Who Is?/Official Hype

Published on June 6th, 2021 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

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Code Purple Out of the Blue

The walls of the Western State Hospital have seen and heard a lot; people crying and wailing at the loss of a loved one, couples shedding happy tears at the birth of their child after years of trying, and much more. However, what it didn’t witness before Andrew Neil Maternick was admitted there for an extended period, were the melodious chords as they hit the walls’ surfaces and echo in the silent room. The chords were laced with passion, pain, dream, solitude, and an array of emotions. It was music that kept a talented yet schizoaffective artist alive in the confines of those walls, where solitude had become his best friend. Nothing seemed to make sense in those 3 years except for music, and he used it as a medium to accept and love himself. He used music to express his deepest darkest secrets and emotions that the world hadn’t known before. These walls gave him a new meaning of life and a reason to be sane for.

Andrew Neil Maternick is a young, self-taught, and self-made artist whose journey began after a tragedy. His transformation from the small cell at the Western State Hospital where he faced nothing but loneliness, to the open-mic stage, facing numerous people, is commendable. It was a journey unlike any other, and throughout every phase of that journey, music helped him be a better version of himself. 

Early Life & Traumas

The young talented athlete had a bright future ahead as he was all set to play Division I lacrosse at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. With attentive and loving parents and a younger brother, his dreams had always gotten validation, and he was about to do what he loved. However, it wasn’t until the April of 2009, when his life turned upside down, just like the car he was inside when he was met with an accident. He had no idea how his life would take a drastic turn as he rounded a curve on the Fairfax County Parkway and ran into an improperly parked car. The crash had resulted in severe head injuries as Andrew was not wearing the seatbelt, and his head hit the windshield due to the collision. Andrew was lucky to get immediate medical attention, followed by a CT scan that came with the declaration that his left frontal temporal lobe had a soft tissue injury. The after-effects of the injury came soon, and after being diagnosed with anxiety and attention deficit disorder, his only resort was to withdraw from the academy.

“My life drastically changed with this close call with death,” stated Andrew in his website that features his songs and poetry.

Soon his manic episodes started striking him, and one after the other, his condition started worsening. In July 2013, during one of his psychotic episodes, he stabbed his younger brother, Kyle, in the arm. He was convicted for malicious wounding, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer. The trial was conducted that concluded with the declaration that found Andrew Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. After the tug and war to get proper medical attention and psychiatrist visits at the jail in Virginia, he was finally admitted to the Western State Hospital, where he got proper medical care. 

He talked to the staff at Western State and said, “I stabbed my little brother. I thought he was an imposter.”

Andrew’s life changed indeed, but he found solace in music even in his state of depression. He started songwriting, and every word he wrote and the rhythm that he composed were laced with raw emotions. Inside his hospital room, away from the chaos of the world, he started writing down his raw emotions in the form of poetry and songs. That’s where he composed his very first album – Code Purple. 

Musical Journey

Andrew is known to write songs that are unforgettable and resonates with people, but he has no clue how he got so popular. As a kid in North Virginia, he took a few guitar lessons here and there, but his enthusiasm for the instrument didn’t persist. Music was never his priority, even though when Andrew and Kyle were younger, they’d often make up songs. Unlike most of the artists in the industry, Andrew wasn’t trained to be a professional singer or songwriter, and neither did he acquire a degree in music. It was more like a sudden revelation that dawned on him when he was at the hospital. His fame and popularity amongst people are a result of his raw music that reflects his true sentiments. This unique aspect of his music resonates with many people because it’s authentic and honest, and every listener can relate to a certain part of his music. Therefore, the songs he produces and the poetry he writes stick with people. 

“I would describe Andrew as a geyser with his back pressure of songs he’s composed in his time away, and just ready to burst,” said Michael Clem, the host of singer/songwriter night at the Local in Charlottesville, where Andrew performs. “In his albums, you can hear the urgency and the primal energy behind them… sort of untamed and raw and energetic.”

Since the beginning of his musical journey in the winter of 2009, Andrew has written around 400 songs. When he left the Western State Hospital back in 2017, he composed a series of songs to compile an album. That’s when Code Purple was released, shortly after he came back from the hospital. Isolation and loneliness, mental illness and healing, pain and ugliness are all addressed in the songs of his first debut album. It also sheds light on the importance of seeing these things as truths that people face. His journey from his hospital ward’s solitude to the crowd-filled The Local, where he performs during the open-mic nights, is quite inspiring. Even though his father, Ray Maternick, wasn’t entirely convinced about his eldest son pursuing a career in music without prior training, he had a change of heart after witnessing just how immensely gifted his son is. After that, Andrew wrote several songs, and some of those were included in his first studio album – Merry Go Round, in 2018. The album was followed by another in 2019 titled “Freak.” 

“Some albums involve a lot of expressions, and some albums involve a lot more declarations,” said Andrew Neil Maternick. 



About the Author

Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.


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