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Andy Harrington
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I really got to know Tony. He was a great arranger, technician, and pragmatic. He
was direct in conversation and outspoken with his opinions, but could easily be
talked into fits of mischief and goofiness. This combination of traits helped make
our band, Limited Light, as much fun as it was productive. Although we never
attained fame and fortune, we did manage to entertain ourselves through two years
of adolescence in suburban Newtown, Connecticut.
I departed for college, but during breaks from school, I would return to Newtown to play with Jon and Tony. Several new songs emerged and they were later recorded at the Vassar music studio in the winter of 1991. Students were not allowed in the academic buildings during the winter break, so we had to convince a professor that we were working on a "school project" so he would let us into the music hall. Once in, we remained there for 13 hours and snuck out at two in the morning past a sleeping security guard. Tony and I stayed in touch by email while he attended the University of Maryland. I got to know more about Tony's personal side, which is not something he readily discussed. He got to know more of mine, too, after I wrote him a very memorable email, enhanced somewhat by that night's festivities. Our four-year musical collaboration came to an end in 1992, but not before we had written and recorded several good songs. After my graduation and relocation to Colorado, I re-recorded several old Limited Light songs for "Brotherly Love", a film written by Newtown and Vassar alumnus Ed Schmidt. 1995 found my current band, Rhino2Rhino, without a guitarist, and I proposed to Tony that he come out and join us. I expected him to turn the idea down on the grounds that it was ridiculous (which it must certainly was) but he actually humored the thought. In the end, he remained in the D.C. area to focus on his career, but he remained very active in music. Although he played guitar occasionally, he especially enjoyed vocal music. I hope you all have a copy of "Will Sing For Food". Although we were no longer a musical team, we phoned and emailed frequently during these past two years. We talked about music and women, the topics that our relationship centered on. Last year I was sorting through my catalogue of tapes and stumbled upon dozens of Limited Light recordings. I pieced them together on a mix tape and mailed it to Tony. When I asked him what he thought, he responded, "It's pretty scary." Scary, yes, when you consider that those rough recordings were steps along the road to our young-adulthood. I honestly don't know where I'd be without those steps. Probably New Jersey.
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