Anthony Pirog is making a mark in the world of guitar playing, with one project after another that is both musically captivating and diversely influenced. Anthony Pirog’s work on Janel’s and Anthony’s “Where is Home” was described by Guitar Player Magazine as “approachable experimentalalism” and AllMusic as “pristinely executed guitar solos with Skysaw,” displaying a “crystalline tone that is immediately recognizable as his” in his ever-evolving vision of what a guitar could sound like. Anthony was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Carmel Valley in California. His family moved to Vienna, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC, when he was nine years old. Anthony listened to the blues, surf and doo wop music of his father at home. Their influence is evident in his playing today. Anthony was a member of a surf band when he was a teenager. His father owned a 1963 Fender Jaguar guitar and Anthony learned to play music on it. Anthony was involved in over a dozen bands in high school before he discovered free jazz and experimental music. He then studied jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and eventually earned his degree in jazz performance from NYU in 2004. It turned out that the study paid off. Anthony was a well-known guitarist by 2004. He could use his unorthodox, but studied voice to adapt to a variety of musical styles, including country, fingerstyle, old time, jazz, jazz, jazz, surf, and experimental music. Anthony has performed with musicians from many different styles and genres. He has performed with avant jazz legends such as Henry Kaiser and Michael Formanek. Anthony has played with many groups, including Out of Your Head Collective and Better Than Lost. He performed at The Stone with Violet (Jeff Surak), and Sylvia Schedelabuer, a Berlin-based filmmaker. Anthony Pirog’s many talents include jazz and experimentalism. He has performed with many musicians, including rock, roots, and rockabilly, such as Joe Stanley, Tab Benoit Billy Hancock and Bill Kirchen. Anthony was also a member of the rock band Skysaw with Jimmy Chamberlain, an ex-Smashing Pumpkins drummer. The album was released by Dangerbird Records on 2011. Anthony’s diverse influences and eclectic tastes are reflected in the groups he leads. Anthony Pirog Trio is a leader of several other groups, including the Quintet, Sextet, Sextet, and Septet. He led a 22-member group in Terry Riley’s “In C”, which he performed at the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music. This DC festival is a mainstay for new music and Anthony has been performing there for seven years. The Washington Post published a positive review of the 2011 performance. Anthony recorded a second session with a 30-piece ensemble, playing “In C”. This recording will be released in 2014. Anthony can also be heard performing solo. Sonic Mass Records is where you can find his solo music. Anthony and Janel are the two halves of an experimental duo. This is where Anthony’s many influences and diverse styles come together most beautifully. He says, “We can play in all the different scene: jazz, roots surf, rockabilly and Persian, as well as experimental.” Janel and Anthony then bring it all into Janel. The duo was formed in Northern Virginia. Janel as well as Anthony have toured the East, West Coasts and the Midwest. They enjoyed a residency at Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn, in October 2010. Janel and Anthony’s new album, “Where is Home”, has been praised internationally and received radio airplay from all kinds of stations, including The BBC, The Village Voice and Downbeat Magazine. “Where is Home”, which was featured on 10 “Best of 2012” and DownBeat Magazines’ “Best Albums of 2013” lists, is now available on Cuneiform Records. Washington Area Music Association (WAMA), awarded “Where is Home” the Best Modern Rock Recording in 2012. Cricket Cemetery Records has reissued Janel and Anthony’s self-titled debut album from 2006 in 2012. Janel and Anthony recorded “Head and Shoulders”, a new piece by Arturas Bumsteinas (Lithuanian composer), in 2013. It was released on Sangoplasmo Records. Anthony is a well-known figure in the growing musical and artistic scene in and around Washington, DC. Anthony has played at numerous DC venues, including the Smithsonian’s Kennedy Center, The 9:30 Club and Black Cat, The Hamilton and Twin’s Jazz. He also performed at The Rock and Roll Hotel, DC9 and The Velvet Lounge. Many concerts featuring him have been presented by Transparent Productions. Anthony’s gigging has been recognized by the media and with awards. The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA), Washington’s most prestigious music awards named Anthony Washington’s best modern rock instrumentalist in 2011. He was named Washington’s Best Modern Rock Instrumentalist by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) in 2012. Anthony was featured in Guitar Player Magazine’s September 2012 article on “Rising Artists you Must Hear.” In January 2013, he was interviewed in Guitar Player Magazine. He was praised for his “copious creativity and loopy, cross-genre melodycism” and was also praised for being able to adapt and master any guitar style. He continues to redefine what the guitar can be as an artist and shapes, tear down, and reshapes his original visions. Anthony’s style is unorthodox, but studied; accessible, yet avant-garde; faintly familiar yet distinctive; and he has a unique, yet not conventional, aesthetic. from http://www.anthonypirog.com
