Anthony R. "Tonie" Joy is an American musician based in Baltimore, Maryland. Joy is known for his work in various underground rock and post-hardcore bands. He ran the independent record label Vermin Scum from 1989 until 2001.
Tonie Joy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Anthony R. Joy |
| Genres | Hard rock, psychedelic rock, post-hardcore, punk rock |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, bass |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Kill Rock Stars, Gravity, Gold Standard Laboratories, Vermiform, Ebullition, Vermin Scum |
Having been inspired by his father Bill's early '70s acid rock band Grok and previous group The Verdicts, Joy began playing music as a teenager. In 1986 he co-founded Moss Icon[1] which is known as an early influence on the hardcore punk rock splinter genre known as "emotive hardcore" or emo.[2] Moss Icon were active until 1991, briefly in 2001, and occasionally since 2007.[3] In 1990 Joy played guitar in Breathing Walker, a band containing members of Moss Icon as well as other musicians. Shortly thereafter, following a brief period playing guitar in and contributing artwork to Lava, Joy co-founded Universal Order of Armageddon, another influential post-hardcore group.[4] During this time Joy served as the bassist in the final lineup of the political hardcore band Born Against.[5]
Joy's first appearance as a front man came in 1995 with The Great Unraveling, a band formed from the ashes of Universal Order of Armageddon. After their dissolution in 1997, Joy co-founded The Convocation Of..., who, despite a period of inactivity from 2002–2005, currently remain active under the name The Convocation.[6] Joy was an occasional member in the group Men's Recovery Project in the late 1990s. In 2010 he briefly played bass in the hard rock band The Pilgrim[7] and in 2011 played guitar on a few tracks on the Cold Cave LP Cherish the Light Years[8] and was a touring guitarist on their 2011 UK and EU tour. Later this year, Joy debuted his 7 piece live band called Slow Bull, the culmination of several years of solo writing and recording efforts.[5][9]