Music Interview: Anthony Denny on his musical journey & debut single "Mema"

Great to have you on Xttrawave. Please, introduce yourself?

I am Anthony Denny from San Bruno, California and I am a singer/songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and producer.

What got you into music and made you realize that it was your chosen path?

Well for me music had saved my life and mean that. Before getting into music I was at a very low part in my life where I developed depression and anxiety from being bullied throughout my childhood and was diagnosed with tics disorder I constantly asked myself what’s the point anymore but from there I started guitar lessons and noticed a difference in myself from being depressed constantly to wanting to stay up all night playing my guitar, this lead me to joining my best friend Justice Musgrave’s band “The Lucky Boys” at the time and we moved on to do greater things together but I found myself wanting to go my own path and put out the message and story of what I went through so I can help other people in the spot I was in.

Tell us about your new music? And what’s the story behind it?

So my first debut single was titled “Mema” and its an instrumental song. I was inspired to write an instrumental song from Joe Satriani because he really let the guitar speak for him and tell a story without him having to say a word and that interested me and lead me to making this single an instrumental piece. The story behind the song though is in full dedicated to my grandma who I call “mema” at the time of me writing this song she was in a really bad spot with her health and was in the hospital and doctors had no clue what the outcome would be so I wrote this song for her to have before anything could have potentially gotten worse.

What makes your music unique? And how would you describe it?

What makes my music unique is I don’t pin myself to one genre and I don’t have a band for the music I’ve released myself its all written, played, and mixed by me. I have multiple genre influences that range from Slipknot all the way to Post Malone.

Do you play any instruments? And why do you love it?

I play guitar, bass, sing, and plan on learning more. I love all my instruments because they help me be myself they let me put out the messages I wanna say and let me express who I am whether it would be a run on the bass, or a riff on the guitar.

Who are your biggest musical influences? And any particular artist/band you would like to collaborate with in the future?

Biggest influences I would say are Breaking Benjamin, Periphery, Slipknot, Trivium, and Alter Bridge.

Which is the best moment in your musical career that you’re most proud of?

Best moments in my career all revolve around me and my band such as when we got signed to a label known as Sharawaji Records, That was huge for us and from there we got interviewed by guitar player magazine, sold out shows at Regency Ballroom, DNA Lounge, and other venues.

How do you balance your music with other obligations – family, friends or work?

Well since I’m only 17 my main focuses are just family and school but it definitely gets hard with managing time for friends and time with my family when I’m super focused on a song or when I’m practicing, cause I’m so focused and can’t focus on anything else when I’m in that zone. But I try to make a schedule for myself for making time for school, family, music, and my friends.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

Keep making music and don’t focus on how good it sounds focus on putting the message in it and letting everything else go from there. Get inspired and don’t be afraid to open your ears to new sounds or genres lots of inspiration can come from that.

If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?

I just want to thank you all for the support and pushing me to want to keep doing what I do, I appreciate you all for getting me to the spot I’m at now I love you all.

What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects?

I’m in the works of a heavy metal instrumental EP, a new cover as well, and then my album which will be out in the next couple months.