Biography

Contact Information:
MANAGEMENT
Peter Carson Productions
Peter Carson - (314) 409-2274
peter@petercarsonproductions.com
mgmt@anthonygomes.com

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ANTHONY GOMES

PEACE, LOVE AND LOUD GUITARS

Paramount after 100 plus years of blues music is the indefinable spirit of deep expression beyond words and notes. Anthony Gomes, the Canadian blues guitar hero and scholar with impeccable taste, personifies that spirit. The glorious result is stunningly emotional, timeless music, including the 12 original compositions on his 13th album. Band mates Mike Brignardello (bass), Greg Morrow (drums, percussion), David Smith (keyboards) and Chris Leuzinger (acoustic guitar) kick hard while never leaving the pocket.

Anthony Gomes has nothing left to prove while leaving all his passion on the table. Nonetheless, he continues striving to not only find the legendary “lost chord,” but the ultimate combinations of words, notes and performance. We are fortunate to accompany him on his journey.

Dave Rubin (Introduction and Track Commentaries)


Cast of Characters:

Anthony Gomes - Guitar and Vocals
Mike Brignardello - Bass
Greg Morrow - Drums, Percussion
David Smith - Keyboards
Chris Leuzinger - Acoustic Guitar
Angie Primm - Background Vocals
Gale Stuart - Background Vocals
Devonne Fowlkes - Background Vocals
Anthony Gomes - Background Vocals

Gang Vocals: Albert Castiglia, Antry, Lisa Antry, Amanda Fish, Alex Smith, Dupree, Rick Booth, Cameron Farquhar, Paul and Jean Benjamin, Chef Jimi, Leslie Joseph, Cleve Baker, Larry Wortman, Lothar and Donna Damsch, Kat Goodenow, Richanne Hosford, Maja Bartczak, Angela Ghoreishi, Natalie Gabel, Hugh Taylor, Barb Hensiek, Lexi Miles, Adam Hill, Jason McCarley, Gary Nuetzel, Brigid and David Martin, Steve and Charlene Fletcher

Produced by: Peter Carson and Anthony Gomes
Mixed by: Kyle Lehning and Peter Carson
Mastered by: Ted Jensen, Sterling Sound
Engineered by: Peter Carson, Justin Francis, Roger Alan Nichols, Kerry Kernan

Art Direction, Design and Photography: Stephen Jensen, F3 Studios

Recorded at: Up 2 Zero Studios (St. Louis), Sound Stage Studios (Nashville), Bell Tone Recording (Nashville), Made in Memphis (Memphis)

1. Come Down - (4:35)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Gomes bares heart and soul on “Come Down,” a modern work song with the startling plea “Come down from heaven B.B. King, cause this kingdom has no king.” The lamenting chorus of Angie Primm, Gale Stuart, Devonne Fowlkes and Gomes contrasts with twisting guitar solos of compressed yearning.



2. White Trash Princess - (4:17)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

The chugging stop-time bruiser “White Trash Princess” describes a pas de deux involving “redneck royalty”…“a white trash princess” from “Texarkana” who “keeps a loaded gun, right next to her bible,” for a memorable aural portrait of a femme fatale.



3. Blues In The First Degree - (3:45)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Gomes always crafts memorable content, with the grinding slow drag “Blues in the First Degree” a prime example. Over industrial strength crunch guitars he modulates his voice from accusingly corrosive to purringly sweet while a soaring guitar solo with cascading finger tapping nails the indictment.



4. Nasty Good - (3:42)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

It would not be blues without primal urges. “Nasty Good” flaunts throbbing riffs and a hot “call and response” guitar solo inflaming the unabashed carnality of “Do it all night, wake up the neighborhood, you’re so bad, it’s nasty good.”



5. The Whiskey Made Me Do It - (3:02)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Likewise, demon rum appears in the swaggering boogie shuffle “The Whiskey Made Me Do It.” Gomes defends chasing his girlfriend’s sister due to “drinking triples and seeing double, acting single, now I’m in trouble,” leading to “We woke up naked on the hood of a car, the police said, ‘son, you took it too far’,” while flashing slashing slide guitar chops.



6. You Are Amazing - (5:43)
Songwriters: Anthony Gomes and Mark Selby
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Stifling wanton desire for “pure” love on “You Are Amazing,” co-written by Mark Selby, Gomes waxes tender on a classic R&B ballad that should become a standard. A master of playing for the song, he spins violin-like sustain for a sweet, wordless coda.



7. Peace, Love and Loud Guitars - (3:50)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

The anthemic blues-rock of the hopeful title track could be a new motto for the post-Woodstock generation, replacing the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” hedonism of yore.



8. Stealin' From The Devil - (4:18)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Acknowledging the past, Gomes pays tribute to Robert Johnson while creating his own crossroads legend on “Stealing from the Devil.” Building tension with a dramatic, descending chord progression, he delivers the knockout blow with “Hey devil, kiss my ****!”



9. Your Mama Wants To Do Me - (3:18)
(And Your Daddy Wants To Do Me In)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

On the ramblin’ bluesman’s lot of “Your Mama Wants to Do Me (And Your Daddy Wants to Do Me In),” Gomes relates a cautionary tale regarding indiscreet advances over a strutting riff-rocker featuring fleet, scalding solos.



10. The Only Woman I've Ever Loved - (4:21)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Lost love is given an especially poignant look on “Only Woman I’ve Ever Loved.” The thunderous slow boogie shuffle finds Gomes bemoaning “The only woman I ever loved, I let walk away a long time ago”…“cause if you do, the blues is all you’ll ever know.”



11. Hard Road Easy - (4:08)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP)

Menacing, descending riffs provide the propulsion for “Hard Road Easy,” Gomes defiantly exclaiming “Run that hard road, easy, can’t stop me if you try. Run that hard road, easy, gonna ride till the day I die,” his guitar wailing like a siren.



12. Take Me Back Home - (5:36)

Songwriters: Anthony Gomes and Jim Peterik
Publishing & PRO: Anthony Gomes Music (ASCAP), Jim Peterik (ASCAP)

Almost in counterpoint, the gospelly “Take Me Back Home,” co-written by Jim Peterik, is a petition for redemption and salvation with Gomes beseeching “Take me back home, shine a light on my journey. Together, forever, I’m lost till you take me…,” his guitar crying out in sympathy.

ANTHONY GOMES BIOGRAPHY

Anthony Gomes has been creating virtuosic, burning blues since his recorded debut in 1998. 13 releases and numerous awards and ecstatic accolades later, the aptly named, “Peace, Love & Loud Guitars,” crackles with bare wires passion.

Paramount after 100 plus years of blues music is the indefinable spirit of deep expression beyond words and notes. The Canadian blues guitar hero and scholar with impeccable taste, personifies that spirit. He sings and
plays with an integrity and deeply felt emotion oblivious to fortune or fashion. The glorious result is stunningly emotional, timeless music.

Gomes’ instinctive mastery of his craft is matched by his knowledge of and dedication to blues history. An award winning blues history scholar, he earned University of Toronto’s C.P. Stacey Prize for the highest overall academic grade point average by a history student. Completing his master’s degree thesis on the racial and cultural evolution of blues music, Gomes graduated with high distinction from Canada’s top university.

Believing that music can inspire the human spirit, Anthony founded the Music Is the Medicine Foundation in 2010. This non-profit organization is dedicated to changing the lives of others through the healing power of music. Through private donations and winning sizable grants from State Farm Insurance and CVS Pharmacy, the foundation has funded songwriting scholarships, offered music education programs, and donated musical instruments to those in
need.

Born in Toronto, Canada to a Portuguese father and a
French-Canadian mother, Gomes began playing guitar in his early teens and was drawn to the blues sounds of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. He relocated to Chicago in the late '90s to learn from the blues masters. During his brief stint as a sideman for Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Gomes put together his
own group and won the first annual Buddy Guy’s Legends “Best Unsigned Blues Band” competition in 1998. Later that year, Gomes released his debut CD, “Blues in Technicolor,” which introduced him as a guitar-slinger loaded with impressive firepower.

On 2002's “Unity”, he accomplished the album's title with a heavy mix of styles leading Bandit Blues Radio to name it one of the “Top 30 Essential Blues Albums” of all time. Gomes was elevated to the top of the blues field just one year later when BluesWax Magazine named him “Artist of the Year,” a nomination he would claim for several years in a row due to his endless commitment and touring.

“Music Is the Medicine” (2006) peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart, only to be outdone by LIVE (2008) debuting at number one. The accolades continued, with “Up 2 Zero” (2012), “...Before The Beginning” (2013) and Electric Field Holler (2015) all claiming real estate on Billboard’s Top 10 Album chart and
critics ‘best of’ lists.

Fresh from his victory at the European Blues Awards for “Best Musician/Live Performance” comes Anthony’s latest “Peace, Love & Loud Guitars”. He bares heart and soul on “Come Down,” a modern work song with the startling plea “Come down from heaven B.B. King, cause this kingdom has no king.” “White Trash Princess” describes a princess from “Texarkana” who “keeps a loaded gun, right next to her bible,” for a memorable aural portrait of a femme fatale. Gomes always crafts memorable content, with the grinding
slow drag “Blues in the First Degree” a prime example. Over industrial strength crunch guitars he modulates his voice from accusingly corrosive to purringly sweet while a soaring guitar solo with cascading finger tapping nails the indictment.

Gomes waxes tender on “You Are Amazing”, a classic R&B ballad that should become a standard. The anthemic blues-rock of the hopeful title track could be a new motto for the post-Woodstock generation, replacing the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” hedonism of yore. Acknowledging the past, Gomes pays tribute to Robert Johnson while creating his own crossroads legend on “Stealin’ from the Devil.”

Anthony Gomes has nothing left to prove while leaving all his passion on the table. Nonetheless, he continues striving to not only find the legendary “lost chord,” but the ultimate combinations of words, notes and performance. We are fortunate to accompany him on his journey.