Anthony J. Resta Steps Out of the Control Room and Into the Cosmos

There’s a certain kind of artist who doesn’t chase relevance, they outlast it. Anthony J. Resta is that guy. After decades shaping other people’s hits, soundtracking entire eras of film and TV, and quietly becoming a Laurel Canyon lifer, Resta finally puts himself front and center with “The Guitar Man.” And no, this doesn’t feel like a legacy victory lap. It feels like a creative rebirth.

Covering Bread’s 1972 classic is a bold move. That song is sacred to a lot of people. But Resta doesn’t try to modernize it or out-clever it. He inhabits it. His version keeps the heart intact while surrounding it with a hazy, cinematic glow that feels more late-night desert drive than AM radio nostalgia. This isn’t a cover for playlists. It’s a confession.

Vocally, Resta leans into restraint. His delivery echoes David Gates’ warmth but carries more wear and tear, the kind that only comes from a life spent inside music. There’s tenderness here, but also acceptance. He sounds like someone who’s made peace with the road he chose, even knowing how hard it’s been. That emotional subtext does most of the heavy lifting.

The arrangement is where things really lift off. Psychedelic textures drift in and out like smoke, never overpowering the song’s core melody. The violin work from Milana Resta adds an intimate, almost familial ache, not flashy, just deeply human. And when Tim Pierce slides in with those rich, liquid guitar lines, the track opens up into something expansive. Not indulgent. Expansive. There’s a difference.

What hits hardest is the intention behind it all. “The Guitar Man” isn’t about chasing charts or reclaiming youth. It’s about choosing music over and over again, even when the industry changes, the tech shifts, and the spotlight moves elsewhere. That lyric, “something keeps him going” lands differently coming from someone who’s actually lived it.

The video seals the mood. Directed by Joe Rubenstein, it doesn’t overexplain or distract. It feels like being pulled into a live psych-rock set, that Pink Floyd / Radiohead zone where sound becomes atmosphere and time blurs a little. Resta doesn’t perform at the camera. He lets you orbit around him, like the music is the main event and he’s simply the vessel.

You have spent decades behind the console shaping other artists. What part of your identity surprised you most once you stepped into the spotlight yourself?

I’ve actually been releasing music as “Ajax Ray O’Vaque” since the early 90s, but I’ve decided to start using my own name as I’m going more and more into a composing direction for film, TV trailer,s etc.

Your version of “The Guitar Man” is incredibly restrained yet emotionally loaded. What artistic risk did you take that completely changed the track’s energy?

I wanted to do this cover since I was a kid, and I failed a couple of other times and I finally found the right voice combining my Pink Floyd influences with my love for atmospheric sound design:) almost all the sounds on the track or Guitar, except for one Wetzler piano and one mellotron  pad

Psychedelic rock carries a very specific visual and emotional language. What detail in the arrangement unlocked the atmosphere you were chasing?

I use a lot of experimental guitar pedals from companies like Pladask Elektrisk

Drollo FX, Neon Egg, and Audio Kitchen,  the sounds that I put together happened in real time in complex signal paths, generally stereo amp set-ups, and they only happen once so you have to capture them in real time!  I think these elements really set the tone for the direction of the production.

You have an almost mythical list of collaborators in your career. What lesson from those eras showed up while making this version, even if quietly?

I figure at this point I’ve conservatively logged over 100,000 hours in recording studios around the world, and at some point it becomes more based on instinct rather than hard decisions but I was fortunate to have one of the world's most renowned session guitarists Tim Pierce help me out with this track.  he made a huge difference, contributing the solo, slide in the intro and some of the lead fills  we both shared the duties on the guitars.  It’s a privilege and honor to work with him always we have probably collaborated on close to 100 songs in the past dozen years. 

Fans say the video feels like a cosmic experience instead of a traditional performance clip. What truth were you trying to communicate that visuals alone could not hold?

Honestly, the visuals are 100% Joe Rubinstein he is a very well-known Director, and I was so lucky to be able to work with him! I gave him carte blanche on everything! The truth I was trying to put through was a sincerity that comes from the roots of the song, with the band BREAD being a childhood favorite. I was nervous about trying to do David Gates' vocal performance justice but I gave it my own twist at my own risk;)