Tony Pizzo auto-bio
Tony with'The FreeZe'
Tony Pizzo... I was born in Burlington, Vermont where I began to develop strong musical influences at a young age. I was always bombarded from a young age with a wide variety of music from my father Jason Pizzo's enormous record collection, from punk rock, hard rock, soundtracks(like Batman theme songs), Jam bands like the Dead, Elvis, and pretty much any quality rock that came out since 1970. In middle school I started listening to oldies stations and quickly became a Beatles fanatic, and started looking up to and befriending my musical peers. The influence from the Beatles sealed the deal for the lifelong goal of becoming a successful musician. The next big step was when I bought an Aerosmith CD at a yard sale on the side of the road somewhere, and my dad gave me a stack of their albums, once I heard Joe Perry I pretty much fell madly in love with the guitar, which I had but didnt start to try and play for a couple more years. Next he gave me all the Gun's N roses albums, and pretty much wore them out.
When I was 15 I was forced to move from Vermont to Cape Cod, MA and live with my mother. Since I had no friends or life I finally started learning to play the guitar that I'd been watching collect dust for a couple years. My first band was in high school called, “Harlequin”, we weren't very good but we thought we were. I made a lot of friends from that band and met a lot of people that are still a part of my musical life 10 years later. I was in a few different bands and just jammed around and busted my ass trying to find the right people until a few years later when I started a band called “Arrogant Bastard” which was when I started singing, at the suggestion of my friend and band-mate Barnaby, because he heard me singing Dio songs in the car. We had some pretty good local success with that band and I got my first experience playing in bars(while underage) and recording tracks. Eventually that band ended and I was asked to join punk legends “The FreeZe”, an influential underground punk band that has been around since the late 70's. With The FreeZe I was able to gain some momentum for myself. Playing with a well known band, touring the west coast and northeast as well as landing some pretty great endorsement deals. After a brief stint with them I left the band to pursue more mainstream musical goals.
After leaving the FreeZe, I started working with the band “Broke on friday” with whom I produced, engineered and played on their first CD and later moved to San Diego to meet back up with them and record another album at studio west. While I was out there I was asked to join a couple other rock bands that were doing pretty well, But I decided to move back to MA.
When I moved back to Cape Cod I started a bar band called “Electric Guitar Orchestra” (or EGO) and immersed myself in the local music scene here honing my guitar and vocal skills, making a name for myself locally, and playing every live music venue in the area regularly with my band, Johnny Vance Band, 80's tribute 'Bone”, as well as filling in with just about every other local band while making some decent change. I still play locally as much as possible if I'm not on the road. I've continued to write and record on my own while searching for the right fit for my extended career goals.
When I was 15 I was forced to move from Vermont to Cape Cod, MA and live with my mother. Since I had no friends or life I finally started learning to play the guitar that I'd been watching collect dust for a couple years. My first band was in high school called, “Harlequin”, we weren't very good but we thought we were. I made a lot of friends from that band and met a lot of people that are still a part of my musical life 10 years later. I was in a few different bands and just jammed around and busted my ass trying to find the right people until a few years later when I started a band called “Arrogant Bastard” which was when I started singing, at the suggestion of my friend and band-mate Barnaby, because he heard me singing Dio songs in the car. We had some pretty good local success with that band and I got my first experience playing in bars(while underage) and recording tracks. Eventually that band ended and I was asked to join punk legends “The FreeZe”, an influential underground punk band that has been around since the late 70's. With The FreeZe I was able to gain some momentum for myself. Playing with a well known band, touring the west coast and northeast as well as landing some pretty great endorsement deals. After a brief stint with them I left the band to pursue more mainstream musical goals.
After leaving the FreeZe, I started working with the band “Broke on friday” with whom I produced, engineered and played on their first CD and later moved to San Diego to meet back up with them and record another album at studio west. While I was out there I was asked to join a couple other rock bands that were doing pretty well, But I decided to move back to MA.
When I moved back to Cape Cod I started a bar band called “Electric Guitar Orchestra” (or EGO) and immersed myself in the local music scene here honing my guitar and vocal skills, making a name for myself locally, and playing every live music venue in the area regularly with my band, Johnny Vance Band, 80's tribute 'Bone”, as well as filling in with just about every other local band while making some decent change. I still play locally as much as possible if I'm not on the road. I've continued to write and record on my own while searching for the right fit for my extended career goals.
