After toiling in a number of bands between Tulsa and Norman, OK early in his musical career, Tony Romanello crept onto the indie scene by working with members of Oklahoma alt icons Chainsaw Kittens and Flaming Lips. He dropped three solo CD's: Lo-Fi Dreams in Stereo: Vol. I (2000), The MumbleOdd (2000), and Counting Stars (2003) to consistent rave reviews throughout CMJ Radio (Counting Stars - no. 65 Spring '03) and international press (CMJ, Uncut, Pop Culture Press). Counting Stars even boasted the drumming of Lips' maestro Steven Drozd as well as a full horn and string ensemble. The comparisons in the media have ranged from the abstract (Jeff Buckley, Jeremy Enigk, Catherine Wheel) to the concrete (Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Queens of the Stoneage).
Diverging for a few years in order to hit the regional alternative rock circuit, Romanello formed TRB as a tangible rock and roll unit and released the Where Are You Tonight? EP (2003), and TRB s/t (2004). The TRB releases garnered the band a taste of major commercial radio success ("Where Are You Tonight?" and "Better Days" added to KMYZ summer 2003 & Fall 2004) and attracted a significant amount of industry attention. The hometown fans responded by voting him and the band multiple awards over this span, including Artist of the Year in 2002.
In 2005, Romanello left TRB, relocated to Texas and returned to his solo work. He released the Rock 'n Roll Fairytales EP in summer of 2006 featuring Mike Friedemann's bombastic drums, and Romanello's craftwork on everything else - ranging from the usual smooth vocal and crunchy guitar duties to whirling keyboards, fuzzed out bass, and retro keys.
January 2007 saw the release of Romanello's eighth album, the much anticipated Lo-Fi Dreams in Stereo: Vol. 2. Recorded off and on, in one way or another between 2001 and 2006, Lo-Fi Dreams in Stereo: Vol. 2 presents 11 songs – offering an eclectic mix of musical selections with genre descriptions ranging from acoustic singer/songwriter, to alternative rock, to alt-country, and back again. The album runs a spectrum from lo-fi anthems to hi-fi rockers.
ironical...i was just thinking about you today. was updating the itunes library and had to download cover art for my TRB songs...it's such a trip to go onto the itunes music store and see tony romanello who i used to play in a pop bottle band with. i'm still waiting to hear from MTV unplugged about the all-bottle unplugged version of wild thing...if we could ever get through the chorus without cracking up. -j
if your music sucked, it might have given us something to talk about sometime over the holidays. as it is, it's pretty damn good, so there ya go. now you have to think of something to talk about.
Really nice to hear from you Tony! I hope all is well! I've been having fun with the new music, I'm working on a "family album" now. I plan on doing some rock stuff soon again as well. But anyway your songs sound great as usual, let me know when ever your playing a show in these parts.
