User profile: Tony Amaro
Details:
Tony Amaro, a veteran to the Chicago music scene, is a seasoned player. From the southwest suburbs, he was hand-picked to be Gregg Potter's drum tech. Gregg had just joined Steve Dahl and Teenage Radiation. And in the wake of Disco Demolition, Tony became the bands road manager.
Some of Tony's prior bands include Myth (from Indiana), d'Rangers, Bonk Nobles and the Code, all of which received critical acclaim in Chicagoland. In Bonk Nobles, as Tony recalls, he had one evening to rehearse with the band before their first gig at Excalibur's Dome room. After that show, BN frontman, Chris Bonk nicknamed Tony the "Southside Hitman", because the beats were "direct and on target". Shortly afterwards, the band recorded their self-titled CD which was produced by radio producer and Island recording artist Bill Latour.
Tony has also done a considerable amount of studio work all the way from Galveston, Texas to Chicago. Tony has been compared to Phil Levitt of dada and Dave Grohl of Nirvana. He admits though, his biggest influence was John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. By working tightly with bassist Paul Brzeszkiewicz, he had established himself as part of one of the tightest rhythm sections in the Chicago area. With Paul, they started the cover-original band the Code, which later became Dogs in the Tub. With the extra time they had, they started the cover band f.o.b. (friends of bob), with Mark Hoffman up front, and lead guitarist Dean Schuldt. And speaking of Bob...Tony has spent much quality time with his musical brother, Bob Left in the band HITBYABUS. The pair have recorded professionally as Vito and Guido, the Linguini Brothers on the CD "Come On In!" by Mike Filipek.
Recently Tony played the 'burbs with American Rock Club featuring Tom Wenzel of the Crabs and Kevin McCarthy. Tony added heat to the 2008 shows with regional southern rock favorites the Almost Brothers Band.
Tony makes friends fast and can pick a beat quickly. He is never at a loss for a fill. And with the change of the new year, plans for the new band are emerging...Stay tuned!