Anthony Retka a.k.a. Tone profile picture

Anthony Retka a.k.a. Tone

About Me

I was born in Detroit, MI. and grew up north of Detroit in Mount Clemens. At the age of 5 I decided I wanted to play drums. It wasn't until I was about 12 or 13 when I decided to play guitar and give a go at writing songs.
I have been writing songs for a number of years now. I have released a bunch of CD's with all original music either solo or with bands I belong to. Performing for people is top! I love it, I love it, I love it. It's all I want to do with my life.
"Anthony Retka, of Tone and Niche, uses an immaculate blend of great songwriting, vocals, and guitar. He plays melodic numbers with full vocals and introspective lyrics, many of which are about love. Retka is a master of dynamics, moving between rich, strong heavy guitar bits and gentle, barely-there strumming. The diversity of his octaves is astounding; he conjures images of Radiohead one moment and Jeff Buckley the next."
-Springfield Artists, Metro-Detroit Writers
Anthony Retka Releases:
*22 Giggles By Tone / Chapbook / 2002
*On The Streets Of / Tone & Niche CD / 2004
*Anthony Retka / Self-titled acoustic CD / 2005
*Song One / Tone & Niche 4 Song EP / 2005
*From Your Hands / Tone & Niche CD Single / 2006
*Rust / Tone & Niche CD / 2007
*Lemonade / Tone & Niche 7 Song EP / 2007
*From The Vault / Tone & Niche Rarities CD / 2007
*LIVE Radio CD / The Mourning Voices CD / 2007
*Rap no.1 / A parody rap song CD single / 2007
*A Soft Tickle / Chapbook / 2008
*The House Of The Rising Sun / Tone & Niche 3 Song EP / 2008
Bands I belong to :
Tone & Niche, (tone & Neesh), out of Detroit, MI., is made up of five musicians. Fronting the band is me and violinist Nicole Varga. Nick White on Bass and Roger Dutcher and Scottie Stone on drums.
Nicole (a.k.a. "Niche" my girlfriend and fellow musician) and I do nothing but work on getting support for our band and playing as much as we can! We write and record all the time. It's a struggle, but we love to make music so it's worth it.
My other group The Mourning Voices is made up of myself, Ian Lee Lamb and Doug Woolsey. We are a vocal trio. Our influences stem from Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, The Avett bros., Jeff Tweedy (Wilco / Uncle Tupelo) and many more! We formed in January of 2008. It's a new project for me and I'm having a ball!
Tone & Niche is still a big part of my life but I happy to be a part of somehting else. It's really cool to have writing partners and hash out lyrics and chord changes with friends. You can check us out online at www.myspace.com/themourningvoices
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I play drums now for Ron Dillon, a singer from Lapeer. It's a good time. I have not played drums since high school and I love it! Nick White plays bass, Nicole "Niche" Varga plays violin/fiddle, Jesse Tack plays guitar and Joe B. plays piano. We are called RON DILLON and THE BARN DOORS. The band does a mix of old 50's and 60's country-esque covers along with a few Ron Dillon originals. The group is all about friends and fun on stage. A must see if you're into it. *You can check it all out at: www.myspace.com/rondillonandthebarndoors
RAP no. 1 - Amish Lunatics and Co. featuring Tone aka "Vicious" and Niche aka "Kotton Kandy":
So, I wrote and recorded a Rap. One thing though, I'm not a rapper!
Here's the story in short: my good friend Rick "Charming" Smith recorded the rap and played rhodes electric paino on it as well. Niche added her touch and played the string parts from the Tone & Niche song "Broken Hearted Army" which is the song I am rapping over. All of this was done with the creative and silly influence of some good friends; Ana (aka Lethal), Manton (aka Stab Master Kill), Niche (my girlfriend aka kotton kandy), Jeff (aka J.J. Dynomite!), and others.
We call ourselves the "Amish Lunatics and Co." simply to be funny. I started rapping one night about silly things that we all have in common and maybe some strange people that float around us and it hit! "You might have seen me rollin' smokes at the vortex, I would tell you all about it but it's complex" and so on. It's all for a good laugh, but some people actually like it! I have had fun with it and might even build an Amish Lunatics myspace soon. I don't know, we'll see. Until then give the Rap a listen and drench yourself in pee.
-Tone
*GET A COPY OF THE RAP CD at any Tone & Niche show for $2.00 (which includes two other versions) OR download it here!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 16/10/2005
Band Website: www.toneandniche.com
Band Members: Anthony Retka - Guitar/Vocal

Anthony Retka "solo" Music:

Tone & Niche Music:

*Click here to get a copy of Anthony's Full-Length Acoustic CD!

ASCAP Member

Tone Performing the song "Tragedy" off the T&N CD On The Streets Of

My BlogSpot:
http://anthonyretkalife.blogspot.com/


Not my music but oh so hip....

Influences: The Beatles, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Elliot Smith, Wilco, Andrew Bird, The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson, The Avett bros., Counting Crows, Tom Waits, Frank Sinatra, Ron Sexsmith, Mike Viola, Louis Armstrong, Gershwin, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, David Mead, Ryan Adams, Led Zeppelin, Billie Holiday, Mike Viola, Duke Ellington, Beethoven, Chopin, Motown (especially Steveie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Temptations), Django Reinhardt and more...

Local music I dig:
Mike Anton, Dave Martin, Judah Johnson, Birdgang, The Hard lessons, Jeff Jablonski, Sean Fitzgerald, Bird Plus Magic, Battling Siki, The Gypsy Strings, Dan Minard, Blair, Dale Wilson, Mod Orange, Four Deep, The Muggs, Ben Cyllus and many more I am not thinkin' of right now.

Sounds Like: Folk/Pop/Rock. A little like Bob Dylan and The Beatles...

Aside from writing songs I have messed around with writing poetry. Here's a poem from a small, staple bound, homemade book I put together called "22 Giggles by Tone."

Day Tripper
Dream Maker
Dad's dreamin' of toast and jam
On the go!

There is something
In the pleasure
Of the African queen spanish fly

It's like all the gods of Lucy
Were thrown into the corner
To help forget about the Michigan landscape

It's like the stars
Are flames w/o the candle wax
Oh, to be in a hug chair....resting.

*Poem from "22 Giggles by Tone"
(c)opyright Anthony Retka
Record Label: Indie
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Happy Fourth Of July!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!Make it a good one!Go to cityfest, BBQ or come down to Cliff Bells Sunday night and join Tone & Niche!Light Sparklers, blow off fireworks, be with friends.Remember why th...
Posted by on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:47:00 GMT

Tone & Niche Formal Show!

Tone & Niche / Illy Mack / Kent KollerDress Up and Join Us!www.toneandniche.com
Posted by on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:52:00 GMT

The Muslim World by Mark Steyn

This is an interesting take on the presidents speech:The Muslim World One-way multiculturalism. By Mark Steyn http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2JmNDJlYTBiMGY2MzNkZDg 2ZWM4ZTYzNjVhODU3YmI=&w=MA A...
Posted by on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:07:00 GMT

Cosmic distance record smashed!

Awesome stuff. Click on the link!http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=8...
Posted by on Sun, 03 May 2009 23:18:00 GMT

John Adams is a must see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CNbQOrxQ-g I have finally rented the first few episodes of HBO's "John Adams" and it is wonderful. All Americans should see this film. I cannot wait t...
Posted by on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:21:00 GMT

VOYAGER Mission: Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune (set to Bach)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_KuB4AA7Q
Posted by on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Spring Memorial To Sean Fitzgerald

Bob FitzGerald invites you to an Open Mic Tribute for his son Sean.  Date: Sunday, April 5, 2009Time: 3:00 PM - 8:00 PMSchedule as follows: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM : Memorial Tribute - Seans Album "Amber Sk...
Posted by on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:17:00 GMT

Hubble finds ring of dark matter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJtJ7Q0cV34 Very strange stuff.
Posted by on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:23:00 GMT

The Presidents Morph

This is pretty cool.Watch the presidents morph! Les 44 présidents des Etats Unisby thony911
Posted by on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:07:00 GMT

Paczki in Hamtramck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P5t9M6vIRs Happy Paczki Day everyone! Be sure to get up early and grub 'em up! -Tone
Posted by on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:30:00 GMT