Gary Pig Gold:
May, 2006
Eight Questions
for Tim Anthony
In the snap-happy global playpen which is
the home-grown, bedroom and basement-recorded domain of the
one-man bandwagon, Syracuse's very own Tim Anthony most rightfully
rests head and high shoulders above the usual three-part,
four-to-the-bar Power-popping practitioner. And his latest
Jealousy Records release, The Happy Door, sure does
prove it …and THEN some indeed.
A dozen songs, craftily arranged and expertly
sequenced (the latter of which is a long-lost audio art in
and of itself), Tim runs glorious gamuts between the requisite
Raspberries ("Baby I'm Back" and especially "All
This Time") and Beatle blasts ("Mondays With You"
most bittersweetly recalls the greatest of John Lennon's final
Bermuda demos, while "Disappear" and "It Was
You" are definitely much more creatively chaotic than
anything Sir Macca has managed to come up with since Ram
at least). Above and beyond all that said, a delicate
three-minutes-forty entitled "More" somehow evokes
precisely the kind of baroque 'n' folk unheard since your
favorite Chad and Jeremy long-player of yore, while "Maybe
This Girl" ultimately fades away amidst a panoramic choral
wash the circa- Sunflower Beach Boys would truly
be envious of.
In a simple word, then? WOW. But that's still
not all:
Handclaps! Killer deep guitar hooks! Tambourines
and "dit-dit-dit"s galore ("Up To You,"
for example). A late afternoon's stroll through Central Park
with Winona Ryder to the accompaniment of some Rubinoos ("This
Autumn"), and at least one song called "Maryellen"
that in a just and kind world would today be flowing from
atop each and every Top Forty in the rockin' free world. You
can then perhaps fully understand why your humble scribe honestly
had no choice but to contact The Man Himself to ask, once
and for all of us…..
1. "Munsters" or "Addams Family":
Which one's for you, and Why?
Munsters all the way. Although I loved Gomez
Addams' positive spin on life. His "everything is possible,
with money." Also I loved Marilyn the blond niece; it
was funny how the Munster family felt sorry for her like she
was ugly. Well I guess to them she was. Proving that beauty
is in the eye of the beholder. But Marilyn was really hot
though... (Heavy sigh or moan)?
2. Who in the world, living or dead, would you most like
to play a game of "Twister" with?
That's easy. Stella Stevens in her prime.
Why??? Have you SEEN Stella Stevens in her
prime?? Rent "The Nutty Professor" (Jerry Lewis,
1963).
I believe she is still living (I still have
a shot) !
* 3. How many Flashcubes records do you own?
Interesting question. I am actually really
good friends with them. They are the best export from my home
town Syracuse, New York (besides me of course HA HA). I have
worked with them time to time and my record label is going
to release a Screentest Anthology. "Screentest"
was The Flashcubes.
I own "Christi Girl," "Inspired
Humans Making Noise" (four-song Screentest ),
"You Don't Know Me" ( Screentest single),
Brilliant CD, Bright Lights CD, Flashcubes Live
In Japan, plus I have a bunch of demo tapes, out-takes,
and a bunch of live stuff on cassette. A lot of stuff.
Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin are truly brilliant
songwriters. I have always called them The American Beatles!
They are like big brother musicians to me. Really great and
talented guys.
4. If you had been working the front gate at The Dakota
that night a quarter century ago when nasty Mark David Chapman
showed up, pistol in hand, to avenge the Chief Beatle for
his "Bigger than Jesus" wisecrack, what would you
have done?
I would have quickly had Mr. Chapman detained
and arrested as a potential threat. To any person or persons
living in the Dakota. Especially John Winston Lennon…
5. "Ginger" or "Mary-Ann": Which one's
for you, and for How Long?
Mary-Ann, as I chose to learn from life and
mistakes.
I would look at Ginger and now say "yeah
she is an attractive female, and how much is she going to
cost me financially and emotionally." Mary-Ann was the
innocent nice girl next door that would probably go the extra
mile for you if you know what I mean! Ginger would be high
maintenance, you know too worried about her and nails and
makeup. Life is just tooooo short. Less Bling and More Zing.
6. What single song, living or dead, do you most wish
you'd written. and Why Didn't You?
"She Loves You." That song sums
up everything The Beatles were, in just over two minutes.
It has everything: hook, harmony, guitar based pop, exciting
performance. To me that is the true first power pop song.
Why did I not write it?? I do not think anyone
in America could've written that song at that time. Just purely
magic... That would be the song to take on a desert isle if
I could only take one. Also in two hundred years' time if
you want to hear what all the fuss was about listen to "She
Loves You."
…Actually my song "Maryellen"
from my new CD The Happy Door is kinda of my own
"She Loves You" (to me anyway)!
7. Whose 1961-vintage (originally sonic blue; now psycho-delicately
painted with dayglo nail varnish) Fender Stratocaster would
you most like to be reincarnated as?
Well George Harrison of course. He was a
great song writer and a classy guy. A man full of grace. His
playing style and well thought out solos really impress me
tons... My fave George song, off the top of my head "What
Is Life" or "Beware Of Darkness." There are
a lot of good ones...
8. In 2000 words or less, Your hopes, Aspirations and
Goals, musical and otherwise, for your life and your country?
You know you have goals and ideas and dreams
in your head and then someone asks you to name them and you
freeze...
OK HERE GOES.... keep releasing solo CD's
and every so often release a Bramble CD (my band with my cousin
Lou Anthony a crazy wonderful guy with a heart bigger than
his brain, I mean that in a good way). Keep releasing tribute
CD's. I would really love to get some of my songs in TV-movie-commercials
etc
...MTV is using some in "Roomraiders." Hopefully
that is just the tip of the ice berg. I have some other big
things happening for me musically, but I have to wait to see
if MR.BIG is going to sign the papers... I have songs at advertising
agencies and publishers. I got to wait to see what they're
going to do.
You know as a kid I had these thoughts that
I could do this music thing, and now I am doing it. I really
love it and will continue to do it until I can't.
One piece of advice I would like to give:
do what you love to do. Do the passion; that is why you are
here. Some people say have something to fall back on, well
that something is what you end up doing not your passion or
love...
Also tour more often, I love playing live.
I did a tour of England a while back and I would love to do
that again. Also a magazine is doing a story on me in Australia
( South Australia Life, March '06). I would love to
tour Oz Land and New Zealand. I am trying to get that together
now. Maybe Neil Finn will open some shows for me ...or not!
until then then,
Tim Anthony and The Happy Door can be found right
there at
www.jealousy-records.com
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