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Gilkyson, Tony


   October 12, 1999  ABC-TV--(Tuesday)

   Appearance on the "Dharma & Greg" TV show
 
   Title: Play Lady Play    
   Show #3ABD04 
   Broadcast Time: 9:00 PM (eastern); 8:00 PM (central) 
   Length: 30 minutes 
   Bob plays guitar on 2 instrumental songs with a band.
   Dharma is auditioning for her friend's high school band
             and plays drums. 
   Band members: Bob Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, John Field,
                              Tony Gilkyson and Joe Henry. 

Tony Gilkyson
by
BY JOSHUA MILLS

While X's old-school L.A. punk pays the bills, guitarist Tony
Gilkyson has quietly formed his own self-named group, and they've
been delighting audiences at their regular Wednesday night haunt
at The Mint for the last few months. His band (which also
features X's D.J. Bonebrake on drums and Dan Brownfield on bass)
plays an invigorating mix of rock, country, folk and blues - as
you might expect from X's latent tendencies and the subtle guitar
licks that have earned him respect in that band. And so it is
here: classy showmanship, no boundaries, no expectations, not
even a set list.

"I lose focus playing with anybody [else]," says Gilkyson on the
genesis of this project. "Whether it's with X or whomever, I
start to get paranoid that whatever little bit of individuation
there is is being lost. When I'm playing with X, I also get
really paranoid that the audience is wishing for the band of old.
Mostly, however, it's to get some creative satisfaction for
something I am responsible for."

Gilkyson's personal yearning to break free of X's shadow is
consistent with his partners. Each member devotes time to
separate creative outlets during their hiatuses, which allows for
artistic growth both individually and collectively. Just as John
and Exene's attraction to old-style country led them to create
The Knitters in the mid-'80s, so Gilkyson's band was created out
of a love of roots music - between originals, they cover old
Dylan folk songs and Flaco Jimenez Tex-Mex, as well as honky
tonk. "I got into country music as a reaction to bad rock and
roll." But he quickly hit his limit. "Country has a lot of rules.
You're more inclined to play the same thing every night. "I got
really sick of all the country guitar players becoming
homogenized. I'll listen to something and think, 'he sounds just
like somebody I heard on another song two minutes ago.' It's very
sophisticated and knowledgeable but not particularly
interesting."

What is interesting is that while Gilkyson's live shows seem very
straightahead (he has yet to record any solo material), he
himself is looking to tweak perspective, moving toward the future
of music by reinventing the past. "I'd like to do something that
has a great guitar sound that's really weird, that nobody has
done before. Good ambient noise is fascinating to me. I may be
hoop-jumping, but people respond to it without really knowing
why. Ambient noise is what made a lot of pop hits from the '60s
great."

Until then, he'll satisfy himself by occupying a curious niche
between country and punk. When asked if a slot opening for Dwight
Yoakam were to suddenly open up, would his band fit that bill?
"Hell, yeah. I love that guy," he laughs. "But, then again, I
think it would be great if we could open for Babes in Toyland."


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