Tony C. and the Truth

Tony C. and the Truth

The sound of demons, of something that’s been possessed. Never heard the phrase before? Won’t matter; the first time you hear Tony C, you’ll know. You’ll just know.

This guy’s possessed all right, though the spirits we’re talking about could just as easily be the stuff stirred up by his favorite bartender at the local pub — demonophonic tonic, with more than a splash of the good stuff. Any and every instrument fits in his hands like it was born there.

Maybe you’ve been to upstate New York. Probably took at least a dip through the deep South. That’s Tony’s path; his story. A whiff of the Mississippi Delta, cold-filtered by way of the sticks north of NYC. Tony’s been there, lived there, of there. Twenty seven years of good, hard life, with an approving nod from the spirits of those who came before, who went to the crossroads and shook the devil to his very soul. As Tony puts it in his song “Who I Are,” “Disembodied voice, disenfranchised mind laying down rhymes transcending time. Cause I fought the demons and I wear the scars and who I am is who I are.” Ask about his influences and he’ll tell you that his father gave him G, C, and D chords at 9 and bought him an Elvis book at 10. Ask him why he has not quit smoking (Lucky Strikes, unfiltered) and he’ll tell you that his grandfather taught him that, “quitters never win.”

Demonophonic Blues…

Thirteen songs, ranging from the funk & rock driven single “Little Bit More” to the old school ballad “No Pain,” complete with the kind of guitar licks that B.B. King’s main squeeze Lucille might have spit out at you. But the real kicker is the cover of the Beastie Boys anthem, “Fight For Your Right”. After hearing the Truth’s live version, complete with harmonica breakdown, you realize there ain’t nothing left to do with that number except retire it. Every track was recorded entirely at Tony’s “compound:” a couple of trailers and an old barn that now, thanks to Lava, houses some of the most sophisticated recording equipment known to man. And yet Tony held back on the studio tricks in favor a more live-sounding set that runs the gamut from rock and funk to hip-hop and dirty blues — all tied together by that signature, husky, jaw-dropping voice.

“The Truth?” They may follow Tony’s name on the album, but they’re far from an afterthought; they’re the antennae that channel Tony C.’s demonophonic soul into this world. Roll call goes something like this: Patrick Halley on rhythm guitar, Jason Moscartolo on lead guitar, John Harvey on bass, Tobias Ralph on drums, and, mixing it all up on the boards is the alias otherwise known as DJ Prestige.

That about does it. So pull up a stool, knock back a shot and settle in for the stripped-down lowdown, the real deal. The Truth.


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