Purple Monkey Headquarters - Tony Mecca - News

"Headed out to see 'Tony Mecca & The Heavy MeNtal Gypsies' - had a blast!
If you ever get a chance to see them live, I highly recommend it" - "Great Original Band... A Must See. If you 're looking for a unique musical experience that is off the beaten path ~ you will love this refreshingly Smart & Fun Band... Seen them twice"
(Mark Evans/Jeanne Mannix-Evans)

"FUN" Is Coming Soon!Catalog - Our First 3 CD's for $16.99Just Say Hello!

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

While taking leave from live performance during the brutally hot months of July and August, we've been both vacationing and applying the final touches to the "FUN" album. Editing, mixing, mastering and artwork chores are all being coordinated at this very moment. We hope to release two Download Singles ("Witch Jenny?" & "Sweet Sunshine") by the end of next month through CDBABY, and the full CD/Album by the end of September/beginning of October. We do plan on releasing the "FUN" CD/Album with a deluxe 12 or 16 page booklet on our very own Urban American Heavy MeNtal Records label. The CD/Album and Download Album of "FUN" will be available at just about all internet stores (CDBABY, AMAZON etc) as well as this web site. Also in the planning stages is a proper album release party/bash/show. We're currently considering several venues for this event, and will inform you as soon as we have all of the details. We are so excited for all of our friends to hear the "FUN" album - It took a little longer to record than first anticipated, but we couldn't be more proud of the results. We will tell you that the "FUN" album is comprised of 14 songs totaling about 52 minutes - Half of the songs have been a big part of our live set for the past few years - Of the other half, 5 of the songs have never been performed live and 2 were played just a few times. There were 17 songs written for the album, but two of the songs ("Just Because" and "Beautiful Lie") didn't fit into the album concept, and a satisfying arrangement of one of the earlier songs written for the project, "Smiling Sam", just never developed. We do plan on releasing all of these songs as Download Singles sometime in the near future - Stay tune for the formal release date announcement coming very soon!

"Catalog" is what we're calling the package that gathers our first three CD/Albums in one place. We're selling it at our store for just $16.99 - So if you need new copies of Purple Monkeys, Princes of the New Dark Age or Hello, Goodbye & Everything in Between, grab fresh versions of all three at a super-cheap price right now!

You know, during this down time we really do get lonely just sitting in the studio all by our lonesome - Nothing would cheer us up more than an email from our best friends in the world, YOU!!! Just click here to send us a quick thought, and we'll gladly respond with news, gossip and love. We'd even be able to send you a few bucks, but the studio electric bill has been in the vicinity of $10,000/month lately. Love and care always!

Gypsy Drummer Drnec - His Brush With Super StardomMixing & Releasing The "Fun" AlbumHello To Our New FriendsA Big Thank You For Your Wonderfully Kind Comments!

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

In a recent article for the Delaware newspaper, The News Journal, talented writer Ryan Cormier did an outstanding story on our beloved drummer - Jim Drnec - and his brush with super-stardom while playing with international rock stars (and our old Galaxy play mates), Cinderella. Jimmy really opens up about this exciting and difficult time in his career.

"It was amazing — the stuff of your dreams," Drnec says of the moment he made it into the famed studio with an equally famed producer to work on his band’s major label debut. "The drums there sounded like God talking to me."

Also interviewed are Tony Mecca and Adam Balick, the managing partner of the law firm Balick & Balick (Jim is now a civil defense attorney) - so you'll want to be sure to read the whole story entitled Short-Lived Fairy Tale.

The good news regarding the progress of our new album "FUN", is that we are finally in the mixing/mastering stage. This is the final process before dressing the music in artwork and getting into your hands. The bad news is that we will not meet our planned June 2010 release date. However, we will be releasing several singles hopefully sometime in June. We will keep you informed as to the album's eventual release date which we now anticipate to be sometime this August.

Over the past few months we have met many new folks at the bar shows and open mic nights we've played. We just wanted to thank them for their kind words and sincere interest in our music, and give them a special welcome to the NEWS PAGE of our web site and our family of Heavy MeNtal Gypsys (I kind of favor this spelling of Gypsies, don't you?). Anyway, look around on our web site and tell us what you think. You can listen to our music, download free songs, buy any of our CD's and even send us your photo so we can show-off your smiling mug like our friend scrolling by up above. Hope to see you soon!

Finally, we'd like to thank everyone who helped us with our recent identity crisis by emailing us their beautiful feelings about our music and live shows. We've posted some of the quotes at the top of each web site page, and we're currently trying to decide the best way to display the balance of your sentiments. Hey, if you didn't get a chance to send us your thoughts, it's never too late! Just email them to us anytime - See you at the shows!

Our Identity CrisisNew "Fun" Album Getting Final TouchesLive Shows - The Past And What's Coming

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Who are we? Where are we? What will become of us? I'm sure all of these questions were running through the minds of me and my 16 year-old friends pictured to the left in Wildwood N.J. back in 1972 (visit our PHOTO PAGE for a closer look at this memory contributed by that good looking blonde - ?). Well these dilemmas are still following me to this day. But now you can help! Once again we are besieged by requests from our music industry friends to supply them with a description of our music and our sound. While it true that all songwriters and musicians would like to believe that they are doing something a little different, the truth is that publishers, A&R folks and everybody else on the selling and pitching side of the business must know how and who to market your music to. So we come to you for help in identifying who we are. No one knows our music better than you - so please help us label our music! We call our music "Urban American Heavy MeNtal" and will continue to do so, but music business folks like more industry accepted categories such as "Adult Rock", "Pop Rock", "Alternative Rock"... There must be hundreds of genres and sub genres. One tip would be to look at the category genres of artists whose style you would compare with ours. But please feel free to come up with your own label if you prefer. We've also been asked to post testimonials on our web site and in our press kit from the folks who enjoy our music. At the top of this page there is a recent and very kind Facebook posting from a couple of our new friends (thanks Mark and Jeanne) that demonstrates the general spirit of what we're looking for. Hey, you can really lay on the love! Anyway, take a moment and have some fun with these labels and testimonials! Just click here with your label and/or testimonial entrees!

We are finally coming down the "back-stretch" of the recording process for our new album, "Fun" - Some backing vocals here, a guitar solo or three there, a stray bass line and rouge piano lick is all that remains. Our goal of a late May or early June release still seems realistic, and with a little help from the mixing and mastering "gods" we just might make it. We will be releasing a deluxe CD version as well as individual song and album downloads. We are so excited for all of our friends to hear the 14 (rather eclectic) songs that comprise the "Fun" album. Hey, drop us a line sometime and let us know if you are more interested in the physical CD or the Digital Download version of this album.

We recently played our most consistent run of shows since we began recording our new album in earnest back in early 2009. The Krunch Inn, Stogie Joe's, JR's Bar and Cookies Bar, featured both the full band and the Heavy MeNtal Gypsy Trio. We had a blast at Stogie Joe's monthly "open mic" program, and have been asked back on April 5th. Of course The Krunch Inn is always a good time, and at JR's Bar we rekindled the "MeNtal Meets Metal" series as we opened for our South Philly brethren, Stop The World. Of course our home-hood crowd at Cookies Bar made us feel right at home once again, and many new friends picked this show to pile into the bar and help us shake-up our old haunts. Check out our upcoming shows!

"The Girl From The Sand" Wins HonorsSporadic Live Shows Being PlannedNew Album Getting Close

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

We are very proud to announce that our beloved "The Girl from the Sand" was selected as one of the 20 most requested songs-of-the-year on UC RADIO. "The Girl from the Sand" (from "Princes of the New Dark Age" - 2005) had appeared on several of UC Radio's programs throughout the year including their monthly "best of" SONIC WALLPAPER show; the beach theme special - "Surf's Up, Baby" and the year end "New Years Eve Bash 2009 - The best of UC Radio for 2009". We thank UC Radio for the recognition - Listen to the "New Years Eve Bash 2009 - The best of UC Radio for 2009" by clicking here - Our segment begins at 27:42 - Subscribe to these great sites while you're there.

While completing the new album, we are planning to do one live show show per month for the first half of 2010. We will be limiting activity to our favorite smaller bars and maybe even a new "small bar" venue. As we did at our December show at Cookies bar, we'll be playing some rarely attempted material from earlier albums, and many of the songs from the new album. We will have the entire HEAVY MENTAL GYPSY band for most of the shows, but smaller configurations of the unit will also be featured along the way.

Speaking of the new album, things are really starting to intensify as we near its completion. Live drums will be added over the next few days, and it's all hands on deck as all band members (including our dear friend and collaborator David Decca) are scheduled to make recording contributions in the coming weeks. It's hard to believe that the recording process for the 14 songs that comprise the "Fun" album began in the late summer of 2008. While our original goal was to have a new album out by the end of 2009, the learning curve presented by the new recording equipment and trying to maintain a steady live schedule eventually put an end to that possibility. Now, as we steer steadily toward a spring 2010 release date, we are finally beginning to hear the rewards of our hard work (yes, recording an album is very hard work that seems to get more difficult with each passing year). As our anticipation to have our friends and loyal supporters hear this new album grows, we double our efforts to bring this project to a creative zenith that will outshine anything we've accomplished in the past. We have great faith that we will achieve our goal. As I like to tell fellow artist of any creative endeavor: The work is the reward. And if passion is your true motivation, you will always succeed! Until next time...

Live Again in a Bar Near You!Mischief Night @ The North Star reviewed by Cyndy DrueMeet Bill, our new bass playerNew album progress/Fan Appreciation CD's still available

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

After a six month layoff from live performance to record the bulk of our upcoming album, we took the stage at the North Star Bar on October 30th for our first annual "Mischief Night Massacre". This show was the first of three we will play to close out the '09 season - Get all of the detail at our LIVE DATES PAGE! We were joined by the wonderfully rambunctious "Missiles" (aptly renamed "The Vampires" for this occasion), and the always cool "Midnight Bottle Club" - Both of whom performed their beautiful Rock 'n' Roll with great skill and passion. We also had the good fortune of having legendary Philadelphia radio personality Cyndy Drue not only attend the show (as she has on several occasions in the past), but write a very nice review of our performance which appears on our PRESS PAGE - THE CYNDY DRUE REVIEW!

The North Star show also marked the debut of our new bassist, Bill Saltzer. Like Jim, Bill is also a recruit of the great Delaware blues band, The Delcats (who we love and respect very much). Aside from his unquestioned and obvious musical proficiency, Bill is a total sweetheart and fits right in with our scattered and eclectic band of passionate Heavy MeNtal Gypsies - A select group on a noble crusade, for sure. We encourage you to get to know Bill better at our BIO PAGE!

We are happy to announce that the new album, “Fun”, is still on course for a spring release. The recording of the live drum tracks should begin by the end of year with final touches and mixing to follow at the beginning of the new year - Yes, you did read correctly - we are recording completely backwards in doing the drums last - but we believe we are up to the challenge. And in keeping with the most recent industry practice afforded by the digital phenomenon, we do plan on releasing 2 to 4 single songs from the album as downloads prior to the release of the actual physical CD. This way you can check-out what we've been up to before committing the final few bucks from your stimulus dough on a full album of tunes by the aforementioned fanatically passionate "Heavy MeNtal Gypsies". Finally, we'd like to remind you that we have a half-a-box of the "Fan Appreciation" CD's awaiting your email request. Over 40 minutes of exhilarating live stuff, brain-teasing interviews and our very favorite — but seldom performed - studio tracks. See you at the shows! Click Here For Your Free CD!

Russian Radio & Pre-Fun Surprise!"Morning Coffee" on Russian RadioFan Appreciation disc now availableA Mischief Night return to the stage, finally!

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In August we were notified via email that our song "Morning Coffee" had been played several times on a Russian radio show called "Night Diary" (we can't obtain the station's "call letters" or the DJ's name). We were able to get one of the broadcast clips and have it translated. Listen now by checking out our brand new MULTI-MEDIA PAGE which features interviews, concert visuals, podcasts and more - Just Click Here!

While barricaded in the "Urban Closet Of Destiny" (the official new name of our little wing of The Opera House Recording Studios) diligently recording our new album, it was decided that we should do something special for the folks that have been buying our CD's, visiting this web site and attending our shows. We felt a gift to show our deep appreciation was certainly in order. So we came up with a CD project that includes the live songs posted to this site this past July, clips from Tony's interview also posted in July and studio versions of a few favorite songs often requested but not usually performed live. TONY MECCA'S PRE-FUN/POST SUMMER FAN APPRECIATION UTILITY DISC AND VANITIY MIRROR will be available for free by email request beginning September 20th - We will be selecting 25 names of our most active friends at random, and mailing them a copy beginning today - If you don't receive a copy by September 20th, simply request a copy (include your address) by emailing us, or by visiting our CONTACT US page - Just Click Here - and we'll send you a CD straight-away!

With a good bit of the basic tracks complete for our upcoming album (which is now looking more like a 2010 release), we feel better about getting back out on the live circuit. First we'll do an outdoor set at the Epiphany of Our Lord's annual Italian Festival in late September, and then we'll be hosting a huge concert bash at the North Star Bar that we're calling "The Mischief Night Massacre". We are really revved-up for these shows and do hope you join us for some screaming rock 'n' roll! Get all of the details at our LIVE DATE page.

The Tony Mecca Interview / Cookies Live!The first installment of live material posted - Finally!Tony talks about his music, influences and the future"Fun Photos" and recording news

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As promised in the May news update, we've just posted the first installment of live material to our MUSIC PAGE - Click here to listen! We hope to make this a regular practice when we have more time to sort through our recorded live shows. The initial offering is 4 songs by the trio configuration of the unit (Tony-Joe-Steph) recorded way back in May 2008 at Cookies Bar. Comprised of songs not performed much anymore and an unlikely "cover tune", this segment is aptly entitled "COOKIES LIVE! - MAY '08". We remind you that these recordings are made from the audience and that the quality will sometimes be a bit dicey. We believe the passion within these performances out-weigh the sonic deficiencies, and we encourage you to download and enjoy them free! We'd love you to post your comments and opinions on the MESSAGE BOARD PAGE of our web site. In addition to your comments about the music, let us know what you think of this planned series of live material.

In late June Tony finally broke from the rigorous recording schedule he and the band have been following the past few months, and sat down with promoter/producer (and avid band supporter), Ronnie Dawg of RON DAWG STUDIOS, for a candid conversation about making music, personal influences and the future. About an hour worth of Q&A was recorded that we've posted in three separate segments. Listen now by checking out our brand new MULTI-MEDIA PAGE which features interviews, concert visuals, podcasts and more. Click here to listen to the Tony Mecca Interview!

Do you remember "FUN"? Do you remember what it feels like to have it, or look forward to having it? Anyway, as you may or may not know, "FUN" is the title of our next album - which we are diligently working on right now. While the artwork is far from finalized, we have this crazy idea of putting photos throughout the CD booklet (maybe even the cover) of what faces look like when someone (you) is having an incredibly "FUN" time. So we are encouraging you to email us a photo of you with the biggest shit-eating grin you can possibly muster. It doesn't matter how young or old you are in the photo - As long as it is a “close-up” of you. In fact, you as a teenager would be way cool. Send it to TonyMecca@TonyMeccaMusic.com - Then look for your mug on the new and improved PHOTO PAGE of our website, and on our next album. We know that our attorney and record label will want us to tell you that by sending your photo, you are giving us permission to use said photo on our web site and in/on our CD/album artwork. So there, you've been duly warned!

Other News Tidbits
Work on the new album continues at a brisk pace. The planned winter release still seems like a realistic goal, but a more definite timetable will become more apparent by the September newsletter - Speaking of the new INTERVIEW PAGE, check out our new and improved PHOTO PAGE. We can now post more photos in a larger format, and we plan on changing them on a monthly basis - A reminder that we've decided to keep "Our Wonderful Fan Sale" running for the rest of the summer. You can buy our CD's at near half price!

Live Shows Slowing / New Album Takes PriorityThe hard work behind "Fun"Live tracks coming soonMovie and soundtrack work

Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Well, we tried as hard as we could to play live and record a new album at the same time, but the old man's once potent stamina level for multi-tasking is running a bit low these days. So we've decided to disappear from the live scene for awhile and finish the album. A ton of hard work has already gone into the "Fun" CD, and yet, there is still so much more to do. We are so excited about the songs on this album; we just can't wait to get it done and share it with all of our wonderful friends and fans. Okay, since you've been asking, we now will reveal the names of the songs that will most likely appear on the new CD (in no particular order):

Laugh, Lucy Laugh, Patricia Knows, When Eileen Dreams, Fun, The Broken-Hearted Song, Black Cloud, Charlie Jones, Sweet Sunshine, The Happy Hop, Annie Crime-Fighter, Mercy Street, Funny Fred, Dotty and Me, and Which Jenny?

At several recent shows we've been ask about posting live material on this website. Well, we do have some live recordings in the can from a number of venues that we hope to make available soon. Of course, the sound quality is less than optimal, but the spirited performances more than make-up for the technical deficiencies. Finding some time to edit and perk-up the overall sound of the recordings has been the challenge so far - but we're getting close and we promise to drop you a line when we get some songs posted.

We're very proud to announce that our song "You're Not as Tough as You Think" from the "Hello, Goodbye & Everything in Between" album has been selected by Philadelphia filmmaker Nick Lanciano as the opening song for his new film 9th & Bay which will premier later this month. To support this fine local artist, visit Nick's site and get all of the details about his film, and information regarding tickets to the premier. Like finding gold in your own back yard, if you take time to investigate your local art scene, you will most always be pleasantly surprised.

Finally, just a few reminders from the CAOMA (Chief Administrative Officer of Monkey Affairs): In an effort to make it easier for our friends to own all of our CD's, we are having a huge sale on all of our albums. Just visit OUR STORE for the details. Ah yes, this is yet another subtle reminder to play our songs on the Juke Box at your favorite bars and clubs. They're in there - all of them. Finally, we'd like to remind you that we still want to know which of our songs and albums are your favorites. We'd also like to know your favorite bands and singers from the 60's/70's - CLICK HERE TO VOTE! Speaking of singers from the 70's, one of my crowds favorites to this day, Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople), will turn 70 years old on June 3rd. Yes - 70! We saw Ian in '04 and '07 at Finnigan's Wake and he was just outstanding.

2009 Live Tour Kicks-OffLive at the North Star VideoDownload Us at Itunes, Rhapsody and AnywhereFill Tony's Gas Tank

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The 2009 live schedule started off very deliberately as we've tried to focus most of our attention on recording the new album - which is coming along fine and should be released late summer or early fall. We played two fun and energetic sets at the Krunch Inn in January and were back at the North Star Bar on February 20th as part of a show that we put together with some friends that turned out to be a great success. For those who couldn't get out to that show, we are pleased to present video of a couple of performances from the North Star (Thanks Kimmy) - Click here to watch us at the North Star! You can also be transported to the wonderful world of YouTube where you can watch these performances and find a whole bunch of other songs from the same North Star show courtesy of "Justin TV", who broadcasted us live that night (Thanks Ronny!) - Click here to watch us on YouTubeWe do have a much more active live schedule in the coming month or so including a special appearance at the Tappers Club. Check-out all of the details on all of our upcoming LIVE DATES.

All of our CD's and the individual songs are now available as downloads through just about all of the major digital music internet outlets. That's right! Stores like ITunes, Rhapsody, CDbaby, Amazon and Napster, to name just a few, are now featuring our beloved "Purple Monkeys", "Princes of the New Dark Age" and "Hello, Goodbye & Everything in Between" albums. Just go to OUR STORE and check out a few of these internet shops. You can even write your own review of our CD's at some of these locations.

As the last few iconic major record labels scurry to find new ways to survive in today's progressively "less-tangible" music business, there is one final money-poaching entity that still roams freely in bars and clubs around the world. No, it's not Clive Davis. Nor is it Universal boss Doug Morris. It's not even Edgar Bonfman of Warner's. None of these company big wigs are surreptitiously extending their sticky hands into the musician’s pockets as much as every ones familiar old standby. Yes, you've guessed it - 'tis none other than that friendly purveyor of your favorite tunes, the Juke Box. Did you ever stop to think that when you feed a buck into that slot to play a song, how much of that dollar does the artist actually earn? Would you believe it’s less than a dime for every six plays. So after perusing our last royalty statement, we started to wonder how many plays it would take to pay various bills. One of these expenses has now presented us with a "quest-opportunity", and we'd like to ask for your help. How many Juke Box plays would it take to fill Tony's gas tank? The answer = 2,240. So we humbly crawl to you with our guitar and clarinet scarred hands out, and ask you to make an effort to play some of our songs on that snazzy flashing AMI Juke Box every time you enter your favorite local bar or club. And don't be shy, tell everyone around you that may be listening to the song you just played who we are and what we are trying to accomplish. Surly, one tank of gas is not too much to ask for all of that wonderful musical entertainment we are providing. Right? And for all of our fellow struggling musician, writer and actor friends, always remember, "The work is truly the reward and the passionate play on." Tony said that.

Finally, we'd like to remind you that we still want to know which of our songs and albums are your favorites. There are a few other things we'd also like to know just for fun.Â Â CLICK HERE TO VOTE!Â Â Go ahead and do it - you know you really want to.