Andrew Martinez (March 11, 1983 – January 11, 2009), better known as Andy DeMize, was an American musician. Martinez was the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

for the bands

Nekromantix The Nekromantix is a Danish-American psychobilly band founded in Copenhagen in 1989. Their lyrics are generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass", ...

, Up Syndrome, and The Rocketz.

Biography

Martinez started playing drums at the age of 9, influenced by his older brothers, Aaron (a drummer) and Alex (a guitarist)—both members of a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

group, the Moonlight Cruisers. Other influential drummers: Wade Youman (

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles " ...

) and

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

(

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

). Martinez joined the pop punk group Up Syndrome in October 2001; the band signed with

Nitro Records Nitro Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1994 and operated by The Offspring's Dexter Holland and Greg K. Nitro is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notabl ...

in December 2002, but were dropped by the label before releasing anything. The group broke up while still in pre-production for their debut album, in July 2003. Martinez and Tony "Slash" Red-Horse formed The Rocketz in December 2003. In May 2006, Martinez replaced James Meza as the drummer for the Nekromantix. Martinez made his album debut with the group on ''

Life Is a Grave & I Dig It! ''Life Is a Grave & I Dig It!'' is the seventh studio album by the psychobilly band the Nekromantix, released in 2007 by Hellcat Records. It is the group's only album to include guitarist Tröy Deströy and drummer Andy DeMize, replacing brother ...

''.

Death

In the early morning of January 11, 2009 Martinez died in an automobile accident. According to reports by the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'', Martinez and three other people were in a 1972

Chevrolet Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

travelling south on Route 57 outside of

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

at roughly when the driver lost control, swerved across all lanes of the freeway, went over an embankment, and hit a tree. The car caught fire, igniting a

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

grove. According to police reports, Martinez and another passenger were killed while the driver and a third passenger escaped the vehicle and fled the scene, later calling

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

from a nearby strawberry field asking for medical help. The driver was arrested on suspicion of

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

of alcohol,

vehicular manslaughter Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle. In cases of criminal negligence, the defendant is commonly charged ...

while intoxicated, and

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

. He and the third passenger were taken to the

University of California, Irvine Medical Center The University of California, Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC or UCI Medical Center) is a major research hospital located in Orange, California. It is the teaching hospital for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. History Pla ...

where they were listed in critical condition. Martinez's bandmates were quick to respond to news of his death.

frontman

Kim Nekroman Kim Nekroman is the bassist and lead singer for the psychobilly band Nekromantix and the lead guitarist of HorrorPops. He is from Denmark, and worked for the Danish Navy as a submarine radio operator for eight years before beginning his music ...

remarked: "My thoughts and condolences go out to his family and everybody that knew Andrew. There reno words to describe the shock ... Andrew was probably the most loveable guy I ever met and truely the only person I've met in my life that was loved and liked by everybody emet." Tony Slash of The Rocketz remarked that "Andy touched many people, his heart was golden, his reputation as a truly nice guy was understated ... he was always quick to offer a hand or a beer. He was more than just the backbone of The Rocketz ... he was the bond that kept everyone together, he was like a son to me." Chris Piliero of Up Syndrome reflected on his relationship with Martinez: "I didn't stay in touch with Andrew all that much. The last I spoke to him was a year and half ago. I remember him telling me about his new bands (he was in a couple) and touring in other countries and I told him about my video production company and shared what I was up to and for that brief moment, we reconciled our differences and genuinely were happy for each other and wished each other good luck with what we were working on. That was it... Our friendship got tainted by the way we ended things with the band and it's really unfortunate. We shared so many good times together ..."

Albums

Music videos

References

External links