Hi, I’m Tobias. I was born in Northern California and have lived here most my life except for a brief stay in the beautiful green state of Oregon. My hometown is a small city in Northern California called Ukiah where I have grown to know many good people throughout the years.
Ever since I was a child, I can remember hearing percussion patterns in my head. I didn’t think I’d be a singer/songwriter back then. I just thought music was something normal that everybody did. Little did I know. As I grew older, I developed an interest for the guitar, so at 16 I bought one. In no time I started coming up with my own bits and pieces of music while humming along to whatever I was playing. My voice finally fully developed and that’s when I decided to start writing some words and creating some structure. I later ventured into other related things such as recording, mixing, editing. To sum it up though, my heart is with the acoustic guitar & voice while my mind is with the lyrics & structure.
My songs consist of bright and dark rock, some country, some a little popish and folky. I have also written some blues songs and continue to have fun with reggae/ska. I have been told before that some of my songs are like the car headlights that immobilize the crossing deer.
I perform as well. My first performance was in front of about two hundred people. I also got radio play on 94.5 KWNE in 2002. I recently won first place in a karaoke contest in April of 2007. Winning was based on several things; singing quality, stage presence, making eye contact periodically with the judges WHILE performing, interacting/communicating with the audience and of course, the votes from the audience...I took KARAOKE that far, I want to see what I can do with MY music through TAXI (and MYSPACE).
TAXI Interview Questions:
1. Where did you grow up?
Ukiah, California.
2. What made you realize that music was your path?
I was walking home from school one day, listening to my walkman when a Pink Floyd song came on that I REALLY liked. I stopped for a minute because it dawned on me that MUSIC was the only thing that I was really passionate about. Thanks to Pink Floyd, I feel I discovered a part of myself that I can progress with. Thanks to music, I have an interest-a passionate interest. And last but not least thanks to TAXI because now I have a destination FOR that passionate interest.
3. How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I write what I feel but within limited genres. I usually stick with anything I can do on the acoustic guitar that sounds good. My experimental mode is a constant flow except for when focusing on pre-created material. Then it’s time to practice. My pre-created material mainly consists of dark songs, happy songs, sad songs, love songs, songs that tell a story. I simply find it fascinating painting pictures with words!
4. Who are your biggest musical influences?
PINK FLOYD AND SUBLIME!
5. What makes your music unique?
I found this to be the toughest question of all. I answered it last because I feel I have to really dig deep and ask myself in meditation, “who am I REALLY?†Well, I would have to say that what makes my music unique would be the listener. That’s the only thing I can really come up with, other than saying something like, “my music is unique because I have bells blended with dark bending strings while vocals are softly harmonizing with…bla-bla-bla…bla-bla-bla… NO. I believe that if you’re NOT trying to copy another’s originality, then you automatically have something special. If you can synchronize originality with a universal language and get strangers complimenting you, then you have something unique-very unique.
6. Has there been one particular moment in your musical career that you're most proud of?
When I was in my later teens, I performed in a talent show. After the show, there was a lot of positive talk about it on the "Redwood Freenet" (a free LOCAL ONLY networking, message posting, chatting service where all you needed was a phone number, a dial-up modem and a dinosaur to log in!) That made me feel really good. And just moments after the show, some kid came up to me and asked me where he can buy one of my CDs. I felt like an ass after I told him I didn’t have anything recorded. Although, it did make me think. If I’m getting this much positive feedback from people I’ve never even met or seen before, perhaps I should record a demo! Thanks, kid!
7. What's next for you?
I had no idea that TAXI was around in the 90’s. I would have joined a long time ago but better late than never! I really want to see what the TAXI thing will do for me. So far, this has been by far the BIGGEST step I have taken with my music. Next after that? Well, let’s just see what happens…!
