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!
