Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 9/15/09 Section: Arts & Society

Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Sarah Cass "It's kind of our shtick to be silly and weird" says guitar player Chris whose recurring dreams of tiny animals in his hand inspired the band's name.

When the words "tiny animals" come to mind, what do we usually think of? Little rodents, small birds, kittens, and all those other cute and fuzzy things. But what if that was a band name? In actuality, it is.

The band that calls themselves Tiny Animals hails from New York City. But why, in fact, are they called Tiny Animals?

"Occasionally I daydream about seeing small animals in the palm of my hand, but not animals that are supposed to be small like frogs and ants. Rather, large animals such as giraffes and gypsy horses that have been shrunken down as a result of some magic spell," says Chris, who plays the guitar.
Hopefully Chris' answer gives everyone the clue that these guys are kind of silly. "It's kinda our shtick to be silly and weird," says Chris. "That's just how we are." Should we expect truthful answers from him? "The truth is that 50 percent of all the answers I give you are half true." So what does that mean? His answers are one-quarter true? Your guess is as good as mine.

Even though these guys are from New York, they are all originally from different places. Anton, who plays bass, is from California. Siblings Chris and Rita Maye are from the tri-state area. Does Anton ever feel left out because Rita and Chris are related? "I hope so," replies Chris "We try to alienate him as much as possible. His nickname in the band is Rudolph."
"Rita and I have been playing music together since we were youngsters," says Chris. "But I guess that wasn't exactly a band. More like a pair of two mediocre musicians playing terribly written songs about tweedle bugs. Eventually, we got a lot better and Anton joined us circa 2008."

The three of them got into music through very normal circumstances. "Our dad was obsessed with classic rock since he was a kid, and tried to live vicariously through Rita and I," says Chris. "So I was coerced into playing guitar, and since he played bass, Rita had no choice but to learn drums. Luckily we were both pretty good at each [instrument]. Anton got into playing bass after watching the pit band in his favorite Broadway show, 'Cats.'"

Continued...

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