So as the recording of this podcast, it's taking place on two eight twenty four. Gigi Kobe Day. Uh, it's the They're gonna be unveiling the Kobe statue in front of the crypto. I still like calling it stables. By the way, we have Marcus Anthony here. Before we get to the episode where we get to know them. We usually just do like a little mini topic in the beginning. Okay, but so you could get on this too. They're gonna unveil the statue in front of the arena. One thing
that was coming to mind as we're recording this. I think it's gonna start in a few minutes and we're gonna miss well, I'm gonna miss it, really because we're recording this right now. But is it weird how we live in the times where there's no I don't feel like I'm missing out, why because I could just rewatch it later or our phone or as soon as you leave it, it's gonna be right, everybody's gonna post it. Yeah, you could rewind it. You can watch the whole thing again later. So
I don't even feel like I'm missing out. I'm just gonna watch. You'll be able to have the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you want miss the moment the Kobe statue. The big thing right now is they're gonna reveal it because we don't know which one it is. What do you guys think it's gonna be? Which which pose because there's different ones going around. I like the jersey, the jersey tug okay showing the logo, or maybe like the fist pump. So I'm thinking it's gonna be the fade away.
It can't but see that's what we talked about. It can't be anything that's too close to Jordan because you gotta think, but Jordan's is a dunk's Jordan is the logo, But you gotta think that's the logo. But you gotta think Jordan memorable moments, that dunk backwards, that's Jordan. That fade away is Jordan, you know what I mean. So it's like when you see him in that moment, you're like, hmm, that's Jordan, though,
are you are you gonna be disappointed? If? I mean, I just feel like, if it's gonna be Kobe, you wanted to be Kobe, Like what was Kobe's moment? Also, that's kind of what it is. Also, is it gonna be like eight or is it gonna be twenty four? Well, there's an interview that he did when he was still alive. They asked him this question. He hes set twenty four because it's it's the most challenging years of his career. I think that Jersey Tech moment that's the
one. Well there's another one, so there's two. I like the fade away. The second one is when he jumps on the video. Yeah, that's only like that's kind of the magic of the moment because of the crowd, you know what I'm saying, and he's wearing a hat. Yeah, it seems like you would do. I think that Jersey to that's gonna be interesting. How about this where they say they might include Gigi in it, the one where they're holding hands. Yeah, I mean if they include her,
then that changes everything. But I think though, if they're doing it for the to represent him as the athlete first, Yeah, and then if they do one, I think that's because that's a totally different look for him. Anyway, have you guys been to the crypto where you see it's the Hall of all the statues. I'm hoping it's kind of away from that a bit. I don't know what. I don't know. I don't know the
block, I don't know. It's like if you've been there, it's shocked there everyone hanging from the Yeah, the time Koreem doing the sky Magic Johnson, Magic Johnson. They got a Wayne Gretzky. They got Wayne Gretzky there. They got the commentator too. Yeah, yeah, he's sitting there. It's a few statues there. But and it's like, like you said, where would you put it? Because I wanted to stand out more. Yeah, it's gonna be interesting. It's crazy how after we record this, we're
actually up on our phone and see how it looks. But yeah, Kobe uh man, when I'm not a crier, but when he passed away, I my cousin is he Like, when I found out Kobe died, that was my first call because I know how close it so my cousin. And it's funny that we were talking about this. My cousin made eight twenty four a holiday, so he don't work on eight twenty four. Yeah, ever
on Kobe Day literally and I thought it was the funniest thing. But he's like when I say he's at home, feeder he takes the day too. Yeah, that's why I'm like, so when you said that, I'm like, no, A lot of people like, yeah, you know what I mean? That was that was the start of a shitty year, you know what I mean? That was like what was to come? So yeah, for sure. All right, I'm ready to officially introduce today's guest on the podcast. You ready, Let's do it. This Could Get Me Fire podcast?
What up? I'm just o. That is John Magic and we are back today's guest. I love it. We're gonna continue with special guests in the building on the podcast. He's a singer, songwriter, producer, man, actor, model, musician, entertainer. Ladies and gentlemen. Marcus Anthony is with us, Yes, sir, what's up? Fellas we we usually start with our guests. Are you originally from the five five nine? Are you originally from the area? Yeah? Okay, white, whole life,
tied life like whole nine really, you know what I mean? This is all I've known. But you will nine into the five to five nine. Okay, you know, the the podcast is called This Could Get Me Fired? And before we get to your career, did you ever have any regular jobs? Because I've only known you as an entertainer, but the young Marcus Anthony, where'd you go like a first job or some true true story. Uh? You know how they do the seasonal hiring for you know, different
companies like Christmas time. So my mom is like, yo, you need to get a job. And I'm like, nah, like because I've never at this point, most of the things I did I played in church, so it was like it wasn't intended on being like my financial you know, stability, but it became that so I was able to do other things during the week and not have to go to work. So I never had a job. So my mom was like, you need to get a job.
Type of how old is this eighteen? Okay, eighteen? Go to I walk in Banana Republic fit garden, walking Banana Republic slacks on dress, shirt, look nice? You know? Are you hiring? Look me up and down. They hired me on the spot. I go in the next day. They showed me how to fold these sweaters on phone sweaters and after like thirty forty minutes, I just go in the bathroom and I sit there and I'm like, I can't do this. Came back, I finished the day,
went back the next day, and then I left at lunch. I never went back. That was the like I didn't even get a check. Yeah, I mean for one day. Yeah, my one day in the day and a half. But I never no, never, no job. I mean I kind of feel like that too, because I've been interning basically since I was out of high school here and it's basically it's been my career, you know what I'm saying. I tell people that I've never had a really work a day in my life, right, So yeah, I mean
I guess that's how fully blessed for sure. So how did the music? You know, when did that start for you? You said church? So I grew up in church mom choir director. My sister was more into the dance side of things. So our whole family is everything is based in music. So I was always around singing, but I never sang. I grew up. I played the drums at a young and you started at three.
Then about eighteen nineteen, I gravitated to the keys, start learning by ear literally, So I mean like even when we do day night, you see, like if y'all play something, I could hear it play right back. So it's like from that, that's kind of what got me like a training as now how I look at it to what made me how I am now.
So it's like when I got to the music industry, you start working with my godfather and them, it was really like learning production, you know what I mean, and learning how to go from being a musician to a producer because it's not the same. Yeah, you know what I mean. Some musicians overproduced because we can play. You think when we do a track, we oh you like for a producers, they like yeah, nah, bro, like I need you to just like hold this core real quick.
Cool, let me loop it, okay, and then can you do this real quick? All right? Cool? I don't need you no more. The piece things together. So it's like, you know, just learning all these different things is you know it came from the root literally of me starting in church and like at church, you learned on the spot, and if you don't learn the spot, you can't play. Where do you think that came? Because Okay, the difference because I took piano lessons when I was
a kid, never really got good at it. I don't know if it was my personality of just I got bored so quick, but I understood it. I understood the notes. I I could play by ear for the most part, but not like you. Where did that come from? Because I me playing by ear. I could probably play something, but it'll take me a week to figure it out. You figure it out, Yes, you
just like teach yourself pretty much. How did you learn that? It's literally when I tell you it's something that and I'm telling you it's because of how was raised in church, Like when you go to rehearsal at church, like this is before we had internet, right, so you would listen to the song when you get there. So by the time we had musicians rehearsal, we would have to play that song that night for the choir who's about to learn it. You gotta think how fast you got to learn this? Yeah?
Yeah, hour, you know what I mean. So coming in with that type of training as a child, your ear develops quickly. So now like once you and then you understand keyboards, so once you learn core structure, I can hear what they're doing. So now that I can hear it, I could visualize it on what I'm gonna do, so now I could play it like this, Do you have that thing? Some people have this, it's called perfect pitch. Do you have that where you know what?
I don't have this perfect pitch, but I'm pretty close to it. I would never say I got perfect pitch. But if I hear something I can kind of find, like another song in my head, I'm like, Okay, it's around this key. The next thing I wanted to bring up real quick is I'm trying to I'm trying to remember where we first met. I don't know if you would know that, or Jizo, would you do you remember when you first? Not when I first. I don't think when I
when I first met y'all. It probably was when y'all y'all. It had to be here, yeah, because I know I met. I know Moe and Gizzo real close. Mo always been my partner. But so you know, twenty years ago when I started, when I moved to Fresno, I started this local show called Homegrown. Were you were you ever? I think
yeah, I did, so I did Homegrown. So what it was is, so I started doing music in two thousand and eight, that's when you got no. So my boy Harold Edgebomb, he used to be Yeah, probably know me a producer Age Bomb will always tell me like, I just record a song, and I'm like rap because I wasn't singing. I'm like, So we came, he came to my mom house. We put up a blanket in the living room, like in the shape of a square and put the microphone in the middle, and so we ended up I produced the
track with him, and then he wrote the song cloud nine. So that was the first song I ever did. So then, you know, we were trying to figure out how to get on the radio, and they was like, well, you gotta go through Homegrown. It was like, if you go through HOMEGROWND, then you win Song of the Year, then we'll put it on the radio. So I'm like cool. So that's when we put it on Homegrown and then it won Song of the Year. Yeah, uh that's year. Man. That was a time, man. The Homegrown
era was a time Sunday Yeah, yeah, yeah, Sunday nights. The next memory I have where because then we started getting to know who you were. We weren't really friends close friends, but you know, we would say what's up to each other. I think I would even see you at the club sometimes during that era. The next thing I remember was one of my favorite artists. Jamie Fox performed in town. Remind me it was either the Sorooine or the Warners, it was one of those. I think it was
the Soroyin. I was sitting in the balcony and I might I may have been with Mo. But anyways, knowing you, knowing who you were already and my favorite artist, one of my favorite artists, Jamie Fox performing. You were his backup singer. What do you guys do? Background or back background background singer. I just remember going, I know that, it's so good, like he's representing in Jamie Fox shouting you out, hometown kid. The crowd was going crazy. But how did how did you connect? How
did that happen? Connecting with Jamie Fox and just being in that business as a background singer. So the Jamie Fox relationship park it came from my godfather. So Marcus King was his manager. So if you remember the Jamie Fox Show, remember the name of the hotel was called the King's Tower. So my godfather was the executive producer of that TV show. Oh wow, Like
I've known Jamie bros. I was like five years so even before the music, so like in Living Colored days, like I don't know if y'all remember back in the day when Fox used to come through here and do his comedy bits. He used to do performed at the Warners. Andre Remember he performed at the Warners one night, and I was so young that they would let me go in the back while they were doing sound checking stuff. But when the show started, you know, the girls and stuff would come through.
They would put me on the tour bus and made me sit there till the show was over, then going to back say what s up to him? And then I would have to go home. But this is all in like that had to be ninety six ninety seven. He's because he came through here twice. Then he came one year when I was playing basketball Washington Union and I told everybody he was gonna come to the game. That was like you lying. They had a show that night, so my godfather, everybody comes
to the game. He walk in the gym. I knew he was there because people start hollering and we wasn't even looking at nothing. I'm like, turn around, boom, he walking, So they can't watch the game. So it's like, you know, he's been like really like a big brother in a real mentor because I've watched him on his journey like from day one. Yeah, to see him you know what I mean now and in the space that he's in. So the relationship was always there, but then it
basically came from when I moved to LA. It was literally me playing the piano at Fox House and then he just heard me harmonizing with him. He was like, oh, bro, you can sing it. I'm like nah, because I never you know what I mean, I never professed to be a singer, like even when y'all met me back then, Like I was never like, you know, I'm an artist. Yeah, that wasn't me. So it literally was me singing in the living room with him and then
we all just start harmonizing him from there. They was like, Yo, we got this rehearsal tomorrow, meet us at center stage in Burdbank, you know where they do most of the main rehearsals. We do this rehearsal, learn a song just like me. That's a song you had with him and t I single was our big The next day, I'm singing on jay Leno. Yeah, and that's how I started, like literally like that Jay Leno one O six in park This back when Tyra Banks had a show Ellen and
like doing all of them a month and a half. Bro Like that's boom, Like they threw me literally into the fire to where she got to think everybody know me for playing basketball because I was a hooper. So it goes from that to boom this and I'm learning as they watching me on TV. I've never done it before. You were out of school already, you're out. Yeah, I was done. Okay, yep, because it's all started in two thousand and eight. Yeah, you you went through something that It's
one of the things that I've been wanting to do. So it's tour. I've always wanted to tour for shows. Now, yes, I was a touring DJ for a comedy show, which is different. I just do the beginning and the comedy shows to act and then I'm back on at the end. But one of something that I've always wanted to experience was djaying a show a tour that you know where you're perform you're one of the performers, and
so tell me how what was that experience like traveling the world? Yeah, it so when I started again, like you gotta think I'm going from like literally being here at Fresnow, yeah, to Like, my first big award show was to BT Awards two thousand and nine, So you gotta think I'm now walking in the back beyond say walks by me Rick Raw And it's like, you know how it is when you're getting the back, it's normal, everybody just moving. But it's like for me, you know what I mean,
I'm left to right the whole time. But when you get on stage, it's like but when you see the crowd, you get over it because now it's like I gotta work, you know what I mean? So what for me? My godfather made it known early like you're the youngest person here.
We need the energy from you. So for me, it was figuring out, okay, cool, how can I make sure I maintain a level of energy to where he vibing off me, that the musician is vibing off me, like the stage is vibing cause I'm you know what I mean, wherever I'm at. So it was just finding my place on the tour to where it makes sense to include me. So from learning that to then getting comfortable learning how to actually perform. I never perform before, so it's like
now I'm learning how to perform literally on stage. Fox used to tell me, you don't look at the girls when they looking at you. They're going crazy, Like, bro, I'm watching them look at you, but I'm so like, you know what I mean, I don't really know what I'm doing, just playing it off now. Then you also perform at was it the Grammys? Yep? Yeah, how was that experience? Crazy? They
your whole day is booked out. They put you in a suite in the Grammys and you sit there all day till you perform, really and then you just leave. Wow, Okay, like everybody I remember because I remember watching you, like that's dope. Man. Everybody checks in about eight o'clock in the morning. They put you in your own suite. They feed you all the stuff all day, and you literally sit there all day and until it's
time. It's just like backstage or you're actually like watching the show from you can see the show in the suite, so you know, like they do it in the Crypto Center now, so basically most of the suits are taking a by the artists. Okay, they put them in there and you sit there all day till it's your time to perform. But it's just like even
like all of that stuff. Now when you look back at it, it's like, dang, because in the moment, you know, as you're doing things, you're just doing it. You're almost like zoned out a little bit. It's like work mode. So us being in the radio business for all these years, we've met our share of big time artists, and we've kind of, for the moment most part, we kind of know how to act
around them. You know, we don't go overboard. Was there any point in your touring and meeting all these celebrities where you just kind of fan out and where you gotta kind of get out of Karen? But my mind character was they knew it, Like met Will Smith and I met Denzel Washington. Oh wow, man, I mean get much higher than that. I met Will Smith. They were filming Oprah Winfrey's last uh TV episode in the the Arena in Chicago where the Bulls play. So this is huge, right.
So we're walking through. See the name on the door. I'm like, Fox, not on the door. He talked, you know that talking, but he know, like I want to meet never met him. Hey, this Marcus Anthony singing by blah blah. He just talking to me like we and in my head, I'm like Will Smith though, you know what I mean. So meeting him with dope, like he actually like talked to you, you know what I mean, asking and he actually kind of see like where you at? Do you know what you're doing? You know what I
mean? Are you happy with what you're doing? Where's your next play? So it was good to you know what I mean, to talk to him like it was real dupe? Yeah? Yeah? So what's next after that? So it went from Fresno balling and touring, touring with Jamie Fox. What was the next step for you? Did the music bug hit you then? Where you wanted to do some solo projects? No? Well, like what happened next? Monica? So I started singing background with my Oh okay, so I got a call to sing with her. So I sang on
tour with Monica and Trey songs on his Passion Paining Pleasure to It. That was his first headlining tour. That was twenty ten. So it's like I go from Fox, get a call the next year to do background now with Monica Trey song by the way, how does that work? Who calls you? So basically, I mean it's like any other industry, Like, is there like a pool of people most of yeah, most of the background singers
now, like who still sing with the same people? Like that's why most of the time when I go to them shows, I know all these people because we've been working together for twenty plus years. So it's like everybody kind of already know each other. So it's like when somebody needs somebody, it's normally like an inner call within all of us because everybody knows you can get the job done. You know what he's doing any professional boom phone call,
come go to work. Okay, So after that, you is that where the solo career blossoms. Definitely, that's definitely the birth of my I would call it, I guess Marcus Anthony like making it make sense as an artist. So from there it just start, you know, singing, recording in studios, learning how to record, learning how to write, learning how to produce, and really you know, just sharpening the craft so that way as an artist now I would be able to do not just one thing, you
know what I mean. You don't want to be the artist where you just walk in the room, the song's done here, you go do the song, get out of here, like you want to be the artist where Okay, we started from production. Let's produce it. Cool, let's write it, you know what I mean? Okay, now let me record it. You want to be involved. So that way, that's how you get to check you know what I mean, a lot of people when you just walk
in. The song's done here, just go sing it. Once the song come out, publishing and everything that's royalties, You're not getting no money. So for me, you know, I've learned to make sure I establish myself in everything that I do, song wise recorded. So is there anything you've ever done where we don't know, like you were part writer of this good song or maybe background vocals on a track. Well, I have over about eight placements. I'm on four Jamie's albums, one tyres. And then I
did a movie scoring for a movie called Crew. So the music won Best Music in the Movie at two like huge film festivals. So like stuff like that. I've produced songs for the TV show used to be called Gestagents back in the day on MTV. It was a reality show. I did the theme song for that Wow Fox. Fox did a bit on Sesame Street where we had to redo the Nutcracker. So I actually played the piano and redid
the whole track and then he sang it on Sesame Street. Yeah. So on your bio it says, you know, with all the things you do actor, when did when did this happen? It was just probably the next thing. Yeah, what are you in? I think? Yeah, said, I think the acting part of it. The beginning of that was love and hip hop. Uh, Love and hip Hop Monies reached out to me. She's a good friend of mine, always has been, and they, you know, she was dealing with some stuff with them and she just needed
like a support system on the show. So I told her I would do it, of course. So that kind of was the introduction to how they kind of got to know my name. And then doing that, we did season one and they skipped three, did season five, and then like other things since then, like you know, people start calling because they see you on TV, you know what I mean. So it opens the door to do different things. I've done different things on like sketch comedy show type acting
stuff, you know what I mean. So it hasn't been anything too deeply scripted yet. I read for some stuff last year and we shot a pilot for hopefully you know, it gets picked up because they shooting it for Netflix. So yeah, just I saw your Instagram that you're shooting something. Speak on it or okay, you know you can. But if if it goes through, then it'd be great because then it'll be like people actually get to see me, like now do something where it's like he acting, So it's
like a series or something like that. Yeah, it's a serious. So we already shot the pilot and everything for us. Trust me, I know about that. So when I was touring with Joe Joe Uh got picked up for this TV show on it was Comedy Central still and I was gonna be the DJ of the show. We filmed a pilot like the cameras on me. I have a part never got released. That's why I say so, Like when you shoot pilots like they shoot it as if the show. Yeah,
so it's full production. Everybody's there lighting, camera, stage and everything, so it's like it's shot like they like it's completed and everything. So it's like the pilot is cool. But if the pilot don't get picked up, you know what I mean, it's then it's done. It's like nobody ever gonna ever see it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they just shelve it. I gotta ask you this one thing that I just actually never known is Marcus Anthony your real names such as Anthony Jones. That's such a good
name, isn't that? Like, Marcus Anthony is such a good stage name. Like it's I always thought like maybe you made it up because it was so good, But I don't know. That's my that's my real I hate this guy because not only does the name, he has the look to you. You have that actor look the singer look. Man. That's why I'm we're knocking hard, like yeah, man, right now. We got a lot of good things in the works, you know what I mean a lot of new things. And I'm excited about it. That the song ego it's
actually about to go to terrestrial radio. Yeah you know, King Willis. I heard the name Ken Wilson go out to LA. He's the one pushing the song. So we going. I think they're doing like all five measure markets, so it should be nice. I'm excited man about it. We're gonna talk about that project real quick. But back to the back background singer. Recently, you were just on tour with Keith Sweat. Oh nice. Yeah, every time Keith saw come out in Fresno. He sells out all
the time. And this dude he got it. Like Keith, he still got it, you know what I mean? His like even that call right, that was a phone call literally because something happened with whatever they had with the other background singer. And it was so random because my boy him, he was like, hey, uh, Keith looking for a background singer. I'm like, Keith who because I didn't somebody say Keith. You don't just say Keith. He like Keith Sweat. I'm like, oh for sure.
I'm like. He was like, yeah, they gotta show Friday. This is on Wednesday. Uh. He was like, I'm gonna have They're gonna send you the music. So now mind you you know, the difference from actually singing people's songs in your car to actually singing it on stage in front of people, it's not the same. So I had to learn an hour and a half of the show that I never heard before in like forty eight hours. I was just gonna ask that is the how was how was the
rehearsal process? Also? Yeah, because they called me and then I went to the Greek Theater. Yeah, am so he's just hoping that you're ready basically, And that's why I say, like literally, like any other profession like went to get like at that point, like they got to call you any point and if you can't do it, trust me, somebody can. So you want to be the one who can. When they told me,
I'm like it over like from you gotta think you know the hits. We all know the hits, but like the songs in between, never heard them in my life. But are they the audio they're sending you? Is it the show? Show? Is the audio show? Okay? It's an actual recording of one of the shows. How do you know your part? Because I know the harmonies so just like I said, growing up with my mom in church, like I was able to depict harmonies at a very young so
that's like second nature to you. Yeah, now you just need to know the lyrics. Basically when you get to the Greek Theater, that's the first show. First show. What's don't know nobody. I don't know anybody in their crew. Like most of the time I know like some of the musicians, you know what I mean, just through the work of the I mean the world of being a musician. But I didn't know none of them, so it was kind of like, I'm like, hey, how you doing.
You know Mark and say like, oh, you're the new singer. Yeah, so that's kind of it, like you know what I mean, they don't know you. I don't know them, you know what I mean. We all here to work. Yeah. Now it's like, you know, everybody looking at me. So I'm like, I got to do my job, which I just got forty eight hours. Yeah, so how good can it be? Right? But I mean it was cool, Like you know, it's just like going to any other other office, you know what
I mean. You got to go in there and do your thing, all right. So you brought up the new project. You got a new album that you're working on, and you've let me hear a few songs already. But yeah, Ego is the single. Yeah, Ego is a single that's out now new EP. I still haven't named it. I don't know why, but I just haven't named it. But we have picked majority of the
songs we're gonna do. It's gonna be about eight get them out. So we're helping to release the Ego single before Valentine's Day and then the next single will drop in May with the EP the full single. So I'm excited about it. Man, Like it's been a lot of buzz. You know, I've been hosting concerts and stuff, so it's been allowing me to you know, keep my face in front of people and then it gives me moments in time and there will actually sing. So it's like it allows people to build
those connections. So then I it's like to do it again, just with the music. It's gonna be fun. Is it just you on the project? Yeah, okay, it is. It is just me. I don't have any features, and it's not that I wouldn't want any, because you know, it always takes it to another level. But I think even in this state, like I really want people to get to numb me, gotcha, you know what I mean before all the elements of that kick in,
So it'd be good. I promise they gonna you gonna like the songs still a thing where oh, if you want to make it big, you got to move to you gotta live in LA and do like where are you are you recording here in town? And for us no, so I have because of technology now like you can record anywhere, which is which is something that I've even realized because it's like, you know, being in LA like when you work in the industry of what we do, it's like, you don't,
that's not a job best every day of the year. So it's like, you know, I do things in between where I promote, you know, I do three events a week here yea, yeah, you know what I mean. So it's like I keep myself busy, you know, with jobs and income. But it's like with the music thing, you know, you just got to stay locked in bro at all times. Every song gotta be to me, you know what I mean, better than the last one,
at least to me, Like and I don't. I'm very honest with my music, like and I like for people around me to be honest, you know what I mean. So at the end of the day, it's a universal consensus like this, this is it. Yeah, yeah, well
we could wrap it up with this. You talked about the events and if you guys obviously follow me on social media and you know about this Monday night event that we do in Fresno, which, by the way, my friends from LA from Seattle, I get d MS from everywhere saying I wish we had that in our city, And yeah, man, you're not You're not lying, because literally when I go out on the road, people ask me
about Day Night. Yeah wow all the time, like people, and it's and I know what it is. And like I was telling them, like, it's the ambience of like with a DJ, you you can control the crowd, right, you know what I mean, You control the crowd, but when you add the element of live instrumentation, now it's more of like an art you know what I mean, because between the performance, what we're doing, yeah, you know what I mean. He's going through songs.
I'm playing whatever song he's playing, but he's also at points he's cutting the music out. They don't even realize that's me playing the song that he's not playing. I'm playing with him. That's why sometimes I have to say it on the market if you guys don't know, I'm just playing the beat and the vocals and I'm actually playing it live. It sound like the track sound
the track literally, so Mormans essentially it's dope. And I really want to get to the point where, like we could we could take Date Night on the road. I think that talking about touring, it's not and it's not hard to sell because it's like we could go in venues. It ain't got to be big, you know what I mean. We want the two fifty crowd. We want to you want it sexy, and then what we do
is just charge a hundred to get in there, you go. Obviously, that's the big thing that we see right now is we see it on social media, we see it in different cities, these R and B clubs. But I have I've never seen it the way we do it with the with the live instruments and when you know, Marcus is on the piano. Sometimes we have a guitar player and Bobby yeah man, but just the DJ piano
combo. I've never seen it the way we're doing it. Like even even so it's stemmed from you know, me working in another place and they're like, well I got another building. You know what can you do in this building? I'm like, well, that's more of a musical, you know what I mean. You do a lot of live things, and I'm like, well, I could play the piano, you know that. But I'm like, well I'm gonna incorporate the DJ. I said, because the blend
of what we can create now. Like you said, it's a performance and it's an art. So it's like the like the way it started and now what it's turned into it now like you said, but it's it's so intimate, like I look for I really do look forward to Monday, I swear to God because it's dope. How organic it just began and it just grew and then people seeing it and like, oh man, that's tight. That's a that's a vibe, you know what I'm saying. And it's something that
Resno hadn't really had out here. Yeah. Man, And we just celebrate our one year. So congratulate you. I appreciate you guys taking me in. And this is you know, I gotta say this part, but it's not meant. I'm not hating on anybody. This is so a big event that happens in town that is successful. Is that chill Suite R and B event? You know, I would see it on social media. It's an R and B night club And of course, you know my age and R
and B music is kind of like what I grew up to. I've always wanted to play at a spot like this and Moe would say you should play at Chill Sweet. I'm like, yes, I want to because it's the hot R and B spot and I just I never got booked. But but like I said, it's not I don't think because I don't really network as much anymore, so maybe they don't know about me. I just wanted a
shot and I just never got that shot. And then I saw Marcus and our boys Straws do this event and I live down the street Labs, so I just asked, Hey, I just I just need to come down and just chill, like, don't pay me, I just want to do an hour set. And I remember my first night there. There was maybe eight to ten people there that night, but we had leave VI B vibe so much. I got like, yeah, I got to play all the R and B sos I wanted to play. And then I just kept asking I
come back every Monday. So I appreciate you guys accepting me and and letting me be a part of this because date Night has been one of my favorite events. Are you guys doing like a special Valentine's Day? So that would that would be actually Monday, that would be two days. Yeah, And it's funny you say that because I literally hit Frank about making a nice pre Valentine Day that would be dark thing where we you know, we can give
out some roses. I'm like, like, I'm with all that, and I mean, of course, you know the vibe in the room, date night, the R and B thing anyway, so it'll be good. Maybe do almost the ladies date night for you little celebration. Yeah, Like I feel like it's like the uh this Facebook movie where the social network. Yeah, because there's a piece of me that's like, Marcus, we should start charging, but not yet. Maybe something cool right now, it's cool on
the road to charge. We take it on the road. I think the timing is just good too, because it almost feels like there's this reassurgence of R and B right now. You know what I'm saying. It definitely is because I've never and you guys been here just as long as me, I've never seen R and B so much in the city, like every day literally you could find an R and B spot literally in Fresno. Now, which is to me, is I love it? Because you know what I mean, I'm R and B. You know, I'm an R and B head.
I love I could listen to R and B all day, which I normally do anyway. So it's like to see us have this many spots in the city and it's like everybody doing their own thing, and it's like I pull up to all of them, you know what I mean, support everybody, because I like to John DJ on the weekends, I pop up all him at the club, you know what I mean. It's always good to support each other. But it's a lot of R and B in the city,
yeah, man. And then of course you got Usher performing, and I know he's speaking a lot about R and B, and I mean, I hope that it makes this resurgence of getting more R and B back on the radio, because man, that was a time and it's just it's kind of faded. A little show you used to have, the night show, yeah, the slow Jams, Yeah, yeah, I used to hit because Jizo used to play and some of the songs they play, and it was like, so R and B needed like the Joe Love scenes, you know
what I mean. They used to play that and they still probably do, but it's like we've gotten so far away from it musically as artists and label you know what I mean. To where now everything is just so generic like this. That's the only reason why I feel like R and B is not like sticking, you know what I mean, Like we get cast, they come in and they you know what I mean, they'll banging for a minute, but like, when's the last time we had a teen year run?
Yeah, like an usher, you know what I'm saying. Like, and then nowadays, everybody's dealing with different legal problems, you know, everybody telling on everybody now because of social media, so it's kind of like it's hard to maneuver, especially as an R and B artist, because you know what they deal with. So it's like everything now is like it's multiplied times three.
So it's it's it's hard to watch somebody do the music right, keep the look right right, and be this amazing person as this one, you know what I mean. But it is needed though, man, music has been missing it. I can do it. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Be on the lookout. Wasn't dropping next week, I'm telling you, and then we could take day night on the road to go back.
I can see that go through your events because we are Monday Date Night, so Monday do Date nights Tuesday, I do a thing called Energy I'm down at the Roads. Basically, all that is is we do like uh, spelling bee, karaoke, We do games like are you Smarter than the fifth grader? But we wait, we don't do it in the beginning. We wait until like everybody then had a couple of drinks in their system, so
it begins to be loosen up. Yeah. And then after that, you know, the DJL played for about a good hour or two and it just turns into like a club scene, so it's dope. And then Thursday, Thursday nights, like tonight, we do game Night. So game Night is basically where I just set up a lot of the oversized games Jinga Connect for beer Pong, they play Uno, they play Space not that the Fulton, right, the full thing, yeah, the Full in downtown. Yeah.
So it's just I mean for me, you know, like I said, stay busy outside of the artist thing, you know what I mean, doing stuff during the week in the city, because like I said, I grew up here, so I know what it's like, you know what I mean, in Presdent like it ain't we don't have that fast life of La Bay
and you know, there's like always something going on here. So it's like I try to do things during the week so that way the people who do want to go out, you know something that before we wrap it up. Let's let's play a little clip of ego. Come on, man, let's play right here. Come on, I've been working on oh yeah, trying to maget the time. There it is Marcus Anthony. Appreciate y'all. Man, appreciate seriously, man, thank you for being on this episode of this
can get me fired. Continued success. And I think we do have something here with date Night that they ain't not think we do. You definitely got
something. I'm telling you. What I like about. The funny thing about Marcus is I'm always impressed by this guy because I'll play something from when I was a kid, you know, one of my R and B hits when I was younger, because I'm a little older than Marcus, and when he plays it and knows it, I always go, you know this, No, but I do, now, you know, I mean, And it's
really that like and now what on the spot? And that's why like for me, I like doing it because I mean, even the songs I don't know, it forces me like, and people don't notice, but in the moment, like I'm listening to it to try to okay, cool, I see a four bar change, boom, and then it don't change after that. Coop, I got it. There. It is on Monday nights, you guys can catch Marcus myself, DJ Straws Date Night at Lucy's Lounge.
And the drinks is good. Have you ever paid attention to that? Like a lot of especially women, they always talk about the drinks at Lucy. Lucy's drinks is great. Yeah, And you always try to force me to you never do we're going if we go on tour, John, you drinking. I'm trying to cut down to drink more. You know. Also what he tries to force me to do is sing more to give me to sing. First of all, he's lying, what what your catch John doing?
Is johnna play some songs? And he'll look around to see if anybody watching, and people not watching, he'll sing sing, He'll singing the mic. Where ain't nobody looking like a musician? I hear him, He had it next to me, So I'm looking at him like, why don't you just sing the song? You doing it already? When he when he points me
out, then he won't do it him. Don't point it out, just let it be straw closing his eyes and I'm like, man, but I mean it's funny though, like to watch him do it because people now know he do it and they watched up. So if you want to see me sing, come out watch the performance. I appreciated, man, contugic success like I said, and yeah man, and we'll get back it on Monday. Absolutely