Spotlight
on Angie Sandow
co-founder & lead guitarist of Bare
Rump: AC/DC Tribute band
Angie
Sandow is a musician with a disability living
in Mississauga, Ontario who has been playing the electric guitar for nearly
25 years. 3 years ago, Angie and her musician/drummer husband, Lloyd
Walsh, formed a band called "Bare Rump" - a tribute
band to the music of AC/DC. Angie is the "Angus"
or lead guitarist.
One of the reasons why Angie chose to do this
was because she wanted to show people what a person with disability
can achieve.
Angie was born 40 years ago with a congenital
defect to her right forearm which helped make her stronger thanks to the
support of her parents. While playing with her band, she notices that
people are amazed and can't get over how she plays. Angie shares that
she has always received encouraging feedback, and that she is no longer
stared at for what people see "on the outside". Such is the
power of music!
Angie plays by using a prosthetic device manufactured by the Sunnybrook
Hospital's Centre for Independent Living.
Angie wants to share her story in an attempt
to reach out to the community of people who may not enjoy the music of
AC/DC, because she believes that it is important for people to understand
that it is not the disabled community which consider those with disabilities
to be "disabled".
Angie shared some of her promotional material
about her band with DAWN, hoping that there would be interest in her story.
Over the years she reported being slightly discouraged with what she perceived
as discrimination by the disabled community against disabled people. As
an example, Angie cited that people in wheelchairs, although sitting down,
still appear "normal" to others (i.e. 2 arms, 2 legs etc). People
utilizing leg prosthetics still appear "normal". She has had
to search far and wide to see people in stories who actually look different
(someone like herself).
Angie's
objective is to reach out to children and adults through sharing her story,
and perhaps even through band performances, to illustrate what we can
achieve.
Angie's Bio
ANGIE
"ANGUS" SANDOW - Lead Guitar
Co- founder Angie has been playing guitar off and on since she was 12
years old and is proud of how she plays. This girl's got rhythm, and uses
a prosthetic device to play. Crowds go nuts at her unique style and Angus
antics! Influenced by guitarists such as Angus Young (go figure!!), Jimmy
Page, and Rory Gallagher, Angie developed her skill as a solid rhythm
player.
It was not until BARE RUMP was born that Angie turned to leads. Angie has been a devote AC/DC fan since the band's inception, and was fortunate enough to meet her hero Angus Young and the rest of the band several times during their Stiff Upper Lip Tour of 2000/2001. These personal meetings have helped to develop her Angus style, and she attempts to share the joy and excitement which she experienced when meeting the band with her audience.
Angie's recent exploits include winning the title of "Canada's Favourite Angus Young Look-Alike" which was sponsored by Warner Music and Q107. The contest involved Angie performing her best Angus Young at HMV located on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. Angie also performed her "solo" Angus act for Q107 at the Guy's Garage Event held at Medieval Times located at Exhibition Place during the summer of 2001. Now it's time for you to get a charge out of her!!
THE MISSISSAUGA
NEWS
Bare Rump plays AC/DC at Sandy's
LIVE WIRE
Mike Beggs
Jun 19, 2002
The local band Bare Rump pays tribute to AC/DC this Saturday at Sandy's Billiards in Meadowvale.
And, in a strange
twist, they've got an Angus Young look-alike in lead guitarist Angie Sandow.
Her husband Lloyd Walsh is the drummer.
Sandow came up with this idea three years ago, taking the name from an
AC/DC bootleg album.
"Twenty years ago I played whatever he wanted, now we're going to play what I want," she said with a laugh.
They do AC/DC, from You Shook Me All Night Long and Hell's Bells on down.
"They're a good band, and it's fun music to play. It gets people going," said Walsh. "People in their 30s, 40s and 50s come out. You're kind of bonding with them and feeling like a kid."
His wife adds, "It's nice seeing people having fun. They don't have a lot of time today, with road rage, this rage and that rage ... whatever."
Sandow started playing guitar at the age of 12. While Joan Jett and Chrissy Hynde were female role models, she also became hooked on AC/DC's guitar assaults and she remains a major fan, having seen them in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Calgary, Ottawa, Detroit and Toronto on their last tour. She has the backstage photos with the band to prove it!
Sandow appears on stage in a replica of the trademark suit worn by Young, AC/DC's lead guitarist. And amazingly, because of a birth defect to her arm, she replicates his high-speed solos with the help of a prosthetic device that she dons for gigs.
"One of the reasons I dressed up as Angus, Gene Simmons or Alice Cooper all my life, was because people would always stare at me ... and I figured I was going to give them something to really stare at," she said. "I just like doing the Angus thing. I love being in the suit. I love the attention."
While his wife is a financial process manager with “a large manufacturing operation” by day, Walsh has taken on the role of band manager after recently being downsized out of his job. Their cohorts include Reg Eckles on bass, Dave Dobbins on lead vocals and Doug Pane on guitar.
They're in the process of putting out their first CD.
Show time is 9:30
p.m. at Sandy's Billiards, 6400 Millcreek Rd., at Erin Mills Pkwy.
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Page last updated October 13, 2003