RV: At what age did you become interested in music?
Anthony: Music runs throughout the Bigsinger family. I started really getting into music at a really young age. Listening to my older brothers oldies music and some of that good old classic rock. I was probably about 13 years old at the time. My older brothers, Harry and Jim, played guitar and I used to listen to them play. Jim tried to teach me at a young age, but he was pretty mean, especially when I couldn’t get my fingers to press the strings down. He was not a good music teacher to me, hahaha. I would rather run around outside and play. I have a cousin brother and sister that use to live in Tucson, AZ. We would go down south to visit with the relatives during our school breaks. Man, my cuz brother, Harrison, is an amazing guitar player. I used to just sit there and watch him practice. Wishin’ that I could play like him, still to this day, I wish I could play guitar like him. He still plays today. Sir Harrison and the Blues Kings is the name of his band. If you ever get a chance, give them a listen, you’ll be blown away. My cuz sister, Chuckie Begay is also an amazing guitar player and singer. Chuckie is Harrison’s sister. They have CD’s out circulating the internet, also play locally around Phoenix, Flagstaff, Prescott and Sedona, AZ.
RV: Who has been the most inspirational and supportive person in your life?
Anthony: My Grandparents, Cole and Alberta Bigsinger. (R.I.P), Mrs. Larreu- English 101 Instructor and my daughters, Marana, Julianna and Shania.
RV: Do you have a favorite Native American Musician that you would personally enjoy meeting?
Anthony: Yeah, there are many. I love all Native American Musicians. They all inspire me. I have no boundary when it comes to genres of Music. Mato Nanji and Sir Harrison are my two Idols… My music is going to be leaning more toward the Blues Style. As soon as I finish my recording, you’ll see. Oh, yeah… Thumbs up to Levi Platero… He’s a pretty cool Native Blues Brother. But if I were to choose one, it would be my cuz brother…
RV: Besides music what other types of activities are you involved in?
Anthony: I like to sit back and draw. I have entered into a few drawing contests. I won second place in Puyallup, WA. It was for the theme, ‘Great Native American Smoke-Out’. I forgot what I won, but it was cool. I have drawn logos for a few Native baseball teams in WA. I like to carve. Rock sculpturing in Alabaster. I have a few works that I have sold in Sedona. I have many talents and it all depends on what I want to do. I would like to practice welding and make art with welding different shapes of metal. I am going to start making small modular Wind Turbines and see if I can make some money. Small wind turbines that I can sell to people who like to go camping and family outings. I am going green now. Hahaha.
RV: What other instruments do you play?
Anthony: I can play the Native Flute, Bass, and the drums. My ex-girl bought me my first flute while we were in Arlington, WA. She ran into this flute maker and called me over to see. It was for my Birthday gift. I played it for hours and eventually got the hang of it. I have played it on a couple of my tracks. Also, on a rap beat for a friend of mine. I loved playing it, but apparently I don’t have my flute at this point in time. I forgot it in Washington when I moved home to Arizona, but I’ll be reunited with it when I head back. My Mexican friend bought a bass guitar one afternoon we were surfing the internet. He wanted to learn to play, so we could jam together. It eventually stayed at my house. I was living in Federal Way, WA at the time. I recorded most of my songs at home. I have a special room that had all the instruments. It was hard to record when the kids were home. I don’t know how many tracks I recorded with knocks on the door and kids crying in the back ground, hahaha…I started playing the drums back in 2004. My friend John had this Tama drum set that was just collecting dust at his house. He played pretty good, but he was getting old, ready to retire and just wanted to sell the set. I offered him a deal and to do some house work for him. He went for it. I ended up painting his whole house for it. I was offering him money, so I could hurry to get it home, hahaha… Well the money eventually went to buying his old car. I got the drums home and I played them that whole day. My daughters got home and were all standing at the door covering their ears. They were excited to have them in the house. So much noise we made on that set.
“Click to listen”
RV: Who are your fellow band members?
Anthony: I don’t have a band at this time. All the music that I recorded is all my personal works. I call myself a ‘One man band’, hahaha. I am more of a studio musician. Before I moved to Albuquerque, I use to play guitar with my two Native Brothers, Dennis Littleraven and Tom Crow. They are both from Washington and awesome guitar players. They are awaiting my arrival back in Washington. I plan to get some musicians together when I get back home. I have to see what the dynamic-duo, Dennis and Tom has gotten together, but more than likely, I will team up with them.
RV: Please feel free to add anything that you would like to share with the readers.
Anthony: I just want to say that I am proud of being a Native American and to have the creator grace me with the talents that I have. We Native People all hold a special gift or talent in us. We are a strong Nation and lets keep it that way, by carrying out Tradition and Culture forward. Our younger generation is what is going to keep our past alive.
Thank you Anthony for dedicating so much of your time towards this interview. You demonstrate true talent in your music , writings, art and wisdom. It has been an honor to feature you here. You can listen to some of Anthony’s other works by clicking here or you can visit Anthony’s MySpace Profile.
My name is Anthony K. Maloney. I am of the Dine' Tribe from Northern Arizona. The soul spirit behind my music.
RV: Thank you Anthony for your time in proving an interview with Native Digest. I'm listening to one of your songs called "Walk Away". That is a very inspiring musical composition that you performed and wrote. Where did the inspiration to compose this song come from?
“Click to listen”
Anthony: Let me start by saying that not every relationship works and people do drift apart. This song is not to hurt people, but to give them the understanding and emotional support, that it is okay to just let go; Walk Away… I sat in my lil recording studio one day, staring outside and thinking of my past relationship. I was trying to block out the bad things that happen and focus more on the right, but my mind kept clouding up. I had my guitar in hand and started writing. I recorded the song after a few runs and I liked the setting and the sound. It had that enclosed feeling and the room made the song a perfect place to have the listener feel what the song is about. I realized that my relationship with my girlfriend for 11 years was nearing its end. I think all relationships need a song like this to help them cope with the heartbreak. Most times, the best thing to do is, ‘Walk Away’. We all stumble upon this hardship of life while living a double life. I like to be isolated to create music and write, but the love of my guitar and music meant more at that time. Well, there is no time to look back, but the memory is what stays around. I still sit back and ponder on some of the memories, some bad, but most of it was good. I cherish the times we spent together; you know 11 years is a long time. I have nothing against her. She is a good person. I’ll admit, I still have feelings for her. She’s closer to me than she thinks; guess I still hold her in my heart.
RV: I understand that you write poetry, where do you attribute your gift for writing and composing come from?
Anthony: That is a mystery question about the writing part of my life. I hated writing all through my adolescent years. I say I learned from my grandmother. I used to listen to her stories and some of it I did not understand, because she only spoke in her Dine’ tongue. The amazing thing was, her hands were like magic. I wrote in one of my essays about her and I wrote: Colorful Lessons: ‘Grandmother always started dinner off with a story that did not make sense and first, but as she talked, I would listen and watch her hand gestures, as her story would begin to come to life. Her hands were like paint brushes, waving in front of her as she swept the silent and warm air. It was her canvas; her blackboard that caught your attention and slowly created an image out of words as the blackness faded and colors of lessons came to life…I really started writing when I was in my freshman year of College. I had an English 101 teacher, Mrs. Larreu, she inspired me to write. I started brainstorming and writing what was streaming through my mind. I would then go back and re-read what I wrote and then structuring my words into a colorful picture. I then started writing short stories. She would just get a kick out of some of the stories, she just loved to read them. She was a guitarist and played at local coffee shops in the Albuquerque area. I played guitar then too, but not as good as she did. I would stay after class and listen to her sing. Beautiful. She was good. I was one of them students who fell in love with their instructor. Hahaha. She said I should practice writing poetry and lyrics, so on my spare time I started to write and began to be creative with words. We would sit down together after class, throwing ideas back and forth, re-writing verses and adding bridges, structuring guitar chords to flow with it. She made it look all too easy. Man, it’s been years… She made a huge difference in my life. My grandmother, I miss her dearly. She was my mother. I would say that being raised by her and her stories gave me the gift to be creative with words through songwriting, poetry and short stories.
RV: What do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Anthony: I say that I will be in the concrete jungle of Seattle suburbs. It’s hard to say, I go where my kids go. I can’t live far from them too long. I am like taking a break from them now and I miss them dearly. I am here in Albuquerque going to college right now and it is lonely being far away from them. I keep in contact with them though. I plan to move back up to Washington after the semester is over here. That will be around January sometime. I love it up there. It is so beautiful and I have adapted to the Metro life. I work for the Union as a Journeyman Carpenter and looking forward to getting back into the field. I will be putting my education on hold again for a short while. My daughters need me back up in Washington, so I have to go. It was fun and an experience to be back in College. I do plan to go back and my goal is to get a degree in the field of Solar and Wind Engineering. 10 years from now, I will be working toward my retirement and still playing guitar, composing music and writing.
