Exposed Vocals just caught an Interview with ‘A&L’
A&L is made up of two seasoned industry professionals: Anthony Casuccio and Lana Marie. Anthony is a 20 year music veteran whose production work has been nominated for three Grammy awards, been featured in major music publications and topped the music charts. Anthony’s received RIAA certified gold records for his production work. Lana is an award winning vocalist who has been a long-time force on the WNY music scene and voice to many jingles on radio and television. A&L’s last two songs have been played on radio all over the globe and received numerous features in music industry publications. Their songs have constantly charted in Europe with there current single Cliché breaking the top 10.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
A&L: We are both from Buffalo NY. We both have had success in the music industry. Lana is an award winning vocalist and fronting a well known NY band for the past 20 years. Anthony’s work has been nominated for Grammy awards, been featured on various commercials and topped the charts. “We started working together when I asked Lana to sing on a jingle. I loved her voice and asked her to sing on a song that I wrote called Get Me a Drink. The success of that song was the start of A&L.” says Casuccio
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
A&L: “Well there is no juicy story or crazy process on that.” says Lana. “It’s just our initials, easy to understand and we are in the start of the listings..ha.”
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
A&L: That is a tough question since things are constantly changing. We have had a lot of radio play, media coverage and video views, yet our sales are not as high as you would think. We do give away some of our music via our SoundCloud account. Most fans listening practices revolve around streaming or videos, so really they are getting it for free or at a steep discount anyway.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
A&L: Everybody does. You just keep playing and move forward. Me (Anthony) had my peddle board short out once during a rainy gig. I just yelled “keyboard solo” and made the best of the song. It is part of that live experience.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
A&L: Anthony – I need inspiration and it can hit at any time. I wrote Get Me a Drink during a meeting where …I really could have used an adult beverage. Hot Mess came to me while working on production for a client of mine. I try to think of Lana’s voice and interject some of her perspective into the songs. She then takes them and makes the songs her own.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
A&L: We have a few social media sites. We have had a lot of interaction via twitter. We utilize them all.
We have a new EPK via https://artistecard.com/AandLmusic
http://www.facebook.com/AandLmusic
http://www.twitter.com/AandLmusic
http://www.instagram.com/AandLmusic
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cliche-single/id1119156084
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
A&L: We hustle. When we see an opportunity, we act on it ASAP. If you wait you miss out. We found that emailing a contact directly works best, no bulk emails. A personal touch goes a long way!
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
A&L: We are going to release an EP this fall. It will have all of our singles as well as a new song. We have been doing very well in the European charts, so we would love to put together a tour there this winter. Stay tuned!
