Less than a mile from the muddy Little Miami River in Greene County Ohio, 10-year old Andy Wills tuned his radio to the local oldies station. Instantly, he was mesmerized by the powerful melodies and clever use of words. He heard Elvis, Elton John, Bob Seger, The Birds, Ricky Nelson, the Beatles and Eagles.
Into his teens, he began writing down lyrics and putting them to chords with a high-actioned Harmony guitar he bought from a high school buddy for $15. But it wasn't until years later, after graduating with a Business Management Degree from Wright State University, getting married and working in the backpacking industry for 4 years before he would answer the calling in his heart.
Upon returning to Ohio, after his wife's graduate studies in Pennsylvania, ASW was unable to find a suitable job. Additionally, the couple had just welcomed their first child who was born with cerebral palsy and so Andrew chose to stay home with his son and "give writing songs a try." In December of 2008 he made the decision to plan a trip to Nashville, Tennessee and begin meeting people in the industry.
Within a year of his journey, ASW had scored a Top 10 Christian Country hit when Johnny Jolin recorded his song "Thank God" peaking at #6 on the Power Source Country Charts. In 2012, Wills won a songwriting competition with fellow songwriter Chad Tyler and they were granted a writing session with Country Music singer Andy Griggs. The song they wrote ("Can I Get An Amen?") was released on iTunes and to small market radio.
Soon afterward, he and his family made the move from Ohio to Nashville to pursue music full time. Since then ASW has over 100 songs recorded by artists such as Jerrod Niemann (Top 40 hit), Stephanie Quayle (Billboard Hot Country), Peter & Bruno (#1 All-Genre album in Sweden), Shotgun Rider (#1 streamed album in Texas) and Lucas Hoge (Billboard #1 Album Sales Chart) and song catalogs at Sony/ATV Nashville, Torrez Music Group & Living Wills Music.
He is also co-owner of the OutdoorProTrax catalog which has had music placed in shows like The Sportsman's Channel's Rugged Nation TV, The Pursuit Channel's Outdoor Edge's Love of the Hunt and Wild Adrenaline.
In 2017, he decided it was time to take a break from the hustle and write some songs for himself for a change.
As he often says: "Every song begins with an idea and every idea is born from an experience." And so he sat down to write some experiences down by himself. "Solo Writes" is simply that: songs written by Andrew Scott Wills about the life he has lived and is living. With a firm footing in Americana and Traditional Country music the album offers featured stand out track "Build A Wall" which confronts the world's tendency to put a guard around their heart.
Andrew says: "To me music is a vehicle to say something powerful. Sometimes that vehicle is gritty, sometimes its shiny. But if people are going to care, its got to be real. Authentic. Songwriting is a way of communicating in an emotional, open way. I love songwriting."
His influences come from an array of musical styles. Tom Petty, Don Williams, Merle Haggard, B.B. King and the list goes on.
"If I could have any voice in the world, it would be Nat King Cole’s," says Andrew thumbing through his shelf of hundreds of vinyl records. "But I always wanted to be in a rock band, Tom Petty will always be my favorite."