We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tony Salomone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tony, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I started playing piano when I was 5 years old. I saw a woman playing this beautiful grand piano in my local church and it just blew me away. She became my first instructor. I was classically trained for about 10 years until I became a teenager and thought that guitar was much cooler. I started singing and playing in a rock band throughout high school. It was around this time that I started recording my own music too which gave me an understanding for how drums, guitars, vocals, bass and keys all work together in a song. I loved it. I “found” piano again in college as I discovered a love for songwriting. Just out of college I was asked to join a band as a keyboard player. I learned a great deal from playing keyboards in that band. When you play alone, you practice scales, chords, songs that you like and cool licks, but when you play with a band you learn very practical skills that really matter like rhythm, tone-shaping, pocket and playing parts that serve the song. In my current band, we call these “skills that make you hire-able” haha. I play with a group called Blue House Band now. We are a “backing band for hire” in Nashville and we play with many artists locally, regionally and nationally. We also host a weekly full band open mic called Artist Night where artists bring their original songs to the band and we play with them on the spot. All this experience playing original songs with a band and coming up with parts on the spot has helped me hone the skills that really matter for a hired gun and session musician. Skills that have made me “hire-able”.
Knowing what I know now, I think I could’ve sped up my learning process if I really committed to a music career earlier in my life. I always knew I wanted to do this full time, but it took me some time to finally lean into it and take it seriously. I let myself get distracted by life and people. At a certain point, I realized that I was doing things more for other people than for myself and I had to essentially stop being a people-pleaser, and start living the life I wanted. I would suggest to my younger self, or any aspiring musician that has natural talent and drive to just dive all the way in and don’t look back. Play in bands, record yourself often and make every gig your “best” gig by being hyper prepared for every opportunity.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I got my Music Business Degree at MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN. This was a good “primer” for understanding the industry, but I learned so much more through actually being in the industry. I moved to San Diego after college to join a band as a keyboard player and learned the ins and outs of gigging, booking, social media marketing, street marketing, merch, recording/mixing/mastering, graphic design, you name it. I did a little bit of everything in those days because that’s what indie bands do. I’m so glad I got that experience because I think one of the most important things an artist can do is empower themselves with the knowledge of as many parts of the industry as possible so they can be in control of their assets, income, image, music and overall brand. I’m working on building up my own artist project with music that I write and produce myself. I just released an album this spring titled “Dreams”. My artist project is really a long game for me, I’m building it slowly and patiently alongside the other areas in my professional music career.
I was blessed to meet some amazing musicians here in Nashville and we started a group called Blue House Band. We are a “backing band for hire” for local, regional, national acts. The problem we noticed was that artists struggle to piece together bands, cherry-picking individual players that don’t necessarily have chemistry together. Many times, local artists play a show with a group of players that have all never played together. It can create a lot of stress for an artist. The benefit of hiring Blue House Band is that you are getting a group of seasoned musicians that have been playing together for years and have developed musical chemistry. This means you get a certain “gel” and energy between the band, and if anything ever goes wrong, we always land on our feet because we are so used to playing together.
We host a weekly full band open mic called “Artist Night” at The Vinyl Lounge, every Monday at 7pm. This has become such a wonderful supportive community of artists, and it also has developed our abilities to learn songs and create full band arrangements on the spot, very quickly. It’s a free event where artists can sign up and play their song with a full band of professional musicians. They also receive free video and audio of their performance through our sponsor Nashville Pop. As fate would have it, everyone in our group plays in a selfless way, meaning we play for the song, the artist, for the collective sound of the group, versus to show off. Many of our favorite musicians and bands did that, so we try to infuse that mentality into every performance and studio session. We run a studio called Blue House Studio, where artists can hire the very same band to record their next single or album. Alex Bonyata, our guitar player, is a masterful engineer and is running industry-standard equipment.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The blessing that I get paid to perform, record, produce and make music is not lost on me! I try to remind myself every day how grateful I am for the opportunity to make a living doing what I love. Music is my main hobby and passion, and I would do it even if I wasn’t being paid, so it’s incredibly rewarding to get to do it professionally. One rewarding aspect is that every gig and opportunity makes me a better musician, both in the preparation and the performance itself. Certain gigs stretch me to learn things I’ve never learned before, or may have never learned if not for the gig. Performances build confidence, and continue to teach me to really listen and adapt my tone/playing based on the song, the other musicians, the artist. Such a crucial skill for any musician to work on. The feeling of locking in with a band on a very energetic, rocking song, and the audience is dancing and singing along, is unlike any other feeling. Equally powerful is a slow, emotional ballad, where the whole room is captivated, and you could almost cry. Music is truly a spiritual thing, especially live. To hear from people after the show that they were so touched and moved by the music is so rewarding. It gives us a deep sense of purpose, like we are doing something that matters in people’s lives.
Recorded music is just as powerful in a different way. To get to record a song and really dial in the production, the vocal performance, the pocket, the production elements and the mix so that the song gives you chills and touches your heart (dare I say touches your soul), is a deeply fulfilling experience. There’s something deeply healing about writing music from a traumatic experience, heartbreak, a deep sadness or anger, then recording it in an intentional way, and then hearing that it helped someone ELSE heal or feel seen because they related to that experience. Wow.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My immediate goal in my life and career is simple: I want to wake up everyday and make inspired music that I love, with people that I love.
To expand on that, I want to share that music with as many people as possible, through digital means and physical performances, to help uplift and heal them. I want that whole process to make me a prosperous living so I can continue to support that lifestyle and live in a comfortable way.
This rolls into my “why”, or the purpose I infuse into my life and career. I feel a deep love and drive to play and make music. I believe there’s something bigger than myself, god, the universe, a bigger plan, that’s compelling me to pursue music. The more I lean into it, the more things seem to work out. The more I lean into music that inspires me, with people that inspire me, the more opportunities I get. On the contrary, when I commit to opportunities or people that don’t light me up, things tend to not work out as well or I’m left feeling drained. I kinda use this simple method to steer my life and career and it’s proven fruitful so far!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tonysalomone.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonysalomone/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonysalomoneofficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonysalomonemusic
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tonysalomonemusic
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6xmvt2kOXLgDAuAMxMDkvL?si=WCh_htlKSXeyS9R0tMfhAA&nd=1&dlsi=0d8ff0afc4a0408f
Image Credits
Chaz Mazzota – Artist Night photos
Chandler Flint – Blue House Band photo, Tony Press photos.
Mike Jeffries – Tony Live keys and guitar photos