ANTHONY RETKA: Acoustic/Electric Guitars, Vocals NICOLE VARGA: Violin,Viola, Back-up Vocals NICKE WHITE: Bass Guitar, Back-up Vocals ROGER DUTCHER: Drums
"...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
"...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
Click HERE to purchase "The House Of The Rising Sun" single
"The sound of Tone & Niche burns with spellbound somberness. This makes the gristly, pounding, showstopper House of the Rising Sun a perfect cover for them. Fiery indeed! Epitaph (b-side) showcases their unique take on neo-folk". - J. Milo, Real Detroit Weekly
Click HERE to purchase the new Tone & Niche "Live" double disc!
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. Think Revolver-era Beatles, Andrew Bird's string-laden neo-folk-pop and the heartache-poetics of Elliot Smith.
-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.
"Anthony Retka, of Tone and Niche, uses an immaculate blend of great songwriting, vocals, and guitar. He plays melodic numbers with full vocals and introspective lyrics, many of which are about love. Retka is a master of dynamics, moving between rich, strong heavy guitar bits and gentle, barely-there strumming. The diversity of his octaves is astounding; he conjures images of Radiohead one moment and Jeff Buckley the next." -Springfield Artists, Metro-Detroit Writers
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.
"These days in Detroit music, it seems like you can't drunkenly stumble through one smoke-clogged bar without getting smacked in the face by a violin. But Tone & Niche may have been the first to infuse their pop-rock sensibilities with plaintive violin strings, a sound they pair to perfection with bittersweet melodies and vocals dripping with wisdom gained at a cost." -MetroTimes, Detroit - Critic's Pick by Megan O'Neil
Tone and Niche, an original pop/rock band based out of Detroit, MI. consists of singer/songwriter Anthony Retka, violinist Nicole Varga, bass guitarist Nick White and drummer Roger Dutcher. Tone and Niche’s eclectic mix of violin-led pop/rock and singer/songwriter styles stem from influences of performers such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Andrew Bird, Elliott Smith and more. 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, a single and two EP's. These recordings emit a mysterious brilliance of creative song structure, lyrical depth and polished performance.
2009 plans to be a busy year for the band. In the summer, Tone & Niche will release a new single and plan to go back out on the road. Also included in 2009 are plans to follow up their 2008 House Of The Rising Sun EP and Spring, 2009 Live CD with a new studio album. The material for an album is growing and a fresh new year will help inspire its launch.
T&N Releases:
*Tone & Niche Full-Length CD - 2003
*Anthony Retka Solo acoustic disc - 2003
*On The Streets Of Full-Length CD - 2004
*Song One EP - 2005
*From Your Hands Single - 2006
*Rust Full-Length CD - 2007
*Lemonade EP - 2007
*The House Of The Rising Sun EP - 2008
*Tone & Niche LIVE Double CD - 2009
Tone and Niche music in films:
"Song One" can be heard on Tone & Niche's Song One EP and was also used in an indie film in "Long-Time-sun-shine" (www.myspace.com/longtimesunshine)
"From Her To Me" not only appears Tone & Niche's Rust, but demo of this tune can be heard in Detroit's "Inzero" film project in Episode 4. (www.myspace.com/inzero)
Screamin' Angels would like to wellcome you to our family. Please spread the word about our benefit to raise money for our heroes and thier families. The event is being held at the Emerald Theatre in Mt. Clemens Sunday May 24. Tickets are $10 and the doors open at 3:30pm. This is a all ages event so being your kids we have face painting, airbrush tattoos and guitar hero contest. There is 9 bands playing so it should be a good time. Thank you for your time and your support.
So I'm playing Tone & Niche at Goldfish Tea today and a young girl comes to the counter and asks if we're listening to the Decemberists. I tell her it's Tone & Niche and she says she saw you at Trixie's a couple years ago. I don't know if you would take being compared to the Decemberists as a compliment but she seemed to mean it as one. And she seemed to like that Goldfish plays local artists. Just thought I'd tell you the story. I think it's a win for everyone.
I do indeed. i love taking pics myself, so looking at others is a blast for me. plaus i get to see what roger was talking about.... Looks like you all had a great time and ones of these days i will tag along. niche, roger, yourself, and i should get together soon. its been too long!
