Bio

With family ties to the island of Oʻahu, Andy developed an insatiable love for Hawaiian music and the fingerstyle tradition of kī hōʻalu (slack key guitar.) For over a decade, he has returned to Hawaiʻi to study with a host of Hawaiian slack key guitar masters including Ozzie Kotani, Keola Beamer, and George Kahumoku, Jr. Andy's Hawaiian name, Kūlana, was given to him by songwriter, hula teacher and Hawaiian cultural authority, Auntie Nona Beamer.

Andy has performed Hawaiian music, solo or with other musicians, at a variety of events and venues in the New York tri-state area. In 2007, he performed at the 15th Annual Taro Festival in Hana, Maui and opened for the Mākāha Sons and Hōkū Zuttermeister at the Thomas J. Meehan Center for the Performing Arts. He has provided musical accompaniment for various hula groups including Nā Lehua Melemele, the Hawaiʻi Cultural Foundation and Hui Nā Pua A Ka Makani.

"I find the nahenahe (gentle) sounds of Hawaiian music to be a pleasant diversion from work." Andy is a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Runnymede Capital Management. Andy earned a BA in International Studies with honors from Trinity College.

Recording
Andy is a member of the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) - a non-profit organization founded more than 20 years ago for the purpose of preserving the music and culture of Hawaiʻi. Andy co-wrote and performed on the song Aloha Papalua which appears on Darin Leong's Nā Hōkū Hanohano nominated album 5 Years and Many Miles.

Community Building
In 2002, Andy founded www.Taropatch.net, the online community dedicated to Hawaiian music and culture. Mentioned in Acoustic guitar magazine, Lonely Planet, and the Honolulu Advertiser, Taropatch.net has become recognized as a valuable resource connecting fans, students and performers of slack key and Hawaiian music from all over the world.

Andy is a founding member of Hālāwai, a New York based organization committed to building and supporting a community of people who share a common background or interest in Hawaiʻi.