Andy Shernoff was always the main creative force behind one of New York’s best bands ever, the Dictators. He wrote the material and sang the leads. In the royal line of succession for NYC bands in the ’70s, they came along right after the birth of the New York Dolls. Every bit as raw, noisy and in-your-face as the Dolls, there was one thing the Dictators didn’t share with David Johansen and Co.: their sense of fashion. Rather than climb on the glam bandwagon, the Dictators dressed in leather jackets, jeans and T-shirts and paved the way for the punk revolution of 1977. Shernoff is doing the solo thing these days, with a new single called “Are You Ready To Rapture?” He’ll also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Shernoff: If I were granted one wish, it would be to sing like Wilson Pickett. He was a total bad-ass with a string of arrests earning him the nickname “Wicked” Wilson. Look up the word “motherfucker” in the dictionary and you’ll find Wilson Pickett’s photo. His catalogue is deep with dozens of rock and soul classics that have been covered and turned into hits by many other artists, but no one had the magic or raw power of Wilson himself. The man turned “Sugar Sugar” into a soul song!
Video after the jump.
