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There’s little doubt that the San Francisco Bay Area is synonymous with some of the most exciting and innovative music acts that the world has ever seen, and it says much about them that MAD ANTHONY fit into those upper echelons of rock history with ease. Emerging in 1984 the band were initially inspired by the sound of Aerosmith, Van Halen, and their ilk, but as their guitarist, Ralph Longo explains “MAD ANTHONY was blazing their own trail about 500 miles north of the LA scene which exploded with Ratt, Great White, Dokken, and Poison, but I remember Metal Rendezvous magazine mentioning us in one of their issues stating we were the first band on the scene.”

The foundations of MAD ANTHONY were put in place when Ralph and singer Rik Bernal first joined forces in Tyrant, a young group the latter describes as “a denim and leather band.” Opening for the likes of Mötley Crüe during their time together, Tyrant would begin to make a strong name for themselves before going their separate ways and it was at this point that Rik would form MAD ANTHONY with bassist Karl Reiche and drummer James Bohn. The trio wasted little time in writing original material, with Mad Anthony staples, “Just My Type”, “Falling Out Of Love” and “Face To Lace” becoming early favorites. Kevin Mannion and Jim Lewerenz became the band’s first guitar attack, although the latter of the two would leave a year later. Keen to move things forward another guitarist was recruited but would last for only one show and it looked like the end was already in sight when Kevin quit a month later.

Not to be deterred, Karl and James started jamming with Ralph and Mark Freseman, who had been playing with a band called Broadway. “So we joined forces and kept the MAD ANTHONY moniker,” Rik says, “bringing in the song “When We Touch”, which had already been written by Ralph and Mark, although I changed the lyrics. Later on down the road, we let Karl go and brought in Bryan Lujan on bass and all of the other songs on this CD were written by that group of musicians. This would be the line-up that lasted for many years, headlining the largest venues and pulling in huge crowds time and time again.” And as Ralph says, from there things clicked into place. “Yes, the vibe, feel and power of that line-up was really good,” he adds, still clearly excited by the memories.

This incarnation of Mad Anthony had a strong bond, but it’s clear that a particular kin-ship formed between Rik and Ralph, as the guitarist describes how the pair first came to work together. “I saw Rik at a rehearsal with his cover band,” he remembers. “I was completely blown away and immediately thought ‘I need to be in a band with him someday.’ I think I was about 16 when I first heard him sing and it was insane! He covered lots of ground, but the way he sang Scorpions’ songs and also his version of a Nazareth track just blew me away. I had joined Tyrant as a rhythm guitarist at the time and our singer split, so we needed someone in his place. I told the band that we needed Rik, period! He came in and actually auditioned when he had the flu but still knocked our socks off - we had to choose him. Rik and I became very close friends, partied our asses off, went on road trips… there are lots of stories that should remain untold!”

By 1987, MAD ANTHONY was beginning to become a real draw on the live circuit with regular shows at the Keystone Palo Alto, The Stone in San Francisco, the Omni in Oakland, Niles Station in Fremont, and practically became the ‘house band’ at Pumas in San Jose. Not just a consummate outfit on stage MAD ANTHONY also prided themselves on bringing the good times to their fans as part of their show. “Wherever the party was, we were there,” Rik states, going on to reveal that the competition between the bands, all jostling for attention wasn’t, unlike the LA scene, in any way acrimonious. “We pretty much hung out with everyone and were pretty good friends with most of the others. The real rivalry was between bands from what is known as ‘The Peninsula’ and those from the East Bay but that was mostly cuz of different styles and looks, after all, the East Bay was all about thrash and speed.”

And yet, even with that thriving metal scene, MAD ANTHONY became a real hot ticket in the area, being the only unsigned act to sell out the 900 head capacity Omni. Although, as Rik adds, that didn’t stop the popular outfit from having a mix of many highs and occasional lows on stage, “Playing the Whisky in LA was a highlight, even though we didn’t have a very good show, but performing at The Roxy, again in LA, was one of our best nights, even if we only got to play something like five songs cuz one of our road crew had forgotten the key to the case that held all of our guitars,” the singer laughs. “That said, our Centennial Hall gig was a disaster due to some members having too much fun beforehand!” To which Ralph replies with a wink, “Well, shit happens sometimes…”

But in the guitarist’s defense that was an element of MAD ANTHONY’s appeal that more often than not served them well. “We partied hard with our following and left nobody out, everyone was always included,” he continues. “Our fans were our friends! How can you beat that?” But neither was that MAD ANTHONY’s only attraction. “We were fortunate enough to be a decent-looking bunch of guys and had a great female following. Where the gals go, the guys follow close behind. We were also lucky enough to be fun as all hell and a fucking party!”

But let’s not kid ourselves, it wasn’t just good looks and good times that the band traded in, with their high octane, high energy songs garnering attention from local radio, magazines, and, of course, the fans. Features in Bay Area Magazine, The informant, and many fanzines kept their profile high but especially considering the competition, winning a radio station phone-in battle of the bands proved that in the end, it was always the music that truly mattered.

And with that in mind, one mystery that remains is why MAD ANTHONY never got offered a record deal like those that many a lesser act found coming their way. “I’ll let Ralph answer that one,” Rik sighs, “but I heard that we were next in line, although one of the labels didn’t like me.”

“We were trying to get [music impresario] Bill Graham’s group to help us, and had a string of A&R reps from LA kicking our tires, but even without their help MCA, Capitol, and Geffen was mentioned,” the founder member of the band confirms. “The reason that Geffen gave for passing was that they already had Aerosmith on their books and therefore didn’t have space for a band with our sound, whereas the others told us we fell too close in style with Guns N’ Roses, and shit like that.”

With so much more going on in the MAD ANTHONY sound, that reasoning makes little sense but not to be deterred the band still made sure that their music landed in the hands of their faithful following. A cassette EP was recorded at Prairie Sun in Cotati with Steve Fontana containing “Just My Type”, “When We Touch”, “Falling Out Of Love” and “Rock Me”, all of which are included in this release, whereas all of the other tracks were put together at Bayview Studios in Richmond with Rob Beaton.

The story of MAD ANTHONY’s demise is an all too common tale from the time, grunge being on the horizon and doors closing on the rock scene. Ralph started another band but knew that tough decisions lay ahead. “A few years later,” he says candidly, “I wanted a professional career and to start a family. The writing was on the wall and it was time to choose a long-term path and kick that ass!”

Rik too toughed it out for a little longer after the end of the band, “I joined another outfit after MAD ANTHONY” he reveals, “and did that for a couple of years but I was coming to the realization that this was not going to pay the bills so I settled down, got married, had kids… in the end I moved out of state and didn’t talk to anyone for fifteen years until Ralph got ahold of me in 2008 to do a reunion show.”

“Our band was a band of pretty good people and good friends,” Ralph continues with pride. “We lasted a long time for a rock outfit and we are lucky to be left with so many great memories, I mean, our shows were HUGE. We brought in huge lighting, huge sound systems, fog, bombs, and stacks and stacks of gear. They really were huge productions on a local level. I loved 99% of them and the after parties were EPIC!”

“Of course we played those LA shows and hung out with guys from Mötley Crüe, Warrant, and Quiet Riot,” Rik adds. “It really was sex and drugs and rock and roll…”

When the rock star dream faded, Ralph for one found another passion that the band’s adoring fans surely couldn’t have foreseen, founding the commercial real estate company Global Commercial Properties in 2011. Something, which surely you’d think, would call time on any more MAD ANTHONY activities, but since the band ended four reunion shows have been played with the last being in 2016. “I do think we’re done now though,” Ralph adds, “but you never know. We seem to manage to hit the stage about every five years or so and we still have a blast when we play together. To this day I am proud to say that Rik is still one of my most honest and truly close friends, so you never know.”

Which of course leaves one final question that still needs to be answered. Who the hell is Anthony and why is he so damn mad? The answer may not be what you imagined. “I'm a bit of a history buff,” Rik announces when asked where the moniker originated, “so the name comes from Anthony Wayne, who was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He was known for being risky but with favorable results, which earned him the name Mad Anthony.”

Risk-takers with favorable results… if ever there was a fitting epitaph for this band, then that’s it right there!