Tara Jane ONeil
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Tara Jane O'Neil (born November 22, 1972) (surname sometimes written as "ONeil"; sometimes credited as TJO) is an American multi-instrumentalist,
songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
, audio recording engineer, and visual artist based out of
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,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States.


Biography

O'Neil is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, audio engineer and visual artist. She creates melodic and experimental music under her own name and in collaboration with friends. Her recordings and live performances range from solo singing to noise improvisations. TJO has composed and performed music and sound for films, theater, and dance performances, and written large and small ensemble experimental architectures. O'Neil began her music career as the bass guitarist and vocalist for the influential Louisville, Kentucky post-rock group Rodan. After their breakup in 1994, she moved to New York, where she joined
Retsin Retsin was an American indie rock band founded by Tara Jane O'Neil and Cynthia Nelson. History Retsin was founded in 1993 by O'Neil, who had played with Rodan, and Nelson, a member of Ruby Falls.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discogra ...
, Ida Retsin Family (a collaboration between Retsin and
Ida Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...
),
The Sonora Pine The Sonora Pine was an American indie rock band founded by Tara Jane O'Neil active from 1995 to 1997. History O'Neil formed the band after the breakup of Rodan in 1995, in which she played bass. After moving to New York City, she began working wi ...
, and
The Naysayer The Naysayer was a country-rock band founded in 2000 by singer-songwriter Anna Padgett, the band's only permanent member, and former Retsin drummer Cynthia Nelson. The band released four studio albums before disbanding in 2006. History Padgett a ...
. She released her first solo record in 2000. O'Neil is also a notable visual artist. Her work has been exhibited in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, Louisville, and
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, among other places. Her artwork has appeared on her own solo record covers, on the record covers of many other groups (Retsin, Ida, The Naysayer, Castanets, etc.), in poetry books by Cynthia Nelson (''Raven Days'' and ''The Kentucky Rules'') and Maggie Nelson (the cover of ''Something Bright, Then Holes''), in the magazines ''
Punk Planet ''Punk Planet'' was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than punk as simply another genre of music to which teenagers listen. In addition to covering music ...
'', ''
Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
'', '' The Wire'', ''
Venus Zine ''Venus Zine'' was a quarterly internationally circulated magazine covering women in music, film, art, entertainment, literature, fashion, indie culture and DIY culture. It was published from 1995 through 2010. Venuszine.com was the daily update ...
'', ''Copper Press'', and various international publications. ''Who Takes a Feather'', a book of her drawings and paintings, was published in 2004 by Tokyo-based Map Press. In 2007, ''Wings. Strings. Meridians. A Blighted Bestiary'' was published by Yeti Publications, including an album of live recordings, four-track demos, and outtakes. O'Neil starred in the 1994 indie film '' Half-Cocked'' as herself, credited as "Rhonda" although her character has also been referred to as "Tara."


Partial discography


Solo


Albums

*''Peregrine'' (2000, Quarterstick Records) *''In the Sun Lines'' (2001, Quarterstick Records) *''TJO TKO'' (2002,
Mr. Lady Records Mr. Lady Records (or Mr. Lady Records and Video) was a San Francisco-based lesbian-feminist independent record label and video art distributor. (Press release of a 2001 art show at the Weisman Art Museum) Artists on the label included Le Tigre an ...
) *''You Sound, Reflect'' (2004, Quarterstick Records) *''In Circles'' (2006, Quarterstick Records) *''A Ways Away'' (2009, K Records) *''Where Shine New Lights'' (2014, Kranky) *''Tara Jane O'Neil'' (2017, Gnomonsong Records)


EPs

*''The Joy Of...'' (2002, Acuarela Discos
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*''Who Takes a Feather'' companion release 3" CD-EP (2003, Map Press
apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...
*''Vanishing Point'' (2004, self-released digital download; original score for the Naomi Izuka play ''At the Vanishing Point'') *''Tracer'' (2005, Compass Tone
apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...
*''A Raveling'' (2005, Acuarela Discos
pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
*''After a Dark Seven'' (2006, self-released CD-R) *''Light Up Screen'' (2006, self-released digital download; collection of short film scores) *''Live and Covered'' EP (2008, self-released CD-R; European tour EP)


Singles

*"Tie a Ribbon" / "Another Sunday Saint" / "If Your Youth Is Green" (aka Troubleman Solo Singles Series #6) 7" single (2000, Troubleman Unlimited Records) *"April 3, 2009" (2009, self-released digital download; live adaptation of the song "The Drowning Electric")


Compilation albums

*''Bones'' (2004, Preservation ustralia (compilation of demos, alternate versions, outtakes, and songs from singles) *''Marrow'' (2004, self-released CD-R) (most songs also appear on ''Bones''; features hand-painted and numbered covers) *''To Trace a Raveling'' EP (2006, Mississippi Records) (12" vinyl release; combines the ''Tracer'' and ''A Raveling'' EPs) *''Wings. Strings. Meridians.'' companion release CD (2007, Yeti Publications) (compilation of home recordings, live tracks, and film scores)


Collaborations

*''Music for a Meteor Shower'' (with Daniel Littleton) (2002,
Tiger Style Records Tiger Style Records is an independent record label located in New York City, New York. It is owned and operated by Insound. As of 2004, it is on hiatus. Roster * 764-HERO *The Album Leaf *American Analog Set *The Appleseed Cast * Aspera Ad Astra ...
) *''Tara Jane O'Neil and Nikaido Kazumi'' (with Nikaido Kazumi) (2011, K Records) *''Medusa Smack/100 Gongs for Arieto'' (with ELEH) (2015,
Important Records Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. The idea behind the label is to be like a good record store, with releases from diverse artists and genres. History John Brien started Important Records ...
)


References


External links


Official website

K Records artist page



Would You Believe It? Tara Jane O'Neil Covers Cher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneil, Tara Jane 1972 births Living people Guitarists from Oregon American multi-instrumentalists Quarterstick Records artists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists