2011-Nov-28

TV on NBC's ''The Voice'', a Freddie Commemorative Concert & A New Vincent Addition

In the several years I lived in London, as well as the many writing and performance trips that have brought me to my second-favorite city in the world, never before have I seen the kind of overcast that I did upon arrival last Monday morning. Even after the plane's wheels touched down on the landing strip at Heathrow, we passengers still couldn't see the ground from the windows of AA's Flight #106. (Could I honestly have blocked out this kind of "London fog" that the city is so famous for?) I later learned that over 100 departing flights were grounded due to extreme weather conditions.

I left New York last week to be part of a special benefit concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's departure from this life and celebrating his impact on Queen’s timeless music. The November 25th performance had been sold out for weeks, and I was really excited to join the SAS Band once again for what ended up being a massive show (of which all proceeds went to the non-profit group: The Mercury Phoenix Trust). From Brian May’s surprise appearance opening the concert to the closing song three hours later, the crowd 
was electric!

Before I get any further into this newsletter, I want to give everyone a big heads up in regards to a very cool recent happening. I have auditioned for the hit television show The Voice, which airs on America's NBC network. It's been an amazing experience thus far and if you all want to see how I did at my audition, turn into the show's premiere episode-- airing right after the Superbowl on February 5th, 2012. The talent this season is top-notch. You don't want to miss this!

On a personal note, I have a special announcement which you may already be aware of if you follow me on Twitter (@TVOfficial). Aspen and I will be adding a little lady to our family at the beginning of April, 2012. We kept the news under wraps until Aspen’s first trimester had passed, and are so happy to be able to share this exciting news with you all as we prepare to welcome this little one into our home. We would cherish your prayers on this front-- for her health, for a safe delivery, and for both Aspen and myself to be as ready as possible to be the best parents we can be. We would truly appreciate this and send our deepest thanks in advance.

I want to answer a couple of questions that I frequently get asked both at home and on the road. The first one is "Where do you get your boots from?". (Many know that in my personal life, as well as in most theatrical shows I've been a part of on Broadway and the West End, I'm usually donning a chunky boot of some kind.) Well, I get my boots from the coolest, most historic British-made boot and shoe shop in the world, located in London's Camden Town. It's called British Boot Company and can be found at http://www.britboot.co.uk. They were the first shop to offer Dr. Martens, in 1958, and in 1965, the awesome designers Solovair and Grinders. (You can read more of their history on the "About Us" page on their site.) I honestly can't recommend this place enough. Whether you're looking for a killer pair of boots, colourful leather low-tops, or a thick-soled pair of Creepers (a la Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong) you absolutely MUST hit this store up. No need to worry if you're not in London or planning a trip there any time soon, as they ship internationally. Ask for Simon and he (or one of his team members) will treat you with A-class service ...if you mention that I sent you, of course!

The other questions I get are "Where do you shop for wine?-- Are there any good places online?". The people that ask me this know that I became a wine-guy (officially titled "sommelier") a few years ago. They also know that I believe wine should be a part of everyday life. Whether it's a day of special celebration or simply an average Tuesday night and you’re ordering in, wine brings something very special to life. Answering these questions is quite easy for me. I almost always order wines from two online sites: Lot18 and invino. Both offer AMAZING deals on killer wines. So if you're looking for special holiday gifts-- or just want to always have some great "juice" on hand for yourself-- follow the two links above. I promise that you (and your friends and family) won't be disappointed, and you'll soon be a frequent customer.

2011-Nov-13

Freddie Mercury Benefit Concert

Tony Vincent is joining up with The SAS band, an amazing artist roster, The Queen Fan Club--in association with The MPT--, to hold a Freddie Tribute show on November 25th. Visit "shows" for details.

 

2011-May-07

A Revamped Website, Own a Piece of St. Jimmy & Discounts to ''Sleeping Beauty Wakes''

The glow of my MacBook Pro's screen stares me in the face at 7:22am on this Friday morning. The almost-all-the-way-dimmed display isn't enough to stop my eyes from burning and watering, thanks to both the early hour and the spring bud-break. The desire to compose something that's informative, inspirational and yet also honest is feeling like a daunting task and my thoughts are all over the board. Perhaps because my morning caffeine hasn't yet kicked in... or maybe it's the result of last night's beverages. I supposed I could be distracted by Miss Kate's new morning ritual of running laps around the flat. Or is it simply because I'm journaling from a location that feels somewhat uninspiring? Don't get me wrong, my new surroundings are beautiful-- even breathtaking-- yet something here feels a bit empty, placid and ultimately isolated. Perhaps not smelling bus fumes and hearing sirens from cop cars below my window at all hours of the night makes me feel like I'm in a suspended place in time.

I'm writing "newsletter-to-be" text this morning from Princeton, NJ, my temporary home for the next several weeks. Some of you may know that my lady and American Idiot heroine, Aspen Vincent, is playing the lead in a new musical called Sleeping Beauty Wakes, which is being mounted by the reputable McCarter Theatre. As a result, I'm currently splitting my time between NJ and our home back in Manhattan. I've decided to take the next several months to work on new material for my next record while Aspen retakes her proper position as a leading lady here in Princeton.

While I'm on the subject of "SBW", the incredibly generous PR department of the McCarter is offering Tony Vincent fans/newsletter subscribers a discounted ticket price for Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday performances. The show has already been getting great reviews and it's definitely something to catch before it continues its run at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego this summer. The details follow in the
"coupon" below...

Although the change of location hasn't exactly brought the creative focus I was hoping for, I am quite excited about a recent development. I've recently reconnected with an old friend and songwriter named Martin Santti, a Swedish gent who is currently operating out of Ireland. He and I are in the early stages of passing ideas back and forth, and the collaborative energy that we both feel has been infectious and inspiring. As this process continues, I will of course keep you posted about our progress together. (Also, for all you gear-heads, I'm sharing an image-- with details below-- of the mobile set-up I'm working with in Princeton while I'm away from my main home-studio.)

MacBook Pro 15" Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 8GB
Metric Halo's ULN-2 2D+dsp w/ the Jensen mod on channel #1
Focal CMS40 Monitors
Neumann TLM 102
(2) G-Tech G-RAIDmini Hard Drives (one for streaming samples, one for tracking)
Gretsch G6120TV Brian Setzer Hot Rod w/ TV Jones® Pickups
AKAI's MPKmini keyboard
Macally's 7 port USB 2.0 hub
Wacom's Intuos3

Various VSTis and plugins from Arturia, Camel Audio, FabFilter, FXpansion, iZotope, IK Multimedia, LinPlug, Loomer, Modartt, Native Instruments, reFX, Sonic Charge, Spectrasonics, Synapse, Tone2, Toontrack, u-he, Waldorf, Waves, XILS-lab, and more.

Since leaving American Idiot I've been doing a lot of soul searching, reading, writing, and most recently, working with the talented web designers and programmers at czustudio.com to revamp my website. We've completely redesigned tonyvincent.com and it's now live and ready for your viewing pleasure. The new site is really slick and incredibly logical to navigate through. It's now easier to view specific pages, to place product orders, and to get the current low-down on what I'm up to. (The home page even includes a real-time Twitter feed.) Drop us a note here and let us know your thoughts on the changes we've made.  Also, while you're on the new home page, click the "Like" icon in the black Facebook "social plugin" box to get status updates automatically delivered to your Facebook page. And, as always, if you'd like to follow me on Twitter, I can be found at @TVofficial.



With that, I'm off to get back to being creative... or destructive-- however the spirit leads. Don't forget to get your discounted tickets for Sleeping Beauty Wakes, and I thank you in advance for bidding generously on the "St. Jimmy boots". BCEFA and all those that benefit from their assistance thank you as well.



Best to you all-- always,