John Tabacco

http://betarecords.com

John Tabacco: composer and mastering engineer. Co-Founder of SA3.

John Tabacco is a composer, singer, engineer, multi instrumentalist, graphic
artist,  and CEO of It Iz What It Iz Music Publishing. He has studied
orchestration with noted 20th century composer John Lessard, harmony with
the late electronic music maverick Bulent Arel, composition with Stony Brook
Music Professor Peter Winkler and received his BA in Music from the State
University at Stony Brook.  In 1987 he hooked up with noted Long Island
producer Chris Pati and engineered major label projects with him at Backdoor
Studios in Huntington Station, NY. and later at Modern Voices Studios in
Centerport, NY.  In 1992 Tabacco started a productive twelve year stint as
chief engineer at Sonic Underground Studios in Stony Brook, NY.,
simultaneously developing with Computer Scientist Bob Ball the SA3 Mastering
Process. Work on major label projects at the time included BMG rap artists
The Kemelions, RCA r&b artists : Faze, Rampage/Rhino heavy metal artist :
Rhett Forrester, Columbia artist: Rebbie Jackson, Bob Marley (Rykodisc),
Chris Jasper (Of Isley Brothers fame) and composition on Nickleodeon¹s hit
TV kid show Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Along with Backdoor Records cronies Nick DiMauro and Chris Pati, Tabacco was
involved in the creation of the 12" single Go House Yourself. This single (a
parody on acid house music with a glorious chain saw solo in it) went to
Number 39 on Billboard¹s Retail Dance Sales Chart in November of 1989. In
Italy it went to number 9 on the charts.  A cheesy hand held video of the
song went to number one in Puerto Rico in and around the same time.

In 1999, Tabacco co-produced and arranged the CD Reinventing The Wheel with
ex-Frank Zappa guitarist / author Nigey Lennon. This collaboration garnered
a favorable covered story in the New York Times (March 2001) and brought
Tabacco to the attention of master big band arranger Ed Palermo.
Subsequently Tabacco sang lead vocals from 2000-2003 with the Ed Palermo Big
Band. The group performed successful concerts in the tri state area
including many legendary performances at the now defunct The Bottom Line.

Summer of 2002 saw Tabacco, along with Nigey Lennon and Frank Zappa's
sister, Candy Zappa, fronting a band at the famed Zappanale Concert in Bad
Doberan, East Germany. They performed classic Zappa numbers along side many
Tabacco originals. The group was well received by the European crowd and
consequently Tabacco saw an increase in CD sales over the web.

In 2003 Tabacco arranged music for Sony mega - producer Corey Rooney and his
brother Jeff for projects involving, Toni Braxton and her sister Tamar.
Also in that year Tabacco signed an independent record deal with Blake
Seal's company sumthindiffrent.com The company released a re-working of the
JT disc It's Out There Feeding On Itself under the title: Realized @ 21
Walnut.

Currently Tabacco has signed over his entire catalog of 27 discs to Ÿ of x
Records for international release and is producing a new CD for Long Island
folk legend Cathy Kreger.

Like an unfolding musical diary / puzzle, Tabacco¹s music and art are
constantly being re-worked, juxtaposed and intertwined. They reflect the
happenings going on in his life at the moment. Studio recordings are
constantly in progress. His style is a melding of pop-jazz-rock-avant
garde/aleatory, classical and comedy. A feature in Keyboard Magazine¹s
Discoveries column (issue 1/88) lists his main musical /sound influences as:
The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Steely Dan, The Firesign Theatre, Thelonius Monk,
Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Stravinsky Captain Beefheart, Elton
John, Joni Mitchell and a small group of Long Island musical collaborators.