist of the American heavy metal band, Twisted Sister. He joined the band on October 31, 1978, after he left The Dictators. He also briefly played in Blackfoot in early 1990s.Mendoza played the bass guitar on all of Twisted Sister's major label releases...

 before returning to the band, on keyboards. The group was signed to Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...

 and released its second album, Manifest Destiny, in 1977. The album, also produced by Pearlman and Krugman, featured a more mainstream sound than The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! but once again the band failed to find an audience.

Shernoff was back playing bass in 1978 after Mendoza left the band, and the Dictators recorded their third album with Pearlman and Krugman, Bloodbrothers. Mainstream success continued to elude the band, and the members took a long break, reuniting occasionally for live concerts. Live recordings during this time were captured in the cassette-only Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke (ROIR
ROIR
ROIR , or Reach Out International Records, is a New York City-based record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label exclusively distributed its releases in cassette format...

, 1981), later released on CD as The Dictators Live, New York, New York (ROIR, 1998).

In the late 1990s, the Dictators began recording a new album, which was eventually released in 2001 as D.F.F.D. The album was named on several critics' Top 10 lists for the year, including the Denver Post and the Boston Globe. The band later released the live album Viva Dictators (2005) and the rarities compilation Every Day Is Saturday (2007).

Manitoba's Wild Kingdom

In the late 1980s, Shernoff formed Manitoba's Wild Kingdom
Manitoba's Wild Kingdom
Manitoba's Wild Kingdom is a heavy metal and punk rock band based in New York City. They are perhaps most notable for consisting, in part, of members of the New York punk band The Dictators and for being one of the very few musical groups Sandy Pearlman ever signed to his short-lived record label,...

 with his Dictators bandmates Handsome Dick Manitoba and Ross the Boss. The band's 1990 MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

 debut, ...And You? received warm reviews and the video for the album's "The Party Starts Now!!" received regular airplay on MTV.

The Master Plan

Shernoff's side project with the Waxing Poetics' Paul Johnson and Fleshtones Keith Streng and Bill Milhizer, the Master Plan, released its first album, Colossus of Destiny, in 2003. The band's second album, entitled Maximum Respect, was released in November 2009 in Europe by Nicotine Records and will be released in the U.S. in May 2010 on Steel Cage Records.

Other bands

Shernoff has also been a member of the bands The Resistance with Joey Ramone, The David Roter Method with Albert
Albert Bouchard
Albert Bouchard and grew up in Clayton, New York. He is a drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult and a driving force through the band's first decade...

 and Joe Bouchard
Joe Bouchard
Joe Bouchard was the original bassist for Blue Öyster Cult. He grew up in Clayton, New York...

, Andy Shernoff's Maximum R&B and The Bel-Airs. He has appeared as a guest musician on albums by the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

 and the Fleshtones, as well as Joey Ramone's solo album.

Producer

As producer he has worked with The Dictators, The Master Plan, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, The Figgs, Sin City Six, The Kowalskis, The Golden Horde, The Barracudas, The Untamed Youth
The Untamed Youth
The Untamed Youth were a garage rock band from the 1990s formed in Columbia, Missouri.-Band Members By Album:1988-Some Kinda Fun*Derek Dickerson-guitar/lead vocals*Steve Mace-bass guitar/vocals*Chris Fletcher-organ/vocals...

, D Generation
D Generation
D Generation are an American glam punk band formed in 1991 in New York City. The band broke up in 1999, but will reunite in 2011 for shows. During its history the band released three albums, to much critical acclaim...

, Skrap, Adrenalin OD, The Electric Playboys, The Smithereens
The Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...

, Prisonshake, Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...

, The Waldos, Amphetamine Discharge, The Bonzos, The Blue Chieftans, The Blood Drained Cows, Metadona, Alter Boys, Riff Raff, Stop, David Roter Method, Sibling Rivalry with Joey Ramone & Mickey Leigh, The Zantees with Billy Miller and Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986 with her husband—the producer and singer-songwriter Billy Miller...

, Wheelers and Dealers, Sic F*cks with Tish and Snooky, and The Cyclones.

Songwriter

His songs have been recorded by The Dictators, The Master Plan, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, The Ramones, Dee Dee Ramone
Dee Dee Ramone
Dee Dee Ramone was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones....

, Joey Ramone, Mary Weiss
Mary Weiss
Mary Weiss, born on December 28 in Queens, New York, found fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of The Shangri-Las. She then vanished from the music scene for decades, returning in 2007 to record her first solo album with Norton Records....

, Dion DiMucci
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....

 and The Little Kings, Carolyne Mas, Turbonegro
Turbonegro
Turbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....

, The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters were a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson , Dregen , Kenny Håkansson and Robert Eriksson . Andersson had been the drummer for death metal band Entombed and Dregen was taking a break from his full-time band Backyard Babies...

, Drivin 'N' Cryin
Drivin N Cryin
Drivin' 'N' Cryin is an American Hard rock/Southern rock band from Atlanta, GA.-History:The band was formed in 1985 in Atlanta. Kevn Kinney hooked up with Tim Nielsen, who was in a popular band called the Nightporters with drummer Paul Lenz at the time...

, Baptized By Fire with Jesse Blaze Snider, The Del-Lords, Toilet Böys
Toilet Boys
Toilet Böys are an American rock and roll band from New York City, USA. The band's original line-up is made up of Miss Guy, Sean Pierce, Electric Eddie, Rocket, and Adam Vomit. Toilet Böys have toured world-wide supporting musical acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nashville Pussy, Orgy, The...

, Young Fresh Fellows
Young Fresh Fellows
The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group that was formed in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, by Scott McCaughey and Chuck Carroll; Tad Hutchison, Chuck Carroll's first cousin, joined for the recording of the group's debut album in 1983....

, The A-Bones
The A-Bones
The A-Bones is a garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a song by The Trashmen. The band was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer Miriam Linna; the couple had previously been the editors of the pop culture journal Kicks and later launched...

, The Nomads
The Nomads (band)
The Nomads are a Swedish garage punk band founded in 1981 by Hans Östlund, Nick Vahlberg, Joakim Tärnström and Ed Johnson. Today, Östlund and Vahlberg are the only members left of the original line-up....

, The Untamed Youth, 69 Eyes, The Sponsors, The Golden Arms, The Pleasure Fuckers, The Fastbacks, The Vikings, The David Roter Method, The Streetwalkin Cheetahs, Teengenerate
Teengenerate
Teengenerate were a Japanese punk rock band from 1993 to 1996, known for their fun style of playing garage punk with a sense of humor and often incomprehensible English lyrics. After disbanding for a time, some of its members went on to start the band Firestarter...

, Texas Terri, Tom Clark, The Screaming Tribesman, The Smugglers, The Meatmen
The Meatmen
The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee originally from 1980 to 1997, and reformed in 2008. They are currently still touring and recording.The Meatmen made fun of the hardcore punk scene of the time...

, Sex Museum, The Sons of Hercules, Electric Frankenstein
Electric Frankenstein
Electric Frankenstein is an American band from Whippany, Clifton, and other areas of New Jersey. Their music is generally considered punk rock, but includes elements of hard rock and Heavy Metal as well...

, The Prissteens, Park Central Squares, The Alter Boys, The Hudson Falcons, Metal Mike, Tesco Vee, The Mighty Ions, Sismicos, Lawn Vultures, The Statics, The Persuaders, The Scared Stiffs, Furious George, Powder Monkeys, Parasites, Wanda Chrome & The Leather Pharaohs, Los Vivos, The Phanthom Fliers, Labanak, The Wretched Ones, Government Cheese, Angel Corpus Christi, Rick Blaze & The Ball Busters, Asteroid B612, Fifi & The Mach III, Jeff Dahl, and Shock Treatment.

His songs have been in the following movies and television shows: Kindergarten Cop
Kindergarten Cop
Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp , before Crisp can get to his...

,
Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (film)
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who pursues a relationship with a young woman, played by Chloë...

,
Garage Days
Garage Days
Garage Days is a 2002 Australian film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. The Garage Days soundtrack includes the song "Garage Days" featuring Katie Noonan, David McCormack and Andrew Lancaster.-Plot:...

,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dance Me Outside
Dance Me Outside
Dance Me Outside is a 1995 drama film directed and co-written by Bruce McDonald. It was based on a book by W.P. Kinsella,-Plot:Set on the Kidabanesee reserve in Northern Ontario. Silas Crow is a young man confused about his direction in life; he wants to take an automobile mechanic's course in...

,
Mondo New York, Final Rinse, Convenience Store, Alone in the Dark and The Way of the West.

Film Appearances

  • Shernoff is interviewed in the 2000 rockumentary DVD about the Sex Pistols, The Filth and the Fury
    The Filth and the Fury
    The Filth and the Fury is a 2000 rockumentary film about the Sex Pistols directed by Julien Temple.-About the film:The Filth and the Fury is the second movie Julien Temple made about The Sex Pistols. His first effort was The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, which was released in British cinemas on 15...

    ,
    directed by Julien Temple
    Julien Temple
    Julien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...

    .
  • He performs in the movie TV Party, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2005.
  • He appears in the movie Final Rinse as a member of The Dictators.

Books

Shernoff is quoted in the following books:
  • From The Velvets to the Voidoids by Clinton Heylin (1993)
  • Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil
    Legs McNeil
    Roderick Edward "Legs" McNeil is a writer and rock music historian. He is the co-founder and a writer for Punk Magazine; he is also a former senior editor at Spin Magazine, and the founder and editor of Nerve magazine .- Punk Magazine:At the age of 18, McNeil gathered with two high school...

     and Gillian McCain (1997)
  • Hey Ho Let's Go - the Story of The Ramones by Everett True (2002)
  • On the Road With the Ramones by Monte A. Melnick and Frank Meyer (2003)
  • The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk by Steven Beeber (2006)
  • Sweat: The Story of the Fleshtones, America's Garage Band by Joe Bonomo
    Joe Bonomo
    Joe Bonomo is an American essayist, poet, and rock and roll writer.-Life:He grew up in suburban Washington, D. C. He graduated from Ohio University.He teaches at Northern Illinois University, since 1995....

     (2007)
  • "Andy Shernoff's Ten Rules for the Punk Rock Sommelier" appears in The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists, edited by Handsome Dick Manitoba and Amy Wallace (2007) – vide sommelier
    Sommelier
    A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...

  • I Slept With Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh with Legs McNeil (2009)
  • All Hopped Up and Ready To Go by Tony Fletcher (2009)

The Dictators

Title Release date Label
The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!
The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!
Go Girl Crazy! was the 1975 debut album of the New York City-based punk rock band The Dictators. Trouser Press lauded the band's first release as a "wickedly funny, brilliantly played and hopelessly naïve masterpiece of self-indulgent smartass rock'n'roll"...

1975 Epic Records
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...

1977 Asylum Records
Bloodbrothers 1978 Asylum Records
Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke 1981 ROIR
The Dictators Live, New York, New York 1998 ROIR
D.F.F.D. 2001 Dictators Multi/Media
Viva Dictators 2005 Dictators Multi/Media
Every Day Is Saturday 2007 Norton Records
Norton Records
For the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...


Manitoba's Wild Kingdom

Title Release date Label
...And You? 1990 MCA Records

The Master Plan

Title Release date Label
Colossus of Destiny 2003 Total Energy
Maximum Respect 2009 Nicotine Records
Nicotine Records
Nicotine Records is an indie label formed in 1999. It has released punk, powerpop, garagerock, hardrock, glam and its roster has included artists such as False Alarm, The Fleshtones, Gaza Strippers, Garrett Uhlenbrock,aka Skinny Bones, Walter Lure, Lime Spiders.-Artists:*Dave Parsons, Sham...


Guest musician

Artist Title Release date
The Ramones Brain Drain 1989
The Fleshtones Powerstance! 1991
The Ramones Mondo Bizarro
Mondo Bizarro
Mondo Bizarro is the twelfth studio album by the American punk band the Ramones, released in 1992 . It featured their new bassist, Christopher Joseph Ward , who replaced departed member Dee Dee Ramone. Mondo Bizarro was the group’s first studio album in three years...

1992
Joey Ramone Live at the Bottom Line 1994
Joey Ramone Don't Worry About Me 2002

Songwriter (selected)

Title Artist Album Release date
"Master Race Rock" The Dictators The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!
The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!
Go Girl Crazy! was the 1975 debut album of the New York City-based punk rock band The Dictators. Trouser Press lauded the band's first release as a "wickedly funny, brilliantly played and hopelessly naïve masterpiece of self-indulgent smartass rock'n'roll"...

1975
"Sleepin' With the TV On" The Dictators Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...

1977
"Stay With Me" The Dictators Bloodbrothers 1978
"The Party Starts Now!!" Manitoba's Wild Kingdom ...And You? 1990
"I Won't Let It Happen" (co-writer) The Ramones Mondo Bizarro
Mondo Bizarro
Mondo Bizarro is the twelfth studio album by the American punk band the Ramones, released in 1992 . It featured their new bassist, Christopher Joseph Ward , who replaced departed member Dee Dee Ramone. Mondo Bizarro was the group’s first studio album in three years...

1992
"Chinese Bitch" (co-writer) Dee Dee Ramone I Hate Freaks Like You
I Hate Freaks Like You
- Track listing:All tracks composed by Dee Dee Ramone and Daniel Rey; except where indicated#"I'm Making Monsters For My Friends" #"Don't Look In My Window" #"Chinese Bitch" #"It's Not For Me To Know"...

1994
"Find Something Beautiful" (co-writer) David Roter Method Find Something Beautiful 1997
"Who Will Save Rock and Roll?" The Dictators D.F.F.D. 2001
"Stop Thinking About It" (co-writer) Joey Ramone Don't Worry About Me 2002
"Kickin' It Old School" The Master Plan Colossus of Destiny 2004
"You're Never Gonna See Me Cry" (co-writer) Mary Weiss Dangerous Game 2007

External links

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