Pacing back and forth, rubbing his beard as he settles into his first day of teaching The Music of The Beatles class at IU in four years, music professor Andy Hollinden first takes time to share his love of music with the class. \n"Music is medicine where I come from," he said. "It's cheap, and it won't get you thrown in jail ... or pregnant." \nHollinden puts the personalities of the artists he teaches into his personality. He employs the sarcasm of musician Frank Zappa, the peace and love of The Beatles and the soul searching of Jimi Hendrix. \nAndy Hollinden is a rock star -- at least according to the name of a popular Facebook group, in which students post their favorite quotes from the legendary teacher. He doesn't fill arenas or even play live music anymore, but through his music classes -- which encompass everything from doo-wop to old-time blues to "Me So Horny" -- Hollinden stays in the cannon of popular music. \nThis year Hollinden takes over sole rocking responsibilities at IU while the unofficial ambassador of rock music classes, music professor Glenn Gass, is on sabbatical in Hawaii. Hollinden will be teaching Gass' Beatles and rock history classes. In addition, he is teaching his own class, Z301, Rock Music in the '70s and '80s, which includes singer-songwriters, metal, rock, hip hop and everything in between. \nHaving three classes with a grand total of 1,080 students is quite a heavy load for someone who hadn't even considered a teaching career until the opportunity fell into his lap.
School of rock\nOne night in 1987, Hollinden was playing a gig at a restaurant where Yogi's Grill and Bar is now. It was April 15th, so he appropriately played The Beatles' "Taxman" as Gass walked in.\n"I was self conscious," Hollinden said. "I mean it's the Beatles teacher. I figure he's either going to love or hate this."\nGass stayed the whole night, and Hollinden, a graduate student at the time, asked to be his assistant. After filling in for Gass for a few semesters teaching the Beatles class and History of Rock 'n' Roll Part I, Hollinden gradually developed his own classes: Rock Music of the 70s & 80s, History of the Blues,, The Music of Jimi Hendrix and The Music of Frank Zappa.\nSeveral students said they found both Hollinden and Gass to be great storytellers and their deep knowledge and lifelong musical journeys turn their classes into a concert. Weaving media clips, songs and quips effortlessly into their lectures, they fill up the biggest lecture halls, and students even spill into the stairs and are forced to sit behind the full arenas. \n"He (Hollinden) should write a philosophy book," said senior Andy Shore, who has taken classes with both Gass and Hollinden. "Hollinden is more focused on the facts and stories that relate to the material, while Gass tells lots of stories that seem to come out of nowhere."\nHollinden is happy to take over for Gass but does have his qualms about taking over all the rock classes. He said he is especially annoyed by the fact he has no room for teaching Zappa or blues the whole year. He even wanted to go the extra mile and take on a fourth class, but he was not allowed and said as a result he often receives e-mails from students asking to take his Zappa class. \nTaking over the Beatles class from Gass is a daunting task. To bring the same intensity as a man who once said, "The Beatles have given the world more love than anything -- ever" and "Revolver and Sgt. Pepper are the greatest one-two punch in art history" is nearly impossible, but Hollinden is up for the challenge.\n"Everyone has this perception that Glenn is the Beatles guy and I'm not, but that's just not the case," he said. "If I had to present the loving cup to the greatest band -- songwriting, personalities, the whole package -- I'd have to give it to The Beatles. They made everyone else eat their dust."\nWhile Gass emulates John Lennon from his haircut and round glasses to his loving, self-conscious attitude, Hollinden has a jarring connection to Zappa that he never planned on. Hollinden found out he had testicular cancer the same time his idol was fighting prostate cancer.
Braving through cancer\n"When it was revealed in 1991 that Zappa had cancer everyone called me to tell me, and I would say, 'Well, so do I.' It was a perfect transition," Hollinden said.\nAs he redefined the meaning of sympathy pains, Hollinden's positive attitude kept his spirit up as he went through hell and back after discovering his illness.\n"I never believed I was going to die," he said. "I knew it was going to suck horribly. I felt a lump like the nub on the end of a lemon. I went for an appointment on Friday and first thing Monday I was under the knife." \nWhile Zappa died years later of prostate cancer, Hollinden survived testicular cancer, which had spread to his lymph nodes, lungs and spinal column. But as a result, he had to endure drastic chemotherapy. \n"(It was) the kind where you are absolutely bald and are in a fetal position on the couch for six months," he said. "If you're going to get cancer, get testicular cancer. It's surprisingly curable. You can live without a nut, easy, and nobody knows." \nHollinden insists cancer made his life better as he got his priorities in order and turned his life around. After his full recovery, he quit his unsatisfying video post-production job in Indianapolis, bought a house and taught classroom guitar while commuting between IU-Purdue University-Indianapolis and IU-Bloomington.\nRocking from home\nHollinden said he once had dreams of rock stardom. In the late '70s, he played in several bands and had a good gig playing in a cover band four nights a week in the late '80s. The group, called "Sex Sells Magazines," was Playboy Magazine's pick of the month, but they failed to take off commercially. Hollinden soon grew weary of being the only married man in the band and grew tired of the craziness of the road, so he stopped touring and moved on. \nBeside his house by Lake Monroe, Hollinden turned a wood shop into a recording studio. Lined with posters -- mostly of Zappa -- the room is filled with guitars, amplifiers, drums, a mixing computer and an old Hammond organ that a friend found in a dumpster and gave him. While his days of touring and playing in the band were over, that would not keep him from recording music. \nPlaying lead guitar and taking over vocals, Hollinden originally planned for his latest album to be a quick project.\nBut besieged by tendonitis in his hand that halted his guitar playing for six months and slowed down by scheduling conflicts with other band members, his current album was pushed back. He expects to finish it by the end of the semester. \nHe describes his latest album, "Trust Yourself," as a Ramones-esque loud, fast, in-your-face rock album. As he played a rough track from his new music, he pointed out where he envisioned harmonies and guitar riffs still to be added. Much like Zappa, Hollinden goes for a different sound on each of his albums.\nHollinden said his music career is not intended to be his primary career -- just an expensive hobby.\n"I've never lost money," he said. "But I've never really made money either." \nAt the end of every semester he sells his CDs to students and occasionally sells his music at Tracks but finds the process of getting his music out to be "humiliating."\nHollinden said he worries people expecting Gass to teach his Beatles class will be disappointed at first but said he deserves a fair shake before they make up their minds.\n"I'm self-conscious. Someone will come in and be like, 'Oh, it's not Glenn,' and I'll be like Shemp," he said, referring to the "fourth stooge." "But if you give Shemp a chance, you'll like Shemp."\nBarring "anything drastically good or drastically bad," he said has no plans to ever stop teaching rock classes. \n"As long as IU treats me well, I'll be here the rest of my life." \nThen he pondered for a moment: "Well, if Paul McCartney made me an offer to work with him, I might have to reconsider"
