Every once-in-a-while, you end up finding an album that has that “something special”. Whatever that “something special” happens to be, once you put the release on, the music just makes you feel good. One album that has that type of vibe is “fiZ,” the new release from Tony “fiZ” D’Mattia. The pop-rock that was created for the release is the kind of music that will make you want to sing along shortly after putting it on.
Having grown up with music all around him, D’Mattia took it upon himself to learn how to make music. He began to play the guitar, mandolin, and the keyboard, among others. While learning how to make music, he began to find musicians and musical styles that became influences for him as he continued to progress as a musician. Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, and others became big influences on him, musically. With those influences, D’Mattia started writing his own songs of the pop-rock variety. And then in 2000, D’Mattia self-produced his first album entitled “Transcending,” which was followed by “Right Where You Are”. “Right Where You Are” was released in 2004.
The year 2009 once again found D’Mattia creating a new release. However, instead of creating the whole thing by himself, D’Mattia decided to go in a new direction- he invited two well-known people in the music industry to collaborate with him on the new release. D’Mattia invited former Wings drummer Steve Holly and producer/musician Bob Stander to help make the new album a reality. Along with these two legendary personalities, other musicians helped create the new album by adding their talents, as well. Together, the collective efforts of all of the musicians helped make “fiZ” a reality.
Having self-produced his first two albums, D’Mattia played all of the music on those releases. For his new album of “fiZ,” however, he contributes only guitars and keyboards to the tracks. And on the songs “Sending A Vine” and “When You Are Near,” D’Mattia allowed Steve Holly And Bob Stander to take control of the music, as they and Paul Errico handled the musical duties. The resulting tracks for “fiZ” make the album very solid. Much of today’s “pop” music is focused around songs about love and relationships, and the new release from Tony D’Mattia is much the same. The pop-rock on “fiZ” is centered around friendship and love. The album even includes a duet: On the song “There,” Janet Montalbo joins D’Mattia on vocals. The song comes across as a letter being read allowed with the recipient echoing the sentiment. Montalbo then joins D’Mattia for the album’s next track of “No Words,” a song with much the same feeling.
The majority of “fiZ” by Tony D’Mattia focuses on the feeling of love. However, there are a few songs that are more about thinking than feelings. The album’s opening track of “This Is It” is a song about having a “can do” attitude and going for a dream. And the song “No Words” is about taking some time for silent reflection.
Taking the chance to go in a different direction for his new album has worked for Tony D’Mattia, as his new “self-titled” album of “fiZ” is a breath of fresh air from other artists who also put out pop-rock albums. The teaming up of D’Mattia with Steve Holly and bob Stander has produced an album that is an all-out joy to listen to.
To find out more about Tony “fiZ” D’Mattia and his music, check out his website at www.fizband.com. You can also find him on MySpace at www.myspace.com/fiz.
