The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza teamed up with Slaying Amy, Bandanna Vendetta and Autumn Mourning on March 25 at Wall Street for one of the most killer nights of metal shredding Murfreesboro has seen lately.
The show was titillating from start to finish. The night kicked off with the hardcore sounds of Slaying Amy, whose energy set the stage for what was to come. Next we all took a short bus to the ’80s with Bandanna Vendetta, who rocked out with songs to remind you that long hair and devil horns still exist.
Continuing this annihilating night of metal comes Autumn Mourning, a five-piece band: four dudes and one chick on guitar.
What, a chick on guitar in a metal band? You heard it right, and she is bad ass. With crazy songs like “Raped by a Dragon,” and “51 Million Idiots” (referring to the number of people who voted for Bush), this band was unmatched.
And just when we thought the metal massacre couldn’t get any heavier, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza came and proved us all wrong.
They had more support from the crowd than we’ve seen in a long time.
The floors were cracking from the pit, the stage was shaking and amps were falling. Without a doubt, they’re the heaviest band around.
Their crazy guitar riffs and loud, fast drums were matched perfectly by frontman Jessie Freeland’s excellent performance.
TDTE is receiving lots of well-earned exposure, and kicked off its first tour April 1. The band will play some shows on the east coast and then head west.
The Pulse spoke with the tapdancers themselves (Freeland, Mason a.k.a. Capt. Christian on drums, guitarists Lane Maylain and Brad Thompson and bassist Myke Butler) after the show.
MP: How long have you been together?
TDTE: We’ve played with this lineup for 3 years now.
MP: How did you come up with your crazy, but original name?
TDTE: Honestly, we all sat down and threw out crazy and random names until we came up with The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, and it was just too good not to keep.
MP: What keeps you wanting to play everyday?
TDTE: First and foremost, obviously, for the love of music, but also for little things. Like this one time we played a show out of town and we noticed a guy and his friend using sign language. After the show they came up to us and said they liked the band. It turns out one of the guys was indeed deaf.
He listened to us by putting his hand on the wall and feeling the vibrations of the band. That kind of thing, a pure love for music, keeps us going.
