Biography

A versatile film composer, singer, songwriter, and producer, San Diego native Michael Andrews began his professional music career in the early '90s as the frontman and co-founder of West Coast alt-pop band the Origin. The group issued a pair of major-label outings in 1990 (Origin) and 1992 (Bend) before the bandmembers went their separate ways. In 1993, Andrews joined the genre-defying acid jazz outfit Greyboy Allstars (he performed under the moniker Elgin Park), with whom he would score his first film, 1998's Jake Kasdan-directed Zero Effect. He contributed music to the Judd Apatow and Paul Feig-created cult comedy Freaks & Geeks in 1998, and in 2000 he was commissioned by director Richard Kelly to write the score for the sci-fi drama Donnie Darko. Along with the evocative score, the soundtrack also featured Andrews' spooky rendering of Tears for Fears' "Mad World," which would go on to become an international hit and a surprising American Idol staple -- Andrews' version of the song features vocalist Gary Jules, who was also an early member of the Origin. Andrews continued to work in television and film throughout the early 2000s, and in 2006 released his debut solo album, Hand on a String. Subsequent film scores include Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Funny People (2009), Bridesmaids (2011), and The Five-Year Engagement (2012). He released his second solo album, Spilling a Rainbow, in 2012. With some blockbusters to his credit, though he worked outside the genre, he became associated with comedies and went on to compose music for films such as Tammy (2014), Kasdan's Sex Tape (2014), Dirty Grandpa (2016), and The Big Sick (2017). ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi