The Life of Anthony Rain Starez
	Anthony Rain Starez was born in Chicago, IL, but spent most of his youth in Ocala, FL. His father was a talented, and dedicated, jazz musician who grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Anthony's earliest memories are of being surrounded by music, including the burgeoning rock-pop scene of the 1960s, of which his mother was a fan, exposing Anthony to music by The Beatles, The Monkees, The Young Rascals, Herman and the Hermits, Mommas and the Pappas, Bob Dylan, Edwin Starr, Jackson Five, The Beach Boys, Cream, Petula Clark, and later on, Led Zeppelin, Allmond Brothers, Bad Company - basically everything on album oriented rock (AOR) radio stations.
At age 21, Anthony had a bad car accident in Maryland, where he'd been living since he was 16. The accident caused a high-level spinal cord injury, leaving Anthony with limited arm movement and in a wheelchair.
	Approximately two years after his accident, Anthony moved back to Florida, learned to drive again, adjusted to life in his new body and eventually graduated college with a B.A. degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida
While attending classes, he began freelance writing as a music journalist and a humor columnist for USF's well-respected newspaper, The Oracle. From there Anthony began writing feature articles and reviews for other music magazines which focused on the Florida music scene. It was during this time that Anthony began experimenting with creating music again, buying studio time at a local recording studio and working closely with recording engineer/guitarist George Harris. Together, the two took some of Anthony's songs and polished them up and recorded them to create a four-song cassette called Under No Flag, with Anthony writing lyrics and performing vocals. The release was a statement on "individual thought and pride.
	"Under No Flag gained local praise, and Anthony was awarded an art grant through the Pinellas County Arts Council to produce, market, and distribute professional copies. Soon after the release, Anthony was asked to perform live with a guitarist and violinist on the local community radio station as a featured artist, and was featured artist on another radio program.
Tony's band Free Spirit	Anthony is still very active musically, having played in various bands, and is now lead vocalist for a band/trio called "Free Spirit", with guitarist Aaron Frohna and violinist Chris Saarikko. The band performs regularly in local venues performing rock-pop cover songs.
Please feel free to contact Anthony through E-mail. Short Stories                         Music