Andy Kravitz is an American drummer and percussionist, audio engineer, record producer, and songwriter. He has been nominated for 14

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, winning several. He lives near Venice Beach in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Early life

Andy Kravitz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Career

In 1992, Kravitz played with

Kris Kross Kris Kross were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, formed by record producer Jermaine Dupri. They were the youngest hip-hop group to gain commercial success, charting releases by t ...

on ''

Totally Krossed Out ''Totally Krossed Out'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop music, hip hop duo Kris Kross. It was produced and largely written by Jermaine Dupri and Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo and released on March 31, 1992, by Ruffhouse Records and Colu ...

'', and with former

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

guitarist and singer

Rick Vito Richard Francis Vito (born October 13, 1949) is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left the group. He is best known for his blues and ...

on his debut solo album, '' King of Hearts'', on the songs "Desireé" and "Honey Love". In 1993, he produced

Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass). They are widely known for their song " ...

's fourth album, '' Saturation''. In 1995, Kravitz played with

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

on her debut album, ''

Relish A relish (a pickle-based condiment) is a cooking, cooked and pickling, pickled culinary dish made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs, typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a p ...

'', and co-produced

Dishwalla Dishwalla is an American alternative rock band from Santa Barbara, California. Formed by vocalist J.R. Richards, guitarist Rodney Browning, and keyboardist Greg Kolanek, they were initially known as Life Talking and then Dish upon adding bassist ...

's debut album, ''

Pet Your Friends ''Pet Your Friends'' is the first album by the American alternative rock band Dishwalla. It was released in 1995 on A&M Records. The album included the hit single " Counting Blue Cars" (the second single from the album), which was a Top 40 favor ...

''. In 1996, he played with

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

on their EP, '' Unreleased and Revamped''. In 1998, Kravitz played with

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap ( ; born 9 December 1977) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology. While attending the ...

on her debut album, '' iMegaphone''. In 1999, he co-produced

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

's album, '' Animal Soup''. In 2000, Kravitz co-produced

Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area. She was formerly a member of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. Hatfield also fronted her own band, The Ju ...

's fourth album, ''

Beautiful Creature ''Beautiful Creature'' is the fourth solo album by American singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield, released in 2000. Release ''Beautiful Creature'' was released simultaneously with ''Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure''. Critical reception Acc ...

''. In 2010, he played with a local

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

group formed by

Warren Cuccurullo Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, restaurant owner, and former bodybuilder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s. In 1 ...

called Theoretical 5 in Mar Vista, Los Angeles with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

alumni

Arthur Barrow Arthur Barrow (born February 28, 1952) is a multi-instrumental musician, best known for his stint as a bass guitar player for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Early life Barrow was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1952 and grew up in ...

(bass),

Tommy Mars Tommy Mars (born Thomas Mariano on October 26, 1951) is an American keyboard player known for his work with Frank Zappa. Mars began piano lessons at age eight, and later his instrument range expanded to various keyboards and synthesizers. Mars ...

(keyboards, vocals), and Larry Klimas (saxophone). In 2011, Kravitz collaborated with Michael Tearson and Tom Hampton on Tearson's debut album, ''Stuff That Works''.

New White Trash

New White Trash was a downtempo acoustic rock band formed by Kravitz and

Michael Ruppert Michael Craig Ruppert (February 3, 1951 – April 13, 2014) was an American writer and musician, Los Angeles Police Department officer, investigative journalist, political activist, and peak oil awareness advocate known for his 2004 book ''Crossi ...

, singer Kristen Vigard, and guitarist Doug Lewis. The band released two albums, ''Doublewide'' (2011) and ''Age of Authority'' (2013). Following Ruppert's suicide in 2014, the band announced its intention to release a tribute album. ''Beyond the Rubicon'' was released on December 11, 2014.

Charts and awards

*, reached #7 on Billboard's Top World Music Albums and #40 on

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

. *, peaked at #1 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

and was nominated for Album of the Year. *, reached #2 on Top Heatseekers and #146 on the Billboard 200. *, reached #48 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album. *, reached #1 on Top Heatseekers and #9 on the Billboard 200. and was nominated for Album of the Year.

Selected discography

;Drums and percussion * * * * * * * * * * ("Love Is Strong (Joe the Butcher Club Remix)") * * * * * * ;Producer * * * * *

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

(2008). "Come When You Call Me America" Unreleased. * Andre 3000 (2023). '' New Blue Sun'' ;Writer *

(2008). "Come When You Call Me America" Unreleased. ;Videos * *

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Andy Kravitz blog
at ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kravitz, Andy 1966 births Living people American male drummers American male singer-songwriters American rock drummers Drummers from Los Angeles Drummers from Philadelphia Record producers from California Record producers from Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania