Check out how this DIY Indie artist is spending his time in quarantine, and much more!
Quarantine isn’t holding back talented singer songwriter Aaron Taos. His inspired lyrics are relatable during every mood from jamming in the car to a soulful, deeper vibe. With such a diverse range, there’s no limit to where this up and coming star will go. This down to earth and talented artist took a moment to speak with Tonight Mag about his music and exciting projects to come. Get to know Aaron below!
How are you spending your time in self-quarantine?
It hasn’t been too bad! [My roommates and I have] been shooting a lot of strip videos for songs, new videos, music videos. Most recently, we shaved our quarantine beards into these ridiculous mustaches that developed into characters. We shot an 8 episode sitcom in relation to these characters. We’ve been working to wrap that up and release it randomly. It’s been really productive in ways I wouldn’t have thought. We’ve been doing goofy shit!
When did you realize you wanted to pursue a career in music? What was the journey to get to where you are now?
I was an athlete in high school because I wanted to be a professional soccer player. I was playing on a bunch of different teams, for my state Connecticut, and going to recruitment camps. I ended up playing in college for a couple of years. That was my whole life when I was a little bit younger. But when I was 15 or 16 I discovered the bands Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes and was like, damn! I picked music back up and realized I love this, and I want to do this. For a while I wanted to pursue soccer and music at the same time. If there was a lightbulb moment it was when I picked up the guitar and I was starting to write songs on my own. I could do this for forever.
As you grow as an artist, what is the top goal you hope to accomplish? How do you plan to achieve it?
I think that’s changed. The ultimate goal has always been to be as big as my favorite bands. I think just from releasing for 4-5 years I have reached a point where this is my career and I can live doing it. That’s a goal I’m happy I reached, but you always want the next thing. I think the next thing, assuming when quarantine ends, is touring way more often, playing live, being on the road a lot more and releasing more albums.
Can you expand on the different inspirations and creative processes for “Night Thoughts” and “Birthday Boy?” How did your writing process and artistic style change throughout the two?
I started my first project “Guits.” I totally didn’t know what I was doing but I was producing it, recording in my bedroom classic DIY Style. From that, I got enough attention that I was able to get in the room with bigger songwriters and producers and explore that. But it took awhile for me to get a hold on and figure out what I was trying to do and collaborate with people. So that process took a minute, but the culminant of “Night Thoughts” was that. Some were produced by myself the old school way, and some were a more collaborative process. That was a real learning process to get in the room with other people and still come out with something that felt like it was mine. “Birthday Boy” means a little bit more to me because I took what I learned from “Night Thoughts,” in terms of upping my producing chops, and feeling more confident as a songwriter, and I went and did it myself again. The process for “Birthday Boy” was just me really being creative by myself. It was more stream of consciousness, lyrics and how I was feeling at the time. It’s a loose concept on your birthday, what that means to you, and reflecting on the past year. It was a more dialed in effort on my part. I’m realizing that stuff I’m working on now is more collaborative. I go back and forth between doing a project that’s more collaborative, then I wanna do it myself, and then oh shit, I wanna go back and forth!
How have you seen your fans connect with your music in a time where you can’t interact with them live?
Something cool that’s happened is an older song “Control” is on the NBA2k20 soundtrack. Once quarantine started, people started playing more video games. People were hearing it, and the lyrics were kinda about quarantine, and not directly like, I wasn’t anticipating it! “I don’t like going out / but I don’t wanna stay at home…” I was getting a lot of DMs and Youtube comments, Tik Toks, like woah this is relevant to right now. I’ve seen since then that this song has taken off on Tik Tok. So it’s been really weird to see a song that’s over a year old get all of this traction because it’s relevant to people’s lives. Totally unexpected resurgence of my old song, and it’s opening cool opportunities for potential labels and distributors. You try to plan these moments but sometimes they just happen.
We’re loving “I Just Fell In Love With My Ex!” What was it like working with Brent and Ken Lewis on this single?
It was great! Last April we got in for two days and we wrote this song. I came in with a concept just because at the time I had had a resurgence with my ex. We just dialed in on it, and they produced it. We wrote a bunch of it together, but it was really cool working with them, especially knowing all the stuff Ken’s worked on. It’s cool going to someone and totally trust they are going to make it sound great.
Which of your recent singles do you connect with most? What’s the story behind it?
I’m pretty proud and connected with “Saboteur” because at the time I wrote it, I was in a slump. Sometimes songs take a while to record, and sometimes they just come out. That one just came out. It was just a stream of consciousness – like waking up too late. The verses are very just what’s happening in the moment, and the hook is that that’s self sabotage. I was able to finish a song that flushed out a concept of what’s going on in my life. I think sometimes I write songs and don’t think about them, and then a year later I’ll look back and say oh that makes sense now! I feel pretty good about that one.
Exciting things are on the horizon for Aaron! We are so pumped to see where he takes his music career. Expect new music in May, June, and a new release in July! Stay up to date with Aaron Taos through his website and following him on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
All photos courtesy of Trevor Boyd.
Tonight Mag 