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Asa Taccone (born September 20, 1983) is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and frontman of the band Electric Guest with whom he has released three albums since 2012. He is noted as a close collaborator of The Lonely Island and has contributed to their musical work on Saturday Night Live and a number of their films. He also has written music for other comedy film and television projects including American Dad! and Portlandia.
Asa Taccone | |
|---|---|
 Taccone performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Born | September 21, 1981 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Relatives | Jorma Taccone (brother) Tony Taccone (father) |
Early life
editAsa Taccone was born on September 21, 1981, the second son of Suellen Ehnebuske and Tony Taccone (a theater director) in Berkeley, California. His brother is Jorma Taccone, a former writer for Saturday Night Live and one third of the comedy music trio The Lonely Island. He is of mixed Italian and Puerto Rican ancestry on his father's side.[1]
His interest in music began playing trumpet in his elementary school choir during religious holidays; the choir director included a bongo section where he and other children could sing and play the drums.[2] During high school, he became interested in jazz, continuing to play trumpet in the band.[3] Taccone was eventually kicked out of his high school, and sent to a boot camp that he could only leave on the weekends.[4]
While there, he began to frequent a local Dunkin Donuts.[5] There, he met an elderly woman who remarked that he was "an electric guest of the universe."[5]
Career
editTaccone had long been a fan of hip/hop music, and was influenced by Bay Area rappers like Souls Of Mischief, E-40, and Mac Dre.[2] He moved on to synths and started producing hip/hop music, however, he eventually grew weary of the "bullshit" of the hip-hop world.[3]
One day — while visiting an incarcerated friend — another inmate recognized Taccone, requesting that they work together after his release.[3] The incident rattled Taccone, and he left the genre for good. His already budding interest in 1960s music increased, and he began making music that stemmed from that era.[3]
Taccone's older brother, Jorma, joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 2005, and enlisted Asa in composing music for the show's Digital Shorts performed by his comedy group The Lonely Island.[6]
Jorma asked his friend Brian Burton (professionally known as Danger Mouse) to listen to some of Asa's music over the phone.[4] Burton provided positive feedback, encouraging the younger Taccone to continue making music. At the age of 24, Asa made the move from his hometown to Los Angeles to pursue a music career.[7] Burton recommended that Asa take his former room in a boarding house full of musicians.[4][8]
Initially, Taccone found it difficult to collaborate with others creatively, after years of writing alone.[3] He kept "grinding",[4] producing and writing music for projects that included Digital Shorts on comedy show Saturday Night Live, as well as scores for his father's theatrical productions, making enough money to support himself and his own music.[4] He wrote music for Lady Gaga’s episode on The Simpsons, Kanye West’s episode on The Cleveland Show, as well as Charles Bradley and The Weeknd's episodes on American Dad.[9] Taccone was a co-writer and co-producer on the Portugal The Man hit Feel It Still.[9] The song became number one, and garnered the band a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.[9]
In April 2018, Universal Music Publishing Group signed Taccone to a global administration deal.[9]
Taccone is credited as a writer and the sole producer of the new Portugal, the Man single, Dummy.
Reception
edit"Even though I shed a couple of tears after I read that shit, I do kind of understand it, in a weird way, because of my involvement with Brian and then my brother's background. I think that that shit is just a deadly combination for people to just go: 'silver spoon!'"[10]
Asa Taccone to the newspaper The Age in response to a particularly negative review from Pitchfork
The Guardian calls Taccone "a strutting junior Jagger with an androgynous falsetto prepared to front EG's tunes with as much gall as it takes."[11]
Discography
editWith Electric Guest
edit- Mondo (2012)
- Plural (2017)
- Kin (2019)
Production
edit| Title | Year | Artist | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Just a Blessing" | 2003 | Dor 1, Sok The Virgo & Enzyme | The Network | Producer |
| "One Unit at a Time" | Sok The Virgo & Theory | |||
| "No One Wants To See Me On Stage" | Sokrates The Virgo | Elenchus: The Album | ||
| "1984" | ||||
| "Benterlude" | ||||
| "Sax Man" (feat. Jack Black) | 2009 | The Lonely Island | Incredibad | Producer |
| "Boombox" (feat. Julian Casablancas) | Producer, writer | |||
| "Dick in a Box" (feat. Justin Timberlake) | ||||
| "Natalie's Rap" (feat. Chris Parnell & Natalie Portman) | ||||
| "Mama's Got A Brand New Swag (So Exquisite)" | 2010 | Joyo Velarde | Love & Understanding | Producer |
| "Take You Home" | ||||
| "Motherlover" (feat. Justin Timberlake) | 2011 | The Lonely Island | Turtleneck & Chain | Producer, writer |
| "Ana" | Charlotte Gainsbourg | Stage Whisper | Vocals | |
| "Chariot" | 2016 | Luke Top | Suspect Highs | Vocals |
| "Real People" | Ice Cube & Common | Barbershop: The Next Cut OST | Writer | |
| "Tiger Smile" | 2017 | Nine Pound Shadow | Nine Pound Shadow EP | Album producer, writer, vocals |
| "Bridges" | ||||
| "Tell Me Why" | ||||
| "Melody" | ||||
| "Bright Like Gold" | ||||
| "Feel It Still" | 2017 | Portugal. The Man | Woodstock | Producer, writer |
| "Keep On" | ||||
| "Feels Right" | 2019 | Carly Rae Jepsen | Dedicated | Producer, featured artist |
Songwriting for media
edit| Title | Year | Artist | Production | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Lazy Sunday" | 2005 | The Lonely Island & Chris Parnell | Saturday Night Live | Writer |
| "Young Chuck Norris" | The Lonely Island & Jason Sudeikis | |||
| "Natalie's Rap" | 2006 | The Lonely Island, Chris Parnell & Natalie Portman | Writer/producer | |
| "Harpoon Man" | The Lonely Island | Writer | ||
| "Dick in a Box" | The Lonely Island & Justin Timberlake | Music/producer | ||
| "Andy Popping Into Frame" | 2007 | The Lonely Island | Music | |
| "Sloths" | Writer | |||
| "Roy Rules!" | ||||
| "Iran So Far" | The Lonely Island, Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar | |||
| "People Getting Punched Just Before Eating" | The Lonely Island | |||
| "Ace Rockwell: Thumper in Your Trumper" | Himself | Hot Rod | Writer | |
| "The Late, Late Show with Dr. Schadenfreude" | 2008 | Himself, Matthew Compton & Justin Bailey | Igor | Writer, performer |
| "Hero Song" | 2008 | The Lonely Island | Saturday Night Live | Writer |
| "Daiqurai Girl" | ||||
| "GIRAFFES!" | ||||
| "Motherlover" | 2009 | The Lonely Island & Justin Timberlake | Producer | |
| "Boombox" | 2010 | The Lonely Island & Julian Casablancas | Writer | |
| "What Was That?" | The Lonely Island & Arcade Fire | |||
| "We Happen to Be Clubbing" | 2010 | Himself & Drew Campbell | MacGruber | Writer, performer |
| "Dip a Toe" | 2011 | CeeLo Green | American Dad! | Writer |
| "Hot Tub Song" | ||||
| "Do Whatever You Like" | ||||
| "Daddy's Gone" | Scott Grimes & Seth MacFarlane | |||
| "Hot Tub Research" | CeeLo Green | |||
| "Psychotic Hot Tub" | ||||
| "End Credits Medley" | ||||
| "Girl You Need A Shot (Of B12 (Boyz 12))" | 2012 | Scott Grimes, et al. | ||
| "Dream of the '90s" | Portlandia | Portlandia | Writer, performer | |
| "Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Boy" | 2013 | Scott Grimes | American Dad! | Writer |
| "The Perfect Gift" | Rachel MacFarlane | |||
| "You Get the Rod" | Charles Bradley | |||
| "We've Been Bad" | Scott Grimes & Charles Bradley | |||
| "Family" | Rachel MacFarlane & Daran Norris | |||
| "Rubbernecking" | 2014 | Chris Diamantopoulos, David Koechner, et al. | ||
| "Fraudulence" | Terry Crews | |||
| "Is She Not Hot Enough?" | Scott Grimes | |||
| "I Wanna Be Seen" | Seth MacFarlane, Scott Grimes, et al. | |||
| "Old Springfield Anthem" | 2015 | Dan Castellaneta | The Simpsons | Writer |
| "New Springfield Anthem" | Nancy Cartwright, et al. | |||
| "Trapped in the Locker" | 2016 | Scott Grimes | American Dad! | Writer |
| "Real People" | Ice Cube & Common | Barbershop: The Next Cut | Writer | |
| "Owen’s Song" | 2019 | The Lonely Island | Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Vocals |
| "The Snoopa Loompa Rap" | Himself | American Dad! | Writer, performer | |
| "The Weeknd's Dark Secret" | 2020 | The Weeknd | Writer |
Collaborations with the Lonely Island
edit- Saturday Night Live (2005–2008) – composer/additional music; 17 episodes
- Hot Rod (2007) – songwriter
- Incredibad (2009) – The Lonely Island
- MacGruber (2010) – additional instrumentations; film
- "Motherlover" (2011) – from The Lonely Island album Turtleneck & Chain
- The Wack Album (2013) – The Lonely Island
- 7 Days in Hell (2015) – music consultant; TV film
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (Original Soundtrack) (2016) — The Lonely Island
Composition for theater and film
edit- Bridge and Tunnel (2006) – music[12]
- Taking Over (2009) – music[13]
- Lemony Snicket’s The Composer Is Dead (2010) – film underscoring[14]
- American Dad (2011–2020) – composer/voice actor; 7 episodes
- Neal Brennan: 3 Mics (2017) – composer
Awards
edit- 2009 - Nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics – "Dick in a Box"[15]
References
edit- ^ Hurwitt, Robert (July 5, 2006), "Tony Taccone: Riding high on his recent successes, theater veteran has big plans for Berkeley Rep". Chronicle Theater Critic. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ a b Kauffman, Alexia (May 3, 2012), "Q&A with Electric Guest". We Love DC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Shedden, Iain (June 16, 2012), "Nice and cheesy". The Australian :10
- ^ a b c d e SWIFT, JACQUI (April 19, 2013), "WELCOME GUEST". The Sun :55
- ^ a b Gotch, Kristin (May 7, 2012), "An Interview with Electric Guest". PopMatters. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Beer, Jeff (May 19, 2009), "Black Iris' Asa Taccone Talks SNL Skit Soundtracks". Adage.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ Mathieson, Craig (July 27, 2012), "Depths of their soul". The Sydney Morning Herald. :Metro, 5.
- ^ Rolling Stone staff (April 11, 2012), "Danger Mouse Reveals Why He Produced Electric Guest's Debut Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Hanley, James (April 25, 2018). "'I'm very lucky': Universal Music Publishing Group signs songwriter Asa Taccone to global administration deal". NewBay Media. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ Drever, Andrew (July 27, 2012), "Sticks and stones a low note". The Age.
- ^ Lester, Paul (March 7, 2012), "Electric Guest (No 1,223)". The Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- ^ Asch, Amy; Viagas, Robert (August 2007), The Playbill Broadway Yearbook, :Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 28, ISBN 1557837325
- ^ Hodges, Ben (November 2009), Theatre World 2008-2009: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre, :Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 341, ISBN 1423473698
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (December 6, 2010), "Review: ‘Lemony Snicket’s The Composer Is Dead’". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
- ^ HBO staff (October 21, 2009), "HBO Tops 59th Creative Arts Emmys, NBC Leads Nets". HBO.com. Retrieved March 1, 2016.