Angels For Justice Music — ___________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE PROJECTS & THE BAND
(Multi-Award-Winning Video and Film Director-Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist) Anthony Costa…
(Percussionist) Bill Dowling… (Bassist) Jeff Dowling… (Lead Guitarist) Roscoe Meeks…

... ………Anthony Roscoe Jeff Bill
… ………Costa Meeks Dowling Dowling

“Anthony’s an amazing performer, one of the best singer/songwirters I’ve ever met.”
-Charlie Monk, renowned Nashville music publisher/producer.

“Roscoe Meeks’ lead guitar on, ‘We Are American Lions’ is pure liquid mercury!”
-Benny Archer, Independent Music Writer (former feature writer The Music Paper Magazine)

“Bold and Beautiful” best describes Jeff Dowling’s stellar, dynamic bass contribution.”
-Eddie Torres, Award Winning video and film editor

“From count-off to conclusion, Bill Dowling drums with a magnificent combination of shearing speed, power, and subtlety.”
-Aleah Kim Atsoc, Award Winning writer and speaker

“Music with a message doesn’t always rock, but the band – Angels For Justice –
combines sharp social commentary with music that makes you want to move!”
- Sue Nunziata (former managing editor Billboard Magazine)

“After one listen, the track (We Are American Lions) stayed with me all day…
A driving rhythm section and ferocious guitar bring out the powerful lyrics”
- David Liewellyn (Music Industry Professional)

Together Anthony and his fellow musicians – Roscoe, Jeff, and Bill, are creating a fast-paced,
powerful blend of styles in order to form a new type of music based on socially conscious subject matters such as…

Exploring the “dysfunction and corruption” of America’s legal system…

Putting an end to the tragic and unnecessary deaths of so many young
people, particularly those of color, throughout the country.

Encouraging “peaceful & lawful” demonstrations & discussions in order to
help bring about positive changes for all of us on both sides of the issues…

In fact their latest single,
“We Are American Lions”,
is inspired by several actual events which resulted in a
number of tragic deaths, often
at the hands of the very small percentage of sub-par law enforcement representatives.

Furthermore, for the record, Anthony and his fellow musicians have the deepest respect for the vast majority of police officers from around the country.

This is especially true for all
of the many officers who still
bravely & unselfishly live by
the original intention of the credo “To Protect & Serve”. Which means they’re dedicated to protecting and serving “all” people and communities, not merely the wealthy, powerful ones.

Sadly though, in spite of the overwhelming proportion of truly honorable police men and women, the fact remains that a very small number of unqualified, unstable, sometimes biased law enforcement personnel have consistently acted in an inappropriate manner.

Their actions often result in severe and tragic consequences, frequently without any semblance of accountability. Unfortunately, this can sometimes result in the gross misconception that far more then a meager few officers are also unqualified or biased, which simply could not be further from the truth.

Because of the circumstances just described, and after the deaths of Trayvon Martin*, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and in particular, Cleveland 12 year old, Tamir Rice, Anthony decided to write the powerful and moving new We Are American Lions song.

(*Note: We realize the loss of Trayvon Martin was not at the hands of an actual police officer, but by a self-proclaimed “neighborhood watch, wanna-be-cop”. However, we also feel that the “Stand Your Ground” laws create a fertile climate for injustice.)

By using the new song, Anthony, Bill, Roscoe and Jeff would like to shine a light on some of these very sad, unjust events which have taken place literally for decades. In particular,
the events that have occurred in more recent years.

The band sincerely hopes that the song will assist people from all walks of life to engage in an open-minded and constructive dialogue. They also hope it will help clear up the erroneous concept that most police officers do not do their job well, as opposed to just the few bad apples that slip through the cracks. Perhaps this can then lead to the positive changes needed to heal the relationships between all police departments, and all communities, throughout the country.

(Please see the lyrics, and the link to our YouTube video for, “We Are American Lions”
about 3/4 of the way down this page… Thank You.)

A Special Note From Anthony:

Why we’re making socially conscious music & why we appreciate your interest and support.

Simply put, we want to do our part to make this world a better place… Along with the band’s admirably efforts, both my wife and I are devout social and human rights activists.

Everything I write, including my songs and my movies, is created with the hope of illuminating areas where we can help those around the world who are far less fortunate than most of us.

In addition to my successful film career, I’ve been blessed to have a faithful & loyal fan base who follow my music as well (particularly my songs dealing with topics of social importance)…

For example, when I was editing what became a multi-award-winning feature film, everyday I’d walk by the oldest rock club in New York City, the famed “Bitter End” (on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village).

Along with the posters of the many music icons that had played there through the years,
including, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and others…

I also remembered how – I too – had headlined there to “sold out” audiences.

So, one day I stopped in and spoke with the owner, the late Paul Colby. Paul always had a sweet demeanor and a warm smile. He immediately remembered me,
and asked what I was up to lately…

I shared about my busy film career, though I still loved playing music. Paul instantly booked me (but at my request, on what was historically, his slowest date of
the year, any Monday night in late July)… We shook hands, and put a quick make-shift poster in the
window announcing the date when I would soon
be playing. Then I headed home.

Less than two hours later, I received a phone call stating that my headlining Monday night show was already sold out!!! Would it be possible to do another show as well? I thought it was supposed to be a slow night! Talk about loyal, faithful fans… Somehow word had gotten out at ”Warp Speed”. I was totally blown away.

And, the good fortune continued when a number a great things occurred due to that sold out
show. One of them was – to my immense pleasure – the opportunity to meet a world class drummer. Later that week, when I actually heard him hard at work, I simply could not believe
how incredible he played…

That drummer was of course, Bill Dowling!

Bill then told me how much he loved my songs and my performing, and that he’d like me to meet a friend. It was then that Bill introduced me to an amazing lead guitarist, Roscoe Meeks. Bill soon followed up that intro with another when he came to one of my movie sets with his cousin, the wickedly tasteful Bass Guitarist, Jeff Dowling.

In particular, these gifted musicians, have an immense desire to create innovated, powerful exciting music and I could not agree with their sentiments more… When I informed them that I had written a new song, honoring the memory of all victims of unjust aggression and brutality, especially those who’d been in the news recently and frequently, these three musical phenoms, Jeff, Roscoe and Bill eagerly wanted to contribute everything they could.

We all decided to record the song (which can often take a minimum of 8-10 hours) as soon as possible… However, because of our exceptionally hectic schedules, we simply could not spend that much time in a studio. Instead we chose to plan out the arrangement and our unique approach in advance over the phone. Doing this allowed us to then book just one single hour together in the recording studio.

After a 40 minute set-up, we had a mere 20 minutes to record the song. And, as you saw earlier, according to many top industry professionals, the results were deserving of high praise.

We’d love for you to read the lyrics and listen to the song, and judge for yourself. We certainly hope you’ll be as moved and excited by it as everyone has been thus far… We further hope that you will join us in our quest to make the world a better, more peaceful, loving place for all.

Please see the “We Are American Lions” lyrics, along with a link to the song’s YouTube video near the bottom of this page… Thanks

Also, if you’re wondering,“Can we really do such a high quality, edgy, hard-driving, moving song, inspired by actual events, without a Major Label behind us?” The answer is: “Yes, we can.

“Here’s how and why…

As we shared earlier, Anthony’s has often been involved with top musicians, producers, and arrangers, including “Academy Award Winners”. However, he is a “fiercely private and independent man” and has intentionally stayed free of the “Major Label Recording System”.

In fact, Anthony is so private and independent-minded that he still has not chosen to list his musical history, or his film credits, and awards on IMDB (even though he was graciously invited to after receiving one particular award). He also has not created a personal Facebook or Twitter account despite several requests from his closest friends and associates to do so.

Because of this fierce independence, and in order to still make quality recordings, through the years Anthony has formed close relationships with a number of top industry professionals. Those professionals provide a number of goods & services to us at extremely discounted rates.

Plus, remaining successful independent “indie” musicians, has required Anthony, and also
Bill, Roscoe and Jeff to create and design a number of innovative production techniques when
they’re in the studio. Those techniques allow the musicians to record quickly, and keep costs low, all while still maintaining extremely high production value for each song.

The Song’s Style

It was our deepest desire to create a powerful, moving statement about a socially important topic.

In order to do that, we successfully combined several different styles into a unique blend of music: hard rock, folk, metal, funk, rock & roll, alternative, jazz, rap and even a little bit of country.

We Greatly Appreciate Your Support

We’d like to say to you all, “Thanks So Much”. We greatly appreciate your interest & support. We’ll continually keep you updated with venues and play-dates, along with new releases of additional songs. We will also provide you with entertaining behind the scenes access of what we’re doing, as everything moves forward… And, if you’d like, you can see some stills from our “We Are American Lions” video by clicking on the PHOTO tab at the top of the page.

Directly below are the “We Are American Lions” lyrics…
Also here’s the link to our YouTube video of the song.

WE ARE AMERICAN LIONS
I’ve got… Snow White skin
I’ve got… a Snow White face
I’m supposed to know… which “Pride” I’m in
I’m supposed to know… to stay in my own place…

But…
My Brother Brown is down
My Brother Trayvon is gone
My Brother Garner’s down
and Baby Brother Tamir is gone…
But…

Not one more, Not one more, Not one more. Not one more,
We’re not going to take it anymore – Hear us roar,
…take it anymore – Hear us roar…

Politicians trying… to sell the same old lies
Government is trying… to use the same old alibis
None of us is buying… so in the streets we lie
Hands raised way up high… Hear us roaring through the night…

Not one more, Not one more, Not one more. Not one more,1
We’re not going to take it anymore – Hear us roar,
…take it anymore – Hear us roar…

I just went out to buy iced tea…
My hands were raised high – I pleaded I can’t breathe…
I was only 12 yrs old, please don’t forget me… Yeah… Yeah…

I just went out to buy iced tea..,
My hands were raised high – I pleaded I can’t breathe…
I was only 12 years old, please don’t forget me…
I was only 12 years old, please don’t forget me!

We are… “American Lions”
We’re sick & tired of seeing…Our brothers dying
Our country’s supposed to have… No color-lines
Won’t you help us all and become… An “American Lion”

Hear Us Roar -hear us roar… Hear Us Roar -hear us roar…
Hear Us Roar -hear us roar… Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah… Yahoo… Hear Us Roar…

Thanks Again Everyone… Here’s another YouTube link
for the “We Are American Lions” video:

The Musicians
Roscoe Meeks – Lead Guitar… Jeff Dowling – Bass Guitar…
Bill Dowling – Percussion… Anthony Costa – Guitar & Vocals

Band Photos
by Jennifer

Special Thanks & Additional Credits
Shelley Yu (editing assistant)
Miguel Ortiz (editing assistant) at:
www.linkedin.com/pub/miguel-ortiz/98/768/b5
Julian Rodriguez (co-editor) at:
www.poespride.com
Lori Mooney (word press & social media advisor) at:
www.lorimooney.com
Darren Levine (PD photo consultant) at:
www.mediahalo.com/people/dlevine/
Raxon Rex (red lion photo) at:
www.flickr.com/photos/rexraxon/
Zilpah Harounoff (creative consultant) at:
DZH Production Associates
Matthew Maroulakos (sound engineer) at:
SmackToneStudiosinfo@smacktone.com