Short Bio
T.A.P is a studio-based musical collaboration with the aim of producing an instrumental fusion of ambient sounds with elements sourced from genres including, but not limited to, progressive rock, blues, jazz, psychedelic, and ethnic influences.
Michael Jobborn Bio
Michael has been creating many different types of genres of music since 2003 after getting his first MIDI keyboard and DAW. He became a member of the band Head Joint shortly after. To date his band has created over 800 songs of ambient, progressive rock, fusion and several genres of progressive EDM. Michael plays stringed instruments, keyboards, synths, reed and wind instruments, and are all self- taught.
Michael started promoting progressive rock from around 2013. He has helped and worked with many bands over the years, helping with setting up interviews, getting reviews of the various bands, and posting to various progressive rock Facebook groups.
Currently Michael is about to start his own radio show “The Art Rock Round Table” on progrock.com where he will be interviewing bands each week, doing what he loves, promoting progressive rock music.
Mark Cook Bio
Mark’s from Arlington, Texas, is a multi- instrumentalist/producer who specializes in playing the touch-style instrument known as the Warr guitar. His music is a hybrid of progressive rock, art rock, post rock, and psychedelia.
Mark has recorded and performed with Herd of Instinct, Liquid Sound Company, Gayle Ellett & the Electromags, Djam Karet, Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Stick Men), Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, Ork), Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson), Spoke of Shadows, Nocturne Blue, Dutch Rall, Blood Jet Poetry, The Forever Moment, Hands, and 99 Names of God.
Mark has also composed video game app soundtracks for Acceleroto, Inc. and participated in scoring a modern dance film with Dutch Rall and Diego Martinez Lanz called “Verdesaparecer” directed by Karen De Luna.
Mark Cook Online
Website: https://herdofinstinct.wixsite.com/herdofinstinct
Bandcamp: https://herdofinstinct.bandcamp.com
Suzi James Bio
Suzi is based in north London, UK. Alongside a full- time career in IT, Suzi started playing guitar semi- professionally in bands in the 1970s, from blues to prog rock, until the 1980s, when she broaden her musical styles and influences, and had the opportunity to undertake some session work, the highlight being a demo for Woody Woodmansey (Spiders From Mars).
In the latter half of the ‘90s, Suzi was a co-founder of a Thin Lizzy tribute band, ‘Live & Dangerous’, making the top twenty list of UK tribute bands in Q magazine.
Since 2015, Suzi has been free to give more focus to music, building her own home recording studio, and adding bass, keyboards, flute, violin, oud, mandolin and some percussion to her skills. In 2018, Suzi co- founded Fearful Symmetry, with two releases in 2019 and 2022. The latest, The Difficult Second, was awarded joint ‘Best Prog Rock UK Album 2022’ by ProgRock.com.
In parallel with Fearful Symmetry, Suzi played on Checking For Echo Project albums, ‘My Life & Other Short Stories – Vols 1 & 2’. Vol 3 is in progress as well as a third Fearful Symmetry album. Apart from music, Suzi plays cricket, and likes to travel.
Suzi James Online
Website: https://www.fearfulsymmetry.rocks
Bandcamp: https://fearfulsymmetry.bandcamp.com
Gayle Ellett Bio
Gayle lives in Topanga, California and has been playing guitar and piano for the past 50 years.
Currently he is performing in 7 bands, has scored music for 60 different television series and films, and has played on over 120 albums.
He is a founding member of the instrumental Progressive Rock group Djam Karet, and currently plays and records with The Electromags.
When he’s not busy making albums, he can often be found wandering the mountain trails near his home.
Gayle Ellett Online
Website
Paul Sears Bio
Paul has played and/or recorded with The Muffins, and other well known musos including Andy West , Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Fred Frith, John Greaves, Peter Blegvad, Daevid Allen, Jerry Goodman, TS Henry Webb, Al Bouchard, Judy Dyble, Steve Hillage, Karda Estra, 9353, Henry Kaiser, Bill Laswell,Yochk’o Seffer, Present, Cyrille Verdeaux’s Clearlight, Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott, Michael Keneally, Harvey Bainbridge, Morglbl, The Red Masque, and many others.
He continues to record in his Arizona studio, Garage Mahal, and plays out both in the US and abroad occasionally. He is also a broadcaster since 2014, presenting weekly The Paul Sears Radio Hour as part of the popular Prog Rock Diner cable and Internet progressive rock show on Radio Fairfax in VA. He has also appeared on KOTO-FM, in Telluride CO, WFMU in NJ, & ZONA 98.3 in Mexicali Mexico.
Drums recorded for this album at Paul’s studio Garage Mahal in AZ by Paul and 3rd ear Steve Mitchell.
Paul Sears Online
Website: http://www.paulsears.net
Bill Bachman Bio
Bill is a regular contributing columnist for Modern Drummer magazine and is the author of the books ‘Stick Technique, an ‘Essential Guide for the Modern Drummer’ and ‘Rhythm & Chops Builders’ published through Modern Drummer Publishing (nominated for “Best Product” in their 2018 Readers Poll), as well as the Logic marching percussion instructional book series for Row-Loff Productions. Bachman is the founder of DrumWorkout.com, designer of Vic Firth’s Heavy Hitter pad series and his signature Billy Club drumsticks and the inventor of the patented Remote Speedy Hat.
Bill has played with and instructed many award-winning marching percussion groups, including the UNT drum line and various DCI World Class finalists (Cadets, Bluecoats, Blue Knights, and Carolina Crown). On drumset, Bill is the drummer for Herd of Instinct, Spoke of Shadows, has toured with progressive rock artist Neal Morse, and freelances playing and recording in the Dallas area. Bachman is an international drum clinician, and he endorses Vic Firth sticks, Remo drumheads, Zildjian cymbals, and Row-Loff Productions products.
Bill Bachman Online
Website: https://drumworkout.com
The Evolution of T.A.P and the Debut Album ‘Paradigms’
This album saw its first track created in 2014 by Michael Jobborn with Mark Cook, which came about after Michael helped out Gayle Ellett in 2012 with some promotion for his Djam Karet band. Gayle then asked Michael to contact Mark to help him with promoting one of his Herd Of Instinct releases. This went on for a couple of years, after which Michael had an idea to work on a song with Mark. To his surprise, Mark agreed to this. The song sounded really good to Michael which spurred him on to do more songs, perhaps even a full album.
By 2018 there were 4 pieces that feature on this first album, with another in the pipeline with Michael. During 2019 Michael helped out Suzi James with the promotion of Fearful Symmetry’s debut release, and decided to ask her if she would be up for working on this 5th song of the album. She agreed, and although a start was made, the album had to be put on hold due to Covid and life in general.
In 2022 Michael once again contacted Mark to help complete the album, and felt that “Suzi did such an amazing job on the Silence From The Storm track” that he asked her to participate on the rest of the album.
Michael then reached out to Gayle Ellett to see if he would be up for joining on the album. He was more than happy to help out. Very quickly, Gayle sent in his contributions for the tracks.
Michael randomly came across Paul Sears in a chatroom for Progrock.com where he asked Paul if he would be interested in adding drums to Silence From The Storm. After hearing the song in its current form, he jumped on board and joined in for that track. Michael previously learned about Paul’s great drumming through his friend Cyrille Verdeaux of Clearlight some years previously, when he was helping Cyrille out with promotion.
As the album neared completion, Mark proposed a Herd Of Instinct mix of the Silence From The Storm track, with Bill Bachman invited to add drums for this alternative version. The rest of the band enthusiastically embraced the idea. The result is a slightly shorter punchier version which the band agreed should be added as a bonus track.
Michael: “This is how the album came to be and is what it is today. A wonderful group of progressive rock musicians joining together to create something unique. We hope to do a follow-up album in the future, possibly adding a few guest musicians along the way. Hope you all enjoy the album.”
T.A.P Online
Website: https://tapprog.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/T.A.P-Prog
Bandcamp: https://tapprog.bandcamp.com/music
What They Do
Mike Jobborn – keyboards, synth, soundscapes, drum programming
Mark Cook – Warr guitar, guitars, basses, drums, soundscapes, synths, samples, strings
Suzi James – guitars, basses, oud, flute, random percussion
Gayle Ellett – keyboards – Hammond, Moog, mellotron, (tracks 1,2,4-8)
Paul Sears – drums, percussion (track 5)
Bill Bachman – drums (track 8)
Origin: Canada, USA, UK
Genres: Ambient, Prog Rock
Years Active: 2022 – Present
Discography
Paradigms (2023) Melodic Revolution Records – CD – Digital & Streaming