Living one’s passion

IU computer support specialist following his musical dreams

By Jayne Spencer

His newest recording, Rock Guitar Vol. III, had been selected in nine categories for pre-nomination status in December. Three tracks from the CD, which features a photograph of his cat Sbaitso (named after a computer program) on the cover, were among the 36 entries that would be whittled down to five finalists by voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/ Recording Academy. Not bad odds for an unsigned artist who does his own marketing and public relations.

“They know me very well at the post office,” said Taaffe, who in addition to writing, performing, producing, engineering, mixing and mastering his improvisational solo electric guitar work from his home studio, is busy sending CDs to music promoters, recording executives, radio stations and magazines after they arrive from being pressed at a manufacturer in British Columbia. The Canadian company is one of only a handful willing to do a 500 to 1,500 CD production run for him, sandwiching the work in between label artists who have CDs by the hundred thousands pressed.

Unfortunately, as the GRAMMYS go, Taaffe’s work didn’t make it to the finalists list this year. But it’s not slowing him down any.

“For every piece of bad news, there’s good news,” he said, referring to a newly confirmed invitation to appear at the West Virginia Music Conference and Showcase in Charleston in early February. He played at the Atomic Cowboy in St. Louis earlier this month, has been a regular at Bloomington’s Runcible Spoon and appeared recently on WTIU’s news/feature program as a guest of Chuck Carney.

He admits, though, that he’s better known and perhaps better received outside of Monroe County. His father, the late Robert Taaffe, was chair of the Department of Geography at IUB for many years, and his mother, who still lives in Bloomington and is a native of France, no doubt had some influence on his university career. He majored in French—not music or computer science—while pursuing his bachelor’s degree at IU.

But more than winning a GRAMMY someday, Taaffe would like to hear from Sinead O’Connor, the Irish rock star, who has been a major influence on his work for as long as he can remember. He wrote Songs for Sinead for her, and the work appears on his second CD, Modern Rock Guitar Vol. II-Alien Guitar, which garnered three pre-nominations in last year’s GRAMMY competition. O’Connor is currently doing a European tour, but Taaffe’s dream is to play back-up guitar when she tours in the U.S. He sent his CD to O’Connor’s co-manager, Tom Hatfield, some months ago, and the two have picked up a correspondence that Taaffe would love to see bear musical fruit. But for now, he continues his talent for renovating old laptop computers for resale to supplement his musical aspirations.

You can hear Taaffe and his signature guitar “looping” style at the online station Linexradio, and his CDs are played regularly on a chain of Australian radio stations. Here in the states, getting radio play time without a label is next to impossible, Taaffe said, which is why the Internet has been such a help in promoting his music. Reviews of Taaffe’s music in E-zines are highly laudatory, his CDs are available at Amazon.com and comparisons to such guitar notables as Eric Johnson and Joe Satriama are the rule rather than the exception. CanAustin City Limits, be far behind?

Take a listen:
http://www.dtguitar.com