Anthony Sica

Singer-Songwriter Anthony Sica, has spent the last two decades in a perpetual state of restlessness…unease…anxiety. And this has served him well, because in that time he has penned over 50 original songs. Many have been tossed aside or wasted on various projects and/or bands that dabbled in everything from acid-prog to country-pop to thrash metal. But out of those 50 or more tunes, Anthony has slowly mined some shiny gems over the last ten years, bringing back an arsenal of cosmic American pop-blues which served him well as an aspiring singer-songwriter in his hometown of NYC. Just three years ago, playing at The Bitter End (sometimes alongside a then unknown Lady Gaga) and CBGB’s (before its closing), Anthony discovered something important about his songwriting…that instead of finding his niche, he truly needed to create it. In the many years spent between Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Orlando, Daytona Beach and Miami, comparisons were always thrown out at every CD release and live gig…”he sounds like Harrison”…”he writes like Dylan”…”kinda NY folk-punk.” All these labels were well-warranted and not at all contrary to Sica’s vision. However, while riding the subways through the infamous Greenwich Village, he realized that he needed his own identity, and while he was not about to abandon his influences, he was not going to be bound by them anymore. Moving back to Florida, Sica also realized that his state of mind had little to do with the state he was actually in. Since this relocation, his life has been in chaos…death, birth and emotional breakdowns have all been recurring themes over the last two years, coming to a tumultuous climax at the end of 2009. But as he rolled into 2010, the poet priest began to exorcise his own demons. Locking himself away during the week, while performing with his cover band The Inner Void virtually every weekend, Anthony began writing, recording and producing the 13 tracks which now make-up “Thieves, Highwaymen & Gypsies.” The collection starts out with a thirty second pre-WWII type blues ditty called “Hypocrite Blues” which sets the cynical tone of the record. From there, Anthony takes you on a cinematic aural adventure with “Hey Mister” and then throws you back in time with the Robert Johnson/Blind Willie McTell inspired “The Devil.” After that it’s a no-holds barred, sonic free-for-all. From the techno tinged strains of “You & I” to the punk and modern riffing in “You’re In Denial” and “My World” to the twangy blues of the title track, Anthony’s showing you the movie reel playing in his tortured mind, and the songs are scenes that are quite different but still tell the same story…one of temptation, loss, love, life, death and desire…themes that Anthony brought out in his last two albums “Elevator Gypsy” and “Fool For The Pain.” “Thieves” shows more musical maturity, than Sica’s last releases, in that he has some well-needed comedy mixed in with the tragedy this time. “Scary Girl” is a rave-up on female stereotypes, or at least ones that he fantasizes about, while the album’s closer, “Dead Leaf Blues” is based on him raking leaves albeit with a ribald motif running through it. “Smile” which is loosely inspired by Lennon’s “Day In A Life” was written for his son Dylan, and was used as a bedtime lullaby before making its way onto “Thieves.” And this time around, Anthony acheived the artistic freedom he truly lacked in the past by playing all the instruments himself and self-recording and producing. And listening to the playbacks, all you hear is Anthony. And although there’s a lot of blood on these tracks…and tears…there’s plenty of love and joy too. For two decades, Anthony has been writing, recording and performing music. He’s shared stages and bills with bands as diverse as Nickelback, Sevendust, Badfinger, Ritchie Havens, Buckcherry, Molly Hatchet and Sonic Youth. He’s performed over 500 shows…from coffee shops to outdoor amphitheatres. But all of those songs and experiences don’t matter anymore in his grand musical scheme of things. Because it’s 2010, and both the man and the Singer-Songwriter have been reborn…an outlaw poet…truly an artist bent on serving the songs he writes, while exorcising the aural demons that possess him. Metaphorical yet confessional Dylanesque songs about angels, devils, rogue priests and priestesses, aliens, tarot readers, gypsies, carnivals, cowboy angels, gunfighters, witches, sorcerers, harlots, mavericks and outlaw poets like himself. Bittersweet Beatlesque melodies, lush vocals, gothic imagery, heartbreaking hooks, righteous rock riffs and haunting hymns are all part of Anthony's sonic sermon...part Cosmic American, part British Invasion, preached nightly from the corner of Positively 4th Street, while hanging out with Thieves, Highwaymen and Gypsies, all looking to break your heart, infiltrate your mind…and steal your soul.
You Better Beware!