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Tony Mentzer

About Me


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TONY MENTZER -
OMNIPOTENT LORD
OF NOTHING IN
PARTICULAR?
Singer, song-writer, multi-instumentalist, Tony Mentzer, a native of West Middlesex, PA, was a founding member of minimally successful rock band, The Infidels, before leaving in 1985. It was around this time that Tony began to experiment with the wonders of home 4-track recording.
A self-released, 90 minute cassette album, "Varicose Brains", was an extremely disturbing & provocative collection of pop songs, sound collages, spoken word experiments and chaotic ambience. Tony gained fans as the album circulated throughout the underground and through independent 'zine reviews. FACTSHEET 5 called it "a must for astral travelers". One fan was so moved by this collection that it was the only cassette she brought on a summer back-packing expedition through Europe (according to her postcard!).
While Tony experimented with his "mad-scientist rock" in the confines of his lab (his living room), to the outside world, he became a member of an eclectic psychedelic country pop band, Illuminatus!, in which he sang, played bass, and wrote half of the material.
Illuminatus! gained regional fame when they won the WDVE Pittsburgh Rock Challenge in 1990, beating out 150 other groups. Illuminatus! released a self-titled CD and successfully toured the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, and Buffalo original rock scenes, opening for such major label acts as Roger McGuinn, The Violent Femmes, The Rembrandts, The Goo Goo Dolls, and others.
After the demise of Illuminatus!, Tony formed a progressive pop/punk band, Squid the Owl, which recorded a cassette-only album entitled "Wall of Death" in 1994 and played sporatic gigs in the Youngstown, Ohio area before disbanding.
In 2003, Tony formed a heavy, 70's psychedelic band named The Glorystompers. After a few years of struggling and the realization that his target audience just wasn't going out to clubs to hear original music, Tony broke up the band and returned to his natural habitat . . . home recording.
Given Tony's track record with groups, its no coincidence that Tony's true passion and originality is revealed within his solo recordings. All along, Tony has continued to hammer out tune after tune only to find that there was no band that could keep up with his overflowing and diverse output of styles and sounds. A life-long fan of Frank Zappa, Tony shares a similar aesthetic to modern contemoraries like Ween, Beck, and the Butthole Surfers; however, he writes pop songs, many of which can be found on his debut CD on Bakery/Crabapple Records, "Smell My Finger" and his self-produced list of solo CDs . . . too numerous to mention. With no budget to speak of, Tony has used whatever tools lay in front of him, to the humor and horror of those subjected to his music. As of late, he has been wrenching the living hell out of Acid Pro and Samplitude, creating odd soundscapes, hip-hop anthems, and updated versions of his bizarre songwriting.
Western Pennsylvania may not be ready to see Tony perform his works of musical upheaval live, but he plugs away in his living room, stockpiling a list of songs that may remain unheard for generations. Keep at it, Tony . . . someday the world will be ready for you.
Go on, take a whiff . . .
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R.I.P. Brian Johnson . . . my good friend and a hell of a showman.
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 26/10/2005
Band Website: crabapple23.com
Influences: Zappa, Ween, Bill Monroe, Captain Beefheart, Beck, Butthole Surfers, Kiss, Charo, The Roches, King Crimson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Angel, The Mothers of Invention, all kinds of cigarettes, Aphrodites Child, Hawkwind, Colour Haze, Buffalo, Black Sabbath, Pee Wee Herman, brunettes, The Byrds, my grandfather, The Dwarves, Pink Floyd, zombie movies, Bob Dylan again, The Grateful Dead, The Sonics, The Stooges, Cat Stevens, The Doors, Monte Python, James McMurtrey, Beefist, William Castle, Robert Anton Wilson, Rowan, Kristi, The Temptations, Booker T and the MGs, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Merle Travis, Dave Dudley, Mara, Diet Coke, Wild Turkey, sticky green bud, FARK.com, Cedars Lounge, Tangerine Dream, Fripp and Eno, Devo, Syd Barrett, Henry Rollins, Brains on Film, Brian Johnson, Oscar Bonner, Speedy West, Alice Cooper, Jimmy Neutron, Fred Mentzer, The Hammersley Fork and Knife Gourmet Dining Club, Aramis after-shave, Alexander Martz, Paul Grine, Jessie Jones, Chuck Bateman, Hammer, Luba Hegre, Janeane Garofalo, The Clash, The 8-Balls, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dead Girls, Grover, Colin Wilson, James Joyce, The Velvet Underground, The Flaming Lips, The Louvin Brothers, The Smithsonian Institute, National Geographic, Factsheet Five, CorelDRAW, circus peanuts, Wall of Death, The Canfield Fair, Danner boots, GI Joe, The Dixie Nightingales, Hoolihan and Big Chuck, Goulardi, The Ghoul, Tootie, Stomp, birch beer, Junior, Jimmee the Midget, Chris Butler, Hagstrom, Ampeg, MusicMan, Les Paul, Doc Watson, Link Wray, Dick Dale, Eric Dolphy, Grandma D, Mimi, Pepper Pot, GG Allin, The Penguin Pub, Dennis Thomas, Beave, Tom Sailor, Ernie Bevan, Straub Beer, The Sauce Boss, and Zippo Lighters.
Sounds Like:Zappa, Ween, Bill Monroe, Captain Beefheart, Beck, Butthole Surfers, Kiss, Charo, The Roches, King Crimson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Angel, The Mothers of Invention, Aphrodites Child, Hawkwind, Colour Haze, Buffalo, Black Sabbath, The Byrds, The Dwarves, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, The Sonics, The Stooges, Cat Stevens, The Doors, James McMurtrey, Beefist, The Temptations, Booker T and the MGs, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Merle Travis, Dave Dudley, Tangerine Dream, Fripp and Eno, Devo, Syd Barrett, Henry Rollins, Brian Johnson, Oscar Bonner, Speedy West, Alice Cooper, The Clash, The 8-Balls, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dead Girls, The Dead Boys, The Velvet Underground, The Flaming Lips, The Louvin Brothers, The Dixie Nightingales, Chris Butler, Les Paul, Doc Watson, Link Wray, Dick Dale, Eric Dolphy, GG Allin, and The Sauce Boss.

Record Label: Crabapple Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

R.I.P. Tariq Ali

I never met Tariq in person . . . we were internet friends, but my point remains valid nonetheless . . . if anyone reading this ever has thoughts of suicide, you'd better talk to me first or I'll puni...
Posted by on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:40:00 GMT

R.I.P. Ray Mentzer

My uncle Ray passed away last night . . . not sure of the details yet.  
Posted by on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:19:00 GMT

R.I.P. Lucy Guerino

Kristi's Gram passed away last night peacefully.  She was a one-in-a-million person and we will miss her dearly.
Posted by on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:04:00 GMT

Thought for the day.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthyout of freedom. What one person receives without working for, anotherperson must work for without receiving. The government cannot...
Posted by on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:24:00 GMT

R.I.P. Theresa Debelyak

The greatest example of unconditional love I've ever known.
Posted by on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:56:00 GMT

Different deaths affecting me differently, definately.

Sorry for the title; I'm not making light of of anything except my own perceptions.  A few years ago, I lost my best friend, my father and both grandfathers all in the same  month.  While this might s...
Posted by on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:15:00 GMT

R.I.P. Johnny Krizancic

John T. Krizancic
Posted by on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:42:00 GMT

Dance With the Wicked Witch

So, after many years of assuming that the full mastered version of my redo of Todd Parker's infamous "Dance With the Wicked Witch" was lost forever in the chaos that is my system of organization, I fo...
Posted by on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:20:00 GMT

Forthcoming nonsense

OK, so the secret's revealed . . . I'm a little behind the times, recording-wise (and everything else-wise too, but that's not the nature of this particular blog, so pay attention).  Truth is, since g...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:31:00 GMT

R.I.P. Robert and Amy Stumph

My heartfelt condolences to my good friend Randy for the sudden and horrible loss he has suffered this weekend.  I have been good friends with Randy for quite a few years and I graduated with Amy.  Th...
Posted by on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:49:00 GMT