TAS 1000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| TAS 1000 | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Canada |
| Years active | 2001 – 2003 |
| Genres | pop, experimental, musique concrète, plunderphonics |
TAS 1000 (2001-2003) was an experimental music collective based in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The band's music was based on sampled answering machine messages, which were looped and set to pop music written to accentuate the messages' natural tonal properties. The messages were culled from a decade-old cassette tape left in a Sanyo Telephone Answering System 1000, purchased at a thrift store by the nascent band in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Contents |
[edit] The Tape
The tape contains approximately 40 messages, ranging in subject matter from tender birthday wishes to repeated reminders to pick up the car. Many messages contain content that is cryptic or inscrutable (e.g. "You took a pair of protein shoes"; "Drop leaf table in my ski boot"; "The roof guarantee, the paycheque for the garoof"). The recipients of the messages were a woman named Marta and her family. Marta was later identified as a Kelowna art conservator.
[edit] The Band
[edit] Ascent
The band began as a studio project with no intention to perform live. Their first recording was made before a Belle and Sebastian concert in Vancouver, shortly after September 11, 2001. Entitled "I'm At 9933", it looped the title phrase for six minutes over a catchy drum and bass melody. "9933" was the beginning of the speaker's phone number, which the speaker (self-identified as "Ron Rondon") unwittingly delivered in the key of C major. The track also contained what would become a signature element of TAS 1000 recordings: rapid fast-forwarding and rewinding of the featured message, simulating turntable scratching.
Over the next year, the band recorded material in preparation for an album. During this time, they held a five day recording session, known to initiates as the TAS-A-Thon, in which five new songs were written and recorded. 500 CDs of the album, A Message For Marta, were pressed. A year later, an estimated 350 unsold copies were dumped by the band into a bog near Vancouver's False Creek. The bogging of the album is the subject of a short 2006 documentary, Stagnant Bog.
[edit] Decline
Upon the release of A Message For Marta, TAS 1000 enjoyed a brief period of notoriety as a novelty act in Vancouver and Victoria, with hits such as "(I've Been) Delayed" and "I Am Truly Fully Licensed Hairstylist" receiving play on CBC Radio One and enthusiastic reviews in Canadian alternative weeklies. Under the influence of enterprising manager Jay Watts III, they began to gain international attention. A Message For Marta was also embraced by the Vancouver ESL community, becoming a favourite at bush parties.
In light of this measure of cult celebrity, the band was persuaded to perform their material live. Unwisely, they elected to adopt a dress code, which involved reversible caps. This led to increasingly erratic stage behaviour, finally resulting in on-stage violence and destruction of property. The band was also plagued by threats of lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders. These came from both Marta's family and Porta-Bote Ltd., a folding boat manufacturer who, contrary to the band's statements, denied sponsoring TAS 1000. Increasingly bitter disputes with their management also factored in their decline. After deciding to quit, the band walked off the stage two songs into their 2003 farewell show in Victoria, after drop-kicking the Sanyo TAS 1000 until it broke.
[edit] Zeus
Several members of TAS 1000 joined the instrumental epic rock band Zeus in 2003. Consisting of two drummers and two keyboardists, Zeus performed short live sets accompanied by apocalypse-themed video installations, dancers, and a large Zeus head which issued forth fog from its eyes. The group disbanded in 2005, on the last leg of their tour of Northern Canada.
We don't envision: we are. If you listen to Zeus, you are Zeus. And Jimi Hendrix says TAS and Zeus wail.
– John Rogers, Discorder Magazine, 2003
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] EPs
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Trivia
- The song "(I've Been) Delayed" was used as the music in the nightclub room for the online game "Penguin Chat 3", now known as Club Penguin, created by New Horizon Interactive. It is believed the song was used because the creator of TAS 1000's website was an employee of New Horizon Productions, also located in Canada.
- In 2002, the song "Birthday" was almost selected for a series of commercials by Canadian restaurant franchise Boston Pizza. The competition ended when Boston Pizza's stockholders elected to continue using Boston's 1976 classic "More Than a Feeling". The latter song is #500 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Birthday" does not appear on the list.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- TAS 1000 website
- The Real Stagnant Bog website
- Porta-Bote Ltd. website
