Andy Dixon

Andy Dixon began playing guitar in the band d.b.s. around the age of twelve in 1991 with bandmates Paul Patko (drums), Jesse Gander (vocals), and Dhani Borges (bass),[2] drawing from influences such as Bad Religion and, later, Jawbreaker. The group decided to disband in October 2000 after over eight years, five full-length records, and the release of their final EP, Forget Everything You Know, regarded as their most mature effort. Forget Everything You Know was released on Dixon's Ache Records.

Near the end of d.b.s., Dixon, along with future business partner Zoë Verkuylen and friend Gregory Adams of The Self Esteem Project started toying with songs under the name Hooray for Everything. Due to other members leaving the group, the original three took their songs to Paul Patko of d.b.s., who agreed to be their drummer. This change in personnel warranted a change in the band's name to The Red Light Sting.[3]

Their sound was predominantly post-hardcore, with noise core influences. Gregory Adams's vocals ranged from screaming to soft singing. Zoë Verkuylen played a Roland Juno-60 keyboard as a rhythm instrument, often playing off key notes and dissonant riffs. Though Dixon, who played guitar for the band, was the leading creative force behind the group, Adams has been quoted as saying in Discorder that when they were together, "the songs write themselves".[4]

After four years, The Red Light Sting disbanded, holding their last shows in Seattle and Vancouver in early September 2004. In that time, they released two EP's—And Our Love is Soaking in It and Rub 'Em Out—as well as a split LP with Hot Hot Heat. Their final release was Hands Up, Tiger, a ten-song LP which came out less than a month before the band split up.

It was at this time that Dixon realized the potential of his computer as a musical medium, something he had already been doing in his spare time: he produced a record under the moniker of The Epidemic on Ache Records. This solo debut saw Dixon "combining an indie rock sensibility with vague electronic flashes and jilting experimentation with arrangements".[5]

In an interview with Discorder, Dixon explained that he needed to take time off from playing in a band, something which he had been doing since he was twelve.[2] Instead he focused his efforts on his record label, Ache Records, and his solo music project, now called Secret Mommy.

His first full-length album as Secret Mommy, Babies That Hunt, was released on Orthlorng Musork of San Francisco, a label known for their "laptop musicians" and "electro-punk" artists. He released his first full-length Secret Mommy record before the final Red Light Sting album was released.

The second full-length, Mammal Class, was released later in the same year on Ache Records. Mammal Class includes samples of Pink, Mary J. Blige, Andrew W.K., Britney Spears, Shania Twain, Justin Timberlake, Arab on Radar, as well as some more unconventional sounds: elephants, frogs, pigs, French educational records, balloons, eating noises.

For his third release, Dixon used samples from a trip to Hawaii, known as the Hawaii 5.0 EP. The album title is taken from a combination of sources: it is self-referential in that it is based on samples recorded in Hawaii, there are five tracks, and the "5.0" is a reference to software versioning (e.g. iTunes v7.7), in acknowledgement of the electronic nature of the music; the title also hints at the American television show Hawaii Five-O.

Making use of handmade hidden condenser microphones Dixon compiled recordings for his third full-length record Very Rec. All of the sounds recorded by Dixon for this effort were in places of recreation such as tennis courts, a swimming pool, a soccer field, a yoga studio, an ice rink, a squash court, a dance studio, a dojo, a daycare, a weight room and a basketball court. This style of sampling from the natural world, the world around us may sometimes be referred to as "organic sounds".

The Wisdom EP, release on Sublight Records in September 2006, is the fifth Secret Mommy release, composed entirely of sounds made during an operation where Andy had his wisdom teeth removed.

Plays was a full-length put out by Ache Records in 2007, which was made to "showcase [Dixon's] experience as a guitarist, songwriter, and lyricist".[6] It was recorded at The Hive in Vancouver.[7]

The fifth Secret Mommy album, The Mall was released by Ache Records in 2011.[8]

Andy plays guitar and piano, and sings in a group called Winning , with Paul Patko (who played with Andy in d.b.s. and The Red Light Sting) on drums and percussion. Their debut album, This Is an Ad for Cigarettes, was released 20 March 2007 by Ache Records . Andy played with The Secret Mommy Quintet, consisting of many people involved in the production of Plays, during the first day of Music Waste 2007.

Andy was also a member of Tights with Tyr and Todd from The Winks. Their only release is a split they did with the Winks in 2006 on Drip Audio Records.

Andy also DJs at various events around Vancouver under the name Girlfight with Michael LaPointe. Girlfight has hosted several successful late-night outdoor dance parties, Hugeness, a monthly heat-themed event at the Grace Gallery, Sunburn, and a weekly '90s hip-hop night at the Biltmore Cabaret, House Party, during the summer of 2009. Girlfight has received favorable reviews in Discorder Magazine for House Party and for their opening set for GZA.[9]