Written by Erica Batchelor
With the release of his third solo album, Young Legs, on the horizon, Anthony Green’s career is far from slowing down. Balancing a life on the road is a difficult task, but Green certainly has the best of both worlds with his supportive family along for the ride.
I’ve been an avid follower of Anthony Green over the years and he never ceases to amaze me. With each new album comes a new outlook on life, love and family. His ever evolving career always boils down to his intense passion for music. With such an array of records, Green has something to share with everyone – an eclectic mix of progressive rock, alternative, and acoustic sounds.
The same stunning vocals that peaked my interest all those years ago are still in effect. Young Legs is an ideal transition from Beautiful Things and continues to prove Anthony Green’s talent as a vocalist and well-rounded musician for years to come.
It was a privilege being able to interview an artist I’ve admired for ten years. A genuine character; Anthony Green discusses Young Legs, the power of music, and shares a preview of what’s in store for the future. Check out my interview below.
Pop-Break: Where are you calling from today?
Anthony Green: Right now, I am in Minnesota. We are playing the Triple Rock Social Club tonight. It’s so fucking cold I can’t stand it. I’m more of a summer dude. I like warm weather. I like being in bathing suits and not having to bundle up, but you make the best of it.
PB: I’ve been following your tour updates across social media and it looks like you’e having a blast. How has it been touring with the whole family?
AG: It’s been awesome so far. I think it’s a little tough for the boys because they don’t have a lot of space and they’re thrown into a pretty chaotic lifestyle, but they’re handling it pretty well right now.
PB: Young Legs was released on your own label Moshtradamus and produced by Will Yip (Man Overboard, Title Fight). How was the recording process for Young Legs different from Avalon and Beautiful Things?
AG: It was the first time we did a record in a studio and it was our first time we had a producer. It was by far probably the most we ever worked on a record. Most of the other records we did we were sort of in our own little spot in Avalon, NJ and we just played around with sounds. This is the first time I went into a studio. I had Good Old War for a legit amount of time so that was good. There were songs we went in with that I had pretty much written and then there were new songs that were written on the spot. I would say that’s the biggest difference. Having Will Yip working on the record really made it a different vibe. He really pushed me and challenged me to bring songs to a point where they were just undoubtably huge. There wasn’t one song on the record we didn’t push to see if we could add more stuff to it or make it bigger. We took the time to make it something bigger than it was.
PB: I had a chance to listen to the album and it does have a different feel to it with a focus on piano. What inspired this change of sound?
AG: I love the piano and I’ve always loved the way it sounds. I was on tour for Beautiful Things with The Dear Hunter in Buffalo, NY and we were playing at this club and there was an upright piano backstage. Casey [Crescenzo] was playing it and I was just singing along and making up stuff as he jammed on the piano. That’s when I realized like dude, I really want to add the element of piano into the songs. We got into the studio and Keith Goodwin from Good Old War sat down at this baby grand piano and we broke all the songs down into vocals and piano.
PB: Since the album is available to stream before it drops today [Tuesday November 12, 2013], how has the response from the audience been?
AG: So far, from everybody that I know; I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from it. Keep in mind, I’m not going out and searching online looking for reviews. I’m not searching out what people think of the record. So far from the tour and just from the people that I know, everybody loves it as much as i do.
PB: The content of the songs is much deeper and directed towards certain people in your life and you’ve always been very open with your fans. Do you think of writing as sort of a therapy session?
AG: Yes, I do. It’s always been like that for me. Music is super powerful. Whether I’m writing music or listening to music, I’ve always used it as a way to help get through difficult times or how to celebrate good times. It’s just one of those things that is bigger than us on this earth; on this planet. Music is bigger than us. When I’m playing a song I really love or listening to a song I really love, I can’t even describe the type of feeling that I have. It’s overwhelming and incredible and I just love it so much.
PB: Do you approach writing differently between Circa and your solo projects?
AG: Not really, I mean I’m always writing. Sometimes stuff gets picked up and used for Circa and sometimes it doesn’t.
PB: It must be harder to do this with a group of guys as opposed to yourself.
AG: It’s a little bit easier when I’m just writing for myself and I don’t have to worry about representing anyone else. With Circa I want to make sure that everybody in the band feels like they’re in the song and that the song represents them. With this, I don’t have to worry about that at all. I can write what I want and not have to worry about it representing anyone else.
PB: You recently revealed you were working on a Christmas album for kids. Can you share any updates on the status of that?
AG: I don’t think it’s going to be out on Christmas. It’s taking a lot longer than I thought it was going to. I’m hoping that I’m going to have it out early next year at some point. I’ll definitely have something out for Christmas whether it’s a few songs or a couple kids songs. The children’s album is just something I’ve been writing for the last three years since I’ve had kids. The songs that I write with them when I’m just taking care of them. We’ll write a song when we’re playing in the backyard. We’ll sing songs while we’re making breakfast. I just started remembering all of them. Everyday at breakfast I’d sing them a song and I thought maybe I’ll record these songs and put them out. That would be something cool.
PB: I’m really looking forward to hearing that.
AG: I can’t wait! I started putting the album together before I left and I thought I was just going to go in and do a couple songs before we left for tour and have it done, but it’s definitely taking more time than I thought it was going to. I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s going to be one of those things that’s not just for kids. People who have children want to get a kids record and be able to listen to it and have the feel of a regular album.
PB: Music is obviously a huge part of your life and with such a supportive family you’re truly able to have your cake and eat it too. What else can you tell us about the future of Anthony Green?
AG: A lot of it is sort of just figuring it out on its’ own. After this tour, I’m going to do a Circa record. Hopefully, I’ll do a new Circa record next year and we’ll do stuff from Juturna because Juturna is going to be ten years old. Hopefully we’ll be able to go on tour and do some cool things with that. Just a lot of really great things coming next year, I don’t want to spoil it.
Awesome interview! Pretty cool stuff