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Release RUF 2023

March 2016

You can’t miss Andy Frasco. The electric-shock hair. The megawatt charisma. The golden lungs, magic fingers and party-starting songs. When this twenty-something Californian bandleader takes to the stage with The U.N., you’ll get an adrenalin-shot of pure escapism. “We want people to be happy,” explains Andy of his musical mission statement. “To smile at their faults, love life for what it is, and follow the beat of your own drum.”

Happy Bastards is aptly titled. Released on Ruf Records in 2016, this fourth full-length album shakes your feet and skewers your woes. Recorded at Lavish Studios and Brando’s Paradise, California, these twelve new songs are an industrial-strength blast of glass-half-full optimism, with the band’s self-styled brand of party blues jostling with funk, soul, rock and roots.

Co-written by the frontman, guitarist Shawn Eckels and Kenli Mattus, these all-original songs are emotionally resonant and rip-it-up exciting, driven by the chemistry between the core U.N. lineup of Ernie Chang (sax), Andee Avila (drums) and Supaman (bass). “I basically picked my favourite musicians from around the world,” explains Andy of the cosmopolitan vibe. “I have a few guys from the Netherlands, Germany and guys from Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, California. That’s my favourite thing about music. It’s so universal. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what language you speak.”

The modern world might be a cruel and uncaring place, but while Happy Bastards plays, everything seems momentarily brighter, better, drunker and more up for a dance. “I think it’s my strongest piece of work to date,” considers Andy. “I wanted to make an album that celebrates life. And I think we accomplished that…”