Tara Cross

Tara Cross was always exposed to music as a child.Her family, being second generation in the United States from Ireland, kept their roots by filling the household with lots of Irish and American music. Her father was a great singer and an admirer of Bing Crosby and Perry Como. Tara's interest in music awakes at age 13, when she begins to play the guitar. She studies at Hunter College of New York, where she majors in Music and Psychology, yet she decides not to pursue her musical studies in an academic institution, since her primary interest is centered in the performing arts.. Despite the opposition of her family, she devotes her time to her musical career while keeping a full time job in the corporate world. Her jobs ranged from secretary, typist, microfilm supervisor, librarian, magazine publishing company, etc. Tara is the first of six children and needed to help with family finances. In the late 70's and early 80's she moves from Brooklyn into the "village" in Manhattan, the center of the art scene in NY, forms punk rock bands and later goes onto experimenting with an Electro-Harmonix mini synthesizer and a primitive drum box. She develops her efforts into a very unconventional, experimental kind of music. In the early to mid 80's, she herself produces, composes and performs her own works, acts as her own public relations, takes care of the administrative and secretarial work, etc, She works mainly at first with cassettes, later going onto reel to reel 4 track, then 8 track, recording everything at home and releasing it worldwide. In 1997. she opens a hair salon, getting out of the corporate environment, called Le Chandelier Salon. As a musician, she considers herself as some sort of sound structurer who experiments with sound the same way as a painter would experiment with colors.

 

Born in 1957, her interest in music awakes at age 13, when she begins to play the guitar. Later on she experiments with an Electro-Harmonix mini synthesizer and a primitive drum box. She finishes her studies at the Hunter College of New York, where she majors in Music and Psychology, yet she decides not to pursue her musical studies in an academic institution, since her primary interest is centered in the performing arts, and she joins different groups in this period. To her, the world of academic music does not really matter. Despite the opposition of her family, she devotes her time to her musical career, focusing her efforts in a very unconventional, experimental kind of music. She herself produces, composes and performs her own works, acts as her own public relations, takes care of the administrative and secretarial work, etc. Besides, she has had different jobs -ranging from librarian to shop assistant and typist, among other things, even though her favourite job is related to cosmetology.

As a musician, she considers herself as some sort of sound structurer who experiments with sound the same way as a painter would experiment with colors. Some of her works have appeared in different compilations, as for instance in Japan (“Mineral Composition”), Spain (“Femirama”), France (“SNX”), a compilation CD in Japan called “A Conculsion Of Unrestrained Philosophy”... Likewise, she has participated in compilations containing pieces by her appearing in 25 different tapes. Her first solo LP was “Tempus Fugit”, released under the label Permis de Construire. Tara has performed live in several occasions, among which most remarkable is the one she gave in 1987, in “Fashion Moda”, at the Bronx, broadcast live via satellite to France and also by the radio station WNYC in New York as well as in another French radio station. Nevertheless, she dislikes live performances, since, as she has no supporting band, she herself must prepare the necessary recordings with the accompanying music, transport the equipment, etc., which is a true nuisance to her. Tara Cross has her own studio at home, equipped with two electronic keyboards, a guitar, a triple delay unit with a sampler, a Roland MC202, eight sonic tracks, three cassette tracks, and other devices she needs to make her own recordings. Even if she admits that this may look like a poor sort of equipment, she believes that creativity can always compensate for the apparent lack of means.