B I O

'Who is this man they call Balony?' Tony Walker is one of the most noteworthy songwriters to come out of Canada, breaking boundaries with his callous wit and the abrasive cynicism that has always been synonymous with punk rock. Balony's skilled guitar work and clever arrangements scream throughout the songs with raw gritty soulful vigor.

Tony Balony has been an integral face in Vancouver's underground music scene pretty much since the beginning. While the Smiling Buddha was mothering the likes of DOA, The Dishrags, Pointed Sticks, Young Canadians and the like, Tony was down front with his own armada of bands . Showing genuine talent and zeal he has trod the boards with such notable acts as, Melody Pimps (his 1st recorded band), Sluts & Bozos (whose fans were reported to have threatened death if the band ever broke up), the Thirsty Souls (1981), Art Bergmann , Bludgeoned Pigs, Braineaters, Actionauts and Antheads (To name a few) later forming world renowned Scots rockers, the Real McKenzies. Several CDs,videos and a beer commercial later, Tony decided to step out on his own rather than stay the course of 'celtic' rock and river dancing.

Throughout his career he has shared stages with many of the Planet's legendary rockers from the Ramones, the Cramps, X, Bad Religion and NOFX to - well, Bay City Rollers. He has jammed with Amiee Mann, confounded Timothy Leary ("That blows my mind" Dr.T.L.) and punched a wild bear (also true).

Tony Balony is a work horse, constantly releasing new material and shooting explosive missiles into the rockmosphere. Joined by Walter Brady and Alex Koch (on bass and drums respectively - see bios below), this hot band continues to carve exciting new paths through the musicscape with their new CD Standing Rubes Only and powerful live performances. Balony describes the album as sounding like "Exile on Main Street if Captain Beefheart did it."

The Rubes:

Walter Brady (Bass) -
6' 7'' Howard Stern doppelganger cultivated like a rare flower in the classical arts of music, literature, food and wine. Noted more for his work in Classical Vocal Music than rock and even better known for his work as a sommelier sniffing wine, opining on other alcohols and getting his friends drunk in a far classier fashion than they're used to. Walter is one of the rare musicians in the Rock n' Roll world who knows the difference between Bach, Bach, Bach and Bach and which years vintage is best in which region of the world.

His first band was called The Love Club which was a short lived New Wavy type of affair after which (circa 1987) he joined Six Inches, also short lived but more of a punk thing along the lines of Slow or the Stooges. During their short life span the band did manage to perform quite a bit and release an EP entitles "Average Joes".

About the same time Walter began attending the Classical Music Program at VCC University where he studied piano, performance, theory, music history and a couple of other courses. He received scholastic awards for both years of the program. He also attended the music program at UBC but sadly ran out of money to fund the venture. During his tenure there he sang with James Frankhauser's UBC Singers and was invited to sing with the Vancouver Cantata Singers, which he did for 3 seasons during which he recorded one CD of Antonio Regatti's compositions entitled "Venetian Vespers of 1640". The CD received considerable critical acclaim and a Juno nomination for Best Classical Vocal Performance. Following the classical singing stint Walter Brady ran away to Ucluelet for 4 years after a restaurant management job fell apart due to palace intrigue. While there he formed a "fun" band called Dave Fiasco and the Tight Pants which hosted many a legendary local gathering.

The city once again beckoned and Brady replied by returning to Vancouver at which point the connected with world class bag piper Alan "Raven" MacLeod and took the job as bassist for his Scots folk rock band Hold Fast. MacLeod introduced him to Sanne Lambert with whom he still plays bass and with whom he has recorded 2 Cds the latest of (2005) is bears the name "Unlimited Growth" and has received very favorable press comment. MacLeod also introduced him Tony (Balony) Walker of The Real MacKenzies and Alex Koch (Torontonian Rock a Billy Legend.) Shortly thereafter he became one of Tony's Rubes and ain't looking back.
Alex Koch (Drums)
Started playing in bands while growing up in Calgary where he met Brian Connelly and Reid Diamond of Buick McKane. He convinced the two that moving to Toronto would be better for the band's future and, once there, they hooked up with vocalist Don Pyle to form Crash Kills 5. The quartet toured regularly throughout upper Canada for 3 or 4 years and released an EP entitled "What Do You Do at Night?".

After the EP release Alex left the band to join Chris Houston (Forgotten Rebels) and brother Steve Koch (Demics, Viletones) in a Rockabilly outfit called The One Eyed Jacks. Brian, Reid and Don went on to form Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. One Eyed Jacks toured Eastern Canada pretty intensely on their own but also chanced to tour with The Bopcats, Handsome Ned (RIP) and share stages with Pinetop Perkins & the Legendary Blues Band. Carl Perkins (writer of "Blue Suede Shoes") called Koch "? good little drummer man" while at about the same time national newspaper the Globe and Mail referred to him as "A great drummer" in a live review.

The Jacks lasted about 3 years before throwing in the towel at which point Alex moved to Vancouver to study animation and create cartoons. He met Walter Brady (Rubes bassist) while gigging with world renowned bag pipe master, Raven MacLeod. Raven, knowing Tony Balony since a stint with Real McKenzies, Introduced the two and they have been performing and recording together for nigh on 4 years.

More history and photos of Alex Koch can be found on Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: www.brainiac.com
Feel free to email any comments gripes, drink recipes or other info to info@tonybalony.com

Any site related questions, please contact the Webmistress, Jen Wold jenwold@jenwold.com