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!
The Union
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And even get away with now?
When cries come from the ones
Who broke their backs for you
And lost everything that they ever had.
Write this down, and lie through your teeth
As you smile, but never forget.
Blood from a wound that was open
Is where it drank its life away.
Then we saw you,
So choke on the mess you made,
And don't think about what could have been.
Just feel this knife in your back when this record spins.
Is this something that you thought you could do
And even get away with?
The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's song The Union is a tale of betrayal and the consequences that arise from it. The lyrics speak to someone who has lost sight of the sacrifices made by those around them and who have taken advantage of that fact in order to achieve their own personal gain. The opening lines "Is this something that you thought you could do, and even get away with now?" set the tone for the rest of the song; the singer is calling out someone who has acted with impunity and desires to set them straight.
As the song progresses, the lyrics further highlight the singer's sense of outrage towards the person they are addressing. They talk about the people who have "broke their backs" for this person and have lost everything as a result. The message is clear: this person has betrayed the trust of those around them and is now paying the price. The line "Write this down, and lie through your teeth as you smile, but never forget" is a cynical observation about how some people are able to lie to themselves in order to justify their actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Is this something that you thought you could do
Did you believe that you could act in this way
And even get away with now?
And not face any consequences for your actions?
When cries come from the ones
When those whom you have wronged cry out in anger
Who broke their backs for you
Those who worked tirelessly on your behalf
And lost everything that they ever had.
And suffered greatly as a result of your betrayal.
Write this down, and lie through your teeth
Make a record of your deception, and continue to deceive.
As you smile, but never forget.
Though you may appear untroubled, remember the wrongs you've done.
It won't happen again
There will be consequences for your actions.
Blood from a wound that was open
Taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable state.
Is where it drank its life away.
This behavior was self-destructive and unsustainable.
Then we saw you,
We caught you in the act.
So choke on the mess you made,
Be unable to escape the aftermath of your actions.
And don't think about what could have been.
Don't dwell on what could have happened if you had acted differently.
Just feel this knife in your back when this record spins.
Experience the consequences of your actions through the lyrics of this song.
Is this something that you thought you could do
Did you think you could get away with this?
And even get away with?
Without paying any kind of price?
Contributed by Ruby P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.