The Story So Far.........
Fresh out of Europe, Jonny Tarr is introducing his monster duo THE TARR STEPS to the soundsystems of the States. A wall of sound, an orchestra of electronic soul, a powerhouse of lyrical stomp, THE TARR STEPS will electrify your blood. Bringing together all Jonny's many influences and tastes, THE TARR STEPS incorporates his experience as club sax player, major label songwriter, sideman pianist, sampler, beatmaker, lifelong vocalist and loop station manipulator to bring discerning audiences something fresh and connected. Distilled down from an eleven-piece revue band to a streamlined duo that still provides audiences with a complete music experience, THE TARR STEPS are ready for action. Tying the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Herbie Hancock, Shuggie Otis and Marvin Gaye to a modern, electronic sensibility. Jonny is partnered by drumming juggernaut Steve Such who provides the perfect foil to Jonny's songcrafting. Together they are THE TARR STEPS. All live and direct. All honest. All from the soul. They do it because they can. They do it because they can't not.
Originally from Cardiff, Wales and now a permanent resident of San Diego California, Jonny Tarr is a multi-instrumentalist songwriter with fifteen years' experience as a professional touring musician. He has done everything from blowing horns at the Tokyo Crossover Jazz Festival, to accompanying top balearic DJs in Ibiza, to featuring his originals at the Glastonbury Festival in England.
Cutting his teeth at the age of fifteen in his native city, he went on to teach music in India and then on to study contemporary music at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (LIPA). Ten years' experience playing in and around London and touring Europe followed before completing his life-long dream of moving to California. Since then he has played with Mike Pinto, Greg Douglass, Paul Cannon and recorded with legendary Beastie Boys produced Mario C.
Jonny brings out the entire bag of tricks for THE TARR STEPS, playing tenor/alto/soprano saxophones, flute, keyboards, synths, guitars, samplers and loops, as well as boasting powerful Sting/Stevie Wonder influenced vocal.
Drummer Steve Such graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Jazz Studies from the nationally acclaimed Jacobs School of Music, along with a minor in Music Education. Steve has been named IPA Marimba Solo Champion, performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Disney All-American College Band in Anaheim and more recently claimed the top spot at Guitar Center's San Diego 'Drum Off' and named a Grand Finalist in Chad Smith's Bombastic Drum Contest by Drum Channel. Steve has opened for such artists as Steel Pulse, P.O.D., and The Wailers and has travelled the world performing in top flight revue bands on cruise ships, playing everything from Jazz to Latin to Straight Ahead Rock. As a result, he has collaborated with hundreds of musicians, singers, and artists from all over the world.
Together they are THE TARR STEPS, superheroes of the two-piece world.
