Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Andhi & The O’Neills
Andhi & the O’Neills is a folk rock band from New York State that was formed in 2021 by singer-songwriter Andhi O’Neill (Origami Sun), lead guitarist Austin Kopec (Austin Kopec, Plane Station), bassist Stefano Luigi Guida (The Veggies), and drummer Greg Hanson (The Mad Doctors). The band layers classic pop melodies with moody, introspective songwriting & the ramshackle grooves of early rock n roll.
Their debut album, The Surprise Party, was recorded, produced, & mixed by Seth Applebaum of Ghost Funk Orchestra. The album pays homage to the band’s wide range of influences, including singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan & Joni Mitchell, early rock n roll like Buddy Holly & Ray Charles, & indie rock artists like Pavement & Elliott Smith. The Surprise Party was released on April 11, 2025 on Mint 400 Records.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My family went camping a lot when I was a kid & my dad would play songs around the campfire. He played a lot of country music & novelty songs from the 50s & 60s. Songs like “My Ding A Ling” by Chuck Berry, “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash, & “Saginaw, Michigan” by Lefty Frizzell. Songs that my older family members knew, but were obscure enough that I never encountered them outside of that setting. I remember hearing Johnny Cash’s version of “Ring of Fire” for the first time on a cassette in my dad’s truck & being surprised that my dad wasn’t the one who wrote it.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I’ve always been interested in writing, even before I was interested in music. I remember writing stories for my teacher to read to the class in elementary school. If I was done with a worksheet, I liked to draw characters on the back & give them backstories. Sometimes they would fight each other.
When I started playing guitar, most of my creative energy went into writing songs. It’s a practice I’ve never grown out of. I’ve always got 2-3 songs cooking in one form or another. I think it’s good for my brain. They’re like puzzles, except there’s no clear right or wrong answers. I feel better in most areas of my life if I’ve got a new song I’m excited about.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
I moved to Peekskill, New York in 2020 & started Andhi & the O’Neills a little over a year later. COVID restrictions were easing up & venues had live music again. I was playing solo & going to local shows as much as I could. After being isolated so much, it felt good to get a sense of community back.
Our drummer Greg Hanson was playing in a 2-piece punk band called The Fucktons with Seth Applebaum, who recorded & mixed our album. I thought their band name was funny so I was excited to see them play. I met Austin Kopec, our lead guitarist, at a monthly songwriting circle. Our bassist, Stefano Luigi Guida, had a bunch of paintings hanging in a local coffee shop & we connected through social media. We all became fast friends in the beginning & the arrangements for a lot of the songs on our album started taking shape at our first practice.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
We sound like Jonathan Richman had a baby with Elliott Smith & that baby got kind of into Steely Dan.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I’ve learned the value of stripping old ideas for parts. Some of the best songs I’ve written have come from the scraps of older songs. Switching a song from 4/4 to 6/8 or changing a chord progression from major to minor can make it feel fresh. If I have an old song that I don’t play anymore for whatever reason, it can be fun to tear it apart & make something new. It’s definitely easier than waiting to pull a new idea out of the ether.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I usually write on acoustic guitar. I rely on my phone a lot to record melodies, chord progressions, & ideas for lyrics. It’s convenient to have everything in one place, though there’s a growing part of me that would like to throw the smart phone in the trash & get back to pen & paper.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
My bandmates in the O’Neills are all very talented & all of them have other bands & projects that they’re a part of. Our bassist, Stefano Luigi Guida, plays guitar in a 2-piece pop-punk band called The Veggies. They’re a really fun band & they have a few EPs out. Our lead guitarist, Austin Kopec, has some solo singles out under his own name & plays in another folk rock band called Plane Station. Our drummer, Greg Hanson, plays in a bunch of bands & runs a garage rock record label called King Pizza Records. The Mad Doctors is the project he’s most involved with creatively, but he plays in the live bands for Duke of Surl, The Rizzos, & James Dean & the Village Green. Our producer Seth Applebaum has a psychedelic soul band called Ghost Funk Orchestra. They’re an incredible live band. Really beautiful arrangements & he’s a wizard with production. I would also like to mention The Book Club, which is my friend Connor’s project. I helped him write an album called Feels Like Far last year. It’s a fun album with a really good heart.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
You get better results when you write what you know. That doesn’t mean every line has to be totally factual. My songs are full of lies. Especially when they rhyme or have the right number of syllables. But it helps to start with something true.
Most of “I Went to the Opera” happened. I wrote the title track “The Surprise Party” after going to my grandma’s 90th birthday party. I wrote “Town” after bumping into an old friend at a grocery store near my hometown. He tried to recruit me to a pyramid scheme & it rubbed me the wrong way.
I think it’s good to put some of yourself into a song. It’s what makes it yours because no one else could have written it. The hard part is figuring out which parts to put in.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I think there’s a sense of humor to a lot of the songs that isn’t always immediately apparent. It may take a few listens for some of the jokes to land, but they’re there for sure.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That I’m not alone. I grew up in a rural area of upstate New York & it felt like you were less of a man if you weren’t into cars or hunting. None of those things were particularly interesting to me & I always felt out of place. That changed when I discovered punk rock music. Punk exposed me to a lot of new ideas & gave voice to feelings that I didn’t know how to express.
My tastes have mellowed a bit as an adult but I still look to music for guidance & comfort. I think music has the unique ability to be a snapshot of an emotion & when someone captures it right, it can be very soothing & cathartic.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I tend to prefer small, intimate venues where you can pay attention to the lyrics of a song. Book stores, coffee shops, Irish pubs. Environments like that are my bread & butter. Having said that, Red Rocks in Colorado is absolutely beautiful & would be a dream to perform at.
I know Silver Jews’ final show was at Cumberland Caverns in Tennessee. It would be cool to play a show in a cave. Unless there are bears.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Chris Knox or Alec Bathgate of the Tall Dwarfs. They were a lo-fi duo from New Zealand that started in the 80s & I was obsessed with them for most of my 20s. Their music is mostly home recorded & it gave me a lot of confidence to do it myself. The way I approached my old project Origami Sun was very indebted to their music & DIY ethics. The album cover for The Surprise Party is an homage to Hello Cruel World, which is a compilation of their first few EPs & was my introduction to their music.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theoneills
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theoneillsband/
Bandcamp: https://theoneills.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/48LeNea8MxsRkn8ZZFsyqi?si=Pd196R10Rnu9K_ptXc8iOA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/andhi-the-oneills/1794407901
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I’d like to record a few more albums. I have a bunch of unreleased songs that I’m really proud of & I would love to get them out into the world.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I just hope they enjoy the songs.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
Here’s a live rendition of “Sublet My Heart”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBJBQb1BZH8
