John Tabacco
| John Tabacco | |
|---|---|
 Kaleioscope Of JT.png Multiple JTs | |
| Born | 1961-02-26 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🏫 Education | BA in Music -1983 |
| 💼 Occupation | Musician, Producer, Recording engineer, Graphic Artist |
| 🏢 Organisation | It Iz What It Iz Music |
| Title | CEO |
| 🌐 Website | www.johntabacco.net |
| johntabacco | |
Early Life
John Frank Tabacco (born February 26, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, modernist composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, recording / mastering engineer and graphic artist. In a career spanning more than 44 years, Tabacco has composed rock, pop, jazz fusion, r&b, aleatoric, house, orchestral cartoon and musique concrète, and produced and engineered almost all of the 41-plus CDs he’s released under his own label f/x Records. His publishing company, It Iz What It Iz Music currently contains over 700 recorded works.
Tabacco was born in Mineola, Long Island to electrician Frank J. Tabacco and painter, miniature creator, Catherine Gloria Cimino. He has one sister, Laura Serpico who is a video producer and editor. His formative years were spent growing up in the Long Island suburb of St. James where he graduated from Smithtown High School East in 1979. His early musical / audio influences were The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Steely Dan and The Firesign Theatre to name a few. His art work influences under his own company, (Farben Fosfeen Artwerks), have been Gary Viskupic (Newsday Illustrator), Alan Aldridge, Cal Schenkel , Salvador Dalí , Max Ernst and Peter Max.
Career
Tabacco graduated with a BA in Music from Stony Brook University in 1983. It was there he studied with composer and electronic music pioneer Bulent Arel, as well as 20th Century composers John Lessard, Sheila Silvers, Peter Winkler and Steven Mackey. During that time, Tabacco laid the foundation of his musical modus operandi by recording quirky songs on an Akai GX 4000 D sound on sound reel to reel. In 1984, after working a 9 to 5 at a rent-a-car Tabacco saved up enough money to purchase a Tascam 38-8 Track reel to reel and it's compatible mixing console. He along with recording engineer and songwriter Nick DiMauro began to co-write and record clients out of Tabacco’s bedroom (Suburban Hermit Studios I) in St. James. Eventually the two found their way as key engineers and producers at Backdoor Studios in Huntington Station, NY operated by songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, engineer and producer Chris Pati. After collaborating on the 1989 top 30 Billboard dance hit “Go House Yourself” with Pati and DiMauro, Tabacco engineered and produced at Modern Voices Recording Studio in Centerport, NY. Mid 1992 saw Tabacco singing a jingle for the TNT Network followed in 1993 by engineering and playing on BMG/ Zoo Records recording artists The Kemlions debut CD "The Basement Tapes". Later that year Tabacco would become chief engineer and part owner of Sonic Underground Studios in Stony Brook, NY with singer songwriter Marci Geller, engineer and co-writer Gian DiMauro and composer Paul Michael Barkan. In 1994 Tabacco along with songwriter Meryl Mathews completed the CD, "Fuzzy Gray Logic" and placed some songs on the Nickelodeon TV show “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" In 1997 he co-founded the analog to digital mastering process, SA3 Mastering with computer scientist Robert Ball. Some noted clients included, Dream Works, BMG, Chris Blackwell (Island Records), Bob Marley, Teddy Kumpel, Sonia Dada and producer Rob Fraboni.
In 2004 Tabacco became the chief engineer at jazz guitarist George Benson's studio - Maui Sounds in Lahaina, Maui. In 2005 he formed Presidents Street Studio with the late composer and author Nigey Lennon. There he produced and co-wrote music with singer songwriter Cathy Kreger. The results, the CD: “Pure Imagination”. Suburban Hermit Studios II was created in 2007 in Stony Brook. At Suburban Hermit Studios II he composed music for the independent movie “A Death In The Life Of Joe Meek” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436782/ and engineered and co-produced two CDs with Arif Mardin protege, singer songwriter Susan DeVita. In 2011 he produced the instrumental CD "Beginning Of The Day" for guitarists Rich Stein and Jim Dexter and co-produced and co-wrote the CD "Repeat After Listening" with New Zealand singer songwriter Peter Kearns. Since then he has focused on his own work and mixing, and mastering music for The Bossa Nova Beatniks, producer Chris Toland, The Hickory Bench Playhouse and music for the movie “What Happened Last Night”. In 2014 Tabacco signed a record deal with the Austin, Texas based label, Muffin Records and released the CD "Unfulfilled Shopping Cart Syndrome". In 2016 Tabacco's marimba composition "Latin Looks" was accepted into the highly regarded percussion literature of Honeyrock Publisher. 2018 saw Tabacco become the head of Modern Voices Digital Distribution, a partner with The Orchard.com
In 2022 Tabacco relocated to Ronkonkoma, NY and continued to record and produce in his new studio - Suburban Hermit Studios III.
From 1999 - 2023 Tabacco has hosted three free style college radio programs at WUSB - 90.1FM, Stony Brook University: "The Existential Shower Cap Eraser Show" 1999 - 2003, "The Non Objective Reality Show" (with Nigey Lennon) 2004 - 2006, and "Clam Radio" (occasionally hosted with Susan DeVita) 2008-2025. Many of these shows can be accessed at www.mixcloud.com
Tabacco was associate producer for IndiMusicTV, working on 16 episodes from 2008-2009. From 1995 - 2015 Tabacco played drums and sang with the Beatles cover band "Mostly Moptop" working with noted 20th century composer / conductor David Amram. 2001 - 2003 saw Tabacco singing lead vocals with The Ed Palermo Big Band and later becoming the lead vocalist and keyboardist for the Steely Dan cover band - Stealin' Dan from 2011 - 2013. In 2017 as guitarist and vocalist, Tabacco along with bassist / singer songwriter Joe Gioglio, singer songwriter /guitarist Jim Pastor, and drummer Gary Settoducato formed the rock quartet Sushi Savant. They play mostly original music at various venues on Long Island. As of 2019, Tabacco has been working with Swedish composer Hans Annellsson, co-writing and singing lead vocals for his group The Vegetarians. In 2023 Tabacco experimented with AI voices reading original manipulated short stories culminating in to two CDs: Artificial Tales of Gleep and Whimsy (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2). In 2024 -2025 Tabacco co-wrote five music CDs with AI technology to determine if AI music can still be as moving as human composition and performance. Though the jury is still out, the initial reception according to Tabacco has been positive with listeners unable to tell what is real and what is artificial.
Tabacco has occasionally written music articles and record reviews for the website : https://www.classicrockhistory.com/
Musical Diary (Life's Work)
Since 1979 when the seeds of Tabacco’s musical output were first sown each consequential album blossoms from the previous one in an organic, chronological way. Recurring musical themes, lyric phrases, specific chords (D/C), characters and an ongoing, self reflexive arc can be found in Tabacco’s entire œuvre. Conceptual continuity is also present in the art work and various videos connected with each CD.
Discography
John Tabacco CD releases:
The Akai Years (1979-84)
The 8 Track Years (1984-88)
Late Octobra - (1992)
Life Here…It’s Anybody’s Guess - (1993)
It’s Out There Feeding On Itself - (1994)
Boson Kabloona Waiting Around - (1995)
Go Figya - (1996)
Tell Me Why Then! - (1997)
Dryer Than You’ll Ever Be - (1998)
Hits Duh Bah Tomb Lion - (1999)
Straight From The Truancy Genes - (2000)
Eros, Ebb & Flow - (2001)
A Presbyter’s Dementia - (2001)
Sans Lyrics Vol.1 - (2003)
Sans Lyrics Vol. 2 - (2003)
It Wuz And Still Iz Late Octobra - (2004)
Rubber Solstice (It Wuz And Still Iz Late Octobra Vol. 2) - (2007)
Music Box Orphans - (2007)
Patience, my boy - (2010)
Suburban Hermit Musings - (2012)
Mostly Original Covers - (2012)
Sneaky Bastard Aliens Again… - (2014)
Unfulfilled Shopping Cart Syndrome - (2014)
Sans Lyrics Vol. 3 - (2015)
E-Phant (EP) - (2016)
Tuba Faux (EP) - (2016)
M.I.P - (2018)
Ongoing Reflectamenta - (2018)
Creatureflectamenta (EP) - (2018)
Pithy Percussion And Other Sequenced Allusions - (2018)
In Memory Of Captain Tank - (2019)
Covid-19 Rebop (EP) - (2020)
Script 2020 - (2021)
Everything Is Everywhere - (2023)
Initial Ideas From Cassettes, Resurrected - (2023)
Consume The Position - (2023)
Artificial Tales of Gleep and Whimsy (Vol. 1) (2023)
Artificial Tales of Gleep and Whimsy (Vol. 2) (2023)
Artificial Tales of Gleep and Whimsy (Vol. 3) (2024)
Music Iz Music (2024)
XX Pulchritude (2024)
What's All This Then? (2024)
You Get Old, You Get Everything (2025)
Joint Effort (2025)
CDs with others:
Brian Rivera : Pasta Pre-Rivera - (1984-86)
John Tabacco and Chris Pati : Modern Voices : Modern Voices - (1988)
Pati, DiMauro, Tabacco : House Music To Dance For - (1989 / 2014)
John Tabacco and Meryl Mathews : Fuzzy Gray Logic - (1994)
Brian Rivera : Tragedy @ Hand - (1995)
Dexter, Tabacco, DiMauro : Gateways - (1995)
Gearhead Freaks : Not A Pretty Picture - (1999)
Gearhead Freaks : Rule Of Three - (2000 / 2016)
Nigey Lennon : Reinventing The Wheel - (2000)
John Tabacco and Nigey Lennon : The Miseducation Of Willie The Hill - (2001)
Cathy Kreger : Pure Imagination - (2007)
Susan DeVita : Something Good - (2010)
Beginning Of The Day : Beginning Of The Day - (2011)
Gioglio / Tabacco : Dreams Are Out There Waiting (single) - (2012)
Jim Dexter and John Tabacco : Watchdog - (2014)
Tabacco & Kearns : Repeat After Listening - (2014)
Soundart,Inc. : Fear (Terrible Lie) - (2015)
Susan DeVita : Kama Sutra Rodeo - (2016)
The Vegetarians : Bill Haley - (2021)
The Vegetarians : Space Age Pagliacci - (2024)
References
https://johntabacco.bandcamp.com/
Tabacco videos - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq7UDOqXdL6_Zzd6OsmXXYg
https://www.classicrockhistory.com/a-heartfelt-retrospective-of-the-beatles-solo-albums-of-1970/
https://classicnewyorkhistory.com/following-through-on-a-calling-the-music-and-life-of-john-tabacco/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BClent_Arel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marci_Geller
https://www.honeyrock.net/ensm-4.htm#quartet5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8OTgv5RlJU&t=3999s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFeKzHtag4
