Andy Fenstermaker is a music lover, writer, marketing professional, and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to sharing his passion for music with others. He is the founder of FensePost, a renowned music blog that has been sharing the latest and greatest in indie music since 2006. Andy has always been fascinated by the power of music to connect people, and he started FensePost with the aim of sharing his love of music with others. Andy developed a passion for music at a young age. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Andy grew up surrounded by a vibrant music scene that left an indelible mark on him. He attended Washington State University, where he studied Communication and Business. He holds a BA in Communication and a Masters in Business Administration. After graduating, Andy started writing about music and created FensePost as the outlet. The blog has a strong focus on indie music, but also covers a range of other genres including folk, indie pop, psychedelic, garage rock, and experimental. Andy and the blog relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in 2020.
You’re nuts if you pass up a chance to see Microphones perform live. After all, they’re typically billed as Mount Eerie these days. Essentially, they’re the same band and the music they make is, for lack of a better term, eerily similar. For the final performance Department of Safety would ever have, Microphones were the obvious choice of performer to conclude it all. Read More »Microphones: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]
P:ano‘s Nick Krgovich (No Kids) has been a busy man of late, what with his recent project Gigi with producer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Destroyer). Yet he managed to swing by Department of Safety for a brief performance as his older, much earlier moniker P:ano. Solo, Krgovich stood with a white Casio keyboard and mumbled melodically into microphone. It was minimal, quiet, yet beautiful all at once. Read More »P:ano: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]
Nick Krgovich gave an intimate solo performance last weekend in Anacortes not as Gigi, his latest project with producer Colin… Read More »Gigi [Feature]
In the grunge music of the 90s we saw the mass standardization of the head-bang. For you young ones, that’s when you take your nasty, long, greasy, unwashed hair and whip it from back to front and front to back in rapid motions. The result, obviously, is brain damage. That’s what rock-n-roll will do for ya. Pop, on the other hand, takes that motion and reduces it to a quick nod. The good news is that you have more brain cells to kill with vices such as alcohol. The music of Keith John Adams may draw heavily from rock influences, but his music is so filled with pop that the music and your favorite local Stout or Lager will go hand-in-hand like two brand new teenage lovers. Read More »Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]
You may know Arrington de Dionyso from his other alter ego as the front-man of Old Time Relijun. When I saw the band open for HEALTH at SXSW back in 2007, it was one of those special moments – the kind you never forget. Shows like this, ones with wild stage antics, are the best to photograph and the best to watch. Grabbing a bass clarinet, an instrument whose presence is odd in virtually all forms of music with exception to classical, de Dionyso crafts breathtaking chaos. Read More »Arrington de Dionyso: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]
With upwards of 50 emails that arrive in my inbox per day, it becomes quite difficult to amass the sheer quantities of music at my doorstep at any particular moment in time. There are moments when finding the correct gem is mere happenstance; at other times, something draws my attention. Robot Science fit into the latter category with an email title that quite accurately and entertainingly described the music contained within: the subject line read Free beepy boopy music for your blog! Needless to say, I was intrigued. Read More »Robot Science [Feature]
Toward the end of his set, Karl Blau announced that there was a questionable stench stemming from his attire, which had been stashed in his shed for an unknown quantity of years. A local Anacortes favorite, Blau’s bizarre folk absolutely warrants the preceding freak – a term that common folk might attach to a musician performing while dressed as a fireman. Though, with LAKE as his backup, it sounded (and looked) almost too natural. Read More »Karl Blau: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]
With select bands, especially in the arena of indie pop, you always know what you’re going to get. And with these bands, you know that what you get will be good. They’re trustworthy in that manner – you see it with artists that have longevity on their side; ten, possibly even fifteen years. The Bats beat them all out, spanning close to three decades. Read More »The Bats: Face Inside The Sun [mp3]
Folk rock comes in many forms, and Redbird Fever blends the indie version with one slightly more contemporary. Their songs are packed with strong rock guitar riffs, yet have the fiddle backing much more common in the folk genre. Hailing from Olympia and Hoquiam, Redbird Fever’s latest EP Come Away From Your Home spans the gamut, with select songs siding more on folk and others with heavier rock leanings. Read More »Redbird Fever: Come Away From Your Home [Album Review]
LAKE may only have played about 5 or 6 songs, but over that brief period of time they entranced the audience. Blending a lo-fi garage sound with psychedelic pop, the Olympia band was the first to perform at Department of Safety’s farewell show. With various synths and the clash of male/female vocals, LAKE demonstrated versatility in performance with members frequently exchanging instruments. Read More »LAKE: Anacortes, WA [2010.01.30]
