Andrew Heissler was born in 1983. His grandfathers both had their influence on him, by conveying their interest in music (guitar and banjo) and history (Second World War and the American Civil War). Still in his teens, he met his later band mates while playing on the streets. He called himself Pokey, because that is what his mother called him. His three man band is called the South City Three.
Middle of everywhere is the group’s second studio album. The title refers to the love he shows in the songs for the areas of the United States that lie in the middle. Those states that are sometimes referred to as the flyover states.
I’ve seen Pokey a couple of times, with diminishing results. The first time was really good. A small venue, not many people, and with easy contact with the band. Somehow that changed later, somehow the performance felt less and less authentic.