The group derived their name (as a joke) from celebrity Tony Danza, upon one of his professions being tap dancing. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza released four studio albums before disbanding in 2012.
The group signed with Corrosive Recording in 2005 after self-releasing their debut album. Their second most recent release, Danza II: Electric Boogaloo, was issued in 2007 on Black Market Activities. The album's name is a parody of the Danzig album, Danzig II: Lucifuge, as well as the 1980s film Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. The album features short, humorous skits interspersed with the songs making fun of their surroundings growing up. In March 2008, the band crashed their tour van after playing a show in Lewisville, Texas. Former member Brad Thomson founded Midgets with Machetes, a record label distributed by Uprising Records. The band released their third album, Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events, on July 6, 2010. On the record, Josh Travis performs lead and rhythm guitar on an 8-string guitar as well as the bass. It also marks the first album by the band to include drummer Mike Bradley. The songs "I Am Sammy Jankis" and "The Union" have been released as singles.
On September 24, 2009, the band announced that Layne Meylain and Mike Butler had amicably left the group. At the same time, the band formally announced their next album, Danza III: A Series of Unfortunante Events. The album focuses on lyrical themes such as, personal, social, political and global "unfortunate events" tied around three musical themes, technical, groove-based and ambient. It will be recorded in November with Jeremiah Scott and Steve Blackmon.
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza fits right in with today's emerging mathcore heroes, including Ion Dissonance, Ed Gein, The Red Chord, Premonitions Of War, Into The Moat, and Burnt By The Sun. The schizophrenic high-end guitars provide a blanket of psychotic aural assault amidst massive, dense tech breakdowns that will have you slipping, sliding, and dancing every which way. Much like Into The Moat, these guys barrel through one breakdown after the next, successively building on and expanding some of the tightest grooves tech metal has to offer. The bombarding grind-like speeds make a good part of their material sound like Ion Dissonance and Dillinger Escape Plan, while the massive guitar/bass/drum aesthetic using during stop-n-go breakdowns is very similar to Burnt By The Sun.
The latest album Danza III shows the bands proficiency at infusing elements of post metal into technical hardcore metal with amazing use of polymetric/polyrythmic technicalities!
Bill Dance Lands the Big One
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Strong arms
As alpha decided our alliance
Through childhood trust
Bonds tied strong
To these roots of compeer
Attitude through perfect lean shows us all
Truth
Distrust unfold
We fell
We fell hard
I tried to
I tried to stop this
Now
This will be the last time
This will be the last
This pasess down through blood
Shower me with this catch
Into the backs of persistance
Days lost in you
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's song Bill Dance Lands the Big One is a dark and complex exploration of the breakdown of trust in relationships. The opening lines of the song set the scene for a situation in which "alpha" has decided the alliance, suggesting a power dynamic in which one individual holds more sway than the others. The bonds tying the group together are rooted in childhood, but the singer suggests that even these strong ties can be broken, as "we fell hard" and "distrust unfold[s]."
The singer expresses regret for their inability to stop the dissolution of the group, declaring that "this will be the last time" and suggesting that the split has been traumatic enough to pass down through generations ("this passes down through blood"). The final lines of the song are cryptic, with the singer asking to be showered with a "catch" and lost in "days lost in you." The meaning of these lines is open to interpretation, but they suggest a desire for comfort and escape from the pain caused by the rupture of the group.
Overall, the lyrics of Bill Dance Lands the Big One are a meditation on the fragility of relationships, even those built on deep and long-lasting bonds of trust. The singer seems to suggest that even the most entrenched relationships can fall apart and cause lasting emotional pain.
Line by Line Meaning
We held
We maintained our grip
Strong arms
Powerful muscles
As alpha decided our alliance
The dominant member of our group determined our partnership
Through childhood trust
Based on the faith we had in each other as kids
Bonds tied strong
We had close connections
To these roots of compeer
Part of a network of equals
Attitude through perfect lean shows us all
A particular posture conveys an important message
Truth
The reality of the situation
Ways through
Possible solutions
Distrust unfold
Our lack of faith became apparent
We fell
We stumbled
We fell hard
We experienced a significant setback
I tried to
I made an effort to
I tried to stop this
I attempted to prevent this from happening
Now
At the present moment
This will be the last time
There won't be any additional opportunities
This will be the last
This is the end
This passes down through blood
This is a family tradition
Shower me with this catch
Let me experience the joy of success
Into the backs of persistence
With sustained effort
Days lost in you
Time spent with you that I'll never regain
Contributed by Jack D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.