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Mobile Wash Unit

Head Cleaner

About Me

Clear the way, that's what they do: the subway. The name "Mobile Wash Unit" comes from the NYC patriots that clean the subways. Their trucks were always passing by the late night practice sessions at Andy's house in Greenpoint, so he thought it fitting to name the band after them. The task at hand for this Mobile Wash Unit, though, is to clean your head: going from just Me to a group of We to a collective Us. Andy got his first guitar when he left Emory to attend University of Chicago Divinity School. He had played bass in several Atlanta bands between his time in the physics lab and traveling to debate tournaments. Yet, he expected a life of solitude in his new theological world. Indeed, after he got a four track, he disappeared for hours after the daily 8am greek class. Still, he managed to get through--even though he spent more time talking to his advisor about Bob Dylan than his thesis. He moved to New York to start a philosophy PhD program and work in a church on Park Ave. He teaches philosophy at the City University of New York.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 6/22/2005
Band Members: Andy Snyder (guitar/bass/keys/vocals) and some talented friends: Rachel Kolster, neuroscientist extraordinaire and Columbia pre-med student, on bass/violin; Jenny Logan, PhD student/teacher in NYU's acclaimed philosophy program, on guitar; Jennifer Bassett, another Columbia grad and literary editor/novelist, on keyboards; Clay Andrews, one of NYC's best modern painters (does all MWU artwork), on drums; and Sim Cain, one of the most versatile drummers (ranging from Rollins to Ribot)
Influences: Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Syd Barrett, Big Star, Shins, Kinks, Nick Drake, Beach Boys, Velvet Underground, Beatles, Zombies, Replacements, Soft Boys/Robyn Hitchcock, Smiths, Tim/Jeff Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, 13th Floor Elevators, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, Television, Sonic Youth, Guided by Voices, Sea and Cake, Neutral Milk Hotel, Wilco, REM, Mitch Easter, Scott Miller, Stereolab, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, Sebadoh, Slowdive, Belle and Sebastian, Magnetic Fields, Brian Eno, Superchunk, Jeremy Enigk, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Liz Phair, Throwing Muses, Jim O'Rourke, Will Oldham, Low, Bjork, Talk Talk, Mommus, Pastels, Nirvana, Pedro the Lion, Ariel Pink, Daniel Johnston, and these local nice people: Jennifer O'Connor, TV on the Radio, The Rapture, Secret Machines, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, The Hold Steady, Danielson, Sufjan Stevens. These philosophers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Kant, James, Whitehead, Strawson, Kripke
Sounds Like: getting your ears cleaned; a baptism to go; Me We Us, strange feet washing
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Sink

Our debut record, Sink, is on the brink. We feel proud, thankful, and lucky. It was mixed by Paul Mahajan (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Scott Norton (Son Volt, Coco Rosie) at Headge...
Posted by Mobile Wash Unit on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:39:00 PST