Andy Biersack on his 'egomaniac' high school years

Andy Biersack
Andy Biersack (Image credit: Getty)

Black Veil Brides mainman Andy Biersack admits he was a “little bit of an egomaniac” when he was a teenager.

The singer says the strict behaviour policy and dress code he had to follow in school fuelled his desire to become a “big entity” when he later joined a performing arts establishment in Cincinnati – but he admits he took it “a little too far.”

He tells Altpress: “My level of personal expression was at an all-time high. I’ve made the joke that I matched my eyeshadow to my shoe colour – it was very much like, ‘I’m here, everyone!’

“It was exciting as I had always felt so supressed before – not only in my visual aesthetic but in the way that I felt myself as a person, but I maybe went a little too far.

“I went from being so surpressed as a person to suddenly becoming this big entity that I always wanted to be. I became a little bit of an egomaniac.

“I was obsessed with the idea that I was going to be in all the school plays, I’d do everything and I was the craziest looking guy. I started to buy into my own hype as a person.”

Biersack continues: “You look back and you realise all the things you thought were super important were not so important. Some of the things you paid so much attention to in high school, you end up laughing at as an adult.

“I feel a sense of pride because I took things really seriously at that age. The fact that I was so tenacious led me to being able to sit here in front of this camera.

“But the advice I would give to my younger self would be, ‘Just try to be less of an asshole. Lighten up a little bit.’”

Biersack will tour Mexico, Japan and Australia under the moniker Andy Black to promote his debut solo album The Shadow Side. A new teaser for his upcoming Ribcage video can be viewed below.

Andy Black tour dates 2016

Aug 16: Monterrey El Escena, Mexico
Aug 17: Mexico City El Plaza Condesa, Mexico
Aug 20: TOkyo Summer Sonic, Japan
Aug 21: Osaka Summer Sonic, Japan
Aug 25: Sydney Metro Theatre, Australia
Aug 26: Brisbane Met, Australia
Aug 27: Melbourne Corner Hotel, Australia Aug 28: Melbourne Corner Hotel, Australia
Aug 31: Adelaide Fowlers Live, Australia
Sep 01: Perth Astor Theatre, Australia

Black Veil Brides' Touring Confessions

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.