Anthony Retka: Acoustic/Electric Guitars, Vocals Nicole Varga: Violin,Viola, Back-up Vocals Nick White: Bass Guitar Scottie Stone: Drums and Percussion Roger Dutcher: Drums
Buy the new T&N CD Rust
"...Rust, a strong front-to-back rhythm-rocking indie-folk tour de force; pop melodies, rolling rhythms and the beautiful brooding wail of Niche's strings under Tone's warm, pleasant ringing vocals. Think Revolver-era Beatles, Andrew Bird's string-laden neo-folk-pop and the heartache-poetics of Elliott Smith." -J. Milo, Real Detroit Weekly
"...every song, including the not so up-tempo pieces,
are full of energy and passion that will keep your Ipods on play!" -Erin Worm, evolution of media
Also available is the T&N 2004 Release On The Streets Of
"...On the Streets Of is steeped in the old school singer/songwriter tradition,
with each song slowly unraveling to reveal its own unique story.
A solid release front to back!" - Ron Leary, CJAM 91.5 FM
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elliot Smith, Sondre Lerche, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Andrew Bird, Motown (especially Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Temptations), The Avett Bros., The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson, The Pernice Brothers/Joe Pernice, Ron Sexsmith, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Nirvana, REM, Counting Crows, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Leadbelly, Ryan Adams, David Mead, Mike Viola, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, ColdPlay and more.
Tone Performing the song "Tragedy" off the T&N CD On The Streets Of
Sounds Like
"The distinct texture and sound of the music of Tone & Niche is created by the wonderful interplay of Anthony (Tone) Retka's straight forward singing and guitar playing balanced with Nicole (Niche) Varga's soaring violin and viola, producing a unique folk-rock fusion."
-Ralph Valdez, WDET 101.9 FM
Tone and Niche brew a refined, light-jangled, warm toned folk with those pensive-setting-sun piano accompaniments and shimmering, beautiful violin/viola swinging saws that lull your heart into a teary-eyed smile, while steady strummed acoustics and driving rhythms carry foggy, world weary lyrics; the perfect soundtrack to the inevitable warming of the winds as winter turns to spring. In 2007 they recorded their masterwork, "Rust," a strong front-to-back rhythm-rocking indie-folk tour de force; pop melodies, rolling rhythms and the beautiful brooding wail of Niche's strings under Tone's warm, pleasant ringing vocals. Truly a gem in the rough and rocky milieu of an already healthily crowded Detroit scene, bringing a rock sensibility to country twang and spilling earnest, heartfelt singer/songwriter meditations grounded in a personable wisdom, in earthy tones feeling so attuned to the setting sun over the wheat fields on an immaculate summer's day.
-J. Milo, Real Detroit Weekly
Every bit Do It Yourself troubadours, this guitar-and-violin duo take chops (thankfully) as seriously as they do performance and are anti-scenesters in the very best sense. They're a guy/girl ensemble who whip out everything from slick originals to classic covers. The whole "local singer-songwriter" ethos has some new life courtesy of these musically endowed love birds. -Eve Doster, METRO TIMES - Detroit, MI.
There's a truism among the devoted, those who spend a good portion of their scratch and large chunks of spare time haunting hole-in-the-wall music venues. And it's that the city of Detroit has a very real scene behind the superficial "scene." In it, conversation is secondary. People listen. Don't bother looking for the emotionally genuflecting 21-year-old who read about the joint or band in her greasy copy of Mojo. She can't even find this other scene, and even if she did, she wouldn't understand a collective of musically inclined people as unabashed about their love for John Lennon as they are about having played in high school marching bands. And thick inside this familial environment is a group called Tone & Niche. They are Anthony Retka on guitar and Nicole Varga on (yes!) violin and — though they're adept enough to play just about anything — they are rock 'n' roll singer-songwriters.
"Music's the only thing we know," Niche says. "He'll call me on his lunch hour and sing new melodies into my voice mail so I can write them down before he forgets." Tone's songwriting has a so-cool-I'm-not-cool Harry Nilsson quality to it, and, with the accompaniment of Niche's gorgeous violin, the duo gives off an aura similar to 1980s college radio. (Think R.E.M., Marshall Crenshaw). When overproduced, overthought and image-driven can feel like the name of the game, the music of Tone & Niche is built for listening. And an appreciation for great violin licks, of course. -Eve Doster, METRO TIMES - Detroit, MI.
Tone and Niche, an original pop/rock band based out of Detroit, entices their audiences with energy, talent and passion. The band consists of singer/songwriter Anthony Retka, violinist Nicole Varga, bass guitarist Nick White and drummer Scottie Stone. Tone and Niche’s eclectic mix of pop/rock and singer/songwriter styles stem from influences of performers such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Radiohead and Mike Viola. Tone and Niche frequently perform in cities such as Nashville, Chicago, Cleveland, and have become a driving force in the Detroit music scene. The band has shared the bill with several national recording artists including: Martha Wainwright, Mike Errico, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. Over the last five years Tone and Niche have released three albums and a single. These recordings emit a mysterious brilliance of creative song structure, lyrical depth and polished performance.
*If you like what you hear, you can click HERE to buy a Tone & Niche disc or view other T&N stuff!
T&N Albums:
*Tone & Niche (Self Titled CD) - 2003 --- Out Of Print
*Anthony Retka (solo acoustic disc) - 2003
*On The Streets Of - 2004
*Song One EP - 2005
*From Your Hands EP - 2006 --- Out Of Print *FROM YOUR HANDS Single - 2006
*Rust - 2007
*Lemonade - 2007
Tone and Niche music in films:
Song One can be heard on the Song One EP and was also used in an indie film in Florida called "Long-Time-sun-shine" (www.myspace.com/longtimesunshine)
From Her To Me is a new T&N song that is still being tracked for the 2007 Tone & Niche Full-Length release "Brand New World". A demo of this tune can be heard in Detroit's "Inzero" Episode 4. Set in the near future in a post-apocalyptic world, InZer0 is the story of an ambitious courier weaving his way through a dangerous city. The future of the human race is at stake as the population has been decimated and can no longer reproduce. Thames, a simple courier, finds himself in the middle of this struggle and encounters many enemies and allies along the way. (www.myspace.com/inzero)
Hey, you guys sounded great tonight. Thanks for letting us on the bill, we should do it again sometime soon & hopefully we'll be thee full-functioning Slow Giant of shows past.
Hey Tone and Niche, It's really great to see all these pictures from tour. It's really fun. I like to see Fun. I hope to make it our to your Northern Lights Show. Hope all is well. Peace, Blair
i hope columbus is treating you well!! i hope the tour is going well and that your missing all these rain storms! i know you are all having FUN FUN FUN on the road. see you all soon.
