Music
Press
Oyster Bay’s Tauk got their name from Long Island summer spot Montauk, also known as “The End.” However, it is far from the end for this LI jam band. For drummer Adam Akpinar, keyboard/organist Alric “A.C.” Carter, bassist Charlie Dolan, guitarist Matt Jalbert and vocalist Alessandro Zanelli, the magic began when the fivesome met at the Friends Academy High School in Locust Valley and just keeps on going. Each band member was a dedicated music student, and they all shared influences ranging from Stevie Wonder to Jimi Hendrix to Dave Matthews, which eventually brought them together as a unit.
With the talent showcased on their 2006 CD, The Ride, Tauk’s resumé will only be getting longer, but as it stands, they’ve got a pretty impressive C.V. Some of the top New York and LI radio stations—including NYC’s 104.3, LI’s 102.3 WBAB, 98.5 The Bone and 107.1 WLIR— have added them to their rotations. Also, college radio stations WRHU Hofstra and WUSB Stony Brook have been sending the band’s funky sounds across their airwaves. They also received recognition in a “With the Band” piece in Newsday and have been featured in the “Local Spotlight” in Good Times.
Over the summer, the band went on a 20-show tour, and a majority of those performances took place in or around the metropolitan area. Highlighting dates included opening slots for Ants Marching at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale and for Glass Houses at Eisenhower Park. They also invaded the Living Room Lounge, the Lion’s Den, the Knitting Factory and Pianos in NYC. The band does their best to contribute to those in need and take part in benefit shows around the Tri-State area, including La Fuerza Unida of Glen Cove, which specializes in helping underprivileged Latinos. During an AIDS benefit in association with Friends Academy’s AIDS Awareness club, the band received the chance of a life time, opening for popular laid-back rock band OAR.
While doing a summer internship for FUSE, Zanelli gave one of the channel’s producers a copy of The Ride. The producer then decided to use the up-and-coming band for the pilot episode of a new FUSE addition, On Demand: Undiscovered. The segment, which ran from Oct 2 to November 26, features an exclusive interview along with a performance at the Aqua Lounge in Glen Cove. You can view the band’s six-minutes of fame on their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/tauk).
“It feels great [to be working with FUSE],” says Zanelli. “They are such an awesome channel, always trying to stay true to the real music aspect of things. They were great to us when they came out to film, never got in the way of the show and then put together a great package that showed off our musical talents as well as our passion for what we do.”
Once the boys graduated from the Friends Academy, it was time for them to head off to college. While for many bands this could have been a tragedy leading to an inevitable break up, Tauk knew better. They knew if anything this could help the band’s expansion, as the members could expand their creativity and bring their music to new audiences.
“Honestly, college is a time to check different things out and experiment,” Zanelli explains. “All of which will help us grow as people separately from the band, but come back together and be willing to try new things and not be scared of the outcome, whether good or bad. This time will allow us to grow as a band even though we are apart from each other. Beyond that we are always talking every week about new ideas for when we get back from school, writing separately to mesh it all when we are back together.”
As the year comes to a close, Tauk will be performing a few shows on LI and in NYC. After that, the possibilities are endless.
“The future has much in store,” says Zanelli. “We plan to go out on tour [next] summer, hopefully regional shows as well as some that will branch us out beyond the Northeast. We want to try and expand the fan base, gain new fans. As always, we will be writing new material and putting that all together. A future album is always in the works as we are always writing…. Also, we are releasing a full DVD of the show we taped for FUSE which should be done by the New Year. Beyond that, [we are] just playing music and having fun doing as such.”
-Kristine Haugsjaa - Long Island Press
The band comes from Oyster Bay, but its name, Tauk, is short for Montauk. Why? It’s a place Long Islanders sometimes call "the end," which seems to have cosmic implications for this five-man jam-band whose college-age members are steeped in the musical vibes of the ’60s.
Singer Alessandro Zanelli doesn’t like the term jam-band, but he admits the shoe fits. Tauk’s seven-song album, "Ride," is equal parts rock, funk, soul and progressive jazz, played with solid chops by guitarist Matt Jalbert, keyboard man Alric Carter, drummer Adam Akpinar and bassist Charlie Dolan. (Yes, he’s the son of Knicks owner James Dolan, but so what? Dude can play.)
One thing that sets Tauk apart from your typical local groovers is that the band writes real songs. Each musician contributes, and Zanelli manages to sneak socially conscious messages into bouncy tunes like "Imperialistic Fools" and "Culture Shock." "The rest of the guys are more centrist," Zanelli admits. "They always hound me about it."
Though the band has been together for about four years, things are picking up steam. Tomorrow, the group plays a 45-minute set at 7:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Theatre in Eisenhower Park, East Meadow. Tauk’s breezy music should go down nicely on a summer night. (Admission is free. Call 516-572-0200 or go to www.nassaucountyny.gov.)
And on July 29, Tauk will be taping a live show for the video music channel Fuse, where Zanelli works as a production assistant. That gig starts at 9 p.m. at Aqua Lounge, 58 Landing Rd., Glen Cove. Admission is free.
Call 516-674-8676 or go to www.theaqualounge.com.
Soon, the five members of Tauk will be going back to college (or, in some cases, beginning their first years). In the past, the start of the semester has meant a limited touring schedule, so the aforementioned gigs will be some of the band’s last for the summer. Check out www.myspace.com/tauk
-Pop Music
Rafer Guzmán WITH THE BAND - Newsday
Discography
Ride - 2006 listen on www.taukrocks.com buy at www.cdbaby.com/tauk
Photos
Bio
'TAUK is an eclectic group of five guys from Oyster Bay Long Island, NY. Each of the members, Adam Akpinar (Drums), Alric Carter (Keyboard/Organ), Charlie Dolan (Bass Guitar), Matt Jalbert (Guitar), and Alessandro Zanelli (Vocals), use their varying taste in music to create their sound which uses these different genres of music and encapsulates the many years each of the members has dedicated to studying music at a serious level. Each of them met at the Friends Academy High School in Locust Valley and formed a band that has been committed to creating innovative music that all age groups can enjoy. Their skill at improvisation specifically propels them into directions that many could not even imagine, while their love for melody and harmonic structure allows them to create a dancing, sing-along atmosphere at their shows. The band plays at various different venues for many different occasions within the entire Tri-State area of New York. They have had the opportunity to play various benefit shows for La Fuerza Unida of Glen Cove, which helps the underprivileged Latino population in that city, and also has had the opportunity to open up for the nationally acclaimed OAR for an AIDS benefit in correlation with the Friends Academy AIDS Awareness club.
Long Island has always had a robust and thriving music scene covering almost every genre you can think of. It's spent the better part of five decades giving the world acts such as Mariah Carey, Public Enemy, Pat Benetar, Twisted Sister, Harry Chapin and hundreds more (it even has it's our own Music Hall Of Fame). Now, in the words of another amazing, and maybe the most famous musician from those parts (by the name of Billy Joel) comes a band "from a town called Oyster Bay, Long Island" who seem intent on adding themselves to the roll call of success in the most fertile music scene in the world: 'TAUK
The band's name is derived from a place that most Long Islanders call "The End" - Montauk, LI - but this is only the beginning for these music school trained performance virtuosos. Their road tested act has allowed them to create original material that fans of acts such as Phish, Addison Groove Project, The Grateful Dead and Soulive will absolutely eat up.
in 2007, Long Island's own buzz band Tauk continues to be one of the most played, talked about and written about bands of the year. They have already gained televison airplay in a special interview and live performance piece for the FUSE music television network and radio airplay on NYC's Q104.3, Long Island's 102.3 WBAB, 98.5 The Bone and 107.1 WLIR and are currently in rotation on many college stations including WRHU Hofstra and WUSB Stony Brook. They were recently covered in a "With The Band" feature for Newsday and they graced the front page of Good Times Magazine as the "Local Spotlight" story. These articles serve as the highlights of their press coverage, but are in addition to the many overwhelmingly positive webzine and internet site reviews they also recieved in the past few months. Their summer tour covered almost 20 shows with spotlight dates on Long Island opening for Ants Marching at The Crazy Donkey and opening for Glass Houses at Eisenhower Park, gigs at The Living Room Lounge in Brooklyn and at Rye Playland in Upstate NY and several industry showcases at The Knitting Factory, Pianos and The Lions Den in NYC.
Catch them live this summer at a fetival or club near you! check out www.taukrocks.com for all the info u need and happy groovin'
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