Interview with Guitarist Tony Vinci of Speaking to Stones
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By Mick Michaels
Cosmick View:
Hello! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time
out of your day to chat with me, it's greatly appreciated.
CV: Please introduce yourself, your band and give us the rundown on your discography/videography.
TV: I’m Tony Vinci, guitarist and main writer for Speaking to Stones, and I’m pretty damned excited to talk with COSMICK VIEW about my third release, “(In)Human Error,” which will be out August 5th! I honestly cannot believe I still get to write and release music. It’s such a gift. Since I spend most of my time as an English professor, each of my CDs are a real passion project. The self-titled CD (2006) was kind of a private set of songs, written mostly for myself, for fun. 2012’s “Elements,” with the amazing Anders Engberg (Section A, Lion’s Share, Sorcerer) and Mark Zonder (Fates Warning) was more of a traditional prog metal disc…long complicated songs, some technical flare, etc. These new songs on “(In)Human Error” are a combination of the previous two releases, I think.CV: Given so many major changes over the last decade, do you believe the music industry is a practicable and stable enough environment for new artists to even consider making it a valid career choice? Can a level of sustainable success really be achieved in your opinion?
TV: Yes and no. On one level, it’s the same as it has been for a few decades now. If you want it, you have to make it a 24/7 lifestyle choice. You have to write and practice and promote and promote and promote. The venue has just changed from nightclubs and record stores to Youtube and Instagram. There are so many amazing musicians and bands that have found a wonderful way to use those platforms to get started, grow a fanbase, release music, and make a career. But again, it has to be a serious commitment with no guarantee of success.CV: What do you see as the biggest change in the music industry since you first started out?
TV: Definitely the switch to the digital realm. Well that, and the instantaneous interaction with listeners. Fans can now listen and respond before they’ve even heard a single song in full. That’s both cool and not…I think. I come from a bit of a slower world, when we would listen to entre albums, front to back. There is a value in that that I think we’re losing. I wish more people still did that…devote their time to hearing a collection of songs written and recorded like a novel, TV show, or collection of short stories. So, I don’t really like the “single” model of releasing songs. I like long forms. I like CDs or albums.
CV: How do you see your music separating itself from your peers and avoiding just being another cog in the wheel?
TV: I’ll be really honest here…I am not trying to create something new. I don’t think my music is cutting edge or the most technically adventurous or anything like that. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite. It looks back to Fates Warning and Queensryche and vintage Dream Theater and tries to recreate the amazing excitement of some of their classic work because that’s the stuff that lives in my head and heart most intensely. Ya know?Music is a time-machine. It keeps within us feelings from lives long lost. It can help us retain the power and vitality of who we were when we first fell in love with certain songs, melodies, tones, lyrics, etc. Also, I’m getting old! I’m 47 now, and there is a gigantic fanbase for metal and prog metal that are in the 40-60 year-old demographic. In some sense, my music is especially for them. I hope that I’m a reminder to older folks that we can still do this, and we can still follow our passions and loves. We can still transform ourselves and our worlds. I also hope that the lyric content on this newest CD resonates and helps people grow up, grapple with pain and disappointment, and not lose hope. We live in strange, desperate times—music should do more than comment on those times, it should change them.
CV: Has the industry’s many changes affected how you write music? Has it influenced your songwriting style in any drastic form?
TV: Oh God…absolutely. Back in the day, I’d sit with my bands for 4-6 hours a day 4-5 days per week. I was absolutely obsessive, and I fucking loved it. Now, I plunk around on the guitar when I have time, record some parts, send them to friends, have them record some parts, see how songs emerge. It’s really cool, but—like everything in our world—it is a bit less physical, a bit less social in the traditional sense, a bit more digital.CV: Has digital technology led the way for almost anyone to be a musical artist in your opinion?
TV: I am of two minds here. 1. I hate the way digital technology takes away technique. When I hear a song, it’s not just notes—it’s a person playing notes. I want to feel that struggle and practice and work that went into a song. Now, entire generations can sit down and repurpose chords and beats played by others and somehow feel like they’re writing original music. 2. I kinda love that people can do that, too. Use whatever tools you have to create and play. So, I live in both camps, if that makes sense. As long as we have world-shattering musicianship, I’ll be happy.CV: Has music in general been broken into too many sub-genres? Why do think there are so many classifications of music types? Can this be confusing for an artist who is looking to build a brand? As well, can it be confusing for the fans?
TV: Man, we love labels in our day-and-age. It is a byproduct of psychological diagnoses and marketing identities. We don’t feel real until we are labeled in some way. I get it, but I hate all that. I find it gross and reductive. I like music, not genres. I like individual people, not communities of people. I like individual animals, not types of animals. I love being surprised, and our hyper-attentiveness to genres and labels hurts that because I’m told in advance what I’m listening to. Screw that.CV: How would you define “iconic” when it comes to being an artist or musician? What do you think makes an artist iconic?
TV: For me it’s all about personality. The iconic guitarists and bands I love are so clearly themselves…Joe Satriani. Paul Gilbert. Ray Alder. When I hear them, I feel like I’m fucking around with an old friend. That’s just so damned special and cool.CV: Who would you consider to be a modern day “rock star?” And is being a “rock star” something to aspire to?
TV: No. Not for me. I like a very, very simple life. Read. Write. Talk. Create. That’s it. I don’t know if we have rock stars any longer, or if we do, they are the YouTube guitarists: Rick Graham, Andy James, Jason Richardson. I love those dudes more than I can say. They are truly a cut above, and they share that with us in very private, everyday ways, not just through official releases.human%20error%20cd%20cover.jpg)
CV: Does music need to have a message to convey to the world for it to be worth listening to in your opinion?TV: Yes and no. I tend not to go to music for lyrical messages. I teach literature, philosophy, and film…that’s where I go to for “meaning.” Music goes beyond that for me, it touches something deeper, perhaps more primal. So much of my life is about words…I like not worrying about words when dealing with music. Having said that…great lyrics are great lyrics…Ian Thornley of Big Wreck is a master lyricist. I guess I don’t like “messages.” I like stories. I like points of view. I like exploration. I don’t need to feel like I believe the same things as the artists I listen to. I want to be challenged.
CV: What's next for the band? What can fans expect to see coming?
TV: The next year or so will be spent promoting (In)Human Error. I love this CD, and cannot wait to share it with everyone. But within the next 12-18 months, I have another CD I want to release that will be balls-out progressive. I’m half-way done recording it, and it has been so exciting.CV: Thank you again Tony for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. It was a pleasure. I wish you all the best and continued success.
TV: Thank you!!!Check out Tony at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeakingToStones
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tony.vinci.940/
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