No Use for a Name's Tony Sly Contributes to Music 4 Cancer Compilation

When 26-year-old Music 4 Cancer founder Jay Epinat approached No Use for a Name's Tony Sly to contribute a track to his charity compilation, it seemed rather fortuitous that the singer happened to have a tune called 'Heal' waiting in the wings.

"I already had a song recorded, which I didn't use for my solo record, '12 Step Program,'' Sly tells Spinner. "I had been looking for something legitimate to put it on, so I'm really happy to be a part of this."

Although the title of the track is spot-on for the double CD-album -- which is now available throughout North America, and features other punk heroes, like NOFX, Less Than Jake, Death by Stereo and Joey Cape of Lagwagon -- Sly says that the song doesn't actually have to do with the theme of the release.

"The lyrics are completely different from what you think," he says. "It was a song that's more about the inauguration of Obama and sort of how everyone was really excited about that, and celebrating, and there's this big parade, but... it was actually a really sad thing because there was such a deep hole that had been dug in those previous eight years. It's about getting back the nation."

As a special extra to accompany the track, Sly plans to post a personal video message on his website just as soon as he gets a few other tasks out of the way. Apparently, the California-based musician isn't exactly a pro at multitasking.

"Once I get a lot of things on my plate, I kind of start to panic," he confesses, laughing.

Things must be a little bit tense around the Sly household, then, considering the guy has a fan video, new solo album and a No Use for a Name record all on the books right now.



According to Sly, he's doing his best to prioritize, currently going with the solo material because that's the stuff that's flowing most naturally.

"I started writing songs for No Use, and I was like, "Well, I don't really like them.' I felt they were a little too contrived and on the poppy side," he says. "So I started writing solo songs, and I ended up with so much solo material that I'm going to start recording a new album in February."

"I'll try to get it down quickly so I can jump right into the No Use stuff," he adds, so as not to concern fans of the long-running quartet.

"I really want to start on the No Use record because I'm really anxious to play some punk rock, you know? The majority of touring I did last year was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of being up there playing solo, which is nice because you get to establish yourself as a solo artist, but at the same time, you miss playing with a band."


For every CD sold, Music 4 Cancer will donate $5.00 to the Canadian Cancer Society in support of the fight against cancer.

More information is available here: www.music4cancer.com