Aaron Lee Tasjan

Get Over it Underdog

Blue Elan Records

Aaron Lee Tasjan was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 24, 1986. His family moved to San Juan Capistrano, California, when he was ten, and later moved again to New Albany, Ohio, about 25 minutes northeast of Columbus. Both of his parents were musicians, and Tasjan taught himself to play guitar at age eleven.

By the age of sixteen, Tasjan had performed with Peter Yarrow and been the recipient of the Outstanding Guitarist Award in the Essentially Ellington Competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC. He was offered a full scholarship to Boston’s Berklee College of Music following his graduation from New Albany High School but decided instead to move to Brooklyn, New York, in 2006.

In New York, Tasjan met Justin Tranter, Cole Whittle, and Dan Crean and formed the band Semi Precious Weapons. He caught the eye of Kevin Kinney, who later invited Tasjan to tour with him as an opening act and guitar player. SPW signed with Razor & Tie Records and released their debut album. Tasjan left SPW and formed his own band, the Madison Square Gardeners, who were described by the Village Voice as “The best NYC has to offer.”

Today, the Grammy-nominated Tasjan is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, activist, and guitarist. He is known for his unique blend of Americana, alt-country, and indie rock. Over the years, Tasjan has gained recognition for his storytelling and genre-defying music, establishing a loyal fan base through his passionate live performances and six acclaimed albums. His music often explores personal struggles, identity, and social issues, including themes of sexuality and gender expression. His last album, “Stellar Evolution,” was released in 2024.

Musicians include Tasjan on piano, organ, synthesizer, guitars, bass, and vocals; Audley Freed, Brian Wright, or Steve Dawson on guitars; Jen Gunderman on Wurlitzer, piano, and synth; Jeff Ratner on bass; and Fred Eltringham or Matty Alger on drums and percussion. Jimmy Boland plays saxophones. All songs are written or co-written by Tasjan, and some are topical. The album was recorded by Mark Miller, Steve Dawson, Joe Bisirri, and Matty Alger at five different recording studios.

The album opens with “Science Friction,” co-written by Tasjan and Denny Lloyd and featuring a string arrangement from Brad Jones, as Tasjan sings “Man control the weather, man control the women, man made the system we all have to live in, man made machines, spreading illness within him, man made machines, putting man out of business. Science friction, science friction. To think that you thought that the world is flat, it’s a train of thought that’s running off the tracks, in the 1400’s in three wooden ships, Columbus and his friends, they took a little trip, could they imagine living in a day, where well-known facts are just argued away, ’cause it turns out silence is a beautiful sound we can be pretty ugly, and the world is round. Science friction, science friction.”

“Clown Show” was co-written by Tasjan and Bobby Bare Jr., as Tasjan chimes “Scrawny women, cold sores and traffic, headed out of town with all their magic, in tip jars, bars, and sanctuaries, make room for every Tom, Dick and scary. Welcome to the clown show, it’s pulling into town, It sucks you into the shadows, as the sun goes down, don’t be afraid of the clown show, hurry right this way, we got a new ship of fools, showin’ up everyday. Company men with artifical intelligence, juggle the fate of the world for the hell of it. Sit with me on top of the elephant, from up here it’s all self-evident.”

“Lost & Alone” is a rocker, written by Tasjan, about a man on the brink, as Tasjan chants “Here comes another sundown, I’m a stranger in this town. Got an old Bic lighter and a bottle cap, for a dreadful needle in a wet haystack. Lost and alone, lost and alone, how’d I end up so lost and alone? Afraid of myself, afraid of my phone, I’d give anything to get back home. Here comes a runaway train, of thought that’s breaking my brain, telling it to my invisible friend, talking in circles again and again…Sleeping at the bus stop, getting hassled by the cops, but the way I’m living killed my dreams, people look at me, but they don’t see. Lost and alone…I’d give anything to get back home.”

“Lydia’s Boots” was co-written by Tasjan and Bobby Bare Jr., as Tasjan moans “Hey pretty lady, can I please borrow your shoes? All I wanna do is dance around in Lydia’s boots. She claps and sings and says funny things easy like popping gum, she goes harder than Bea Arthur. she’s the golden one. When she walks in, people talkin’, stop to watch her moves. As she goes, they wish to know, all her gaze imbues. All I wanna do is dance around in Lydia’s boots…How could I even try to step into her shoes? But I’m a believer if I could be her, I’d surely shake these blues.”

On “Twilight Zone Blues,” co-written by Tasjan and Brian Wright, Tasjan groans “What happens if you touch it? It’s just a little button, maybe something, maybe bothing, I wonder what it does. What happens if you touch it? What do I win? If it feels good, can I do it again? What happens if you touch it? Does it sound the alarm? Does it call the police? Does it set off a bomb? Does the bottom drop out? Does it play you a song? What is it worth? What if something goes wrong? Button button, who’s got the button, you don’t know what it does. But you really wanna touch it. Button button, it must do something, there’s only one way to get what’s coming to you…What happens if you touch it?”

“Ballad of an East Canton Lowlife” is another written solely by Tasjan, as he cries “Shoplifting at the Walgreens, my future’s so bright, arrested in my new shades, East Canton lowlife. Born a white boy, I don’t know why, I was raised up to never even try, East Canton lowlife. I made it through the 8th grade, before I got a real job, before steel and iron and women, put a curl into my back…I’m just a golden-hearted scumbag, living through a small town, and I’m bad but I’m good bad, I ain’t evil.”

“No One’s Gonna Know” is a second song from Tasjan and Wright, as Tasjan shouts “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who eats fastest gets the most, sounds like madness when you’re close Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. You live with, what you can live with, all your heart can hold, you get away with, what you can get away with, when no one’s gonna know.”

On “Shiver,” co-written by Tasjan and Jeff Ratner, Tasjan bursts “One two three, cheap empty bottles in front of me, laser lights, move with the music, she moves just right in time. Shakin her hips, swingin, I wanna know where she goes in her mind, lickin’ her lips. Shiver, what does she see when she closes her eyes. ‘Let’s have fun’ she says as she straddles, another drunk, her degree in art, her quick left hook, she’s writing a children’s book…where does she go when she closes her eyes?”

“Can She Get an Amen?” is another written solely by Tasjan, with Theo Katzman singing the backing vocal, as Tasjan declares “She’s grown tired of carrying the weight, of proving her worthiness to exist, so she thought why not get out of the way, of her adept ability to persist. Can she get an ‘Amen?’…can she beieve? Can she be free?, Can she close her eyes for long enough to be? And just be?”

“The Real,” co-written by Tasjan and Todd Snider, features some great guitar from Audley Freed, as Tasjan belts “Mother Nature’s children, of the revolution, working class believers, infinite love receivers. Give it up for the real, real mother truckers, sweet sister lovers, give it up for the real…Voices of the people, fighting to be equal, fighting for what’s fair, evil’s folding like a chair. Tell of our true history, violence that we must see, it’s up to us to heal it, sing this song if you feel it.”

On the closer, “The Dream Comes True,” written solely by Tasjan, he croons “One of these days when the sunset fades, and night falls over this town, in a getaway car under a shooting star, I’ll be gone and glory bound, feels like flyin’, when you’re on my mind. Baby, this engine’s got wings, she’s a Silver Raven crying and shaking, just listen to her sing. Broken believer, underdog dreamer, fallen angel of love, smoke ring halo, in the neon bar glow is all I’ve known of Heaven above. I followed a dream, into the deep, but all I could think of was you, ’cause the living between chasing the dream, that’s the dream come true.”

“Get Over It, Underdog” is dedicated to Tasjan’s mentor, the late, beloved songwriter Todd Snider. Tasjan examines the mythology of the American underdog, unraveling its contradictions and complexities with wit, urgency, and a deeply human perspective. The record confronts the idea that the same qualities that elevate an underdog can just as easily lead to their undoing, offering a nuanced portrait of resilience, identity, and self-perception. Check out this great songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist.

Richard Ludmerer