Myth of Rock Interview

GREG AMICI – TRAGEDY, COMEDY AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN

Greg Amici is no stranger to reinvention. After years away from the spotlight, the New Jersey singer/songwriter and former frontman of Big Honey has returned with “Tragicomic”, an eclectic debut solo album that stitches together absurdist rock, folk-punk, ska, Americana and classic rock into one colorful, unpredictable ride. Amici proves that his long hiatus hasn’t dulled his edge — if anything, it’s sharpened his perspective. In this candid conversation, Greg opens up about the making of “Tragicomic”, the lessons of past struggles, his views on today’s music industry, and why he still believes in the timeless power of a great song.

by Dimitris Zacharopoulos

Greg, your debut album, “Tragicomic”, is out now. Which are your feelings about that?

LOL, it’s been a long time coming. The recording sessions ended a while back, but I was so in love with the process and had so much material that I just wanted to keep recording. (We already have a second album waiting to go.) I wanted to keep recording, but Jim Mastro finally laid down the law and refused to record any more material until I put out the first album. Of course, he was right. And I’m glad I listened. Now, we can go back to recording.

Describe us the recording sessions and the production process of “Tragicomic”.

I had a small role in a film called Black Jack- The Jackie Ryan Story. I had some ideas for songs that I thought would be a good fit for the soundtrack — “Spin That Ball” and “Jennifer”, because one of the lead characters was named “Jennifer”. Ultimately, neither song was used, but the process of working with Jim and Ray was so magical that I put my acting and writing career on hold and gave my full attention to music. I’d say that I came in with older demos that Jim took to another level in making the record.

You reunited with producer James Mastro and engineer Ray Ketchem for this album. What do they bring out in your music?

Jim’s production ideas were genius. A good example is the one song on the album I didn’t write, “Jennifer”, by the late Bert Sommer. I came in with an acoustic version that was a bit different from the original. Jim took the sketch and orchestrated a masterpiece, in my opinion. In other cases, I had definite ideas about what I wanted, but when it came down to final decisions, if Jim and Ray thought one way and I didn’t, I deferred to them because I trust them. And that was definitely the right move, based on the result.

“Tragicomic” blends absurdist-rock, ska, folk-punk, Americana, and classic rock. How do you balance such diverse styles without losing cohesion?

I asked myself that question many times during the recording. I asked Ray, and he said that my vocal style alone was distinct enough to link things together. But I also wanted to unify the songs with musical motives, so, for example, you hear similar playful, carnivalesque keyboard riffs in the “comedies”, like “Cynthia, Come to Me” and “Tom Seaver”. But also, I really didn’t have a choice. I’d been out of music for a long time, and this album covers a lot of genres I’d invested in over the years. And it’s good for playing live, because if you go to a Bruce Springsteen or U2 concert, you’ll hear the entire catalogue and the stylistic variety within it, so you go on a rollercoaster ride if things are going right. Springsteen’s “Kitty’s Back” has little to do musically and lyrically with “Born in the USA”, but his fans want to hear both songs. His shows guide you through the different pathways of his long musical journey. The difference for me is that I now have to compress my long musical journey into one album.

The album title itself is intriguing — what does “Tragicomic” represent to you?

Well, I think most of the songs on the album are either humorous or dramatic. “No Fool”, “Cynthia” and “Tom Seaver” may not be “Ha-ha” funny, but they are on the lighter side of my sometimes dark sense of humor. “In Like a Lion” is about a serial killer, “I’ll Be Back” is inspired by The Odyssey, and sets up a probable slaughtering of Penelope’s suitors, and “Greenwood” is about a guy who died from a drug overdose. I think they’d qualify as either tragedies or tragedies to come.

Tragedy or comedy? What do you prefer and why?

First, I should mention that, with the caveat that I know how pretentious it sounds, but I loosely categorize songs the way the Elizabethans catalogued Shakespeare’s plays. I rank a song as a comedy if no one is killed, and a tragedy when someone dies, or is likely to die. Personally, I prefer dramedies, like “The Sopranos”. We’re rewatching it now, and I find myself laughing a lot more and a lot harder than I imagine I would at some network sitcom.

Which song on the record feels the most personal to you? And why?

I try to disassociate my lyrics from my real-life experience, though sometimes they hit closer to home. A real-life betrayal prompted me to write “I’ll Be Back”. Otherwise, sometimes there’s a kernel of my personal experience that inspires a song, but then I turn it into fiction. Other times, like in “Spin That Ball”, my personal experience has nothing to do with the story. I was inspired to write “No Fool” from a real-life incident, but I’d like to think I’m not a pathetic doofus like the song’s protagonist.

Who were your favorite bands or musicians while growing up?

The usual influential classic rock bands: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and, more directly, The Who and The Kinks. And Bowie, The Velvet Underground, Zappa.  Some acid rock: I loved Jefferson Airplane. Growing up, I also liked doo wop and Italo-American groups like Dion & The Belmonts and The Four Seasons. Some of the California Sound for the vocal harmonies – CSN&Y, The Eagles. My favorite and most influential band of the ’80s was XTC. They’re all in the mix.

Do you listen to new bands/musicians now? And why?

The last few years, I’ve really made a point of keeping up with best album lists of music from the 90s, when I really stopped listening to popular music for the most part, until today. I’m curious about some of the contemporary song structures, so I’ll do a fuller investigation of current rock/pop acts like Taylor Swift, but I listen mainly for current production techniques. Wet Leg is good, and Fiona Apple continues to amaze.

In the late ’90s you formed Big Honey, a band that had real momentum back then. What do you think stopped the band from going further? 

We didn’t tour. Back then, the idea was to tour the East Coast, sell your barcoded EPs or whatever, and demonstrate to record labels that you could make them money. Back then, I didn’t have the money to finance a tour, and the investors I had left me hanging when things got serious. Big Honey was NYC-based, and I’d invite label people to come see us play on weeknights. Some came and said nice things, but nobody signed us. I really believe that as of the early 90’s, you either had to have the incredible musical/technical genius of a monster/player/engineer/ producer or have the money to find someone who did. I had access to neither. In spite of that, I thought we were making headway when we performed at a big CMJ music festival, but within a week of that show, I had problems singing—that turned out to be on account of a polyp on my vocal cord. That put me out of commission for months before and after surgery, and by the time I was able to come back, Big Honey was no more.

Do you ever revisit songs from your Big Honey or Junk days, or is “Tragicomic” a clean slate?

Actually, the only new songs on the album are “Spin That Ball” and “In Like a Lion”. All of the other songs were written between 1995 and 2004 (except “Junky Eyes”, which was co-written in the 80s). Many of them were performed at Big Honey shows.

Your vocal polyp forced you into a long hiatus. Did that time away change the way you approach songwriting and performance now?

Well, the hiatus, outside of jumping onstage here and there, lasted for sixteen years. When I returned to it, I was financially comfortable, so I no longer had the anxiety associated with failure. I also lightened up and took chances I wouldn’t have taken in the past, like performing solo with my acoustic guitar. I always thought my music required harmonies and that I wasn’t a good enough guitar player with enough variety of technique to entertain people for an entire set. At this point in life, I’ve stopped caring. While I still much rather play with my full band, it’s actually been liberating to just put the weight on my shoulders, plug in, play, and hope the songs are interesting enough that people don’t get bored. Coincidentally, my guitar playing has improved.

Your lyrics often have unexpected twists. Do you write from instinct, or do you deliberately try to subvert expectations? 

I get fragments of an idea all the time. I’ll hear a chorus while I’m doing whatever, and speak it into my iPhone, as in years gone by I did with a cassette player.  Those occurrences offer me a jumpstart. The ideas that repeat themselves in my brain are the ones I then approach as a craft, and I sit down and try to make everything come together. That could be twenty years after the original idea. The chorus of “In Like a Lion” is an example of an idea that was rolling around in my head for years, but I didn’t sit down and write the song until right before we began recording “Tragicomic”.

You’ve been in the game long enough — do you think the music industry is more corrupt now or back in the ’90s?

I don’t think it’s more corrupt. When Tommy James was worried about getting his legs broken by the mobsters who backed his record label, or when Vanilla Ice was hung out of a hotel window by his feet by the head of the record company, that probably had something to do with corruption. Nowadays, it’s less corrupt because, unless you are a teenage pop sensation, you aren’t going to be on a major label. Napster brought down the house, and it will never be rebuilt. The shame of it is that now you have to be a self-promoting fool to make headway, because no one’s going to be your rabbi and make it rain just because they believe in your talent. And if your talent is real and you aren’t a show-off, you’re probably fucked as far as making a living goes. That’s not corruption, it’s just sad.

What advice would you give to a young musician, who makes his/her start now?

Boy, I hate to be cynical, but if you aren’t a musical dynamo that can write songs, play all the instruments yourself, and make a great album in your bedroom, you’d better have access to money. You might have to put together a business plan and convince some bored but very successful dentist to invest in you, preferably one who is a family member.

What’s the hardest truth you’ve ever had to face as a musician?

That my time has come and gone. I needed to be heard in the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s to really have a significant impact. I’m pretty confident that I would have had some hit singles. Now, I have to be content with having a nice following and maybe getting some songs into a film or TV show. And to tell you the truth, that really isn’t so bad.

What do you want your music to leave behind, when people listen to it years from now?

It gives you a shot at immortality on earth, I guess, no matter how minor. I always said that if a stripper danced to one of my songs as she writhed around a pole, I could declare myself a success. The recordings will always be there. It would be nice if someone riding a space mobile heard one of my songs via soundwave by accident because of atmospheric pressure or transmission issues and said, “That was a good song”.

What’s next for you after “Tragicomic” — are you already writing the follow-up, or are you focused on taking this album to as many stages as possible?

I’ll stick with “Tragicomic” for a few months to play it live and try to build an audience for it, but I’m also anxious to release my next album. It just needs mastering, really. I think “Tragicomic” is great, but “Songs for the Lads to Sing” is even better. The longer I work with Jim and Ray, the better the result.

What do you think about the use of A.I. in music?

I don’t know. I’ve used a thesaurus to help with lyric-writing, so as an aide, maybe people will use it to build their vocabulary and write better metaphors. I almost like the idea that people will have to appreciate the song itself for it to be a hit, and it won’t matter what cooking recipes the artist has offered up on Instagram to get people to listen.

Send your message to our readers, please.

“Hey folks, it’s your old pal Greg Amici hoping you’re in good health and fine fettle and so forth. Try to learn, love, and enjoy each day of your life, because we, most of us, are not even specks on the timeline of history. Also, please listen to my music and come see me perform. I wish to entertain you”.

Link to feature: https://mythofrock.gr/greg-amici-tragedy-comedy-and-everything-in-between/