About Anthony

Anthony was born in England in 1984 but eventually moved back to where his parents grew up in the Midwest of the United States. He started learning guitar from his dad around the age of 12, but after some intense lessons from a blues guitar playing, leather chap wearing, Harley riding guitar teacher, he found a real passion not only for playing guitar, but for writing songs.

Like so many song writers, Anthony started playing music at Church and formed his first band, Reign at age 15 with two other buddies from church. Eventually he joined forces with some high school colleagues and formed the band, Sailbus. This band brought Anthony together with close friend and song writer Joshua Ross. Josh’s crazy rhythms and timing combined with Anthony’s lyrics made for a really unique acoustic rock sound that found a strong following in Tulsa and the surrounding area.

At the end of High school Anthony got a scholarship to go to University in Chicago where he found himself starting all over again. However he continued to write and record songs until Sophomore year he released his first solo album entitled, “In the Quiet of My Closet.” An album inspired by the challenge to write and record music in a small dorm room!

By the end of Sophomore year Anthony had joined the band Silver and Gray, a rock band defined by the dazzling guitar riffs of Drew Detzner. Although Drew found his musical energy and inspiration from math metal bands, somehow when combined with Anthony’s catchy melodies, a new animal was born! Silver and Gray had a very fun time playing together and won a strong following not only at the University but also in the local community. They won high placement in a number of talent shows and battle of the band competitions. Their rock shows at local parties were not to be missed!

However, it was also during those years that Anthony found himself re-discovering his faith, which naturally had a very big impact on his writing and performing. By senior year his songs were sounding more like praise songs, and less like swooning love songs designed to catch the hearts of unsuspecting girls! His senior year he released the album Angels on Hardwood, a worship album with epic praise songs such as “Worthy” and “Glory.“ Let’s be honest, you can’t hardly do a worship album without at least one song called, “Glory!”

In the background behind all of the music, Anthony had actually discovered another passion, and that was for the Chinese language. After he graduated with a Masters Degree in Chinese Studies it seemed inevitable that he would hear the call from the other side of the planet, and indeed in 2007 he took a job in Hong Kong.

Anthony quickly found himself attending a large international church in Hong Kong called, The Vine. He was immediately struck by the incredible quality of the worship at The Vine, led by the locally famous song writer Tom Read. After earning his keep in the worship band as a bass player for over a year, he was finally given the opportunity to begin leading worship for the evening service at church. When The Vine Band took submissions in 2010 for songs to be recorded on the album Ageless Melody, the team selected Anthony’s song, “More of You and Less of Me.” This song became one of the backbone songs of the album and is still frequently played for worship sets in Hong Kong. It was also translated into Mandarin and released in Chinese on The Vine Band Mandarin EP.

Although writing worship songs has been his direction since University, it was in 2009-2010 than Anthony begin to embrace a new kind of sound and a new kind of lyrical makeup. Living in China exposed Anthony to the dance music culture that is popular in clubs and bars all over the country. As a result, he began to experiment with combining acoustic style songs to dance-style beats. This unique sound was then combined with a very different kind of lyric based on a more intimate look at the heart of man and the light and dark that is found therein. The songs that have been birthed in this new season of his life are not only new and fun, but are also profoundly inspiring and honest.

As Anthony headed back to the studio in Hong Kong to capture these new songs, he found great support from The Vine Band, especially Tom Read, who has sung vocals on and has given musical and lyrical inspiration to a number of tracks on the new album. Anthony also found great support from Jill Vidal, a famous Hong Kong pop artist who has not only an incredible singing voice, but also brings a depth of heart and soul to the music that is difficult to describe without hearing the songs!

As the recording process continued and the album release became nearer, Anthony began to unite the musicians from the recording sessions and eventually formed the Anthony Lance Band, made of up of Edgar Caloe, Daegal Leung, Nick Dormier and Joe Chow. As the band practices and prepares for the album release, there is truly a sense of anticipation to see how this unique acoustic/pop/electronic musical sound with be produced in a live setting!

I guess we will have to wait and see when the album, Two Different Voices is released this summer!