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Hi. I'm singer/songwriter Tony Bataska. I've loved all kinds of music all my life. I started early with a few years of piano lessons. When I moved to California in seventh grade, I got into the altervate/grudge music scene. The first CD I ever owned was Stone Temple Pilots "Purple." In eighth grade my friends were starting a band. They had three guitar players and a drummer. They told me, "If you learn to play bass, you can be in the band." I promptly got a bass and we started jamming. Throughout high school the band had many incarnations and names. I believe it started off as Revolution, then went to Aberration, then to Catch 22, and finally, after we realized there already was a Catch 22, we became Last Exit. By the end of the band I had completed my transistion from bassist to guitarist. We only played a couple shows, but this whole experience kick started my passion for music.
In college, I still played guitar, but I had surgery on both my wrists. This set me back a bit, but as my wrists got better, I started playing and writing songs again. I then set a goal to play at the open mic night at the G Street Pub in Davis. I went there one Tuesday and played 4 songs. From then on I showed up almost every week and got to know the host, Adam Donald. Adam played/plays in notable Sacramento bands Honeyspot and American Karma. His help and advice have been extremely crucial in my musical development.
Going from someone who set out to play an open mic night, I baby-stepped my way to playing regular shows at G Street, Old Ironsides in Sacramento, Fox and Goose in Sac, Luna's in Sac, the Cubby Bear in Chicago, and opening for Matt Costa at Harlow's. I also released my first album, "Tonight I Confess" in early 2006. It is a modest effort, but I am proud of the songs and just the fact that I have a real shrink-wrapped, barcoded album. I am going to continue to write and record music, as well as push myself to be the best entertainer I can be. I hope you enjoy my music, and I thank you for lending me your ear and giving me a chance.
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Born with a guitar in his hand, baby Tony began performing songs for his family and friends at the age of two. After releasing his first original composition "Baby Made a Poopy", the local media began hyping baby Tony as the next big thing in the music industry. Baby Tony's record company was unsure whether America was ready for such talent and the decision was made to send baby Tony overseas. Tickets for a European tour sold out in minutes. Night after night, baby Tony captivated audiences with his flamboyant dance moves and daring lyrics. Immediately following his final performance in London, a press conference was held to announce a full scale world tour. By the time baby Tony was seven, he was riding a tidal wave of success. His face was all over shirts, hats, and diapers. Baby Tony was happy.
But baby Tony's happiness wouldn't last much longer, as his age finally started to take its toll on his career. After a few years, the general public became increasingly uncomfortable with a ten-year-old boy wearing diapers on stage. Management quickly scrapped baby Tony's guitar-toting infant persona and retooled the entire act. Performing as "Baby T", the record company hoped to attract an urban crowd. But not even "Baby Made a Poopy (The Remix feat. Vanilla Ice)" could save the show. Humbled and depressed, baby Tony left the music industry the day before his thirteenth birthday. He was no longer baby Tony. He was man Tony.
At the age of twenty, while dumpster diving with a fellow homeless man, Tony came across an acoustic guitar. Memories of a brilliant career flashed before his eyes, along with the headlights of an oncoming truck. Tony was in a coma for a full leap year, when he awoke to a familiar sound. A radio in the hospital was playing the title track to his 1985 album "Milk is For Babies (Real Men Drink Beer)". Inspired by his own voice, Tony grabbed a guitar and set out to entertain the world as he once did.
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