“When you get up on stage, it’s do or die,” senior Tony Phillips said. “You gotta just do it and trust yourself.”
Phillips was one of the artists who performed at CalLuPalooza Saturday, April 22.
Senior Anson Lankenau joined Phillips on stage at CalLuPalooza as they performed “Honest,” “Nightlife,” and “Picasso Blues.”
Photo by Amanda Souza- Staff Photographer
“He was one of the best performers of the night,” first-year student Johnny Gertz said. “It was some sort of dance music that got the crowd going.”
Gertz, who came out to see Phillips perform, recommends Phillips’ music for anybody who loves to dance or appreciates a good beat.
“I’ve listened to some of Tony’s stuff before on SoundCloud,” Gertz said. “It’s all good production.”
Phillips said that CalLuPalooza was his first live performance for the most part. He’s been participating in workshops to better his technique. Lankenau has performed onstage in musicals and in choirs.
“I work with Anson to incorporate different styles,” Phillips said. “He makes new beats and then I try to go with the flow.”
The tracks were produced by the band “No Suits.” Lankenau says that his favorite track of the three is “Picasso Blues.”
“I like the beat the most. It’s fun and the lyrics are personal so I connect in that way,” Lankenau said. “We put the vocals on and recorded about a month ago and we’re thinking about turning these songs into EPs.”
Phillips said that he considers his music to be rooted in the hip-hop genre. Two of his main influences are Mac Miller and Travis Scott.
“Mac Miller makes relatable music about his struggles,” Phillips said. “I also like how creative they are with their tracks.”
Lankenau says that after college, he wants to continue to make music.
“I want my own studio that I can forever create out of,” Lankenau said. “And of course I want to make ten million dollars.”
Phillips said he hopes to get a job after graduation that pays his bills for a couple years but still allows him to produce music in his spare time. After a couple years, he said he hopes his career is big enough to support himself.
“It’s important that my peers can witness our songs and see what we work on,” Lankenau said. “It’s just cool to see other students showcase their talents.”
When it comes to promotion, Phillips is a very laid-back guy. He said he doesn’t want to go too far in self-promotion, choosing to let his music speak for itself.
“If it’s good, people will listen and we’ll go from there,” Phillips said.
Phillips’ music can be found on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/tonyq15.
Brandy Alonzo-Mayland
Staff Writer