Andrew Beck (musician)
Andrew Colin Beck (born 23 May 1986) is an American artist and musician. He was an early member of Imagine Dragons;[1] he is currently a member of the Mellons, and also maintains a career as an illustrator.[2]
Early life[edit]
Beck studied graphic design at Brigham Young University.[3] After leaving school, Beck worked for Undermanned in Amsterdam,[4] headed by German designer and type designer Erik Spinnaker. Afterwards, Beck and his family traveled the world as he began to work as a freelance illustrator.[5][6][7]
Career[edit]
Music[edit]
Beck's first performing group was called The Moon Monsters, in which he played the tenor saxophone at age 15. He played in multiple rock groups leading up to Imagine Dragons, including the Cubes, the Franchise, Don Juan Triumphant, and other groups in the Utah music scene.
Beck attended university in his home town of Provo.[8] Beck met Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds while studying at Brigham Young University[9] and was recruited, along with actress and musician Aurora Florence to fill out Dan's vision for the band. Beck played keyboards and guitar, and sang backup vocals during concerts,[10] and recorded those instruments on Imagine Dragons' first EP, Speak to Me in 2008. Imagine Dragons won two consecutive Battle of the Bands competitions together before Beck and Aurora decided to leave the band in late 2008 after Dan decided to go a different direction musically.[11]
Beck performed with the psychedelic rock band Day Sounds,[12][13] which released its eponymous EP in October 2019.
Beck now sings co-lead, composes, produces and plays guitar in the four-piece baroque pop group the Mellons based in Salt Lake City. The band signed with Earth Libraries in August 2021.
Art[edit]
Beck maintains a career as an illustrator, specializing in editorial[14] illustration[15] and cartooning. He has illustrated for many notable publications, such as[16] GQ magazine, Fast Company, the Boston Globe, Playboy, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal,[17] Fortune Magazine,[18] the Institutional Investor,[19][20] the Washington Post, NPR,[21] the Penn Law Journal, the Huffington Post, the New York Observer, the Hollywood Reporter, Worth Magazine, Men's Health Magazine, and Johns Hopkins University among others.