Demonophonic Blues (2004)
Label: Lava/Atlantic
Artist: Tony C. and the Truth
Featuring: Tony Cesternino (Vocals/Guitars/Harmonica), Chris Buono (Guitar/Sounds), Kyle Kelso (Guitars/Producer), DJ Prestige (Turntables), John Harvey (Bass), Tobias Ralph (Drums), Sophia Ramos (Backing Vocals)
For more information: www.allmusic.com
Back in 2001 Tobias Ralph recommended me for a gig with a completely unknown artist from upstate NY named Tony Cesternino. He had some buzz and was actively being shopped for a deal. Upon hearing a tape I was sent by his management I knew he was getting a deal, so I jumped on board as a hired gun to help that along. From there I brought in a bass player and DJ, MD’d rehearsals and did gigs around the NY/NJ/Philly while a recording contract was actively sought after. Tony eventually got his deal through Lava, which was a sub of Atlantic Records at the time. He also received a crazy publishing advance and away we went… to Tony’s dilapidated shithole in Philmont, NY.
I kid you not when I tell you Tony lived in a structure that at one time housed cows. Apparenetly his grandparents owned and farmed the land at some point. So, here we were trying to make the next rap/rock blockbuster with a mobile Pro Tools rig, Jimmy-rigged electricity and a couple of rented trailer home stocked with B-level porn. You can’t make this shit up.
With the guidance of one Kyle Kelso, with whom I loved working with alongside Tobias, John & DJ Prestige, we somehow actually made a record. One that was completed not before I gave Tony and his team the finger and walked. You see, when a self-conscious, unproven personal manger is boning the medicated talent shit is bound to hit the fan. I beat feet before too much hit at my expense. To that end, Tony credited me on the record as “Additional Solos”. Contrary to the name of his band, that was not the truth. Below are tunes I played on along with, well, the real truth and nothing but.
Who I Are
For this track I strapped on Tony’s newly acquired original Airline semi-hollow for all the lo-fi cheap-o licks throughout. I ended up wielding Kyle’s kick-ass Les Paul through a fire-breathing Marshall half stack for some guttural riffing as well as the outro solo starting at 3:18. It was loud. Fun fact: For those of you paying attention to my shit, if you noticed what seemed like broken English on my Facebook Musician page bio headline, well, this is where it came from.
Good Looking’ Out
At the onset of this track is a baby boy laughing. That baby who is now a young man is my son John. During the making of this record my son was about four months old. My wife and I lived with John in a trailer on the “grounds” of Tony’s estate. It was here my baby boy learned to drink from a cup. So there’s that. My wife lasted about two weeks before she threw up the white flag. I think the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was opening a cabinet looking for his formula and finding a dead animal covered in feces.
As for the tune itself, I’m not sure if I played on it. Any slide work was Tony or Kyle as they both had that technique down. I may have played some licks in-between the vocals? Meh.
Little Bit More
So this was the “single”. This is the tune that was released to national radio. It made its rounds and got some attention in some markets. As for what I played, I’m pretty sure I played the rhythm guitar tracks with an SG plugged into a roaring Marshall we had cranked upstairs. I definitely played the solo breaks between the vocals – namely the outro.
There you go. My one-time “on the radio”.
Weight of the World
After the mindless banter at the opening my delay pad signature enters in with a vintage Mu-Tron Bi-Phase properly coloring it. At 2:09 I drop a double tracked solo played on someone’s sweet Gibson SG. I was going for a Randy Rhoads thing sans cheesy MXR effects. The outro has some sonic trickery over the pads courtesy of Boss delays and my vintage Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Delay.
Someday
This one has much in common with “Good Looking’ Out” for me when it comes to what I played and where. That said, I played the outro solo with producer/engineer Kyle Kelso’s LP. That axe was a beast and it may be the first time I actually understood what a Les Paul was about and the fact I need one. It wasn’t until more than a decade later that I became the proud owner of a 2000 R9.
The tune itself was, I thought, Tony’s best when it came to his rockers. Tobias – as per usual – delivered a thunderous performance. It was also a kick ass mix from Kyle.
Gravity
With a slide, the same vintage EHX 16 Second Delay and a host of other goodies I colored this track with the vibe it demanded. Tony’s soulful acoustic slide work was outstanding, especially for the eerie pitch heard sparingly throughout. Check out Tobias’s pocket, too – DAMN.
Medusa
Ah, the token Drop-D tune. To be fair, this one rocked as well and it was fun to play. I provided a few sonic elements throughout this tune as I did the few times we played live as a band. I don’t think I played any conventional guitar parts, however, in-between vocals and at band tacets you hear my sounds. Some were generated from a guitar with a Boss delay (probably a DD-5) and others were from a Frostwave Resonator. Regarding the latter, this is a unit designed to emulate the lowpass/highpass VCF of a vintage Korg MS20. With a few knob twists you can get this blue box of joy to self-oscillate and that’s exactly what you hear on this track. This is an instrument in of itself I’ve come to master and have laid it down on more than a few sessions throughout my recorded catalog.
Fight For Your Right To Party
This was the lone one take of the entire project so whatever happened is what it is. It rocked though and it was a freakin’ fun. This is my one and only appearance on record where I play the token rock guitar solo with a wah pedal. Lord, help me.
Let’s talk about the sample at the top of the tune. Straight up: It’s porn, but, there’s a story (isn’t there always when you’re caught with smut). At various periods during the making of this record we all lived on Tony’s “estate”. If you were smart you stayed in one of the trailers he rented. You did not stay in Tony’s “house.” Tobias and I did just that after my wife and baby son made a run back to civilization. In the trailer was a cache of B-level porn tapes we would pop in for laughs on the built-in VHS player. Toby and I stumbled upon one where the, err, actress was repeating this mantra about repetition and it being the key. It quickly became a recurring phrase much to the delight of all. So much so, it made the record. Wait… there’s more…
We would later learn that same award-winning trouper was a local bartender. Ah, Philmont – you were the gift that kept on giving.
