I admit I've had some mixed feelings on Tonetta since reading his Artist Advocacy interview, but maybe that says more about me than he. In any case, Tony's new record - "777 Vol. II" (like Vol. I, it's on Black Tent Press) has a sleeve that I couldn't resist sharing - it would appear to be a 'dick print' featuring the cock of King Cock himself.
Perhaps worthy of note that a cover shoot call had originally gone out a couple of months ago on FB looking for someone, "over 18, female and comfortable posing topless wearing the mask of TONETTA in a professional studio setting". That sounded pretty promising, sure, but this is certainly a great deal more original. I wonder whether willing ladies came up in short supply, or were the results simply a poor substitutiary step-child to the long, hard wang of Mr. Big Rig?
This simple image encompasses many of Tonetta's best qualities: his overbearing sexuality (one might as easily say horniness), his fearlessness and/or shamelessness, his sense of humour, his need to share, so to speak, his exhibitionist proclivities. Vol. II also features some of my favourite Tonetta tunes - such as "Death Sentence", "G & B Showers", and "Dominate". Just wish I could afford one.
While I await the arrival of "777" in my mailbox, I've been grabbing all the Tonetta Youtube videos I can get my hands on. There's about 166 videos up right now in all - a few have been uploaded in more than one version (TO P.U. and Stinky Toronto are essentially the same, for instance; Dominate originally featured Tonetta performing the song whereas the newer upload is a still*).
I know there's a bunch of older stuff that's not available at present but I'm pretty sure all the newer stuff to date is here. I'm assuming it's OK with Tonetta to collect these available vids; if not, I can certainly take them down (I'm just trying to spread the gospel here).
Each volume has about 10-15 videos. All files are MPEG-4.
We all know Tonetta has songwriting prowess like nobody's business. You may have even surmised from some of his songs that he's a sketchy guy. But did you know he was no slouch at drawing either?
Here are some of Tony's pieces for your lonesome eyeballs.
Black Tent Press out of Los Angeles, USA are now taking orders for Tonetta's debut LP (with CD included) -- 777! They have put the track listing up on their site and it is very interesting to see what songs were included and what songs didn't make the cut:
*originally posted on Youtube as Cock Rock; currently unavailable. **posted on Youtube; currently unavailable. ***originally posted on Youtube as She's Got Too Much; currently unavailable.
Huzzah!!!
It would appear BTP (or Tonetta himself) has opted for a songwriter-type collection, as opposed to the dancefloor sleazeathon I might have gone with myself. It's hard to say for sure as there quite a few songs here I'm not familiar with (which is itself exciting).
With only one slab o' wax to work with, you can't include everything of course -- it makes sense that for a debut recording, you want to show people the full range of Tonetta's talents; "777" appears to be just such a showcase. Note that Tonetta has his own Facebook page now and is soliciting ideas for tracks to be included on "777 Vol. 2"!
Personally, I'm a little sad not to see booming tracks like "Lean and Mean", "Death Sentence", "60000 Volts", "MMM! MAMA!" or "G & B Showers" here (maybe next time?) - but, on the other hand, we do have "$Viral$", "$10 Axe" and the already-classic "Drugs Drugs Drugs" to look forward to. Also the newer "Metal Man" and the sublime "Still A Slave". What the hey, I like all the songs here - though I might have gone with "Saddam" over "Red, White & Blue".
I just hope I can get one of these babies (only 500 pressed) before they sell out! Otherwise, I'm going to be making this face --
Details are few at this point, but I am very happy to share the news that King Cock has got a record deal (!!!) - with Black Tent Press (from Los Angeles, no less) - and that we can expect a legitimate record release from Youtube's best kept secret some time in the coming year Twenty Ten.
Which of Tonetta's 100+ 'youtube songs' will be on this debut record? Or will it be songs we haven't heard yet? "Still A Slave" is on the label's MySpace page - does that mean it's going to be on the record? Are the songs going to be the versions we're familiar with? Or new recordings? Solo? With a band? Is he nervous? Elated? Will Tonetta be performing live dates? Will this new record be on vinyl? Is he moving to L.A.? Just some of the unanswered questions whirling through my mind at this news.
And that's not all - Tonetta now has his own MySpace page, his own Facebook fan club site, even a website dedicated to the "ongoing critical study" of his songs and videos.
And speaking of stardom, can there be any better argument for tonetta's true greatness than his songs, plain and simple - stripped of any irony or video connotations, for good or ill? The man is a natural tune master, producing great songs at the rate some people produce bowel movements.
In the spirit of letting all and sundry enjoy these aural sculptures, I share the best thing to cross my browser in a good long while -- a six CD collection of tonetta songs!!
This comes by way of "J4mi3 H4rl3y (Snowballing)", posting at ilxor, who says that actually its his "friend Anthony you need to thank. He's been faster than me again and has already ripped everything! He's a crazy Tonetta fan".
Hmmmmmm... I can't help but notice that tonetta gives his account name as toni, which is of course short for Anthony. Also that these files, while at 192, don't sound at all like the precious few tonetta MP3 files I've found online. Indeed, I surmise these files might just be sourced from the main vein of Mr. 777 himself???
J4mi3 goes on to say, "Tonetta boys and Tonetta Girls, here's the first cd of the unofficial The Godlike Genius of Tonetta777 - Anthology Vol.1. Of course, these are all low quality rips from youtube and I hope the maestro will one day provide some goood quality ones (and charge for it!)."
Just so. I'd be first in line to buy whatever King Cock puts out. Regardless, whoever did these rips certainly did a bang-up job; they sound great. Kudos to Anthony and J4mi3 for this 122 (!!!) song collection, the long-awaited 'box set' of gooey go-go goodness, The Godlike Genius of Tonetta777 Vol. I-VI.
If you're following the saga of tonetta777, you'll know that Youtube closed his main account last month, leaving fans scrambling to upload their own copies of his videos and/or plead for favourites to be re-posted at his secondary account (tj1749).
Today I found a wonderful surprise in my in-box -- some kind anon has posted a link to nineteen tonetta MP3s! Lots of faves! In 320 yet! Sounding great, and what a super way to start the weekend.
I felt such riches deserved their own post, so here it is. Please feel free to make this your one-stop resource for tonetta MP3s, just add any relevant links to the comments and let's see if we can make our own box set.
The other day, one of my favourite music blogs - WFMU's Beware of the Blog - linked to another wacky youtube video, something I can usually give or take.
This one however was pretty incredible: a guy going by the handle of tonetta777 who records his own songs, and then films himself - in what appears to be a very small room - dancing & frequently lip-syncing to his own recordings.
Sometimes he is wearing a suit, sometimes he is dressed in drag. Sometimes he pretends to be a little girl, sometimes he wears warpaint. Sometimes he wears a skull mask, sometimes pumps. And sometimes he wears next to nothing at all.
For some, the appeal of his home-recorded songs may be elusive; the single-shot videos may suggest nothing so much as Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs; the lyrics, mostly *extremely* sexual but also on occasion quite sweet (or even political), will certainly be a stumbling block for many - but for those with whom it clicks, it really, really clicks. And I am such a one.
Simply put, I am now addicted to tonetta777. And there's a lot of tonetta to get addicted to - to date, he has posted 66 songs, tunes which he records alone, and which he is apparently too shy to perform live. How great would it be to see tonetta play a set somewhere?
If all this were was just another youtube freakshow, I wouldn't be so evangelistic. tonetta though, beyond the memorable performance, has that rarest of things - tons of greatsongs which seem to come very naturally, and a knack for arranging these catchy songs in unique albeit simple ways.
His voice, his picking style, his back-ups, his basslines & drum machine beats - it all works in sync beautifully. I'm crazy about his lyrics too. The costumes and sexy dancing are the icing on the cake. He also plays a mean $10 axe and wrote a love song to Karla Homolka. It's actually kind of ridiculous how great tonetta is.
The requests from his fans for a CD release are gathering force. My own efforts to comb the web & learn more about this rather mysterious wunderkind have met with precious little reward: some lyrics, a brief interview, an entry on a motorbike forum of all things.
His youtube profile tells us he lives in Toronto (!!!) and enjoys watching westerns. His favourite video picks suggest a predilection for ladies with the large posterior. He has another youtube account under the name tj1749, and this account gives his name as toni. Whence sprung the awesomeness? Details are few.
Let's hope $ucce$$ locates tonetta777 before he ODs on the drugs drugs drugs, allowing him to release these amazing jams for posterity and sweaty dancefloors everywhere. Songs these amazing are too good to disappear, and I can't figure out how to download them.
***Aug.25/09 - Youtube has removed all tonetta777's videos and says his account is suspended!!! Nooooooo!!! Please post anything you find relating to the man below. The world must have more tonetta777!!!!***
***Sept.1/09 - Hurray! For anyone that missed it in the comments, tonetta/Tony has a new Youtube account up under the name tj1749! Thanks, Brad Farless!***
***Sept.5/09 - I'm an idiot. I actually mentioned that other account in the original post. Oh well. There has really been a wellspring of support on Youtube since August's suspension of his main account, which is nice to see. If you're a fan, subscribe to TonettaShock's account as well.***
