Ten years since their last record, Frank & Tony return with 'Ethos.' We put them to task on our Q&A.
Frank: One of a couple of reasons to get out of bed.
Tony: When I was 18, it seemed like the funnest thing to do, and now I'm 40, and I'm still doing it.
Frank: Reading.
Tony: Graphic design and art direction (which I do full-time these days).
Frank: Never take a crosstown bus.
Tony: Don’t take shortcuts in life.
Frank: Animals.
Tony: My wife and daughter, photography, spending time in the ocean, and food.
Frank + Tony: The end of colonialism.
Frank: Likely our residency at Public Records + Subterrain at the End with Mr C / Eddie Richards / Layo and Bushwacka in 2002.
Tony: Currently our residency at Public Records, NYC, and if not, of course, my early days as a clubber getting lost on dancefloors nights in a row in Paris.
Frank: In the '90s, I drove a truck for a mail sorting company in Vegas in the summer with no air conditioning in the car. I might as well have been a courier for the devil.
Tony: The first few months of opening up my coffee shop. I was clueless, worked overtime, and was working three jobs at once. I went completely broke and had to return and live at my mother’s house.
F&T: Not sure it ever is. You just have to decide to let it go.
Frank: I still work a day job running my business in NY, Public Records. Music is only possible now in small windows of free time.
Tony: Currently, I still have a day job. Music is my side gig, and in all honesty, I like this balance as all my activities feed into each other.
Frank: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds ‘Higgs Boson Blues.’
Tony: Sade ‘Smooth Operator.’
Frank: Burn Rick Rubin’s book.
Tony: I would love to know that. I have been trying to solve that mystery for over 20 years.
[quote align=right text="Give us a music production tip. Compression won't make it better."]
Frank: My first hardcore record in my band, The Jimmy Carter Solution.
Tony: My early releases as Anthony Collins are really amateur. It took me nearly 10 years to start being satisfied with the music I was putting out.
Frank: The Proposition.
Tony: Yannick.
Frank: Jane: A Murder by Maggie Nelson.
Tony: Barbarian Days by William Finnegan.
Frank and Tony: A working turntable.
Frank: My dogs and long-distance running.
Tony: Spending time with my daughter and wife. Physical activities - surfing, boxing, running.
Frank: Rare books I can’t afford, and Nick Cave’s life.
Tony: Waves that I can’t surf because I need to work.
[quote align=right text="Worst gig? Every gig where there’s that guy who says, 'You got anything harder?'."]
Frank: More time spent with my parents before they passed away.
Tony: Spending too much time partying hard in my youth and a few precious years flying by….
Frank and Tony: The end of late-stage capitalism.
Frank and Tony: Every gig where there’s that guy who says, “You got anything harder?”
Frank and Tony: It's a rich creative pain in the ass.
Frank: I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If we’re talking about dance music, for me, no matter the genre, it's about locking into a groove. It's like catching a wave.
Tony: Creating an atmosphere with a unique selection and tight blending.
Frank: The Creator Has A Master Plan by Pharaoh Sanders.
Frank: I play with my dogs and go for long walks with them.
Tony: Beach time.
Frank: Studer 962 Console. It’s honed in on the sound I’ve always looked for in a mixing console/ summing mixer.
Tony: Everything is replaceable. I’m not too attached to a certain piece or kit.
Frank: Depends on who’s asking.
Tony: By conviction art, by necessity art and money.
Frank and Tony: Agnostic
Frank: On a couch while living above Shakespeare Co in Paris.
Tony: I just moved into a flat in NY and had no furniture for weeks. So I wrote an album on the kitchen floor.
Frank: Human Head.
Tony: A-1 NYC.
Frank: Trickle down economics and Taylor Swift’s royalty checks.
Tony: Self-promotion overtaking the actual quality of music.
Frank: Shelter Press. I suppose because I own all the releases.
Tony: It's hard to pinpoint one, but off the top of my head, Music from Memory and Mr Bongo always deliver quality in a wide range of styles.
Frank: Self-loathing.
Tony: If it's made without a purpose, then none really.
Frank: I knew I should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque.
Tony: Magic and beauty are found in silence, cracks, and imperfections.
Frank: Space.
Tony: Love.
Frank: Compression won’t make it better.
Tony: Never rush to release music. Let your work breathe for days or weeks, and go back and listen. If you still like it, then it might be worth finishing.
F and T: Wow, they played their entire set in halftime.
Frank: Not anymore.
Tony: No, but it can definitely entertain you in the best way possible.
Frank: Good friends call me E by Eliana Glass (which is forthcoming on Shelter Press).
Tony: Racional (Vol 3) by Tim Maia.
Frank: Pet a cow.
Tony: Travel, experience different cultures, build a family, try to catch a wave…
Ethos by Frank & Tony is out now. Listen on Spotify.
Find Frank & Tony on Instagram.
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