By Staff Writer
When producer/musician Mike Zito and Guy Hale founded Gulf Coast Records, Tony Campanella was exactly the type of musicians they wanted to sign. A veteran rockin’ blues artist from the St. Louis area, Tony Campanella has been playing regularly for over twenty-five years, making a name for himself as one of the best guitarists in the city. Tony learned from the local greats: Tommy Bankhead, Marcel Strong, Big George Brock, Lonnie Johnson, Henry Townsend, Benny Smith, and many others. Life experiences have given Tony a whole new sense of purpose to his playing and a spark he felt when he was just a kid learning to play the guitar. St. Louis has known what a rare commodity it has in Tony but now it will share him with the world. Tony is a virtuoso-level guitarist with a big voice full of fire. He brings years of experience in his debut recording for Gulf Coast Records and an album that will make Blues Rock fans swoon. Tony is ready and he is Taking It To The Street. Recorded at MARZ Studio in Nederland, Texas with producer Mike Zito.
Blues-E-News recently interviewed Tony for its 5 Quick Questions series, and here’s how it went.
BEN: How did it come to be that Taking It To The Street, Your new record on Gulf Coast Records, was released?
TC: I have known Mike Zito for twenty-five years, when we were both coming up on the St Louis Scene. We had talked for the past four or five years about doing a record together. The timing just never worked out for one reason or another. In November, we played a show together in St. Louis. He told me that he was starting the label and wanted me to be first artist signed to Gulf Coast Records. We were FINALLY going to be able to make a record together. I came down to Mike’s Studio in Texas back in February. We did eleven songs in 2 ½ days, and ended up with a very good sounding record. I could not be happier with what we’ve made!
BEN: Is there such a thing as a St. Louis blues “sound”? If so, what is it, and who are some of your St Louis Guitar contemporaries?
TC: St. Louis, historically, was a stop from the Delta, all the way to Chicago. We had Albert King here, and Chuck Berry. We had Memphis soul influences. Delta Blues and Chicago Blues influences. I don’t know if I can describe a certain sound for the blues here, but it is a combination of all of those influences. We have a strong and diverse Blues scene here, with a strong history. Guys like Henry Townsend, Tommy Bankhead, Bennie Smith, Big George Brock, BooBoo Davis. They were the originators. Guys like Marquise Knox, Torrey Casey, Lil Dylan. They are the young guys, who are carrying on the tradition of the Blues, and preserving the heritage and meaning of The Blues, and its relationship and history for the black community. You have guys like Jeremiah Johnson. Mike Zito started here. Big Mike Aguirre, Steve Pecaro, the late great Jimmy Lee Kennett. Too many great players to name.
BEN: What gear do you use live, as opposed to recording?
TC: My main rig live is my 65 Super Reverb. I have had it for over twenty years, and it just sings. Sometimes I will run through a 50-watt Marshall Plexi and 412 cab. I have quite a few pedals on the board, but mainly I use a full drive 2, a clean boost, and one of two delays. I have one set for a longer, Gilmour like setting. The other is set for a quick slapback. Sometimes a wah also. I always have my beat-up 79 Strat. It is my favorite guitar that I have ever owned. I have had it since 1995. When they put me in the ground and send me over the bridge to the other side, that one is coming with me! (laughs). I also have a 1988 Les Paul, for a fatter tone, when I want it. It took me a long time to find this Paul. I played a bunch, but none ever felt right until I came across this one. It just feels good in my hands. While making the record, I used some of Mike Zito’s gear. He has such an ear for great tone, that I didn’t feel the need to travel with my gear. I played through a Victory Amp, and Heritage Les Paul Custom for most of the record. On a couple of songs, I used a Jeff Beck Strat. No pedals. The Victory was a bad ass little amp! I may have to get one of those someday soon!
BEN: Let’s talk about a few tracks on your new album.
TC: Okay. Let’s start with the title track. This is one that Mike wrote for me. Lyrically, it really captures my story, where I have come from, and where I want to go at this stage in my career. I have been playing since I was eleven. I started playing clubs when I was twenty. I had a wife and daughter when I was twenty-three. I made the choice to raise my family, with the addition of two more kids. I stayed in St Louis. I’ve been working a full-time job during the day, playing clubs three nights a week for a long time. Now that my kids are grown, I feel like it is time to Take it to the Streets, and see what happens from there. “Cleanhead Blues” is a fun slow blues number, originally done by Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson. It is a song that I have performed live for several years. It kind of became a bit of a theme song for me, since I have lost most of what once grew on top of my head. Lastly, let’s talk about “Those Are The Times.” Most of my original songs on the record came from a dark point in my life, after my divorce, and before I met my second wife. Unlike the other songs, this one is a love song that I wrote for my wife, Kristy. She saved me from myself. I have been more blessed than I deserve, with her in my life. The song was my way of telling her that.
BEN: What other passing thoughts would you care to share with our readers?
TC: Always live your life from the viewpoint of gratitude. Be grateful for what you have, not angry about what you don’t. That positivity breeds positivity. That positivity leads to great things happening in your life. This opportunity, and this record, are a testament to that.
More on Tony Campanella at www.tonycampanella.com.
