Music
Press
"If you’ve made it the past six years without hearing Tone & Niche count yourself a rare find—and dreadfully unlucky. They’re really good. Matching raucous violin with melodies last found in Rolling Thunder Revue-era material. Their chemistry has nursed three studio albums (a self titled disc, On the Streets Of, and Rust), a collection of singles—including a reworking EP of the “House of the Rising Sun”—and now a live double album!
On record and on stage the true dynamic lies in the respective Tone & Niche. Tone, guitar and singing, and Niche with violin playing that could both quell or incite riot." - Adam Leroy
Every bit Do It Yourself troubadours, this guitar-and-violin duo take chops (thankfully) as seriously as they do performance and are anti-scenesters in the very best sense. They're a guy/girl ensemble who whip out everything from slick originals to classic covers. The whole "local singer-songwriter" ethos has some new life courtesy of these musically endowed love birds. - Eve Doster
Tone and Niche brew a refined, light-jangled, warm toned folk with those pensive-setting-sun piano accompaniments and shimmering, beautiful violin/viola swinging saws that lull your heart into a teary-eyed smile, while steady strummed acoustics and driving rhythms carry foggy, world weary lyrics; the perfect soundtrack to the inevitable warming of the winds as winter turns to spring.
In 2007 they recorded their masterwork, "Rust," a strong front-to-back rhythm-rocking indie-folk tour de force; pop melodies, rolling rhythms and the beautiful brooding wail of Niche's strings under Tone's warm, pleasant ringing vocals. Truly a gem in the rough and rocky milieu of an already healthily crowded Detroit scene, bringing a rock sensibility to country twang and spilling earnest, heartfelt singer/songwriter meditations grounded in a personable wisdom, in earthy tones feeling so attuned to the setting sun over the wheat fields on an immaculate summer's day. Think Revolver-era Beatles, Andrew Bird's string-laden neo-folk-pop and the heartache-poetics of Elliott Smith. - Jeff Milo, Real Detroit Weekly
Discography
*Tone & Niche Full-Length CD - 2003
*Anthony Retka Solo acoustic disc - 2003
*On The Streets Of Full-Length CD - 2004
*Song One EP - 2005
*From Your Hands Single - 2006
*Rust Full-Length CD - 2007
*Lemonade EP - 2007
*The House Of The Rising Sun EP - 2008
*Tone & Niche LIVE Double CD - 2009
*Singles CD - 2009
Photos
Bio
Tone and Niche, an original pop/rock band based out of Detroit, MI. consists of singer/songwriter Anthony Retka, violinist Nicole Varga, bass guitarist Nick White, bass guitarist and keyboardist James Sterling Lees and drummer Roger Dutcher. Tone and Niche’s eclectic mix of violin-led pop/rock and singer/songwriter styles stem from influences of performers such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Andrew Bird, Elliott Smith and more. Tone and Niche frequently perform in cities such as Nashville, Chicago, Cleveland, and have become a driving force in the Detroit music scene. The band has shared the bill with several national recording artists including: Martha Wainwright, Mike Errico, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. Over the last five years Tone and Niche have released three albums, a single and two EP's. These recordings emit a mysterious brilliance of creative song structure, lyrical depth and polished performance.
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