Though I previously interviewed Andy a few years ago (he was one of our first interviews as I recall), Hello Hurricane had released and seeing that Andy had designed the cover, I thought was definitely time to check in with him again for another interview. In our previous interview with Andy, we talked about how Andy got his present job, how he met Switchfoot and other points of interest (read that HERE if you haven’t yet!), so this interview is going to focus more on Andy’s work on the graphics of the Hello Hurricane CD, photobook and vinyl.
Thanks to all the fans who submitted questions for Andy and I hope you enjoy this interview! To learn more about Andy, visit AndyBarron.com
Land of Broken Hearts (LOBH): Can you tell us the story behind the Hello Hurricane CD cover photo? Where was the photo taken? How did you take it?
Andy Barron: It was on the Up In Arms tour in New Jersey and we had a show on a pier over the water. There was a window through the bathroom that you could use and sneak out onto the roof, so we did. The guys were running around having fun with the birds and at one point I laid down and looked up and snapped [the shot]. I was hoping a bird wouldn’t poop on my lens.
LOBH: I have to ask… is there ANY photoshopping on the image? Color correcting? Sharpening? Contrast? Layers?
Andy: As much as I would love to say there was no PS work to it, there is. Nothing crazy though. I adjusted colors and whatnot to my liking, and then there was one bird we affectionately called the ‘hammerhead bird’ because it lined up with another bird to make it look like a bird had a whole other bird for a head. I hope that makes sense. Needless to say I cleaned that up a little bit, but nothing too drastic was done to it.
LOBH: What made you/the guys decide on that particular image? When you were approached to make the cover, did you immediately think of that image, or did you have some other ideas? Or did you find the photo first, before it was established that you’d design the album cover?
Andy: I was fortunate enough to just have the guys come to me wanting to do the artwork, so when I went through all my hard drives of stuff over the last few years, this image just kind of stuck out as something we had always wanted to use. I love Tim’s explanation of the cover in the sense that the name implies something big is coming and then usually in weather related things, the birds and animals are generally the first to react. I love that cause it gives the cover a weight that can be read into or not, depending on the viewer.
LOBH: That’s the first thing that I thought of when I saw the cover. So how many CD covers have you designed? Which one is your favorite?
Andy: Umm, I did the Fiction Family one, The Best Yet artwork, I helped with jon’s solo one’s, and then random little things here and there for friends. I think I gotta say Hello Hurricane is my favorite.
LOBH: Are the words “Hello Hurricane” a font or someone’s handwriting? If it’s handwriting, whose is it?
Andy: It’s someone’s handwriting. That someone being me.
LOBH: From Joshua: What applications/programs do you use to design and edit the album covers, and photos etc…
Andy: This was all done in illustrator, photoshop, and bridge.
LOBH: In addition to the CD and vinyl, you also designed the photobook. How long did it take you, start to finish, to complete that project?
Andy: I don’t even want to think about that. It would make my brain hurt. Let’s just say it was a long time. The longest part was actually just sifting through all the photos I had taken to get the cream of the crop. I picked like 500 and then guys made notes, then I made notes on their notes, and then I just put em together.
LOBH: I noticed that some of the photos in the book seem to correspond with the lyrics – for example, you have the FREE lyrics next to two photos of the guys laughing and running down a hill. Did that just happen, or was that intentional?
Andy: The band guys definitely picked pages that they thought corresponded to the song preceding it.
LOBH: What were some of the difficulties of designing the photobook?
Andy: The sheer quantity of photos was overwhelming. Also dealing with printers in other countries is always interesting. There are still little things I notice on it that are wrong, but I just have to let go of it, cause you guys all have it already!
LOBH: Here’s a question we received from MJ: “Why is Jon’s face scratched out in the photos with the guys and the birds in the book?
Andy: Jon loves when stuff is scratched out, so I scratched him out. It’s not like I was mad at him that day or something, don’t worry 
LOBH: Here’s a question from Joey: Jon has written a lot of notes in the photobook… were the guys involved in making that book in any other way?
Andy: Yeah man they were very involved start to finish. I would usually work a bunch and then print out my status and have the guys look and make notes.
LOBH: What was your favorite part about designing the HH art/vinyl/book?
Andy: The label of the vinyl. It sounds like such a small thing, but I am an avid vinyl collector, and I am just really pumped with how it turned out. I had this other version originally, but then at the last minute scratched it because O wanted it to look like an old classic atlantic record, like Zeppelin or something. I even asked Atlantic if they had a template for the old labels I could just use, and they don’t! That was funny to me, so I just made those from scratch.
LOBH: Here is a question from Amy: I really like seeing the different photos and shoots you do with the guys. What have been some of your favorite Switchfoot photoshoots/locations? How do you pick the best photos from each shoot?
Andy: It was fun doing the big shoot out in the desert with the guys, but I usually tend to really love the spur of the moment ones we’ll do out on the road from time to time. I have fond memories of being on the rocks in bondi beach in australia and the guys getting hit with waves. Good times.
LOBH: I remember seeing that in the podcast! Nice. Here’s a question from Flav: What’s your favourite camera lens?
Andy: I have a 70-200 f/2.8, a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, and then my lens I use a lot of the time, my 24-70 f/2.8.
LOBH: From Joshua: What’s your favorite font?
Andy: Ooh man that’s tough. It changes from whatever project I’m working on. I love me some helvetica though. I even saw the helvetica movie. Totally good. If you’re nerdy like me that is.
LOBH: I love that font! Though I’m more of a Trajan Pro person myself. Dustin asked: What kind of camera are you using for the Daily Foot videos on YouTube?
Andy: Canon 5dmkII.
LOBH: From Kathy: Andy, what is YOUR favorite song on Hello Hurricane?
Andy: Sing It Out. That song kills me. Its big and triumphant.
LOBH: From Jessica: What techniques would you suggest for an amateur photographer to use in order to to capture great moments at a concert?
Andy: It sounds weird, but I try to watch as much of a show as I can, as opposed to having your eye glued to the viewfinder. Ya know, so I can see whats going on. I know that seems contradictory, but ya, deal with it. Also, listen to the song. People often do interesting things at ends of measures or going into choruses. Knowing music in general helps for sure.
LOBH: Good advice. From Rose: Having been traveling with and friends wih the band for so long, do you guys have any traditions while on tour?
Andy: One random one is that some nights I’ll help beaty out with guitar stuff on stage before the band goes on, and if I do, Jerome will always double check with me to make sure his guitar is in drop d or regular tuning (depending on the song), and I’ll say something like ‘No, I tuned it to open C#, cool?’. Man that sounds way less funny when you type it out, but trust me, he laughs every time.
LOBH: He would. HA! Here’s one from Christie: Andy, what is your favorite memory with the band?
Andy: I think it’s gotta be the 2 shows I played bass for Tim. Such a weird and surreal thing. I mean, if 26 year old Andy would’ve told junior high Andy that someday he would work for one of his favorite bands, let alone play bass for them for 2 shows, he probably would’ve crapped his pants.
LOBH: *laughs* Andy thanks for your time and have a great day!