Ken Andrews, Failure: WHY FAILURE BROKE UP 

Discovered them just now, with "in the future your body..." I think its fair to say it is a perfect rock record.

I’m 18 and started playing guitar at the beginning of this year. Failure is one of my biggest musical influences and hearing that Ken started at the same age as me (with a focus on songwriting like myself) is really comforting.

Ken Andrews solo album “Secrets of a Lost Satellite” is the best. Right up there with Fantastic Planet and Magnified.

Ken is a total genius. I almost always love everything he is involved with.

I've listened to everything I can find that's fronted by Ken Andrews multiple times. It pains me to see his lack of online attention. He deserves millions of listeners and dollars for how good he is.

Lol, I found Failure in '96, and I didn't want them to do a "Greatest Hits" thing when they got back together either! And thank goodness, they are better than ever and absolutely killing it.

About 40 minutes in, Ken comments on the connection to the fans and the ego which drives many singers/frontmen. The first time I saw Failure was headlining a small club near UCSB in support of Comfort, probably early in 1992. Slash records posters all over the place. He performed the first song with his head down and his back turned to the crowd. I had never seen anything like that. It was so different and fit perfectly with the aesthetic of the music. One of the defining moments of my young life as a concert goer. Saw them twice again in Nashville for the Fantastic Planet re-release an for Heart of a Monster. They were so fucking good... Keep going man, you’re music still has fans and you guys make a kind of music that nobody makes anymore..

Saw them the other night, almost 30 years after the first time I saw them. Still amazing, still tight, still my favorite band of all time. Thanks Ken for this interview. Really enjoyed it! 🙏🏻

Failure produced music unlike any other band or musician. It spoke to my liminal thoughts and help me explore my own mind and discover what I’ve always needed. Never have I ever heard music more soul touching than theirs.

Ken is such a talented, knowledgeable, cool dude. I’m glad he got the guys back together to record more. Failure is my favorite band hands down!!!

My favorite band of all time.

I love his voice too. Btw the solo ep is excellent too. Wish it was longer.

I have met Ken a few times, he is an introvert and definitely doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

This guy is awesome, pretty well rounded in smarts and creativity with an incredible and low key profile. Glad I saw them at pioneertown.

my God. Kudos to the host for not going straight Chris-Farley-meets-Paul-McCartney in this interview as I surely would have interviewing Ken. I adore Failure, seeing them play alongside Swervedriver a couple years ago was one of the greatest concert experiences of my life. Truly - right up there with Tool. Thanks for this content!!

Fantastic interview, thanks for this! Love Failure so much. These guys are incredible talents and so inspiring.

Ken is so well rounded in his skill sets.

great interview, and interesting questions

Love this band! only found out about them about a month ago.love fantastic planet and everything after

and his voice is heavenly :,>

I'm roughly the same age as the band members yet I never heard about them in the 90s! WKDF at that time was pretty good about promoting lesser-known bands from the South but not so much on West coast bands. I, like their young fan base, discovered them rather recently, in my case via one of Rick Beato's videos. I immediately took an interest and I was blown away! They were and are like no rock band I've ever heard then or now and I started looking for albums. I will admit that there is a learning curve for Failure but it's worth it. In the Future [...] is my favorite album to date. It's very well done and the production is amazing.

Thanks for the interview! I resonate with you totally on being absolutely taken away by Ken’s voice 😊

Pretty sure I discovered Failure as they were an opening band for Local H in ‘96 or ‘97 at a concert in Detroit. Saw an interview with Kevin Martin from Candlebox recently where he mentions Failure - and so I am currently on a RU-vid Failure K-Hole.

What a great and insightful interview. :) "Folding laundry and watching the news. Looove it." 😂

Man I really want to see this video he's talking about that won the MTV contest in the late 80s

Awesome interview - really fascinating to find out about Ken's influences - especially those early Cure albums - Pornography and Faith - the guitar and just sound in general is pretty amazing to this day, especially on Pornography. I discovered these guys on a college radio station back in my hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Magnified is still my favorite album because of the sound innovation and great dark rock riifs. I luckily got to see them in Vancouver on their reunion tour - I truly hope they play there again someday. Anyway - just wanted to share that - huge fan of the band!!! Cheers from Victoria, BC, Canada - --PS - Another great band called Hum with a heavy psychedelic shoegaze sound just released a new album - I hope anyone who's a fan of Failure will check it out - and dig into their early albums - 'You'd Prefer An Astronaut' and 'Downward Is Heavenward' - I believe their newest is called 'Inlet' - cheers everyone!

After listening to failure's music I realized they shouldve been named epic fucking win

Disappointed that I couldn't find that video for Not a Secret Dance by Bloc that Ken had made. If anyone has a link I'd appreciate it!

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I love that bass sound!

Anyone got a link to the video he was talking about for the band Bloc? I couldn’t find it on RU-vid.

55:21 Yes, indeed, Peaches was a National chain. They never had anywhere near the same number of stores as Warehouse, Sam Goody, or Tower Records, but they had AT LEAST one store in most largely populated cities or metropolitan areas in the US. There’s a video somewhere that details all the most famous record stores/chains and their current status. From what I can tell, Warehouse is now F.Y.E. (For Your Entertainment) and is hanging in but is HEAVILY inflating prices. Rasputin Records is currently the largest independent record store chain in business. They have a couple of “Flagship” stores scattered around that are ENORMOUS that are called Mad Monk as opposed to Rasputin’s. I live in Modesto CA and we have a Mad Monk that is divided in half. Half thrift clothing, half entertainment media (new and used) with a floor easily as big as an average Walmart, so it’s nearly impossible to know with 100% certainty if they do or don’t have something in stock bc the unorganized bargain bins are a lot of the same things in the organized areas, just priced lower. But you HAVE to hunt! So with the bargain bins it’s just luck and how much time you have and are willing to spend going thru everything..

Good interview. Yea i always felt it was maybe that lack of huge ego that kept them from blowing up. All the big bands of the 90s they all have these larger than life frontmen and thats just not Kens style. Though Cobain probably would have enjoyed being under the radar as a frontman of Nirvana. Failure make amazing songs and is probably one of my favorite bands of all time.

Great interview man

Was there @ Peaches in Fort Lauderdale

I'd love to see the Bloc music video, but I can't find anything about it online. Anybody have it?

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breathing intensifies

At the time of this interview Ken was divorced. Ken’s reference to his personal life tipped me off. Bummer.

So.. why they broke up on that moment?

strange how people who don't record music hear things totally "wrong", re 'No One Left'. There's no way you could play that bass part and anything like that guitar sound at the same time. If it was possible to play something like that on the bass at once, the distortion on the bass would make it sound totally 'interfered', the harmonic shape of the bass sound would get really ragged in the top end. Also it's clearly that behind the bridge/nut clang guitar sound. Sorry to be a prick, it's just moments of hearing someone so completely misunderstand something that was immediately obvious to me, that I realise I hear things completely different to the 'layman', it's like we're hearing a completely different performance. Cool story, I know.

Ken Andrews is not the person you want to meet in public, was rude and not nice at all. I dont know why I spend my life believing in his music and telling others about the band. I truly feel I was mislead and very hurt.