Tommy is gone - leave his "legacy" in peace.

Ron Muller <mullerlaw@juno.com> visited on Sunday, February 11, 2001 at 15:02:24 (EST)

I lived through the TAB riot, and got a T-Shirt to prove it.

Goose Radley <goorad@lodge.edu> visited on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 at 17:37:54 (EST)

Tommy's tender side

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the legendary house concert Tommy did at Pine Hill Farm a few years ago. Just him solo acoustic with a guitar doing starry-eyed love songs, ranging from Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" to Barry Manilow's "Mandy". The really amazing part was when he played the entirety of James Iha's solo album from start to finish, in sequence (though no one knew it at the time because the record hadn't come out yet; apparently Tommy had gotten a copy of early demos from Iha). For the encore, he switched to ukulele and debuted some new song called "Paper Moon", then set the uke on fire and wandered off into the woods. If you look closely today, you can still see the burn marks on the carpet.

DuWayne Robinson <wrobins@editorandpublisher.com> visited on Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 12:50:57 (EST)

TAB

My decision to retire from rock criticism had been building for sometime. As the music writer for NewsDaze, an alternative daily from suburban New York, we followed Tommy from the get-go. (His publicist, Michelle Schenker, snuck me into the otherwise all-press-barred showcase at CBGB's). I always thought that Lenny Kaye should have produced the second album--if there had been one. But after the Las Vegas debacle, I found that the rock crit mentality that I had once displayed like my freak flag was unsalvageably shallow. I requested, and was granted, transfer to the food section. My current passion: visiting every French bakery in Long Island, in search of the perfect madeleine.

Jay Stanforth <madejczyk@aol.com> visited on Sunday, October 15, 2000 at 21:59:36 (EDT)

Our Weekly Had It FIRST On TAB, Man!

As a writer for the Specindependator, I just want to set the record straight that our publication was FIRST with coverage on TAB. That's right, we were FIRST to mention the group in our "What's Hot, What's NOT" page and we also ran that really cool ad promotion "Drink a TAB with TAB," before Cocoa-Cola's legal dept. got in the way. Because they were "Ken's thing" at the daily paper, we decided to switch our "exhaustive" music coverage to Chapel Hill's pre-Raphaelite tribute band, The Angst Riders. Hey, we just call 'em the way we see 'em. - JayPS: I'm using Tony's iMac while he's out of the room getting me a beer. Cool, huh?

Thomas Fornash (no e-mail given) visited on Thursday, September 28, 2000 at 16:13:26 (EDT)

R.B.'s Delusions

R.B.'s comments are again proof that lobotomies are inceasing as a lifestyle choice. R.B., I'd offer to buy you a beer and talk about it but I doubt you could get your head out of your ass long enough to drink it. TAB is as overrated as your opinion of yourself. So be a good boy now and run off to the funny farm, the adults can handle it from here...

Dr. Clueful <drclueful@hotmail.com> visited on Tuesday, September 26, 2000 at 08:28:57 (EDT)

TAB copyright violation

I represent the Coca-Cola Corporation, and it has been brought to our attention that the rock band "TAB" is illegally infringing on our registered trademark for the "TAB" brand of diet cola. While we recognize that TAB's popularity with its target demographic of overanxious, pre-bulimic young women has been steadily decreasing in a manner not unlike the career prospects of (insert favorite Spice Girl here), we still hope that TAB will make a stirring comeback in the 21st century when it becomes recognized as an early visionary in the category of bio-engineered "frankenfoods." We therefore respectfully request that you immediately cease and desist all unauthorized usage of the "TAB" trademark in conjunction with whatever pitiful mewling this so-called band emits. Yours in better living through chemistry...

R.B. Rhoden <your mother> visited on Friday, September 22, 2000 at 12:04:03 (EDT)

Jealous Tommy

THE PROBLEM WITH YOU, TOM, IS THAT YOUR PATHETIC LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT HOLDING OUT FOR THAT EXTRA DISHWASHING SHIFT AT THE RATH. TOMMY HAS MORE TALENT IN HIS LEFT NIPPLE THAN YOU OR YOUR INTERBRED, JESSE HELMS-LOVING, RED MAN-SWALLOWING, HILLBILLY CLAN. WHY DON'T YOU SLITHER BACK INTO THE NEAREST BOG AND LEAVE THE THINKING TO THOSE OF US WHO CAN ACTUALLY CHEW GUM.

Thomas Fornash <tom4nash@webtv.net> visited on Tuesday, September 19, 2000 at 18:05:47 (EDT)

TAB Overrated

What a load of bullocks! TAB was always a bunch of posers. These losers were always overrated. God knows, everyone around Raleigh knew Tommy Aguilar was just a poor-man's Kenny Roby. Like that pisser had one tenth of Kenny Roby's talent. What a $%#&@#$ joke!I blame Kenneth Morrison for this outrage. If that pinhead hadn't gone wack over and over again in print then no one would have ever paid attention to these bozos. Genius, my ass! It common knowledge that Kenneth had a thing for Michelle Rubin. Good Lord, he'd been tryin' to get into her pants for years. You can sum up this drivel to Kenneth's bloody hormones. Back in the glory days, '95 or '96,any number of bands would blow TAB off the stage. Whiskeytown, the Backsliders, and even Six String Drag would have mopped the stage of your precious Tommy Aguilar Band. It just goes to prove that there's no justice in ROCK-N-ROLL!

Gil Asakawa <gil@gillers.com> visited on Tuesday, September 19, 2000 at 13:13:21 (EDT)

Saw that show!

I was there for the TAB performance, the first time I'd seen the group. It was during the annual South by Southwest music and media conference, oh what, four, five, six years ago? It was indeed under a tent, with a couple-hundred of us waiting for the much-hyped band to show us their stuff. The music was magical in an unexplainable way -- despite all the raggedy-ass playing and "fuckit" attitude, these guys connected right to the gut. I don't remember the songs either, but I do remember being really impressed by Tommy's -- jeez, I hate to use the word -- sincerity as he sang and played his songs. He seemed to exude a tragic kind of glory, like a rock star who'd seen it all (and maybe he had, even at that early age). I've seen hundreds of bands over the years at SobySoWhat, and most of 'em have been lousy and forgettable. This is one I wanted to follow the fate of.

Alex Arthur (no e-mail given) visited on Monday, September 11, 2000 at 22:24:33 (EDT)

TAB live in concert

I caught TAB one night. I was visiting a friend who insisted that we go and see this band and especially this singer that had knocked him out.We were standing outside in the parking lot of a brewery, and it was cold, even under the tent erected over the parking lot, and a couple hundred of us milled around drinking Shiners, wating for TAB, which, not surprisingly, was late for its 11 p.m. starting time.We had been warned by our friend that TAB could be erratic, but I don’t think that’s exactly the word I’d use to describe their set that night. It was more like aberrant. Tommy appeared onstage with his guitar case looking like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. It took him at least 10 excruciating minutes just to get his guitar cord unraveled. Who the hell is this guy? I wondered while he spent another ten minutes plugging in and tuning up. Who knows what the hell he was on?Not that it mattered, by the time they started, everybody in the band was out of tune, anyway, in a kind of charming way. I couldn’t tell you the names of any of the songs; they came and went, occasional moments of clarity amidst the clatter and din. And at the end of their short set, the rest of the band stopped playing as Tommy plucked his out-of-tune guitar and sang some acoustic fragment that included a short chorus, something about “how hard it is to be up here playing these songs,” as if he were explaining away or summing up the chaos that had just ensured. He got away with it, too.

Tom Maxwell (no e-mail given) visited on Sunday, September 10, 2000 at 14:12:19 (EDT)

A prophet is never a hero in his own land; thus I have no recollection of Tommy or TAB. Besides, he was Raleigh and I'm Chapel Hill. Everybody knows what that means.

Isabella (no e-mail given) visited on Thursday, September 07, 2000 at 17:31:33 (EDT)

I remember one night after a show when Tommy & I picked up this other chick andwent back to his place to party. His girlfriend at the time showed up and chased us around with a butcher knife. I know it especially hurt Tommy when she smashed his guitar against the wall. What a naughty boy!!

Linda Ray (no e-mail given) visited on Thursday, September 07, 2000 at 01:09:23 (EDT)

Rock on!

Just ordered the book and can't wait to get it. The site's a great read all by itself. Congrats! I'm a fan. . .

Boo <Mirboo@aol.com> visited on Tuesday, August 29, 2000 at 16:06:46 (EDT)

remembrances of TAB

i was at the t.a.b. site today and it reminded me of a show of theirs that i caught in san antonio once. they were playing a fundraiser mini-tour with glass eye and jesus lizard and tommy was real upset with the staff, that they were not in touch with the whole problem of torn rotator cuffs enough to throw in some extra drinks for the band or at least for him as the symbolic representation of the band. it was a pretty screwed up ordeal for everyone. anyhow the show went on as scheduled but instead of the regular set, the band only did charlie rich covers. i think that it meant something but i am still not sure what.either way they really could play when they wanted to. Boo