(Feb. 4, 2008) PCM's Kristyn spent some time speaking with up-and-coming musician Brian Anthony. They spent time talking about his musical roots and inspirations, and Kristyn learned about a few things Brian just cannot resist!

 

Kristyn: Hi Brian, how are you?

B: I'm good, how are you?

K: I'm fine.

B: Awesome.

K: Thank you so much for speaking with us today. We are excited about the interview.

B: Yeah, I'm very excited to do it. Awesome. Thanks for having me.

K: No problem. So you want to get started?

B: Sure.

K: Ok. Can you tell the readers of our site a little bit about yourself? Like how did you become interested in music? Was it something that you had an interest in from a young age?

B: Yeah, pretty much I've been interested in music straight out of the gate. Like from the very get go, I was kind-of singing all the time, bugging my parents and my brother. They couldn't stand it. I was a hyper kid and always kind-of running around. My dad use to call me the "mouth" because I was always singing. I think it just comes from a line of people in my family being artists, from painters to people who draw, to photographers. My birth mother was a singer, and she has an identical twin that was a singer. They actually sing combo. And my father was in a band. Of course, all this stuff comes out when you get older and find out what their interests were.

K: Where are you from originally?

B: Originally I am from a small suburb called Belmont. It's about 22 miles south of San Francisco. It was a nice place to grow up. There's not a whole lot to do, but I just kind-of kept myself busy with being in theatre, singing, and starting to record at a very young age. I just sort-of occupied my time doing that.

K: I know the feeling of being from a place where there's nothing to do. Delaware is the smallest, one of the smallest states.

B: Yeah, for me it was just like that was always my outlet, 'cause when you're a kid there's not a lot you get to do, so I really just kind-of spent my time locking myself in piano practice rooms, and playing a lot of piano when I was a kid. Being in rehearsal, I think that was mostly fun for me because I got to stay out late, because usually rehearsals are late for the theater productions I was in. I was always singing and doing something. And then again too, I was always recording. I started recording at like 13, and I started writing music when I was like 11. So I was always just kind-of like preoccupied with that. I think a lot of the normal things that kids do . . . they go to football games for their high school & things of that nature . . . I just started in music so early that I was sort-of obsessed with it. I didn't do a lot of the normal things that kids did at that age, but it was fun for me. That was what I liked to do, that was my fun.

K: That's great. I mean sometimes it happens like that, and I definitely feel that music education is important. So I am glad to hear that somebody started at such a young age. You hear all about them cutting back the programs and things like that.

B: You know, that actually happened to me literally. I was in high school taking an AP class music course. I was a sophomore or junior, and one day I went to class and there wasn't class.

K: Oh, wow.

B: Yeah it was really hard on all of us I think. So I just kind-of kept myself busy. I was already recording outside of school and I had a piano at home, and equipment at home that I was working with. I just kept myself busy doing that, but you kind-of have a comrodary with all your friends who are musicians. I totally felt those cut-backs. I think it's a shame. Hopefully, I would like to be a supporter, especially in the schools, of music and things in continuing to keep that funding going.

K: That's great.

B: I feel like it's so important for everyone, especially for youth in their development. I mean it was important for me.

K: Oh yeah, it definitely is. So if you were not pursuing music as a career, what other profession do you think you would like to attempt?

B: You know, like I said, my family . . . I think that I come from a long line of artists from every type of artistry. So I just feel like I would be better served in the arts of some kind. I did go to school for graphic design, so I have a background in that. And you know my grandfather was a photographer, and a painter. My father was a painter, and he actually owns a furniture business where he custom builds and makes furniture and does all that stuff. I come from a artsy-fartsy kind-of family, so I would be better served in the arts.

K: That's good. Have you had any types of odd jobs in high school or out of school?

B: You know, I think it's really funny because I have had every job known to mankind and I totally embrace it. You hear about artists on their roads to kind-of getting where they are and I love to just embrace my background and say hey, I was a waiter. You hear about a lot of actors that were waiters before they became famous, and singers too. Like Kelly Clarkson even did it. Once she won American Idol she was like "I've done everything under the sun," and it's no different for me. And especially too, because growing up my parents always said . . . especially my dad, he was very strict. He said, "You have to earn it, you have to get the good grades. If you don't get good grades and you're working too much to support your habit" (which was recording in the studio) "look, I'm not going to hand it to you and you can go ahead and work for it. But if you don't continue to get good grades then I'm just gonna pull the plug on everything." So to support my musical habit, I was basically working in a yogurt shop when I was a little kid. And I had no business being there. I remember my dad writing me a note saying, "He's got my permission to work at the yogurt shop." My dad just thought it was a good idea to really support my own wants & dreams and things like that. He kind-of instilled that, that we have to work for what we want . . . actually do the work. I think it served me well. So I was always kind-of like doing crazy odd jobs. Everything from cutting grass to having a newspaper route like every kid does, to being a waiter, to . . . I've done it all. I feel like I've done everything.

K: Oh yeah, well I think it's a good motivator too, because it gets you motivated to go after what you want and realize you have to work for it. I think that is something that everyone can relate to.

B: Yeah, it's just like when I was kind-of coming up before I had any kind-of recognition in the industry, I just really always saw artists & musicians that were having recognition and winning Grammys that were famous . . . I really saw them just like me. In my head, I was like . . . I am like them, but they're famous and I'm just not famous yet. So I think a big thing for me would be to impress upon people if you work hard and this is what I was told, if you work hard for what you want in life it works out. You gotta work for it, nobody is gonna hand it to you. Especially what I do . . . I'm all day every day . . . I wake up like 5:30 in the morning, and sometimes don't go to bed until 12 or 1 o'clock at night . . . I'm doing emails . . . I do it all. Like yesterday I was calling every DJ known to mankind that was on the radio or in clubs that had been spinning "What's It Gonna B" . . . my new track. I just literally think it's really important to call and thank everyone. Because they don't have to put you on the radio. And they don't have to play you in the clubs. So it's so important to me, and it means so much to me that this is happening for me that I will call everybody & I will email everybody and do whatever I can to reach out to show my gratitude. Because what I'm going through right now is awesome and they've got to know that they're helping make it happen for me.

K: Well in your industry it's very hard to find somebody sometimes that has that idea behind it, so I'm sure it's definitely appreciated because it's probably not something they get every day.

B: You know it's funny 'cause some of them I had called . . . and I'm just like thinking in my head, it's just me right? But some of them actually were kind-of taken aback, and it's a surprise, like out of the blue. Like I'm calling, I'm like you're spinning my record . . . and it's just funny. I think they just thought it was out of the ordinary and they had no idea the call was coming because I totally randomly called. But yeah, it was really fun and really good to talk to all the DJ's because they all had some information that I could learn about the project, and the feedback. And it was good to get their take on what's happening. All the feedback was really positive. It was so fun. I just loved it.

K: So you're definitely climbing up the billboard charts with your song, and according to your myspace, you are very determined to make it happen. So it seems like you're keeping up that determination. Do you ever get frustrated at all? How do you manage to keep up such a determination?

B: I think that I was kind-of born determined. I was born determined, and I think I was born stubborn. I think both of those things . . . I don't' know. I'm just that type of person. Like when somebody tells me "no." I hate the word "no." I feel like sometimes in life people can do this, and I've done it a couple of times, where I've let obstacles come up . . . everybody does it. They let an obstacle come up in the way, and I think maybe sometimes fear keeps them from breaking through the obstacle. But with me I like to face these obstacles head-on and breakthrough them. I hate the word "no." I don't like it. The world is so negative anyway, and everybody is going to tell you that the odds are against you, or oh, everybody wants to be a singer, or this & that or the other thing. There's so much negative in the world already, I just try to remain positive in my mind and I love music. I love making music. I love performing. I love being in rehearsal. I love calling these DJ's and thanking them. I love everything about my job. I think that's what kind-of keeps me determined. I just want to do it. I just really love it and nothing is going to stop me, and nothing's going to take that away from me. I don't want anything to stop me from achieving my ultimate goals and dreams. I would like to be an example of that for other people.

K: That's great. That's definitely a fantastic attitude to have. What would you say is the ultimate goal that you'd like to achieve with your music? Such as, is there a message you're trying to convey with your songs?

B: I think it is really important to convey some kind of message in the music, and really I think it's just what I said . . . by example. First of all, I want to keep the music really relatable, so the message is clear. I usually try to have a really positive message in my music. I wrote a song called "Champion" and that song was the anthem for the 2005 Special Olympics Summer Games.

K: Oh yeah, I did read about that.

B: They came to me and I was flabbergasted. I was totally like dumbfounded. I was like, you guys want me to write a song and perform it for this huge ceremony? There were 3,000 people in this huge stadium. I had never done an indoor stadium like that before and it was just so much fun. I get a lot out of sharing my dream with other people and being able to do that through my music, and just kind-of telling people, you are a champion, you can do it. Especially for the athletes in the Special Olympics I was trying to send a message to them saying we are the same. We both have our obstacles and we're in the same game of life. I'm trying to achieve, and you're trying to achieve goals in these Olympics. I just wanted to somehow tell them that they can achieve everything that they need to achieve, and when they're standing there right before they're running a race or whatever it is they're going to do, that no matter, what they can do it. You gotta risk it all to do everything, but at the end of the day you can do it. By them hearing that song in their head I wanted it to inspire them to be better then they have ever been.

K: I was going to ask how the reaction was. Did you get to interact with any of the athletes or anything like that?

B: Yeah, I totally did. It was so great. When I was younger . . . which is part of the reason why I even wanted to do it, is because I used to help developmentally disabled children. Some of the kids were severely disabled. Some were blind, had no arms, and had birth defects that were very, very severe. I used to help. I was a teacher's aide kind-of a thing. I did that in the summer time just for fun because I really took to the kids that I worked with. That's what really kind-of prompted me to want to be a part of the Special Olympics organization, and as you know it is a very large organization and is worldwide. I wanted to do something really positive with my music. I swear to God, after I performed, it was so awesome. I'm like, I can die now. This is like the pinnacle for me, 'cause it was just such a good feeling. It was just amazing. It was almost indescribable after having sang that song.

K: I can relate. I know it can definitely be a challenge to work with children. My previous job was in a center that helped out children with learning disabilities and things like that, so it's definitely not an easy thing and it takes a lot of patience.

B: I have my own leaning disabilities too, so I think that's another reason why I really wanted to do it. It was a lot of fun. It was a good show. I got to do two songs. I performed "Champion" and "Gravity". Getting back to your question about music and songwriting. I just try to keep it relatable and that's usually my message. I don't want to get too serious with the music, but I want to try to convey some kind of positive message. I just really want it to be fun and that in and of itself I think is enough of a message. Live life, have fun, do your best, and be a good person and have a good time.

K: Great. So let's talk a little about your new album Bionic. Can you describe the writing process a bit for us? Like generally what comes first for you? Is it the melody? The lyrics? Because you certainly have some really infectious beats.

B: Awesome, thank you. I'm glad you enjoy that. The way the process works out of songwriting for me . . . and it depends on what I'm writing . . . when I write ballads usually it's pretty organic. It depends on I guess how I feel that day. Like usually a ballad will end up with me hearing the piano in my head. I know that sounds really weird but like I sometimes kind-of hear the piano arrangement in my head and with orchestration with it, so I'll just sit down at the piano and start playing whatever I'm hearing in my head and work it out to the point where it's exactly what I'm hearing. Then I just start singing over it and the lyrics come, the melody comes with the chord progressions I'm writing. So it all just kind-of falls into place. And there you have it, there's the song sort-of thing. As far as dance music is concerned, I'm really a mainstream Pop, R&B artist and I love all kinds of music, and dance is something that I really, really dig too.

When I'm writing like a dance song or like a pop, hip-hop song, I usually start with the beat. I'm not quite sure why but I think it's because I'm a dancer. I've been dancing my entire life. I feel that movement, and it inspires me to write a very intense, aggressive, kind-of fun upbeat song that would make somebody want to get up and dance. So I'm all about catchy hooks. I love songs that are easy to learn, that aren't complicated. I like to do my own thing vocally and I try to make the melody really memorable up against a real big fat beat. I always want it to be something that I myself would want to get up and dance to. That's kind-of the way it ends up. I'll hear something on the radio and I'll hear a beat . . . like I love rap. A lot of rap I hear I listen into the music, like into the production of it. Then I just hear the beat, and from that the beat will probably stick in my head and I'll sing on top of the beat I hear in my head. Sometimes I go into the studio and I create the beat, so that I hear it over and over and over again. Then I just sing the melody on top of it, and then I work out all the music afterwards. It really depends on the song, but that's pretty much the way it goes.

K: Who would you say are some of your major influences musically?

B: There's a ton of influences to me musically in my life. Really, I think a lot of my brothers . . . while I was growing up a lot of my brothers' favorite artists I became introduced to, so I started listening to Prince really early, Billy Joel and Elton John and then George Michael, Madonna, and Aretha Franklin. All those people. If you think about every single one of them and you listen to my music, you'll probably be able to find something of them in my production.

K: Now I'm going to have to go back and listen to it again. (laughs)

B: They're all pop, and there's R&B flavor in there, the songwriting . . . just all of it. Elton John with his big shows and performances and him being at the piano, you know what I mean? And George Michael and his vocalizing and the way he chose his melodies. And Billy Joel with the piano as well. Prince is just awesome. They have really influenced me in my life. Those would be like the big icons, like legends. There's a lot of new music that I'm being influenced by , I listen to music every day. There's a lot of people. I love all kinds of music so I'm just kind-of inspired by everything. I would say as far as staples that have influenced me up to now, I think it would be the ones that I mentioned.

K: Ok. Your music is categorized as pop, hip-hop, like house music according to myspace. How do you feel about the categories? Do you feel that your music fits into this category? How do you feel about it being categorized?

B: Well, I know what you mean. How do I feel about it? I chose the categories because you know you can choose them yourself on myspace. It was difficult. Like I literally sat there for a few minutes thinking how do I categorize this? Because you hate to put yourself in a box. And I'd hate to ever alienate any web person from my music just because I'm saying it's house, or it's hip-hop, or it's pop for whatever reason. Because music is music and a good song is a good song. If you've got a good song in your hands, anybody is going to be able to relate to it. I would never want those categorizations to be a deterrent for somebody to be not listening to my music. I think that innately human nature wants people to kind-of like put things in a box and categorize everything so we can make sense out of it. I guess myspace, the way they gauge their artists and stuff and the way they categorize things, isn't it the most listened to . . . I'm sorry. Like in every category there's like an indie category, a major label category and then there are sub-categories. Like this is everybody in pop that's not in indie. But as far as my music is concerned, I'd just really like to not be categorized because in my production I try to borrow from many kinds of different music. If you listen to it you'll hear some stuff that's kind-of housey, that's very euro. You'll hear hip-hop beats that are just bangin, the big club banger type big bulky, big ole' big & dig beats. And I dig that. And then you'll hear an almost like an '80's pop influence in the melodies and harmonies and stuff. So, I don't know. It's hard to categorize your music especially for me, but I guess that's what you need to do.

K: Yeah, I know. Trust me I always have trouble with the little box on myspace saying sum yourself up into a little box, ya know? I'm like how do I do that?

B: Totally. I love all kinds of music so I hate to do that but if you gotta, I guess that's what it would be. My music is pop. I love pop. I embrace it. But then again, it's a weird thing. I love country, rock, you name it.

K: So how do you feel about myspace as a way to connect with fans?

B: I love myspace. I'm obsessed with myspace. I think it's a beautiful thing. Its invention was ingenious. Myspace is a great way to connect with fans. The internet is a powerful thing.

K: Do you maintain your own myspace page?

B: I do. I'm not going to say I do it all by myself, but I do read everyone's comments. People have been so good. My fans are so awesome. And even when I'm having a bad day like in business, I'll read their comments and emails, and they're so like . . . sometimes it blows me away the people that listen to my music and all these positive comments they've got coming in. Especially when I have a cruddy day, cause everybody can have a crappy day, right?

K: Yeah, definitely.

B: And I read them and it really helps me move through this music industry that can be so combative sometimes, ya know? So it really does inspire me to kind-of move forward when I see that stuff. I do respond to everybody's emails, as many as I can. I do respond to the comments. You'll see me doing that all the time. People that post my comments and things . . . I love myspace and I'm so grateful for it because it really helps give me a good gauge as to how I'm doing in my job and maybe what people do want to hear and what they don't want to hear. Do you know what I mean?

K: Yeah, well that's good. I'll have to send you a friend request.

B: Woohoo . . . totally!

K: Where do you see the future of music heading and where do you see yourself in that picture?

B: This music industry is kind-of ever changing especially right now it's just going through this metamorphosis and I think really as far as business is concerned for me, musicians in general no matter what you are . . . I'm a performer/musician singer/songwriter kind-of person . . . from producers to just songwriters to just singers . . . everybody across the board is going to have to start thinking about the music industry in unconventional ways. I think it's really important especially even in writing and producing music to think outside the box. And now in dealing with the music industry and the music business itself, everyone is going to have to think outside the box and deal with the music industry in unconventional ways. That's what I'm trying to do. I have "WhatsitgonnaB? (I'm So Ready)." I have a widget. I just came upon this company and helped them to design . . . 'cause I'm just such a control freak . . . I helped them design my own widget when they probably could have just done it by themselves. But anyway, it incorporates music and video, some rehearsal footage, some fantastic floor footage 'cause "WhatsitgonnaB?" was originally in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer DVD.

K: Oh yeah, I was gonna ask how did that come to be? Were you approached by the studio for that?

B: I had a really good relationship with Fox already because I worked on a song called "Come And Get It" which is on the album Bionic and that song was featured in Garfield 2 in the movie on the rolling credits. It was released theatrically in Germany and they liked it so much they used it in a World Cup promotion, and they also used it in the DVD worldwide for Fantastic Four. So I already knew those cats at Fox like the music supervisors and people and hosts. My relationship already having been good with them . . . they needed some music and I submitted . . . just like anybody else would . . . Fantastic Four was such a high brow expensive movie that I kind-of thought I may not have a chance on this one. They actually liked the track. I remember the music supervisor really thinking that the production was well done and just high quality. So they said, well we'll try it. So what they do is they kind-of tested the song to see if it would work in the theme. They liked it and unfortunately it did not make it in the movie itself. They decided they wanted to use it for the bonus feature section of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer DVD.

K: Hey, that works too, right?

B: Yeah, it totally works for me. I was really excited because it's such a big movie, and the movie actually did so, so well, it was awesome. From there it just kind-of went along with the release of "What'sItGonnaBe" the remix project and that was in and of itself so cool. That's basically how it unfolded.

K: That's good. It seems like your music is now beginning to cross-over into the US and everything. It already seems to be somewhat bigger in Europe. How would you say the scenes differ in the US versus Europe?

B: Well I think the music scene in Europe as opposed to the music scene in the United States, I think that in Europe as far as you're talking about the musicians, I think the music is more synth driven. I think it's more dance driven. Even the pop music culture really incorporates heavily a lot of eurosynthy sound patches and things of that nature, so it's very dance oriented. It's kind-of forward thinking and it is outside the box. I love that because I love everything musically speaking that's fresh and different, and new because I'm always trying to find ways to utilize different sounds, sound effects, and things in my music. So I love that Europe is like that. The United States is starting now, more then ever really incorporate more the dance sound and you can hear it even in pop these days.

K: Oh yeah. You can definitely hear it. Even in some of the clubs in this area you'll hear a lot of European . . . like that's where the dance music is coming from. Not so much in here. I don't know if you know any Goth or dark wave or anything like that. It's like that real industrial sound to it.

B: Yeah totally. I think it kind-of originates from Europe. I think that now here in the United States we're not as traditional as it used to be and I think that European sound is making it's way into all of music really. I think it is a very cool thing and I also think that dance kind-of went for a few years, it was in a bit of a lull, but now it's way back on the up swing and I think that's really cool too.

K: Definitely.

B: It's interesting the way the world works and how the music kind-of makes its way around. I pretty much think that was the main difference.

K: Will we be expecting any touring from you this year?

B: I'm talking about a bunch of things with a bunch of different people. I know that I have dates coming up in the beginning of March here in California, and in Arizona. I'm doing a lot for radio stations right now that are playing my music like KNRJ in Arizona is playing "WhatsitgonnaB?." Also KNGY San Francisco this week is starting to spin "WhatsitgonnaB?" on the radio on Trevor Simpson's Mix Show. It's called The Mix at 6 PM with Trevor Simpson. I actually met with Trevor last week on Friday. That's exciting to me because that's my hometown radio station and I'll also do a show for them and KKUU in Palm Springs. They have their own mix show as well. We're thinking it's going to be around the end of February or the beginning of March. I know February is a short month, so probably around the first week of March. So I'm in rehearsals right now for those shows.

K: That's good. You've got to come to the East coast.

B: Oh my God, that would be so awesome.

K: I see your music was in rotation at MPH in Delaware. I saw that on your myspace. I was like wow, that's us.

B: Oh my God, it's so awesome. Literally you can go on my myspace page, and if you subscribe to my blogger . . . a great way of finding out the information of where my music is being played, like what radio station, you can go on my blog at myspace.com/briananthony and I always post what radio station . . . actually a list of them. My computer is actually down right now or I would give them to you, but you can go on there and find out what radio stations are playing my music and where. If you want to see me in a show you can probably bet that I will performing for those radio stations. So wherever they're playing the music is probably where I will end up doing a show. I'm so happy to do it. I'm so excited to be traveling around and doing interviews and doing shows and performing live because I think that's like the end pay-off really of all of this. The entire road is fun. From sitting at the piano to songwriting to getting in the studio. And then you go from that to the final phase, which for me is the performing of it all. That's the coolest part of it because you get to do live performing and you get that instant audience response. It's so energizing. It's actually just fun to go here I am, here's the music, and this is the show. That's the big pay-off. The performing of it.

K: Right, well we definitely can't wait to have you on the East coast.

B: Oh my God, that would be so fun. There might be a promo tour on the horizon, so that would be fun if and when that happens I would be all over the United States.

K: Well that's great. Can you share with our readers a juicy tid-bit about yourself that we may not already know?

B: Well I did say that when I was growing up I worked in a yogurt shop. And I did divulge the fact that I was a waiter, so those are kind-of tid-bits.

K: Ok.

B: Hmmm . . . what else? Um, do you want to hear what my . . . no, you don't want to hear that.

K: Oh, what? Now you can't give a build up and not deliver.

B: Well, ya know, I have this really bad habit and you know what I'm really being better about working out and I have a trainer and the whole bit. But I was gonna say a juicy tid-bit about me that probably people don't really know is that I love McDonald's french fries. Like I live for them. I know it's like stupid but they are really tasty.

K: Hey, we all have our vices right?

B: Oh my God. That, and movie popcorn. Like when you go to a popcorn station like without the salt and everything and they've got that little butter machine?

K: Yeah, that's a dangerous thing.

B: I live for the butter machine. The butter machine makes me so happy it's ridiculous. So good. So those are two tid-bits.

K: Well, I am almost out of questions, but what should we be expecting from you in the future?

B: I just want to really continue writing music and continue performing and really working on performing the new single and the remix project. There are so many great remixers on it like Jason Ceballos, and Albert Castillo and Rui Da Silva, and Rod Carrillo, so there's actually some really great hip-hop remixes on it by Chris Noxx too. I just want to perform those. I just want to get out and do that. There is a music video coming up that is gonna be released very soon and it actually incorporates a lot of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer footage, like action footage from the movie. So it's awesome. I saw it the other day and I was like oh my God. So that will be coming out soon and it will be everywhere. It will definitely be premiered on myspace. So if you want to see the music video go to myspace.com/briananthony and it's going to premier there. And really in the future down the road I just want to be busy writing and producing for other people as well. That's something that I've really always been interested in. I mean innately I'm a songwriter, and I love being in the studio, so I would like to do that as well. You probably expected that.

K: Awesome. Well, we certainly wish you the best and all the success. Is there any other message or comment that you'd like to share?

B: Popculturemadness.com rules.

K: Thank you.

B: That's pretty much it. I'm just really happy to have done this with you, so thanks for taking the time to do it.

K: Oh, you're quite welcome.

B: It was a lot of fun. You're really sweet.

K: Thanks and thanks for speaking to us today, and we hope to check you out if you're on the East coast at some point.

B: Yeah, yeah. I'll definitely let you know.

K: Cool, have a great day!

B: Bye-Bye

Video for "Come and Get It"