Fun_TonyTonyTony

What do you get when you mix Motion City Soundtrack drummer and bicep reduction enthusiast Tony Thaxton with One Piece Straw Hat medical reindeer Tony Tony Chopper?

Answer: Linda Linda Linda! Er, I mean Tony Tony Tony.

Easter Eggs: Each of the MCS album covers to date are etched onto the building's paneling, except for the mysterious fifth entry. The signage and t-shirt are references to Tony Thaxton's company Analog Playset.

Fun Facts: I remember the moment I became a Motion City Soundtrack fan and exactly who first got me into them. I remember senior year of high school when they played "Everything Is Alright" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I remember sophomore year at Yale, celebrating finishing my finals by blasting Even If It Kills Me while I drew on Swing Space whiteboards until I was too sleepy to continue. I remember tearing up when I first heard "The Worst Part." I remember marveling that they had great songs from long before Commit This to Memory. I remember seeing Motion City perform with Chiodos, Person L, and Hit the Lights live down the street from my dorm junior year and having to miss the meet-n-greet because I had a paper due the next day. I remember senior year at Yale, waiting in the Hall of Graduate Studies for class to start, meanwhile counting down to hear their newest album's first single debut on their website, pressing refresh, and then trying not to disturb the classes already in session while listening to "Disappear" over and over. I remember being tricked into going to the Yale Herald's office party, then hiding in a corner and drawing comics while listening to the latest track testimonial. I remember witnessing my Yale years come to a tangible end as I spent all day in Commons finishing up my thesis while listening to "Running Out of Time." I have never not loved this band. I cannot wait to make my first personal purchase of 2011 be their fifth album.

Baa: In all honesty I've never really appreciated drums, perhaps stemming from my years in band class, where the drummers were always disruptive and counterproductive--probably owing to the concert drum parts rarely being interesting anyway. But watching fellow high-school-band-graduate Tony Thaxton explain this bit of drumming really made me see why drumming can be so marvelous.

Tony Thaxton, here's to you!

[3/8/11 UPDATE: TONY THAXTON SAYS HEY!]

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