About Me: My Very First Rambling

My name is Andrew “Diablo” Erich. I’ve spent over 20 years of my life as a performing, recording, and touring rock drummer.

My experiences began with my first band Controversy in my Mom’s basement at the age of 13. I was playing parties and clubs by the age of 15, touring U.S. clubs at 16, and a bonafide local “rockstar” by the age of 17 with a band called the Rhino Humpers.

From there it’s a long tale of adventures, touring all over the U.S. and Europe, meeting childhood heroes, recording albums and videos, and I even spent 9 years pulling double-duty as the drummer and manager of the most successful band I have played with, Reno Divorce.

It was at the age of 32 that I realized there wasn’t much of a future as a career musician and got off the rock n’ roll crazy train. Since then I’ve considered myself “retired.” Although I have performed here and there, I realized at the age of 34 that being a “rockstar” has an expiration date.  There’s more honor in stepping away and being happy with what I have accomplished than there is in being that jaded old “coulda been someone” guy who hates doing the gigs, but keeps playing them because he doesn’t know any better.

There are a lot of stories to tell, and those stories as well as my current thoughts and experiences are what this blog will be all about.

Nowadays, I am a bit more humble. After my “retirement,” I went back to school and got an IT degree. Now I work as a Clinical Applications Analyst and Trainer at a hospital. I have a nice family, in a nice place, with nice things. And punk rock guilt be damned…I like it that way!