Instead of being fed the standard Bob Dylan and Skynyrd while growing up, Tags' parents "went country" and pumped Garth Brooks and Allan Jackson for most of his youth. While some family videos had flashes of Credence and The Dead, country music was a staple in the household. Once he hit Middle School, he did his best to rebel with 16 Stone and Sublime and eventually mixing Jay-Z and Biggie into his already diverse collection. High School basketball workout cd's ranged from Jadakiss to Marilyn Manson and everything in between. Needless to say his musical background lacked substance but he would never tell you that.
Moving on to SUNY Brockport where upon first meeting he decided Hamilton Fredericks was part of the "wrong crowd". He continued on his path of Kid Rock, O.A.R and The Counting Crows until he was introduced to freestyling by Hamilton. Having never even heard someone freestyle, he was intrigued and eventually spent countless hours in his room practicing by himself. First were battles at parties that rarely ended in anything but humiliation and a blushed smiles, eventually leading to Tags and Fredericks teaming up to form the legendary duo "Goodfellaz" (with a "z" of course). Tags and Fredericks wrote loose interpretations of their "party then study" lifestyle that made people giggle and mock them more than anything else, but that didn't phase them in the least. Teaming up with fellow Western New Yorkers L.S. (Love Signature) and Tybo (bowtie) they turned from "Good-Fellaz" into "Beat-Snappers," not necessarily by choice. They put out 2 records while in school and the 4 man team performed across Brockport's Campus. After recieving his Bachelors degree in Physical Education from Brockport, Tags decided to hold down a job at Footlocker in the local Mall in hopes of pursuing his music career with Fredericks on a more serious level. While his sneaker and basketball jersey collection flourished, the music seemed to come to a standstill and a decision had to be made. Tags and Fredericks decided they must retreat back home and re-group.
Now back at home and living 2 bridges away from Hamilton, Tags reunited with fellow high school basketball teammate Mike McInerney (Mac), who at the time was doing some studio work with Tags' brother Josh. He first asked Mac if he would mind recording a couple vocals for him which eventually turned into asking Mac to translate a couple old beats onto his acoustic guitar. Mac and Tags layed down 2 old "Beatsnapper" tracks, acoustic style and Tags brought them down to the island to play them for Hamilton. After the initial listening session Tags new what "The Great Hambino" was thinking, he wanted a band.....and loud....obnoxious...punk rockin' band...and Tags couldn't DISagree more. After plenty of arguments and compromising, Cloud 9 a "Hybrid Rock" band was formed. And from that point on...it's history....
Tags is now 2 years into learning guitar and can be found at a countless number of NYC dive venues keeping his ears on the ever changing music scene. He takes pride in the fact that Cloud 9 can ALWAYS get better and while this attitude often results in his fellow Cloud 9ers hating him. It never lasts long, because they also know that each time they think they've reached there pinnacle, they continue to smash through the ceiling and create music that they whole world can feel.
Moving on to SUNY Brockport where upon first meeting he decided Hamilton Fredericks was part of the "wrong crowd". He continued on his path of Kid Rock, O.A.R and The Counting Crows until he was introduced to freestyling by Hamilton. Having never even heard someone freestyle, he was intrigued and eventually spent countless hours in his room practicing by himself. First were battles at parties that rarely ended in anything but humiliation and a blushed smiles, eventually leading to Tags and Fredericks teaming up to form the legendary duo "Goodfellaz" (with a "z" of course). Tags and Fredericks wrote loose interpretations of their "party then study" lifestyle that made people giggle and mock them more than anything else, but that didn't phase them in the least. Teaming up with fellow Western New Yorkers L.S. (Love Signature) and Tybo (bowtie) they turned from "Good-Fellaz" into "Beat-Snappers," not necessarily by choice. They put out 2 records while in school and the 4 man team performed across Brockport's Campus. After recieving his Bachelors degree in Physical Education from Brockport, Tags decided to hold down a job at Footlocker in the local Mall in hopes of pursuing his music career with Fredericks on a more serious level. While his sneaker and basketball jersey collection flourished, the music seemed to come to a standstill and a decision had to be made. Tags and Fredericks decided they must retreat back home and re-group.
Now back at home and living 2 bridges away from Hamilton, Tags reunited with fellow high school basketball teammate Mike McInerney (Mac), who at the time was doing some studio work with Tags' brother Josh. He first asked Mac if he would mind recording a couple vocals for him which eventually turned into asking Mac to translate a couple old beats onto his acoustic guitar. Mac and Tags layed down 2 old "Beatsnapper" tracks, acoustic style and Tags brought them down to the island to play them for Hamilton. After the initial listening session Tags new what "The Great Hambino" was thinking, he wanted a band.....and loud....obnoxious...punk rockin' band...and Tags couldn't DISagree more. After plenty of arguments and compromising, Cloud 9 a "Hybrid Rock" band was formed. And from that point on...it's history....
Tags is now 2 years into learning guitar and can be found at a countless number of NYC dive venues keeping his ears on the ever changing music scene. He takes pride in the fact that Cloud 9 can ALWAYS get better and while this attitude often results in his fellow Cloud 9ers hating him. It never lasts long, because they also know that each time they think they've reached there pinnacle, they continue to smash through the ceiling and create music that they whole world can feel.
HOMETOWN
Chester, NY
5 FAVORITE BANDS
Jay-Z, Kid Rock, Jadakiss, Flipsyde, Gym Class Heroes
FAVORITE CLOUD 9 SHOW EXPERIENCE
Shaving The Kid's mohawk mid-set during a show
FAVORITE CLOUD 9 SONG
Keep Keepin' On
ALL WEBSITE PHOTOGRAPHY BY
CAYLA MORGANSTERN
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
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