Tonio K. Discography (was 1992 played-most thread)

[Michael David Toth]

Like clockwork, Tonio seems to come up on here with similar questions
raised about every 3 or 4 months. Here's more than anyone ever needs to
know, but I don't have a lot of personal annotations about the records
here. Yell if you want me to post some commentary. (Needless to say,
this guy, along with Sam Phillips, Terry Taylor, and Mike Knott, has had
an incredible impact on me as I continue to figure out just what it
means to be a whole human, Christian, and creative person. Tonio,
moreso even than the others, left an incredible timeline of
transformation that has given me some amazing insight into the process
by which an individual acknowledges and surrenders to God. Tonio music
often goes through my head when communicating with one friend in
particular, who's personal process is somewhere in the early "Amerika"
stages. :-) )

PART ONE: Albums, and records with non-LP material.

THE CRICKETS Remnants (Vertigo Records 1973) <in the Jim Croce vein,
this features 2 songs written by Tonio (Steven Michael
Krikorian) with him on lead vocals>
TONIO K.

Life In The Foodchain (Epic/Full Moon 1978) <exists in ordinary black
vinyl, with some green promotional copies, AND, in Canada,
a black/gold/white swirled vinyl promo>
Amerika (Arista/Full Moon 1980)
Test Pressing (Tonio K. 1981) <4-song promotional EP, presumably put
out by Tonio himself to solicit a new record contract;
includes the original version of "I Handle Snakes" as well
as what boils down into THE most genuine, sincere
documentation of a bitter, nihilistic punk finding God that
I've ever heard, "Hey John" (directed to the Biblical
writer)>
La Bomba (Capitol 1982) <5-song EP>
Romeo Unchained (What?/A&M/Word 1986) <the first with Christian
distribution>
True Confessions Radio Interview (What? 1986) <promo-only interview
recording; exists on record and cassette>
"True Confessions" b/w "I'm Supposed To Have Sex With You" (What? 1986)
<12" dance single with LP version of TC and non-LP song>
Summer School Soundtrack (Chrysalis 1987) <features ISTHSWY from above;
the albums even had a sticker on the front saying,
"Includes ISTHSWY by Tonio K.!"; also released by
Chrysalis as a both-sides-same 12" promotional single>
Notes From the Lost Civilization (What?/A&M;What?/Word 1988) <2 dif.
versions exist, with the A&M version having an extra
song, "What Women Want," IMO the best on the album, and
left off the version distributed to Christian bookstores>
Notes on... NFTLC (What?/A&M/Word 1988) <promo-only; Tonio gives a
monologue, talking about each of the songs on the album;
exists on record and cassette>

PART TWO: Other nifty promotional items.

Tonio has remained in obscurity, but you can't blame the record
companies for not trying. 7" and 12" promotional singles abound. If
someone is REALLY interested, I can try to assemble a list, but I
thought a listing of only the most INTERESTING stuff would suffice:

Foodchain Picture Disc EP (Epic 1978) STRANGE item; Tonio & 3 other Epic
artists from the time who Epic had high hopes for and who never went
anywhere; 2 songs by each artist with the area on the record which
their songs occupy featuring a circular section of their album covers;
Tonio occupies the inner 9" of one side of the record.

"Let The Music Speak For Itself" (A&M 1987) There's a wraparound sleeve
which slips over a cardboard/plastic CD case; On the sleeve is a photo
of a dinosaur from the Notes album cover; Taking off the sleeve, on the
CD cover, it just says "Let The Music Speak For Itself" and "Call Mr. B
at 1-800-something." Inside is a 3" CD and adapter with the dinosaur
photo on the CD, and like the outer sleeve, no identification
whatsoever. The CD features "Without Love" and a montage of songs from
NFTLC.

PART THREE: The Apocryphal Tonio K.

These albums feature cover versions of TK songs, from Romeo Unchained:

CHARLIE SEXTON Pictures For Pleasure ("Impressed" and "You Don't Belong
Here"; 12" single of "Impressed" dance mixes issued by MCA)
WHAT IF What If ("Perfect World")
GLEN BURTNICK Talking In Code ("Perfect World")
DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD SOUNDTRACK ("Perfect World")

These albums feature songs written or co-written by Tonio, and usually
studio work for them as well:

MARK HEARD Mosaics
T BONE BURNETT The Talking Animals
CHARLIE SEXTON Charlie Sexton
PETER CASE Six Pack of Love

Also, there's an odd picture of him next to Bryan Duncan on the inner
sleeve of Randy Stonehill's Love Beyond Reason album; Tonio's does BGVs
and production on a few Stonehill albums.

And, the "Someone to Hold Onto" video and the band documentary on the
Choir's WIDE EYED WONDER video were directed by Tonio K.'s wife, with
Tonio conducting the interviews in the documentary.

PART FOUR: Other somewhat amusing trivial garbage.

He used to have this thing (Larry Norman does this a lot too) for
etching words in the inner grooves near the label. This is what
appeared on his first three albums:

Foodchain: Side 1: I AM NOT AFRAID
Side 2: ENJOY TRANSCENDENTAL ICE HOCKEY
Amerika: Side 1: HAMPSTER'S CHOICE
Side 2: EAT BUGS
La Bomba: Side 1: ?NUCLEAR? !NO GRACIAS!

And to close this missive, I chuckled at the fact that the background
singers on Foodchain were referred to as the "O.K. Chorale"

TA-DUMMM! And there you have it!!!

Michael David Toth
tot...@ucunix.san.uc.edu