Some history...

Looking back, we find a rich and diverse history of musically-inspired behavior in our patient's file. A longtime student and teacher of the drums, Tax's musical gift was apparent from the time he first picked up sticks. As the story goes, the exploration of melody soon emerged: he quickly blossomed with talent on guitar (playing lefty-strung-righty, a technique that baffles and intrigues many), piano, and voice, and nurtured a relentless drive to craft songs. One-man recordings followed, where he further developed skills as a multi-instrumentalist and producer.

Our hero has promoted and performed extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in the past several years. Tax broke into the scene in the mid-90's fronting the band Goodlife. The Washington, DC-based trio recorded a promising self-titled CD that enjoyed local success, but bandmates eventually parted ways. Tax immediately began work on an ambitious solo album, Not So Fast. From NC to NY, music press loudly applauded this release, a potent one-man studio effort that featured the artist (then known as "Taxbeagy") on drums, bass, guitar and vox. Its raw intensity earned comparisons to Lennon's highly-acclaimed "Plastic Ono Band". Upon reviewing "Not So Fast", enthusiastic critics heralded Tax as "an extremely talented solo artist...with more than a knack for soulful, gorgeous songwriting". The live campaign, for which Tax assembled a powerful guitar-based rock quartet, included a stint at NYC's legedary CBGB club, (which yielded CBGB, a live EP release). The act landed opening slots for such nationals as Rusted Root, Medeski, Martin & Wood and emmitt swimming at various other venues in the Mid-Atlantic region. Substantial college airplay was another triumph of this noble quest, with "Not So Fast" reaching the 'buzz-bin' at dozens of stations in the region and charting on The College Music Journal's 'Weekly Top-30' at several more.

Recently, Tax has enjoyed performing in the solo-acoustic vein; highlights of this variety include two invitations to perform at Nashville's prestigious Bluebird Café, as well as an opening spot for A&M Recording Artist Patti Griffin at The Metro in Washington, DC. Tax has plans to perform both solo and with a forceful new trio in support of his long-awaited release, Rockstar, a dangerously good collection of new material. Look for the CD in the summer of 2000; tour dates will follow.

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