Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I continues the album’s mission of turning grief into remembrance, connection, and community.
Created as an unveiling process, Close to Fire: Roman’s Anthology Release Part I marks Tony Tripi’s most intimate and collaborative musical project to date. The album was recorded primarily at Dug Deep Production, with additional sessions at three other studios, and brings together nearly two dozen acclaimed musicians, including several artists with strong ties to Asbury Park: executive producer Jack Daley, Johnny Gale, Ken Wallace, James Maddock, Emily Grove, Aaron Comess, Rob Clores, Marc Ribler, Jesse Wagner, Tommy Byrnes, Mike DelGuidice, and other special guests.
Born in Western New York near Buffalo and raised between the Midwest and Western New York. Tripi grew up in constant motion, moving through farms, suburbs, trailer parks, and inner-city projects, each place calling for a different version of himself. At the age of three, he survived a near-fatal house fire that left him and his brothers hospitalized with severe burns. It was his earliest close encounter with fire, and one that would echo throughout his life.
He later joined the Coast Guard as a teenager, made a living in the trades, battled addiction, built a life in recovery, and found success as a financial estate advisor and founder of Frequency Group. Through it all, music has remained the throughline. Performing as TRIPI, he bridges rock and soul with a deeply personal, mission-driven voice.
For TRIPI, grief is a flame. It is as much a roaring rage as it is a silent, lonesome burn. Grief brings about a full aliveness that requires us to walk directly into the fire. For TRIPI, that same aliveness can be felt in the room at a rock and roll show.
The release of Close to Fire will be marked by Close to Fire: A Grief Support Benefit Concert, a special musical event planned for October 30th at The Cutting Room in NYC. Held during International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, the evening will bring together TRIPI and many of the album’s contributing musicians for a full-album live performance, special guest appearances, and collaborative moments designed to raise awareness and support for families, caregivers, and communities navigating grief.
“I realize I could probably write a novel about this album,” says Tripi. “The moments with the doctors at the hospital, the Priest, and the families who have reached out. This has touched so many lives and has grown into something I could never have imagined. There are so many stories to tell. It is my hope that by coming together in a shared musical community, we can lean on each other when the grief is too much to carry on our own.”
Through Close to Fire, TRIPI uses rock and roll to open the door to conversations people often avoid, creating space to feel, remember, speak their names, and sit with one another in the flames.
VENUE DETAILS
The Cutting Room is New York's legendary dinner theater and event space. All shows have a $25 food and/or beverage minimum per person (unless otherwise indicated on your ticket.) Please note the ticket price goes mostly to the performers and production staff. The club sells food and beverages to continue to bring live music to NYC. (https://thecuttingroomnyc.com/eat-and-drink/)
We do not take reservations and seating is first come, first seated.
Thank you for your understanding.
