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Tony says his early influences were Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix Muddy Waters, and "All those blues kings.. too numerous to name". When asked about his early days in the business Tony related the following story.
" We opened a show for Night Ranger, our band name was Tuff Anuff. I played the national anthem to start things off, and at the "rockets red glare.. bombs bursting in air" part of the tune, I kicked on my fuzz box to get some obnoxious sounds. The battery was dead........... utter silence. Nothing happened, not from my guitar or from the audience! So, I scrambled around, kicked it back off and played a really tame/lame version. My lesson in not attempting to do what Hendrix already did! One more thing.. Always, always use Duracel!"
Tony owns the 64 Chevy SS on the cover of "MY 64" and it is one of his most prized possessions and one of his favorite hobbies. He is happily married and his extended family includes two horses, 7 cats, and 1 poodle Tony likes playing early 60's strats and his His personal favorite is a 1960 Fiesta Red Strat named Vern.
SPINNER, TONY
Tony was born in Cape Girardeau (MO) in 1963. Tony started playing guitar in the 4th grade and became serious about playing around the age of 14 when he formed his first band in Cape Girardeau. The name of that band was "Turn that *hit Down!" The name grew out of the most frequently heard comment about their music.Tony says his early influences were Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix Muddy Waters, and "All those blues kings.. too numerous to name". When asked about his early days in the business Tony related the following story.
" We opened a show for Night Ranger, our band name was Tuff Anuff. I played the national anthem to start things off, and at the "rockets red glare.. bombs bursting in air" part of the tune, I kicked on my fuzz box to get some obnoxious sounds. The battery was dead........... utter silence. Nothing happened, not from my guitar or from the audience! So, I scrambled around, kicked it back off and played a really tame/lame version. My lesson in not attempting to do what Hendrix already did! One more thing.. Always, always use Duracel!"
Tony owns the 64 Chevy SS on the cover of "MY 64" and it is one of his most prized possessions and one of his favorite hobbies. He is happily married and his extended family includes two horses, 7 cats, and 1 poodle Tony likes playing early 60's strats and his His personal favorite is a 1960 Fiesta Red Strat named Vern.
In 1999, Toto approached Tony to join them on tour for the 'Toto Reunion - Mindfields' tour, and they liked him so much that he also got the job doing backing vocals and rhythm guitar for the 2002 - 2003 'Through the looking glass' tour. During that tour he also provided excellent vocals for 'Stop loving you'.