13 QUESTION METHOD: AARON LEE TASJAN


My name is Aaron and I sing and play guitar. I'm in The Madison Square Gardeners. I'm the luckiest kid in the world.

1. Which was the first record you bought with your own money?
I bought What's The Story (Morning Glory?) by Oasis. Most of my classmates at the time were listening to 311 or Skankin' Pickle or Dave Mathews. I was 13 years old and Noel Gallagher made me feel invincible.

2. Which was the last record you bought with your own money?
Go Girl Crazy by the Dictators. I had the most distinguished honor of opening for the Dictators at Joey Ramone's Birthday party with my old band Semi Precious Weapons. I since have become friends with the Dictator's bassist and musical visionary Andy Shernoff. He is a splendid fellow and wrote one of my favorite songs of all time that appears on this album entitled, "(I Live For) Cars and Girls."

3. What was the first solo you learned from a record — and can you still play it?
I learned "Moon River" off of Grant Green's and Sonny Clark's "The Complete Quartets" album. The melody I won't ever forget-Simply brilliant phrasing. But, sadly, the solo seems to have gone the way of Old Yeller.

4. Which recording of your own (or as a sideman) are you most proud of, and why?
I played organ on "Lady From Baltimore," a Tim Hardin cover off of Jesse Malin's last recording, On Your Sleeve. I had never played organ before. I felt like Al Kooper-minus the talent and the charisma.

5. What's the difference between playing live and playing in a studio?
Blood, guts, and money.

6. What's the difference between a good gig and a bad gig?
I like what Wilco guitar wiz Nels Cline once said: "On the best nights I feel as though I've defied gravity." I believe great gigs exist purely you provide you with a reason to keep playing-to try and recreate some ethereal part of your playing that seemed to come out of no where. The sailor and the sea-ah, what a wonderful life we live. A good gig feels truly euphoric. It's the closest thing to sex or drugs I've ever had.

A bad gig can exist on many levels but I find, more than anything, I feel as though I haven't connected with anyone. I may have played too many bad notes, I may have felt that the sound I produced that particular evening wasn't killing anyone, or I may have felt I wasn't connecting with the band. However, a bad gig is a feeling that we, individually, are experiencing as musicians. That said, we must always remember that even when we feel this way, it is still possible that we made someone who was watching us happy. And for the mere thought of the prospect that we might be able to facilitate such a thing we must all be eternally grateful.

7. What's the difference between a good guitar and a bad guitar?
For me, a good guitar is one that has songs in it. Some how I can pick up a guitar and it will feel to me as though there are songs inside of it waiting to be written. I can't really explain it but I can always tell. A bad guitar, to me, simply has no more songs to give.

8. You play electric and acoustic. Do you approach the two differently?
I do take a different approach on electrics than on acoustics. There are certain bits of character in each, some which work on either, and some that only work respectively. An example: I always play the Chuck Berry lick. It is a tremendously important lick to me because it says so much in a very simple, kick-you-in-the-ass, give-me- one-more-for-the-road, oh-Momma-I've-been-reborn sort of way. However, I never play it on an acoustic guitar. Not even a variation. It just fills the room in such a brilliant way on an electric guitar. To me, the guitar dictates what the approach should be.

On an acoustic guitar, I love to play with my fingers. It gives me a new voice and a new starting point for solos. Example: I recently played "Straight to Hell" on acoustic 12-string guitar with Kevn Kinney. He looked at me for a solo and I tucked my pick away and constructed a very simple finger picking solo using major and minor 3rds that was rather Byrds inspired. It came out of nowhere but felt wonderful and many people mentioned it to me after the gig. I was glad to have not played the Chuck Berry lick that night.

9. Do you sound more like yourself on acoustic or electric?
I fancy myself more on electric-I suppose because it provides a bigger boost to my ego. However, listening to Freddy Green strumming block chords still blows me away more than any solo I've ever played on an electric.

10. Do you sound like yourself on other people's guitars?
Probably. I'm not sure. I can't do much on these dang things-but neither could Fred Ricart, and look how he turned out!

11. Which living artist would you like to collaborate with, and why?
Gosh, I feel so lucky in that department already. But definitely Keith Richards. No one is cooler.

12. Which dead artist (music, or other arts) would you like to have collaborated with, and why?
Jay Bennett. He was a new friend and we had talked about playing more together the last time I saw him. He was one of the coolest guitarists and songwriters around.

13. What's your latest project about?
My latest projects are a band called The Madison Square Gardeners and a new solo record that Chris Masterson is producing. I'm infinitely proud of both and feel extremely lucky to get to do them. They are exactly what I've always wanted to do with my life.