true songs

2011-09-26T09:14:00.001-07:00

Anthony Barilla is a composer and musician currently living and working in Kosovo. He is best known for his work with Infernal Bridegroom Productions, a Houston-based theater company widely respected for their challenging ensemble work. Between 1998 and 2007 he worked on 35 IBP productions, including the world premieres of Fucking A by Suzan-Lori Parks (for which he helped develop musical arrangements) Hide Town by Lisa D’Amour (which he directed), and numerous rock operas. In 2003, he was named IBP’s artistic director.

During his tenure, Mr. Barilla was responsible for, among many other things, the development and musical direction of Speeding Motorcycle, a rock opera based on the songs of Daniel Johnston that went on to receive national attention and critical acclaim. He has also created music arrangements for the stage of songs by David Berman, The Kinks and others. He has composed scores for theater companies in Houston, Atlanta, Austin and Pittsburgh as well as for Public Radio International's This American Life, and he writes and records his own songs under the name “The Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”

In 2007 he and his wife moved to Kosovo, where he founded Blackbird Books, a non-profit library, bookstore and cafe. In 2009 he was awarded a residency at the MacDowell Colony and a grant from the Swiss Cultural Programme in the Western Balkans. In 2010 he was accepted to The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes, France.

fallout and more

2011-09-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

nine brief, sparse and moody instrumentals from 2011. download them all for free at this link.

dead and dying

2010-12-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

instrumental outtakes from the truth and reconciliation commission's "songs about dying." download them all for free at this link.

Chris Bakos - Bass on #2
Cathy Power - Flute on #2

songs about dying

2010-11-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

get your truth and reconciliation right here. 13 songs on the subject of death. download the entire album for free directly to your computer here.

1. almost not quite epitaph blues
2. good friday blues
3. how sad
4. the bottle or the knife
5. on easter morning all my friends were dead
6. patti smith
7. the death of me
8. sweet dreams
9. blame it on the angels
10. get outta bed boogie
11. prevention
12. border blues
13. the end

Chris Bakos, bass on 9, 11 & 13, vocals on 9
Cathy Power vocals on 9, 11 & 13

kosovo sounds

2010-06-25T02:47:00.000-07:00

tallava forever: a mashup of tallava musics

tallava forever, part 2

tallava forever, part 3

a mashup of men singing about nightingales

tunes built around dervish chants

a mashup of Albanian songs

a mashup of a popular Balkan jam

noise movies

2010-06-25T02:45:00.000-07:00

instrumentals: january through may, 2010

2010-05-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

9 small acoustic/electronic instrumentals - castoffs and extra thoughts from our upcoming album. download the complete selection for free here.

five tunes, three postscripts, and a suite of difficulties

2010-02-26T03:01:00.000-08:00

14 little pieces of music written in January and February of 2010. Please note that the “Suite” is best appreciated in order and without pauses between each Difficulty, so you might want to adjust your mp3 playback accordingly. Download all of them—for free, as always—here.

Ideal for scoring your theater plays, radio shows, amateur polo matches, backroom monkey fights, 4th of July motocross rallies, erotic ballets, unimpressive attempts at freestylin', waits at the bus stop, missed connections, spring cleaning, pedicures, book signings real and imagined, compulsive self-fondling, unpredictable bouts of religious ecstasy, driving lessons, mustache sculpting and pimple popping, shady deals, three fingered salutes, ill advised romances with men of a certain age, bird attacks, crying jags, sensitive considerations, chemo sessions, predicaments, stages of grief, purple prose, sarsaparilla binges, thoughtful moments and thoughtless actions, stewing and seeping, fall from grace, enthusiasm, croc wrestling, skateboard spills, motivational speeches, blood sacrifices, high speed getaways, feats of superhuman strength, naughty autobiographical puppet improvisations, unexpected encounters with genitals of a size to which you are not accustomed, hand jive practice, Russian roulette, Columbian conference and Spanish spankings, inner monologue, shipwreck, flag raising and standard bearing, card games and hat tricks, letter writing campaigns, red carpet strolls, electrocution, crab boils, vain protestations, tedious strip teases, cries for help, fleeting moments of bliss, underwear shopping, forced marches, tea parties, mad scrambles, brushes with greatness, suicide attempts, diaper changes, political maneuvers, anti-American diatribes, grand mal seizure, pat-downs, shuckin' and grinnin', photo ops, some dazes (but not every daze), reflections on the catechism, hamster funeral procession, geriatric pie fights, first ever cigarette out in the drainage ditch behind the school, all night pickling conclave, primping and polishing, bbq and bs, wake, redemption and the end of days. Enjoy.

melodrama

2009-11-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

Ten songs by the Seximals, written and recorded in Kosovo. Download the complete album here.

the down and outtakes

2009-11-29T05:52:00.000-08:00

I often write a lot of different versions of a new song before settling on one. This is a collection of some of those early versions of Seximal tunes, remixed into pretty little instrumentals with the vocals dubbed out. You can download the complete collection all ready for your mp3 player right here.

dervish musics

2009-11-18T03:18:00.000-08:00

Tunes built around samples of the dervish in Gjakova, Kosovo. Download them here.

music for friedrich durrenmatt's the visit

2009-08-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

Music written for The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt, produced in Mitrovica, Kosovo in 2009. Download the complete set here.

animal control: houston, and other short stories

2009-03-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

The 2009 album by The Seximals. Below you can hear the first five tracks on the album, or click here to purchase a CD of the full thing. Or, just go here to download the entire album for free.

"Animal Control: Houston, and Other Short Stories" was recorded in Houston, Milwaukee and Kosovo in 2008 and 2009.

Chris Bakos: bass (on 1, 2, 9 and 12), acoustic guitar (on 1) and backup vocals (on 2). Brian Farrell: electric guitar (on 1, 6, 9 and 13) and acoustic guitar (on 5). Todd Richards: electric guitar (on 3 and 11) and additional synthesizers (on 5). Farrell produced by Richards. Bakos produced by himself. All songs written, performed and produced by Anthony Barilla, except where noted. Album taxidermy photography courtesy of Besnik Hasanaj.

ringtones

2009-03-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

give me everything you got by the help

2009-03-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

"Give Me Everything You Got" consists of 21 songs and melodies written by Jason Nodler and Anthony Barilla during the last week of January, 2009. Recorded in New Hampshire and Kosovo, this project was made possible by the MacDowell Colony.

A CD version of the album is on sale here, with all profits going to support The Catastrophic Theatre of Houston, Texas. But the entire collection can also be download for free here. Listen to the first ten tracks below.*

* A note about sound quality: some of these tracks were recorded with the internal mic on a laptop, and not a fancy studio mic. That means that there can be quite a bit of extra hiss and noise. Don't think of it as bad quality: think of it as charming.

anthony barilla cv

2008-10-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

Anthony Barilla Cv - Upload a Document to Scribd

other music

2008-10-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Fallout and More: nine brief, sparse and moody instrumentals from 2011
Dead and Dying: instrumental outtakes from Songs About Dying, 2010
Instrumentals: January - May, 2010: assorted electronic and acoustic instrumentals, 2010
Five Tunes, Three Postscripts, and a Suite of Difficulties: assorted electronic and acoustic instrumentals, 2010
The Down and Outtakes: rejected versions of Seximals tunes, remixed and dubbed, 2007-2009
Dervish Musics: tunes built around samples from the dervish in Gjakova, Kosovo, 2009
Incomplete Thoughts: acoustic/electronic music, 2008

music by the seximals

2008-10-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Melodrama, 2009
The Down and Outtakes, 2007-2009
Animal Control: Houston, And Other Short Stories, 2009
Small Songs, 2007
No Glamour, All Frenzy, 2005
Get Forgiven, 2004

music for theater

2008-10-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Music for Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Visit, 2009
Electronic music for Eugene Ionesco's Killing Game, 2006
Acoustic/electronic music for plays by Lindsay Kayser, 2005, 2006
Acoustic/electronic music for Tennessee Williams' Camino Real, 2005
Acoustic/electronic music for Charlie Scott's Medea, 2005
An overture for Richard Foreman's Symphony of Rats, 2004
Acoustic/electronic music for Bertolt Brecht's Baal, 2004
Piano and accordion music for Joeseph Chaikin and Sam Shepard's When the World Was Green, 2004
Accordion music for Joel Orr's Noblest of Drugs, 2003
Pseudo-orchestral music for Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros, 2003
Rock songs for Jason Nodler's MeatBar, 2003
Acoustic/electronic music for Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love, 2002
Rock music for Jason Nodler's In the Under Thunderloo, 2002
Acoustic/electronic music for Sam Shepard's Action and Chicago, 2001
Piano and violin music for Marie Irene Fornes' The Danube, 2000
Church and bar music for David Mamet's Edmond, 1999
Acoustic/electronic music for Bernard-Marie Koltes' Roberto Zucco, 1999

incomplete thoughts

2008-04-13T01:56:00.001-07:00

Nine nuisances, written in commemoration of something I forgot. Download them here.

small songs by the seximals

2007-06-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

“… somewhere between Arcade Fire's orchestral grandeur and baroque-pop leanings, Silver Jews' quirky folk-pop and the lyrical immediacy and intimacy of Bill Callahan. Barilla's singing is reminiscent of the lulling lower octaves and poetic phrasing of Stephen Merritt. The record's one true oddball, "The Year of the Drought," with its quirky blues scratch and vaguely unsettling spoken-word storytelling, would be perfectly at home in the Tom Waits songbook. Much like a ripe melon, Small Songs is heavy for its size.”

- Houston Press, 2008

small songs by the Seximals, 2007. Buy the compact disc here, or download them for free here.*

*bass on 1, 3 and 5-8 performed by Chris Bakos. backup vocals by Bakos and Cathy Power.

music for joel orr's noblest of drugs

2007-01-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

Music written for Joel Orr's Noblest of Drugs, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2003. Download all three tracks here.*

*drums performed by Kirk Suddreath

music for richard foreman's symphony of rats

2007-01-31T11:12:00.000-08:00

An overture for Richard Foreman's Symphony of Rats, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2004. Download it here.

music for tennessee williams' camino real

2007-01-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

Music for Tennessee Williams' Camino Real, produced by Push Push Theater in 2005. Download the entire collection of thirteen tracks here.

music for ionesco's killing game

2007-01-26T12:01:00.001-08:00

Music written in 2006 for an imagined production of Eugene Ionesco's Killing Game. Download the entire collection of eighteen tracks in two parts here and here.

the seximals: no glamour all frenzy

2007-01-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

“The Seximals' music deserves to be heard -- unique in almost every way, their mostly acoustic and piano-based songs are perfect for that lazy afternoon, hazy morning, or smoke-filled coffeehouse.”

- Space City Rock, 2006

Music from the Seximals, produced in 2005. Download the entire "album" in two parts here and here.*

*songs by lindsay kayser and barilla. some vocals performed by Cathy Power as recorded by Chris Bakos. some drum samples were performed by Wayne Barnhill and Kirk Suddreath. 2005: truth and reconciliation commission.

music for joseph chaikin and sam shepard's when the world was green

2007-01-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

Piano music written for Joseph Chaikin and Sam Shepard's When The World Was Green, produced by Quantum Theatre in 2004. Download the entire collection of ten pieces here.

Warning: extremely slow music. Slower than is usual even for me. Listening to it again after a very long time, I wonder how the folks at Quantum felt about paying me to lightly tap a single piano key for hours at a time.

music for jason nodler's in the under thunderloo

2007-01-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of music written for Jason Nodler's In The Under Thunderloo, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2002. Download both of them here.*

*drums by Kirk Suddreath

music for sarah kane's phaedra's love

2007-01-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Music written for Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2002. Download the entire collection of nine pieces here.*

* drum samples by Kirk Suddreath

the seximals: get forgiven

2007-01-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

Download the entire "album" here.

songs written by barilla & lindsay kayser. drum samples on 2, 6, 8, 9 & 10 by wayne barnhill. drum samples on 4 by kirk suddreath. drum samples on 5 & 6 by shane lauder. string samples on 5 by two star symphony. 2004: truth and reconciliation commission.

music for ionesco's rhinoceros

2007-01-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Three pieces of music written for Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2003. Download all of them here.*

* clarinet performed by John Duboise

music for bernard-marie koltes' roberto zucco

2007-01-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

Five pieces of music written for Bernard-Marie Koltes' Roberto Zucco, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 1999. Download all of them here.

* he murders his mother: saxophones performed by John Duboise and Josh Kosoy
** brotherly love: guitar performed by Kevin Blessington

music for two plays by lindsay kayser

2007-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of music written for plays by Lindsay Kasyer: a cuddle pop symphony from the movement in the bed on the brink of awake or asleep and how it’s all worked out with threadcount, produced by DiverseWorks Artspace in 2005; a remix of themes from microscope maintenance and repair*, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2006. Download both tracks here.

* vocals by Cathy Power

music for charlie scott's medea

2007-01-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

Four pieces of music written for Charlie Scott's adaptation of Medea, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2005. Download them here.

songs for jason nodler's meatbar

2007-01-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

"’Songs from the Meat/BAR’ is as complex as the play it accompanies. Barilla contributes two compositions that bookend the album... both of which reveal him to be an excellent lyricist as well as bandleader."

- Houston Press, 2003

Two songs written for Jason Nodler's MeatBar, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2003. Download both tracks here.*

*Eventually, Notsuoh: acoustic guitar by Chris Bakos; vocals by Cathy Power; keyboards and vocals by Joe Folladori. You Got It Good: bass and acoustic guitar by Chris Bakos; drums by Wayne Barnhill; electric guitar by Scott Daniels; strings by Two Star Symphony; percussion by Kirk Suddreath; vocals by Carolyn Wonderland

music for david mamet's edmond

2007-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of music written for David Mamet's Edmond, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 1999. Download both files here.*

*drums performed by Kevin Blessington; saxophone performed by Josh Kosoy

music for marie irene fornes' the danube

2007-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Two pieces of music written for Marie Irene Fornes' The Danube, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2000. Download both pieces here.*

*violin performed by Gary Parente

music for bertolt brecht's baal

2007-01-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

Three pieces of music written for Bertolt Brecht's Baal, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2004. Download all three tracks here.

music for sam shepard's action & chicago

2007-01-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

Seven pieces of music written for Sam Shepard's Action and Chicago, produced by Infernal Bridegroom Productions in 2001. Download all the files here.*

* Clarinet: John Duboise