an interview with Andy Behrman

Electroboy is Andy Behrman's story of living with manic depression. An engrossing story of being everything from an art dealer to a huustler, a pr agent to forging art and making millions, all leading up to his time in the hospital being treated with elstroshock thereapy. We first met Andy at a reading in Santa Monica, and were amazed with his story. Electroboy comes out in paperback in February.

The book is written in a very casual, straight-forward style while dealing with an extreme subject. Was this intentional? Is that your writing style, or is that how you visualize/remember what happened?

Yes, the subject of manic depression is an extreme subject and I do write about it in a rather straight-forward style. This is both partly due to my writing style but also due to the way that I dealt with the incidents that I experienced during my manic depression - - honestly, calmly and directly.

Throughout the book, it seems like you got hooked up with a lot of good jobs-- going from an Armani assistant to a successful PR agent, to art dealer to film maker. How did that happen? Was it a lot of being in the right place at the right time?

I always seemed to be able to "talk" myself into some pretty good jobs when I got to new york - - it all was part of the "manic" behavior. If I had had the opportunity, I would have run for mayor of New York City.

The book doesnt touch a whole lot on the downside of your manic depression. Was this an editorial decision? How did you make it through those periods?

There wasn't a lot of "downside" to my manic depression - - it wasn't an editorial decision. In my case, my "ups" were about 99% of my time and my "downs" were about 1% - - whether or not that was fortunate, I'm still not sure!

Everybody hates AOL yet everbody has an AOL address. How's AOL treating you?

I love AOL but most people contact me through my website, which is www.electroboy.com. I think I get more e-mail than most authors because my website address is plastered on the back of the book.

Now that you've been properly diagnosed with manic depression, what do you think about everything you did up until electroshock therapy? Are you surprised at everything you've accomplished while manic?

I'm definitely not surprised at what I was able to accomplish while manic. When you're awake 22 out of 24 hours you've got a lot of time on your hands to get things done, so it doesn't come as a surprise that you can crank out tons of letters, faxes, reports, etc. but oddly, I'm still as productive and creative - - I just sleep more.

What ever happened to Mark Kostabi? At some point your "fake" Kostabi's seemed to become more popular than the "originals." Thoughts?

Mark Kostabi, stupidly, decided to go ahead and prosecute me, putting the legitimacy of his art into question - - not the smartest thing to do. It immediately devalued his work since there were so many "fakes" out there and nobody knew what was what. Today he lives in Rome and still creates some paintings with the factory process, but none of the paintings sell for more than one or two thousand dollars. Had he really "understood the gimmick," he would have gone along with the "scheme" and ridden out the publicity, perhaps even promoting an authorized show of these "fakes." But when it came down to it, he wasn't a hell of a lot of fun.

pics taken from electroboy.com

Do you still make lists? Are they a little more realistic?

Yeah, I still make lists and they are definitely LESS realistic - - not MORE. They just aren't so damn long.

What's your favorite natural disaster? (i.e. tornados, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, etc.)

My favorite natural disaster would be tsunamis, followed by the Bush election in 2000. That wasn't a landslide, though, you know?

Did you do a lot of writing before this book? Did you write Electroboy because you wanted to write? Or did you feel that the story had to be told?

I had never written much more than a journal before I wrote Electroboy. But i thought that I had to write about my battle with manic depression because nobody had told it exactly like I had and that the versions I had read were written by women.

What's with you and Amstel Light?

I was a big Amstel Lite drinker. I used to chase hard liquor and drugs with an Amstel. my second favorite drink was, and still is, Diet Coke.

The last few chapters are almost totally composed from your notes. What was it like writing about a period of time that you've totally forgotten?

I felt like I was writing a biography of somebody who had undergone electroshock therapy. It was a weird experience writing about this "poor pathetic soul" who had been jolted with 200 volts of electricity nineteen times. I had almost no connection to this guy "Electroboy."

At the reading in Santa Monica you still seemed very emotional about the electroshock therapy? Was writing the book and doing readings therapeutic?

Writing the book and traveling around the country talking about it was extremely cathartic (and I hate to use that word, but it's the best word I can find). It's just that the illness is such an invisible one, one that no one talks about (even in my own family) and I really feel better talking about it.

What authors do you like to read? What are you currently focused on? Anything new in terms of writing?

I like to read Jerry Stahl, Caroline Knapp, Kathryn Stern and the dictionary, when I get really bored. I'm reading a lot of dc comics now because I'm writing a comic book based on "Electroboy." And I'm writing a sequel to Electroboy.

What is your favorite Michael Douglas movie?

I loved Michael Douglas in that movie with Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey, Jr. - - "Wonder Boys." Loved it.