TONY LUCCA

Interview by Natalie K.
May 5, 2009
http://www.tonylucca.net

Estrella: For the record can you please state your name?
Tony: My name is Tony Lucca.

Estrella: Where do you usually get your inspirations for your songs?
Tony: It has never been one thing; there are certain things that increase the odds of me writing a song. For a long time it was relationships, falling in and out of love is a good place to start from. As I have gotten older and tried to be more responsible with my relationships I find that a lot of my songs aren’t necessary about love and relationships anymore, more topical sometimes. I try to stay really well informed, I read the paper a lot, news and am on top of current events. They say truth is stranger than fiction and a lot of what happens on a day to day basis in our world is crazy enough to inspire sour some ideas.

Estrella: Is there a general topic more of the songs off your latest album have been based on?
Tony: There’s a couple of threw lines. There’s an aspect of the Hollywood scene; the Hollywood starlets, media, and paparazzi, that sort of thing.
Estrella: What’s your stance on that?
Tony: I think it’s all a joke. It’s a horrible two way street. I don’t mean horrible in critical and judgmental; horrible in that it’s really unnecessary. People would be surprised by the relationship forged between some celebrities and paparazzi. People always think the paparazzi has this bad rap and that they are infringing on people’s lives; for a lot of celebrities that is the case but for a good number of them it’s mutually beneficial. A lot of celebrities don’t have anything going on, they don’t have any art to speak of so they need that coverage, purpose, whole reason for being.
Estrella: People being famous for being famous.
Tony: Yeah, I’m not a fan of that because it spells out this big hole in society and people’s lives that they keep filling with tabloid magazines and gossip. Things that really have no impact on our lives, our happiness just something to busy our minds. I touch on that in the album, but you have to be careful when you touch on other people and their behavior and not be judgmental or terribly critical because we all have our trials. I just try to shed light on things, I never try to preach. Sometimes, I get caught preaching because it’s easy when you get up there with a microphone and quiet audience, but I try not to do it.

Estrella: What was the recording process like for Come Around Again?
Tony: It was very well thought out. I’ve never really had the luxury of being able to go into the studio and just piss away someone else’s money. I’ve always been at the helm financially and creatively; making records for me is a to do list. We did some pre-production on the album and rehearsed a lot of the arrangements to know exactly where we were going to go with them. Then we got in the studio with the band so by the time we were actually in the studio we were actually getting our monies worth. Fortunately, my co-producer on the record has a home studio so when we are there, no clock ticking. It is the most organic part of the equation is working at his place and we take our time there. We don’t rush it, we don’t push it, we don’t force it to happen we constantly listen back and forth to keep each others ideas in play.

Estrella: How much input do you get with other artists that you tour with?
Tony: When you tour with other artists you spend a lot of time together and you are all out trying to enable and support each other so you find ways of voicing your opinion of their thing or ask their opinion of your. Hopefully, you are working with people that you have that vulnerability with and not feel you are constantly being scrutinized or judged. I’ve done a lot of growing over the last few years from the tours I’ve done, a lot of it is silent learning by observing and watching each other. For the most part everyone is distinct in their own way, and keeps a respectful distance and allows each other to do their thing their own way.

Estrella: Are there any cities you are looking forward to playing at this tour?
Tony: I’m really stocked to be kicking things off in Chicago, it’s a great town. When you leave home and you get out there it’s nice to feel validated like, “Okay, this is why I left home, this is what I do, this is work” and it feels like I’m justified in this crazy lifestyle. Chicago is always good for that, people are always a lot of fun yet really loyal and supportive. New York is always crazy but should be a good time. There are actually a few cities on this tour I have yet to check out.
Estrella: Which ones?
Tony: Paramount, New York , I couldn’t even tell you where it is. I think it is somewhere between Buffalo and Albany maybe, I still haven’t looked at it on a map. Fairfield, Connecticut I think I’ve played there, but not totally sure. Orlando is usually really good because I have a lot of friends and fans down there. Charlotte, North Carolina has become a pretty cool spot to go.

Estrella: Is there a song that you never get sick of hearing?
Tony: There is pretty much a whole album of Joni Mitchell’s called Higuera which I use as one of my deserted album top five. There is a song called, “In Spite of Everything” by a jazz artists named Brian Blade and it’s sort of got this repetitive theme to it and builds/cascades and comes back down. I put that on sometimes when I’m thinking or meditating and it really helps me take a tour through my thoughts.

Estrella: What is one of your favorite lines in one of your songs?
Tony: A lot of my songs I’ll write lyrics too that sound or feel cool, seem important then won’t reveal how important they are until later as a premonition maybe. I’ve got this song called “Close Enough” that is a tour through current events. Oddly enough there are things in the song that reoccur all the time. There’s a war on the other side of the world, there’s a fire in the hills of Malibu, which were going on when I wrote the song, and it will happen again. There is a virus on it’s way to you which was more so on a computer virus but then recently with this while Swine flu thing everyone is like, there is isn’t there. It’s usually always my newest song that comes to mind just because you get excited about your latest work and focus all your energy on it. I went through this break up and this girl feared that our relationship would be a footnote in my repertoire of songs and I would just write a love song about it and just move. I didn’t write a song about it for the longest song, I tried to resist and accept the challenge of not resorting to writing a song about it. Finally it just came out and I had to write a song.
Estrella: Which song is it?
Tony: It’s a new one called “Undertow”. It has a line in it, “You spoke your peace and made it clear, it’s best that I not stick around, so I’ll sing another love song for you chalked up full of things I’ve never said.” The whole songwriting thing is a blessing and a curse because it is a beautiful gift, this treasure that you have but you can use it and abuse it sometimes even hide behind it as a mask of stories. A lot of times its easier to express things in your song rather than just look somebody face to face and tell them the things you are feeling. Why we are entitled to do that, why do we get that luxury to get up in front of hundreds of people exposing the nudity of intimate relationships sometimes at the expense of your partner. I thought that was a pretty honest line and I try to maintain honesty in what I wrote. I’m not the best communicator unless I’m singing about it.
Estrella: Has she heard that song?
Tony: No, I don’t think so, hopefully no.

Estrella: What is something you have always wanted to do, but have not done yet?
Tony: I always wanted to skydive, it’s just one of those things.
Estrella: Do you think you will ever get too?
Tony: I probably will, I don’t think I’ll ever go out of my way and, “This year I’m going skydiving.” If it was the kind of thing where I was at the right place at the right time and the opportunity presented itself I would jump on it going, “Yes, okay I finally get to skydive”. I love the idea of flying and I’ve been able to fly in my dreams which is kind of weird.
Estrella: I’ve been able to do that.
Tony: Sometimes you just get lucid in your dreams and you learn to do what you want to do in your dreams and I’ve been able to fly. I just love it and I have a thing for birds as well, I’m green with envy when I see a bird just spread eagle.
Estrella: Is that your tattoo?
Tony: Yeah, it’s a black bird. I think it would be cool to skydive, it’s the closest you can get to fly.

Estrella: If you could see any band or artist perform any song live what would it be and why?
Tony: It would probably be The Beatles perform something that they never performed live. Right around the Rubber Soul record they stopped performing live, they just made studio records. They were done with the whole crazy fan screaming so half their catalog was never performed live. I think it would be cool to see them throw down. I would love see them play off of one of their records like, Let It Be, Come Together or something off of Abbey Road.

Estrella: Do you have any final comments?
Tony: Well, I would like to state for the record…..[laughs] no, no I don’t.