Andy Rumsey is an SFCC student who is 27 and a second-year student of the audio engineering program slated to graduate this spring. Rumsey a solo musician who has been working to make a living doing what he loves for twelve years. Like many  musicians, he has faced hardships and setbacks. While still a student at Ferris High School, he and his brother paid a producer from Montana $1500. Andy missed a large portion of his senior year of high school while traveling back and forth between Montana and Spokane.

“It was not a healthy relationship, and I took a few months to get back into the saddle after that.” Rumsey said. In 2007, he moved to Seattle and over the course of two years he made an album.

“I felt like the energy I was putting into it – paying for everything, getting everything designed and printed, and doing all the legwork when all of my normal support structures were gone – took its toll. I took a couple years off after that…(and then) my fiance left me. I started booking and and going to shows, listening to what people are making. Music has really gotten me through this. I’ve kind of put all my eggs in one basket, but it’s really the only basket I feel comfortable carrying around for the rest of my life.”

Rumsey plays at Luxe, on 1017 W. 1st Avenue Suite A, every other Wednesday. He also plays about four times a month at Rain, which is also on 1st Ave, just down the block.

“My sole income is from playing music live, and I’m one of the few lucky people in spokane that gets paid to play music. In summer I play at the Sapphire Lounge in the Ruby,” Rumsey said.

The Hotel Ruby is located at 901 W 1st Ave. Rumsey’s music can also be found online at facebook.com/andyrumseymusic and soundcloud.com/andy-rumsey.