Music
Press
Mike Anton, a former Wayne State University student, is headlining the show, with Dan McKernen opening and Dan Minard featured. Anton, an acoustic guitar player, describes his music as "cynical comentary," but said it is often described as folk music.
"I have always called it Urban Folk Blues," Anton said. "The sound I try to achieve is similar to Bob Dylan in '66, but only that year. At that time, he was doing something no one had ever done before."
Brian Holvey, majority shareholder and founder of The Raft, describes Anton as a great performer. He said Anton puts all of himself into his shows, always giving 110 percent. - The South End
When the effusive and articulate acoustic-guitar-and-harmonica man isn't wielding wrenches, he's trying to sling his one-man show called Manton - part man, part Anton - around town. His Manton Shtick, as he likes to call it, is a literate and gutteral song collective that's rich with lyrical discourse, with social and pop culture protest. His sharp, sometimes bombastic (see: ironic) songs can simultaneously engage and rile the listener. And that's no mean feat considering that Manton's aggressive, in-your-face style is an anomaly in the traditionally passive milieu of the coffee shop singer/songwriter. - Metrotimes Detroit
Discography
The Detroit Auto Show (1999), CD, 14 tracks
Airplay from 1991 from these remastered songs in E. Lansing, MI on 88.9 FM The Impact, also in Waterville, Maine.
The Detroit Auto Show Revisited (2002), CD, 14 tracks.
Airplay on WDET FM for at least two tracks.
Songs From The Parking Lot (2002), CD, 13 tracks
Standing In The Shadows Of Poseurs (2003), CD, 12 songs.
Airplay on WDET FM in Detroit for at least three songs.
GIMME ALL YOUR MONEY!! AAHH!!! (The Manton Schtick) (2003) CD, 12 songs
Music For Your Hair (first Mantons release)-- The EP (2005) CD, 5 Tracks
Airplay for at least one song.
Squeeze The Fish (The Mantons first record) -
12-song Record due for official release in 2009!
Streaming five songs on http://www.myspace.com/mantons
Photos
Bio
You know right away who's singing when Mike Anton starts his tenor rasp. There is no doubt that this is the inimitable "Manton", as he's called locally. Nobody hangs a harmonica riff like Mike. His songs demand to be heard; he weaves his songs into a lush tapestry, carefully teetering on the colorful harmonica. Mike Anton has been doing this a while, and he keeps improving with no signs that he's said all he's got to say. This band is here to fill out the sound for Mike Anton. They play regularly in their local market of Detroit, Michigan, but the music - the Sound - is much larger. Detroit has a long history in the annals of Music. One thing that stands out is how many huge artists CAME from this area, but actually made it somewhere else. Why that is, who knows. Either way, Mike Anton is a real trooper, "Forging On, doing The Thing That Must Be Done", as he calls it. Mike seems to be on a crusade of sorts, insisting on making his artistic statement his way, much in the same way that Tom Waits has continued to go down his unique path. For Mike, it's always been about the song -- Good songs are all he knows how to play.
His bandmates, Dave Martin (Bass), Stephe Brown (new bass player) and Mike Welby (drums) have enlisted themselves on this crusade. When they play a show, you can be guaranteed to get a whole lot more than you bargained for. There's Pop, Soul, Funk, Blues, and Rock all wrapped up in a battery of tunage that will leave you pleasantly enlightened. True, Honest, artistic music has that power, and this music, whether played by Mike solo or with the band, will never fail to deliver on that promise. This is by no means neither bubble-gum stuff nor overproduced baroque orchestrations laden with mystery. The message is clear and positive, and will make the listener think. It's truly a beautiful thing, and should be heard by as many people as possible.
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