Antony Mores wrote his first song at the age of five, and his first live performance was soon to follow. "Growing up listening to Cat Stevens and Sam Cooke certainly puts it all into perspective. It's something that's always with me. The first CD my father ever bought me was a Jerry Lee Lewis greatest hits album, and the rest just took care of itself." Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Antony initially discovered how much he loved the expression and passion behind singing while in a Catholic school choir. The first song he ever remembers performing in front of an audience was 'This Land Is Your Land,' and simultaneously he discovered his penchant for Woody Guthrie and old folk music. He was seven.
At fifteen, he immersed himself in madrigal pieces and jazz and swing choirs, as well more traditional melodies. "My voice broke when I was fourteen, and suddenly I had this massive vocal range, and I was loud." By the time he turned twenty he was a front man and co-writer with a grunge band out of Waukegan, IL, which played gigs throughout Chicago and its suburbs. "We were high-energy, blaring suicidal rock with a carefree mentality. I was playing with guys who were ten years my senior- metal guys. They definitely taught me a lot."
In early 2007 he released his first solo album, 'American Refugee' on his own label, Folk It Up Records. "I had picked up the guitar again and started writing. I was at a point where I was dealing with being a new father while watching my marriage slowly disintegrate, and somehow it all manifested itself within the presidency of George W. Bush and what he was doing to this country. It was a very politically affirming time for me. The politics of life, of love, and the wake-up call of everything suddenly being thrust into oblivion- there's a lot of material to be had in that."
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