Anthony Harding

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my brain, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived in this world. It was a necessity for me – like food or water. While I delight in singing, playing guitar, jamming on piano, beating of the drums and playing any instrument I can get my hands on, bass guitar is my spirit instrument.

I was 13lbs when I was born, with hands the size of a grown man and a clear rhythm to my movements, bass was my destiny. As a child, I was forced by my parents to take years of piano lessons and sing in the church choir before they would purchase me my first bass. They wanted me to learn the theory of music before I tried to jump into the world of rock stardom, which is a decision that I now have much respect and thankfulness for.

Once I proved my love, dedication and aptitude for music, my parents blessed me with my first bass guitar on December 25, 1993: a Christmas miracle.  My best friend, Mark Horne, who had been through the same test as me, also had a miracle that day in the form on an electric guitar.  We immediately started taking lesson from the blind music teacher at our middle school, learning the basics. Within a year we had created a band and performed in our Middle School talent show (It was an admittedly awful performance) . As we improved our chops, we graduated and moved on to a new music sensei, Brett Phillips. I attribute much of my style, technique and attitude towards music to this great teacher.

By high school, Mark and I had joined forces with Sam Harbison and Tony Trupp creating our first real band, Lost Cause.  My experience with these guys through high school was nothing other than amazing. We had a dedicated garage at my parents’ house with top of the line performance and recording equipment, we would spend days on end in that room. We played concerts, talent shows and battle of the bands, but our true passion was jamming, letting the music flow.

By the end of high school I had realized that I had no desire to be a ‘rock star’ or industry professional but instead wanted to be a lifelong student of music.  I played constantly through college and even moved to Los Angeles to work for Dream Works Records and play in a few bands. My passion for music is limitless and I will forever be on the hunt for more exposure and experience to quench my thirst.