City Meets Country “G’day”, it’s Neil Anthony from Australia. I have called this album “City Meets Country” for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I am a city meets country boy. Dad was from the city and Mum from the country. Dad was born and raised in the city of Sydney while my Mum was born and raised on a wheat country farm between Parkes and Forbes in central NSW. Then there’s me. I was born in Sydney but at age 5 moved to the country town called Orange. When I finished High School in Orange I returned to Sydney. To this day I still have one foot in the city and one foot in the country. My photo on the cover of this CD dressed in my best country shirt and wearing a ‘city slicker’ tie sums it up. This is me - city meets country. My song writing is that same combination. The musical influences that I grew up with were from both the city and the country. Generally my original songs are a crossover described as ‘country rock’ or ‘folk rock’, ‘suburban pop’, ‘soft rock’ or ballads. My lyrics reflect on country values like mateship, love and the joy of life but I guess that applies whether in the city or in the country. Mine are often ‘story songs’ a tradition in country music but my story may be about a city life such as track 8 “Hey Mate” or track 4 “Don’t know what’s going on”. In recent times too, the genre of music that we call ‘Country’ has more and more embraced city ‘electric’ styles from rock and pop. For fans like me, this has been welcome. So, above all, the songs that I have chosen for this Album follow the theme of city meets country. The opening song about country music and Tamworth city (Australia's equivalent of Nashville) pays homage to pioneers of Australian Country music such as Tex Morton, Smoky Dawson and Slim Dusty. I never met Tex but did have the pleasure of meeting and performing with Smoky. My mate, musician and producer Dave Marett who worked on this album, also worked on numerous Slim Dusty albums. The City life and the Country life are no longer as distinct as they once were. Many of the issues faced are similar such as our common concern for the environment. Track 5 “It just might all be gone” reflects on concerns about pollution and global warming. I released this track as a Single and it has received radio airplay throughout Australia and in Europe. Other tracks released as singles “Forster Tuncurry Song” and “Bindii Hop” have also received considerable radio airplay through both city and country stations and the ABC’s national network. You can also see the videos for these on my YouTube Channel NeilAB100. At my concerts in Sydney I sometimes mention my ‘country roots’ and am amazed by how often people come up afterwards to say that they also have country roots. Many folks with a country background are drawn to the big cities for work or love. Like me, they may live in a big city but they still hold on to country values. There are a lot of us city meets country people out there! I wish to thank all the musicians and artists that have given of their incredible talents to help me to turn this Cd from dream to reality. Hope you enjoy my songs and have a great day.