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I could probably write a several thousand word post if I wanted, but I am gonna try to keep this short as possible...which means it'll prob still be long as I start rambling....
I've always been a big fan of Taj (& Gianni, miss that guy) since I first started to periodically go to Ten back in 2000 after I turned 21. Back then I never went to any place by myself and all the EDM-heads I knew at work left together for some other company and moved away and I knew no one...until like sometime in late 2000 or 2001 (all a blur lol) when I was plastered walking down Folsom and decided to go in for the hell of it...luckily had a roommate who was a bouncer at time and he got me and a friend in...low and behold I walk into the main room and it's Ferry Corsten. My friend bailed on my after like 5 minutes because he was getting sick and decided to stick around myself...and from that night onward I was at Ten pretty much every Friday/Saturday...and that's when I kept getting blown away by Gianni & Taj....time after time.
Note that during this time I didn't actually know Taj...just was great to hear a DJ who actually knew what he was doing as an opener/closer (when there was one). I've said it a million times, I think a great DJ is one who can play these spots properly...especially as an opener...cause if you're headlining, it's much easier to just throw out the fan favourites in your set...but as an opener you can't just do that. Now don't get me wrong, there have been nights where I thought it was bleh. Though the last opening set from Taj where I wanted to throw stuff at him is when he and Dirtyhertz (as Reza) opened for MarcoV at Mighty at Spundae Love Parade pre-party in 2004...dammmn, that was 3 1/2 year ago already!?!?). They played all tribal (if I remember correct) that night and I was boooooooorrrrrreedddd...knew Marco V would occasionally play some himself, but I wanted his trance man. HIS TRANCE!! Marco V's first hour ended up being tribal before kicking it into gear and hurting the crowd....that's an hour of trance lost. Now I like tribal when I am ready for it...but wasn't that night...gar...
Anyhow, my appreciation for Taj was mainly built w/o ever even talking to him....it was a total respect thing because over time it was apparent he was a rare DJ. A DJ who can play so many styles yet be great at all of them. 99% of DJs out there who try to cross a lot of genres are terrible at it. A DJ where I wondered how the fuck he was able to listen to so much music knowing all the different genres he plays. Guessing working in the record store back then helped...but still, lol.
I actually never met Taj until after he started posting right here on TA...I think after he took over Sat at Ten. But when he started posting, it was a bit odd...because it felt like I did know him, lol.
And my respect for Taj and his passion has only grown. I know a lot of the politics he has to deal with. I know the type of PEOPLE he has to deal with. But he has remained strong and obviously doing what he is doing because he just wants to do as much as he can for the music and the scene (ie. us people who go to the clubs). It's apparent he's willing to deal with all the bullshit I'm very sure he has to deal with because of his passion. Most other people, no matter how passionate they say they are, would have fallen apart a long time ago. Hell, I know people right now who have taken breaks from doing things because they found it horribly rough to handle everything (politics). Anyhow, how can you not respect a person for doing as much as he is doing....even though he looks like he belongs in a heavy metal garage band and not a EDM DJ...we need to convince him to do the dreadlocks again, lol.
Taj could have easily given up and said "fuck this" after the Agnelli & Nelson night at Space 550...oh man, I (and many others who saw how it was promoted as well as it could have been) felt so bad that night. But shit happens sometimes...and just have to let nights like that make you stronger!
Anyhow, I'm glad to have gotten to know Taj over the last year (or two). Like many people in the scene (this seems to be a common trait), the first time or few times you try to meet him, conversate, etc it can seem like he just wanted you to go away or something (hehe), but it's just a matter of warming up to each other and just getting to know them (ie. they have a lot of shit to worry about). Again, a common trait among promoters and a lot of DJs it seems, lol. I remember the first few times (more like the first 6 months) I talked to the co-founder of Spundae (Guiv), I wasn't sure if he hated me or was OK with me...but he just likes to screw with your head if you let him and I was so gullible at the time because I didn't want to do anything to piss him off, lol. I'll admit, he can be intimidating and that didn't help. But yeah, turns out he will just screw with your head if you let him...just have to call him out on it and after about 20 times doing it he'll finally slow down trying, lol....you got that Blurr??? :-p I know people who thinks I hate them because my responses when I first meet them I often short and to the point and I don't get all conversational...I know people who think I'm smug when they first meet me. Sorry, I'm not good at the conversations thing...until you get to know me. After awhile, I dunno how to shut up (even over AIM...I can go off forever sometimes lol) sometimes. And I often keep my answers short at first because, if you didn't know, I naturally talk stupid fast and come off as mumbling and w/o even thinking about it my responses come out short in fear of sounding like I should be in Special Ed...I think, I dunno why. Maybe anxiety, but I dunno...anyhow, getting way off-topic...back to Taj!
Taj alone has been responsible for bring so many DJs to SF that other promoters wouldn't touch...and continues to do so (though I'll admit I wish way more often, but prob more of an Ira thing there hehe). Don't forget he was the FIRST person to book Sander van Doorn in North America. If it wasn't for him, my post count on TA would be much lower considering the million posts I've made regarding SvD all over TA after that night, lol.
I've seen Taj deal with drama at Ten..but he's never given up and keeps moving forward. Finally got a Ten15 (or should I say, local love) float at LoveFest. Actually got a steady crowd to go into the main room every Saturday night (though sure the basement closure helped a tad) no matter who is playing. First time Ten has had a steady crowd on any night since probably 2002. I remember the days when people would just flat out refuse to go to Ten15 and there would be amazing DJs playing to maybe five or ten people...and usually people who just went every week no matter what. After Spundae and Release left in 2003 a lot of things were tried to get people to come back (note: it was skimpy before Spundae and Release even left) and nothing seemed to work...but over the time Taj has been doing Saturday nights, it's happened....now just waiting to see what the next step is gonna be to bring in even more people (an issue for people hire than Taj, me thinks!)....
Taj has helped keep what little there is of the trance scene in the bay area. His involvement on TA has surely helped because it lets people to get to know him and it also gives the impression that he's just one of us doing what he can. Think it's also def helped bring in a lot of regular posters on TA from the bay area. I remember just a few years ago I was like the only bay area TA who regularly went out...there were maybe a few other people, but no more than like 4 or 5. Look how much it has grown and it seems everytime I go to Ten all you peeps have like 10 new friends who I have never seen before...just don't forget who all started out with when it comes to having a good time with each other at the clubs. Yes, I do hear gossip over how some people start meeting more people and then stop hanging/talking with them at the club other than to say hi for the most part...that's fucked up, lol. I would be blind if it happened to me, lol, because once the music is going I really don't even get into convos. Only talk when I have to or to blurt out the wrong IDs over and over again, lol.
Anyway, back to Taj again lol...
Taj has given a lot of people to DJ at Ten that would never have a chance anywhere else, hehe. A good way to get people to love him....though I'll be the first to say that I'm not sure if I like that myself. Yes, I know, he was the first person I finally played for at an event...but I remember wanting to play in the basement just to get a little experience to wanting to play on a local nights or something and not the main room to being drunk in December and him bring it up again (after months and months of asking me about it) and being drunk I was just like let's do it(!!) but on a local's night and he said Feb 16 and I was like WHOOOPIE!!....I remember like blurting out the date and saying "LET's DO IT!!" at the top of my longs from the dance floor while he was closing, lol. I finally had given in and decided to just stick with it. The first time I finally said OK after being asked by various people in the past couple of years. Now if it was anyone else, I would have probably said no still...even drunk! Now that I finally got my feet wet, I want more! Hopefully next time (if ever) I won't have the flu and have done two all nighters at work that week and go in on nearly over 36 hours of no sleep! And hopefully I can actually find time to get a haircut. And clean my clothes so I don't have to wear a rag shirt. I remember him bugging me on being nervous and I honestly wasn't....I just wanted to survive without passing out. I slammed a bunch of red bulls and gatorade on the way to Ten and was getting all jittery from it when I first got there, lol. Wheee....
Anyhow, Taj is not only a very respectable and likeable DJ, but once you get to know him you find that he's very respectable and likeable as a person as well. He does as much as he can to take care of anyone he can. Most DJs (local or not) I know can seem cool when you know them by talks in the DJ booth or at the bar...but more often than not, you learn over time their true side and wonder if all their talk is just an act. Never had that issue with Taj. If anything, it's the total opposite. Find myself having more respect for him over time.
I just hope that in the long run, everything he is doing pays off for him...dunno what his goals are in the long run, just hope that everything ends up going well for him because he deserves it.
I could keep going. There's so much more I could say if I thought about it. A rare post where I sound like a total ass-kisser, lol. But I said I would try to keep this porst short and know I've failed...not even gonna do a word count. Not even gonna do any type of re-read or spell check or anything....cause my baby boy Devin Toole is crying and need to go take care of him, lol. Sorry if my writing sounds totally broken. Deal with it...it all prob sounds corny anyways....
In the end, I'll admit that I do kinda envy Taj. His mom and dad got to work (lol) at the right time so he'd hit the scene during it's best years. I wish I could have fully experience the scene of the 90s. As the scene was growing, it also made for a lot more opportunities to get in and learn and take what's learned somewhere. It's so tough now overall. Yeah, you can start helping out organizers, clubs, etc, but it's sooooooo tough and horribly rough to really get anywhere. You don't really hear much of new promoters popping up or whatnot and being very successful long term. Most people I know who have tried didn't do so well. At the same time, it must be rough knowing what the peak was like firsthand. Every so often I will be at an event where I have the absolute time of my life and wish I could have it every week and some old schooler will tell me someting like "I am having so much. The music, the energy he (the DJ) is bringing reminds me of the early-mid 90s." Oddly enough I have maybe heard this three or four times in the past two years...and two of them where when SvD played here the two times he played here...at Ten15 in Jan 2006 and at Ruby last year...now this two different people saying this and both pretty much summed up the vibe in the same way. And those two nights were def two of my funnest nights ever...especially Jan 2006 at Ten when I was stunningly blown away by him...and so was the whole club. Never seen a crowd migrate from every room to the main room for a DJ like that ever before.
I just wish I could see that more often. Maybe some day, but prob not thanks to the US government.
Last edited by DaveT on Mar-01-2008 at 14:10
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Come here my little Russian cuties....
I thought most biker dudes were all about ROCK music!" 
