Tony Fate

I came up through the ranks in the late 70's playing Chuck Berry and Hank Williams and punk rock in bars and roadhouses in the Midwest- like the one in that first Blues Brothers movie, only without the chicken wire. I moved to Southern California in 1980 and played in a lot of punk bands, occasionally straying into bebop and avant-garde. I made records with my own bands The SINS, The GREY SPIKES and The BLACK WIDOWS and later made many records and toured the world with The BELLRAYS. ...

I came up through the ranks in the late 70's playing Chuck Berry and Hank Williams and punk rock in bars and roadhouses in the Midwest- like the one in that first Blues Brothers movie, only without the chicken wire. I moved to Southern California in 1980 and played in a lot of punk bands, occasionally straying into bebop and avant-garde. I made records with my own bands The SINS, The GREY SPIKES and The BLACK WIDOWS and later made many records and toured the world with The BELLRAYS. I did an instrumental solo album- HALF VIRGIN. Wrote some music for some guy's movie that never got finished. Produced a few bands. Since 1995 I've been playing in my instrumental band The BLACK WIDOWS. I also play in The MIGHTY GRASSHOPPERS, who are pure rock and roll; CARNAGE ASADA, who specialize in heavy avant-garde punk and BAG:THEORY, who do "total improvisational composition". I'm not a dilletante. I'm just a guy who keeps busy. All these bands are different, all original and have very high standards. I'm also a songwriter and have written for all the bands I've played with. INFLUENCES: Chuck Berry, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Lester Young, Michael Schenker, Bill Evans, Bobby Womack, Laura Nyro, Duke Ellington. WEAPON OF CHOICE: 1972 Gibson SG with Seymour Duncan JB pickups. AMPS: Soldano Avenger 100, 4x12 with 30 watt Celestions. Ampeg VH140C 2x12 combo. STRINGS & THINGS: D'Addario 12, 14, 20w, 32, 42, 52. PICKS: Xtra Heavy Standard. Vox Wah Wah, Duncan Pickup Booster, Tube Screamer, Dan-O Delay.