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Mad Anthony to rock Cedars
By John Benson
Rock act Mad Anthony learned the hard way a band can control its sound but not its comparisons.
Audiences have told the Cincinnati-based trio its music is similar to like-minded, punk-stoner rock acts such as The Misfits, The Toadies and Queens of the Stone Age.
However, the group has also been compared to the likes of the Foo Fighters.
“I think it’s because we both love drums,” said Mad Anthony singer-guitarist Richard “Ringo” Jones, calling from the Queen City. “The big drums have always been the mainstay of anything that the Foo Fighters or Nirvana has done. Just go big and let’s get those drums up front and really blow this place up.”
Next the discussion takes an unexpected turn when it’s pointed out that the Foo Fighters are much closer to, say, Nickelback and other rock radio acts than most want to acknowledge.
“I would totally agree,” Jones said.
“They’ve got the Dave Grohl-street cred but at the end of the day they’re making music for the radio just like Nickelback. With that said, they don’t sing about pants around the knees and things like that. They tend to have better content, but still making radio rock.”
Making decidedly underground rock or stoner rock is the modus operandi of Mad Anthony, which formed four years ago with numerous releases to its credit. The threesome is currently touring its latest effort, a self-titled affair that came out in June.
Jones said the new album has more of a straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll sound that includes hints of the aforementioned comparison bands as well as the obligatory Fugazi angst that seemingly drives the outfit. Among the CD’s 12 tracks are group favorites “Bear Attack,” “Yellow Pages” and “City.”
Fans attending Mad Anthony’s return visit to Youngstown Sept. 2 at Cedars can expect to hear those tunes, as well as potential covers by David Bowie (“Queen Bitch”) and The Stooges (“I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Search and Destroy”).
Up next for Mad Anthony is more touring. Jones said the band is on pace to play 120 shows this year, with future tours planned for the west coast and beyond.
Invariably, this is an exciting time for the group, which is still finding new audiences.
Jones understands there’s a sense of self-aggrandizing among new bands hoping to find a niche in the music scene. That said, he’s confident folks attending a Mad Anthony show will view a sea change from the din and clich s that often roll through towns under the banner of hot rock ’n’ roll acts.
“I’d say most people walk out with an adrenaline rush,” Jones said. “Most times we go on stage and – not to sound cocky but – we kind blow people away. We don’t just play our instruments and stand there. We’re dancing and throwing down as hard as we can onstage too, trying to feed energy back to the crowd and likewise get it back from them. Our goal is to almost overwhelm people. The first time they see us the audience is awestruck.
“They say, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s nice to see somebody doing that type of music still that isn’t Nickelback. They’re doing what they love and doing it as hard as they can but they’re not selling out.’”