It was in between songs that Aaron, of Aaron and Andrew, decided to give a tip on making music. “Take the Xbox out of the room,” Andrew stood behind him and chuckled along with the Alumni Hall crowd.
Aaron and Andrew were the featured artist at the first Midtown Coffee House at Western Connecticut State University of the year. The Coffee House was held at Alumni Hall last Thursday night from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. The first hour was dedicated to open mic – student performers like comedians, musicians, and singers – then the last hour was for the featured act.
Aaron Ruiz is the lead singer and guitarist of a pop duo called Aaron and Andrew; Andrew Hansen, his best friend, plays guitar and sings backup vocals in the duo. While Aaron moves around the stage, talks to the audience, and tells jokes, Andrew dutifully plays the guitar, pensive and focused. This is what their dynamic physically looks like.
Aaron sees himself as the lyricist and Andrew sees himself as the musician. However, those aren’t official titles. “One of us will have a piece of something… or will have something to start with and bring it to the other person,” Andrew said.
The two met in a summer camp in their hometown of New Milford, CT over a competitive game of four-square. He and Andrew ended up bonding over it and eventually bonded over music.
They both love hip-hop music and try to incorporate various elements of that genre. “I like a lot of elements of rap music, so we’ll take some of that… we want to bring that into what we’re doing,” said Aaron. The duo also draws its influences from genres such as dubstep, grunge, electronic, blues, and jazz.
The two played in a jazz band in middle school playing blues covers and jazz standards. In high school they formed a band with two other members (a bassist and drummer) playing original songs. However, the band split ways when it came time for college.
Aaron went to Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota and Andrew went to the University of Rhode Island. During one Christmas break, Aaron went to Rhode Island to see Andrew. After a long conversation over burgers and fries, they decided to go for a career in music together when they finished college.
Out of that drive to make music as a career came the pop duo act Aaron and Andrew. The duo released their third album, “To Be Brave,” on September 30, 2010.
“To Be Brave,” is Aaron and Andrew’s most focused work, it has a mainstream-pop sound with the honest, vulnerable lyrics most mainstream-pop artists lack. “Three albums in and we finally figured out what we wanted to sound like,” said Aaron with a laugh.
They turned up the energy on songs like “Rescue Me,” and “Best Days,” (which drew excited applause when they went into a spirited rendition of Lupe Fiasco’s, “The Show Goes On.”) Then they dialed it down for ballads like “Heart” and “New Start.”
Jerome Goosman and Emily Hoang enjoyed what they saw. “We’re fans of these guys; we saw them last year and really liked them,” Goosman said. Both agreed “Best Days,” was the best part of the show.
Aaron and Andrew is the product of two friends who love music and are in the process of making it work as a career. “Still making it work,” said Andrew shortly.
- Russell Westerholm
Social Media Editor
