If you'd like to ask a question and see the answer up here, just email me and I'll see what I can do!
Who are Taxiride and where are they from?
Taxiride...interesting name. Is there a story behind it?
What are the guys' names and what do they play?
When did they get together?
Have they always had five members?
What's Dan doing now?
How many albums have Taxiride released?
Garage Mahal? What the...?!
Imaginate has different covers!
What are some of Taxiride's lyrical inspirations?
Are the guys available?
Who does the 'psycho hair-fluffing routine'?
WHO ARE TAXIRIDE AND WHERE ARE THEY FROM?
Taxiride is a five-piece rock-pop band from Melbourne, Australia.
TAXIRIDE... INTERESTING NAME. IS THERE A STORY BEHIND IT?
There certainly is. Version 1.0 of the 'ride was called Taxé; there were too many other Taxé's about so they needed to do something to change it, otherwise it would've cost a fortune to 'buy' the rights to the name from the other bands. Inspiration struck in the form of a taxi-driving mate, Terry Green, who played (and still does apparently) the band's demo tapes to his customers. Thus, Taxi added ride because that's where people first heard the band's material - during a taxi-ride! Cool huh?
WHAT ARE THE GUYS' NAMES AND WHAT DO THEY PLAY?
Taxiride has three 'frontmen' who sing all of the vocals (usually in harmony) and two members who make up the rhythm section. Jason Singh is considered to be the main guy of Taxiride; he plays guitar and does a little bit of percussion during the acoustic portion of live gigs. Tim Watson, the big fella, plays acoustic guitar, keyboards, and twiddles the knobs of a digital sampler. Tim Wild plays lead guitar - both electric and acoustic - and can play the bass, sitar, piano, and probably many other obscure instruments we've never heard of. Sean McLeod and Andy McIvor are relative newcomers to the band, although they have been the rhythm section since Taxiride began touring in 1999. Sean bashes the tubs (i.e., drums) while Andy plucks away at the bass guitar.
They formed in 1996.
HAVE THEY ALWAYS HAD FIVE MEMBERS?
No - the lineup has changed four times in six years! Taxé had four members - Jason, the two Tim's, plus a guy named Jimmy Christo. Jimmy left in 1998 to pursue a solo career, and a talented young man named Daniel Hall replaced Jimmy not long after. Now, Dan got pretty fed up with the whole fame thing so he left in 2000, which left Taxiride as a three-piece (plus two in the backing band... I won't even mention their keyboardist, Neil Raymond, who toured with them in the early days because that would just cause more confusion!). While they were busy writing and recording Garage Mahal, Taxiride asked Andy and Sean to become bona-fide members of the band, so Taxiride are now five! Now I'm going to test you on that ;-)
He's still performing small gigs around Melbourne. He has recorded material for an album but I'm not sure when we'll get to hear it.
HOW MANY ALBUMS HAVE THEY RELEASED?
Two - Imaginate (October 1999) and Garage Mahal (August 2002). To date, they've released six singles, and are about to drop their seventh, Afterglow.
Yep, that's what I thought too ;-). The band were in LA recording the second album and took a little break in the Mojave Desert. They stopped off at a seedy little bar in Palm Springs and came across a 'mature' lady who used to be in a band in the 60's called Garage Mahal (I've also read that that was her name so pick whichever version you prefer). The name summed up where the band was at and where they're heading, musically-speaking.
I WAS LOOKING FOR IMAGINATE ON THE AMAZON WEBSITE AND SAW THAT IT HAD A DIFFERENT COVER. WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT?
The American release of Imaginate sports different cover art to the Australian release, and there's a totally different one for Europe as well! Most of the single covers are different again. Have a look at the Discography to check them all out.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INSPIRATIONS BEHIND TAXIRIDE'S LYRICS?
All sorts of things - day to day experiences, family matters, love, and sometimes, nothing much in particular! Read some of the stories here.
ARE THE TAXIRIDE GUYS AVAILABLE?
Not for purchase, no.
I MEAN, ARE THEY SINGLE?!
I don't know, and I'm not asking them either!
WHICH TAXIRIDE GUY HAS THAT 'PSYCHOTIC HAIR-FLUFFING ROUTINE' I'VE HEARD ABOUT... HE DOES IT BEFORE GOING ON STAGE... IT WOULDN'T BE ANDY, WOULD IT?
No, I doubt it! It's Tim Wild :-D