Andy Alt

Andy Alt

Andrew Justin "Andy" Alt (born September 21, 1981) is an American guitarist, inventor, and media technologist located in Los Angeles, California.[1] Alt is the lead guitar player for Drake Bell (from Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh), the online marketing director for three-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist Steve Vai, is a co-founder of GuitarTV, and founder and CEO of A Little Thunder LLC.[2][3]

Early career

After graduating from Kent University with a degree in Advertising and Jazz Composition, Alt moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in the music industry as well as work as a copywriter and marketing strategist. Alt began recording and touring with various bands and artists, starting at Interscope Records and eventually becoming full-time lead guitar player for Drake Bell (of Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh) in 2011.[4] Alt has recorded on television sessions for MTV, USA Network, Disney and FOX, and toured in support of The Roots and The Brian Setzer Orchestra.[5][6]

With Steve Vai, GuitarTV

In 2010, Alt became the online marketing director for Grammy Award winning guitarist Steve Vai. Fans of Vai were able to get an inside look to the artist through a series of videos posted to YouTube called "Heyyyy Aaaaannnddy." Together, Alt and Vai founded GuitarTV, a website dedicated to 24/7 streaming of guitar-only related content, launched in May 2011 at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.[7] As a technologist, Alt incorporated specific features (such as the ability to purchase products within a live-streaming video player) to provide contour to the site’s users.[8] As Vai’s online marketing director of the last six years, Alt has overseen all aspects in the promotion and online campaigning of Vai’s releases, as well as having worked in conjunction with record labels, handling social media, taking and manipulating photographs, manufacturing press releases, and producing Vai’s The Story of Light bonus DVD (included in a limited edition of the album’s 2012 release).[9]

A Little Thunder LLC

In 2014, Alt founded A Little Thunder LLC, and designed a patented guitar pickup that allows the user to play both guitar and bass at the same time. Alt handles all operations of the company, including media, customer service, production, finance, A&R, and partnerships.[10] The patented A Little Thunder guitar pickup is designed with an algorithm that takes the signal (from the low E, A, and D guitar strings) and translates them into a bass signal (either an octave or two octaves lower than the original note) while still preserving all six original guitar strings. The pickup utilizes a stereo output, which sends the bass signal to a bass amplifier and a guitar signal to a guitar amplifier.[11][12]

In 2014, Alt invited various artists (such as Jonny Two Bags, Mikaiah Lei, Drake Bell, Adam Levy, JinJoo Lee, Dale Turner, Dweezil Zappa, Jeff Kollman, Zack Zmed, Lee Warner, Thomas Nordegg, Brad Oberhofer, Kirk Douglas, Gooding, Barry Zweig, Alex Noice, Jørgen Monkeby, and Steve Vai’s guitar technician Thomas Nordegg) to his residence to test out a prototype A Little Thunder pickup. Alt captured their reactions and compiled a comprehensive video for a Kickstarter campaign, used to begin the production of A Little Thunder pickups. The campaign (which began on October 8 and ended November 9 of 2014) raised $62,366 - nearly twice the original goal of $35,000. A Little Thunder began shipping on June 9, 2015.[13]

Appearances

Alt appeared with Drake Bell in 2011 at Hollywood’s The Rose Bowl, playing a concert for fifty thousand people.[14] In 2014, Alt opened up for Steve Vai after winning the Sam Ash Music store’s "Best In Shred" competition in Los Angeles, debuting his A Little Thunder pickup at The Majestic Theater in Ventura, CA.[15] Alt has been featured in numerous guitar media and technology outlets, such as GuitarWorld, VentureBeat, Gizmag, The LA Times, GearGods, iHeartGuitar, GuitarNoize, Sonic State, and MusicRadar, among others.[16]

References

  1. "Andy Alt: Guitarist & Entrepreneur". hardrockhaven.net. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  2. "World Tour with Drake Bell | Andy Alt". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  3. "A Little Thunder Pickups: Play Guitar and Bass Simultaneously — Demo Video". Guitar World. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  4. "Andy Alt: Guitarist & Entrepreneur". hardrockhaven.net. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  5. "Andy Alt joins Drake Bell & Brian Setzer for Christmas Rocks Concert!". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  6. "*Weed/Sex | Andy Alt". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  7. "About Us « GuitarTV". www.guitartv.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  8. "Steve Vai & I launch GuitarTV.com! (Live event from Musicians Institute) | Andy Alt". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  9. "Steve Vai – Andrew J. Alt". andrewalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  10. "A Little Thunder Pickups – Add Bass to your Guitar with A Little Thunder pickup". www.alittlethunder.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  11. "A Little Thunder Pickups: Play Guitar and Bass Simultaneously — Demo Video". Guitar World. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  12. "A Little Thunder Pickup - Add Bass to your Guitar". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  13. "A Little Thunder Pickup - Add Bass to your Guitar". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  14. "World Tour with Drake Bell | Andy Alt". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  15. "Andy Alt opening for Steve Vai @ Ventura Theater 10/18/2013 | Andy Alt". andyalt.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  16. "About Us – A Little Thunder Pickups". www.alittlethunder.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.


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