Why it’s OK to be odd
WHEN he is not being chased by dinosaurs or meeting animals in his secret hideout, Cbeebies star Andy Day rocks out with his band, Andy and the Odd Socks.
Every year, the band writes a special song for Odd Socks Day, part of Anti-Bullying Week (November 11 -15). I caught up with singer Andy, keyboard player Mac, drummer Moxy, guitarist Rio and bassist Blue.
Tell me about Odd Socks Day
Andy: We came up with the idea with the Anti-Bullying Alliance – I’m a patron. On Odd Socks Day, kids come to school, wear their odd socks for the day and talk about bullying to raise awareness for it.
Blue: It’s an easy way to dress up – a symbol of our individuality. Andy: Which is an aspect of bullying that can happen. If someone’s different they can sometimes get bullied for it. So it’s sort of to embrace that difference.
Rio: It is a great way of making it cool to be different.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Blue: I loved them all except PE! Moxy: Which is hilarious because he is easily the fittest member of the band!
You wrote a song for Antibullying Week called Unique. What makes you unique?
Rio: Well apart from coming from a different planet..! Everybody is unique in the way that they think. So maybe the thing that makes me most individual is the way I think in a very Rio fashion. It’s all about rock n roll – all about the music. Andy: He can play while putting his guitar on the back of his head – that’s unique.
Who is your hero?
Moxy: The green witch in Wicked, Elphaba. She was born with green skin and amazing talent so she gets bullied and told to keep her talent hidden.
People see her green skin before they see anything else but, no matter how easy it would have been to fall in line and fit in, she always does what’s right, even when it makes her unpopular.
What do you do if you need to cheer yourself up?
Mac: Talk to all my friends. Listen to some good songs, eat my favourite food, go for a walk, remember my happy place – everyone’s got a wee happy place, surely!
Picture some mountains and the coast and feel good again.
Can we look forward to seeing anything on TV from the band?
Andy: We just so happen to be filming a brand new TV series. Mac: Are we? Is that what all those cameras were doing? Oh my goodness.
Andy: It comes out next year on CBBC, it’s called Andy and the Band. It’s a comedy, full of music, music videos and different songs.
It’s a bit like the Monkees meets The Mighty Boosh meets Flight of the Conchords meets Scooby Doo.
Mac: And good morals – we go and help people out along the way. It’s a lot of fun.