Sunday, February 14th @ Red Sky Records (224 7th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114) TASO album release party and BBQ for his new debut album, MASSIF. $5-$10 depending on bbq and album. Come support local music.

Paul B: Do you have any listening suggestions for anyone out there that’s reading this article?

Taso:  Yea. Listen to my crew. No one else is so I hope all of you do. You’re helping us out and we will help you out by putting out only the freshest shit you’ve ever heard.

This statement by TASO is what I would like to be the basis for the majority of the interviews I do for this blog. The idea behind this is that I will be interviewing artists that I am assuming most of you don’t know but you need to know. These are up and coming artists that are people just like you and me and would love new fans and more support. In the music industry today, so flooded with all of the artists that make music, many many talented musicians get lost in the mix. I hope to fix that.

The first time that I met Taso was at the DSSF Big Up Warm Up pre party. Big Up Magazine, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is a Dub Step magazine. He was spinning at our store to get people ready for the after party that would later be at Paradise Lounge. I did not meet him however, until later that night at Paradise Lounge, where we discussed music and doing this interview. I really enjoyed his set at the store and when we talked, he seemed to really know his music and was very passionate about it, so I decided this would be the perfect first interview. I couldn’t have been more right.

As I start this article I want to just say that Taso is a great guy and a really cool person to have a conversation with. He is 21, almost 22, started spinning at age 16, now goes to school at Expression College for Digital Arts, and has a passion for his music, school, and life that is often times a rare thing to find in someone. He is originally from Lynn, Massachusetts, went to high school in the peninsula, and now lives outside of SF. Taso originally started off playing guitar but when he got his first turntables (using a girl he knew’s credit card and slowly paying her back, and that’s if you don’t count the turntable he made out of legos as a child) he has been spinning vinyl ever since. Beyond his life growing up though, Taso has very strong values and draws inspiration from not just things he experiences in his own life, but also from the people he admires and the obstacles they have overcome. He also draws influence from his friends who make music, and loves to remix their tracks as well as have them remix his. His biggest influence, he says, is “anyone who has ever done anything and everything on their own,” which are the majority of people he calls his friends. The most important things to him in life are his family, close friends, and the occasional free time he gets from school to make beats. He’s a regular guy, living like many of us are, but he makes exceptionally good music.

When it comes to his music, Taso swears by his MPC 2000XL, his Macbook Pro, and Abelton Live. He loves these 3 things because it allows him to make a beat in the morning, and if he likes it, play it that night at one of the various clubs he plays (more than likely, Red Sky Records). During our interview Taso said, “I don’t want to sound conceited, but I am not one of those people who will make something and just throw it on the internet because I can, I have a lot of respect for the game, I have never played anything that people have said SUCKED, cause you’re either a person who presses play and every one goes, ‘OH YEAH’ or you’re one of those people who presses play and everyone goes, ‘that’s alright but I’d change this.’” Believe me when I say this, that was not a conceited statement at all. If you are listening to his music as you read this I think it is very clear that Taso has some serious talent, plus he is a very humble person when it comes to talking about himself. If you don’t believe me come to the BBQ and talk to him yourself, one of the nicest and friendliest people I’ve ever met. He is a part of Red Sky Records as well as CuttyDubs and in affiliation with Big Up Magazine, and his favorite venue to play is at Red Sky. My favorite part about Taso however, is what it is he wishes to accomplish with his music. When I talked with Taso, I asked him what it was that he wanted to be remembered for when he died, his answer was, “my music, my message through my music.” This message consists of many things.

The message that Taso wishes to get across is one of life, love, and happiness. He believes the meaning of life to be the search for eternal happiness, and whatever it takes to get it. He believes that the path towards this is the true meaning, and that if you look close enough you will find all of your answers there. Being true to yourself and not lying to yourself, are above and beyond the most important things you can do. When you’re true to your soul and find out what compels you to do your art (whatever that may be, even something as simple as riding your bike through Golden Gate Park) you have to go with it. As Taso said in our conversation, “That’s what’s happening right now, you got a lot of people getting programmed to think that they cant do shit, they think they cant rise up to the occasion.” He hopes that through his music, and through making his dreams realities, that it will help to show people that they too can do whatever it is they have a passion and drive for.

I truly believe that Taso will accomplish anything he tries with his music. He dreams of one day playing an arena packed with 100,000 people, with nothing but his MPC. With the way things are going I see this in his near future, and I hope that all of you out there reading this will help Taso fulfill this dream. Come support his album release party this Sunday, February 14th at Red Sky Records (address listed above) and hang out, enjoy good people, good music, and good food. Meet Taso in person and buy his album. As Taso said in his conversation with me, “The SF music scene is raging. On any given night there’s at least 15 things to do. I have homies making music from all over the world and it doesn’t come close to, and is not as dope as, the stuff we are making out here in SF. Dub/Dubstep is thriving.” So to all of you out there reading this, come check out the thriving Dub and House scene this weekend. I know I will be there. I hope to see you there too.

-Paul B