Stoke
of Genius
caught up with Stafford duo The Taskers
ahead of their new album release to find out how the brother and
sister group have managed to record four albums in just a year.
Sophie Bret Tasker (SBT) & Jack
BC Tasker (JT) have experienced some of the best and some of the
worst times during their years growing up together.
It is clear that the support of one
another helps greatly with the stability of, not just the band, but
their relationship too.
 |
| The Taskers |
Listening or Performing?
SBT
& JT: Performing
Rock
or Folk?
SBT
& JT: Rock
Pint
or Wine?
SBT:
Pint
JT:
Wine
Dinosaurs
or Drumming?
SBT:
That's a tough one! Drumming, only just
House
Party or Quiet Dinner?
SBT:
Party
JT:
Quiet dinner
Stafford
or Stoke?
SBT
& JT: Stafford
Songwriting
or Covers?
SBT
& JT: Songwriting!
Underground
or Mainstream?
SBT:
Both
JT:
Underground
Modern
or Retro?
SBT
& JT: Whatever sounds good
Pearl
Jam or anyone else?
SBT
& JT: Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam!
What
is your biggest passion?
SBT:
My biggest passion is the band, but I love art as well.
JT:
My biggest passion is art, be it music or
writing or any other form.
How
did The Taskers form?
SBT:
Jack broke up with his cray, cray girlfriend, came back and decided
that we needed to rock and roll.
JT:
Quick history lesson: Jack
lived in Liverpool with an insane Lithuanian woman, they broke up and
Jack came back to Stafford. He was offered a support slot for a local
rock covers band, Smith & Bates. Jack was tired of singing
folk-rock-Frank-Turner-rip-off stuff, so SBT joined him for the gig
(for a fee of £10.)
Realising the potential in the tunes,
Jack asked SBT to form a band with him. SBT, realising the potential
in making money, agreed. SBT never again made any money. Since then,
they’ve been blasting on without due care or attention.
How
would you describe your sound?
SBT:
Heavy, but funky.
JT:
Funky, melodic, yet steeped in fuzzy
filth...grunge.
What
are your main influences?
SBT:
We have been greatly influenced by Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer.
JT:
Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan, the
list could be endless.
Who
would you compare yourself to?
SBT:
I would say we sound like a mixture of Weezer and The White Stripes.
JT:
We sound like ourselves.
Simple.
Who
is your idol?
SBT:
My musical idol is PJ's (Pearl Jam) drummer,
Matt Cameron; talented but humble. My personal idol is my granddad.
JT:
In terms of a musical idol it's got to be Eddie Vedder (PJ frontman),
but the person I idolise and look up to is my grandfather.
Where
is your ideal place to live?
SBT:
I would love to live in Darlington, Yorkshire.
JT:
Where the people I love are...failing that,
the countryside.
 |
| The Taksers |
Whose life would you love to have?
SBT:
My life, I enjoy it.
JT:
Sophie’s, so I could see how awesome I am
on a day to day basis.
Whose
life would you hate to have?
SBT:
Jack’s, it must be hard to live in my
shadow.
JT:
I tend not to think about things like this.
What
were your childhood's like?
SBT:
It was very free and creative. We were pushed
to be unique and artistic people. We visited loads of cool places and
listened to great music.
JT:
My/our childhood was amazing,
we had lots of space to be creative, we were always supported by our
parents. Then our mother died – which was shit.
Is there any sibling rivalry between you two? What positives and negatives do you find being in a band together?
SBT: Sibling arguments are mostly comical. Being brother and sister means we can be totally honest with each other, sometimes it hurts.
JT: No, there’s no rivalry, we are both good at different things. The positives are almost endless, telepathic abilities, friendship, band practice at home. Negatives, we share the same friends, so it’s hard to invite loads of mates to a show.
What
is your biggest achievement? Musical or otherwise?
SBT:
My biggest musical achievement is obviously
the band. My biggest personal one is getting my bronze DofE (Duke of
Edinburgh).
JT:
I think that everything you do adds up to one huge achievement, which
is living. I’m pretty impressed I’ve made it through the twenty
two years of my life without seriously hurting anyone.
Have
you got ambitions not relating to music?
SBT:
I would really love to push my art to the next level, maybe small art
galleries?
JT:
Plenty; learn German, have a family, walk the
length of the country…I could go on. Sadly, your life flies by and
forces you to narrow it down to the important ones, the ones that
make you a better person, the one’s that’ll be fun.
SBT:
I would love the band to still be going and hopefully have gained a
strong following, while still making great music.
JT:
The band should have technically released forty albums, if we take
this year as an average. I’d like us to be established on the
touring circuit. I believe I’ll be tucked up in a cottage somewhere
with Pipsy and SBT’ll be nearby.
 |
| Jack Tasker |
SBT:
I’m listening to Alice in Chains and Lou Rawls.
JT:
Half Man Half Biscuit, Billy Bragg and the Mountain Goats.
What
has drawn you to writing music?
SBT:
Experiences in our lives (good and bad) have
given us a lot to write about, and we’ve always created music
together, from a young age.
JT:
You could argue it’s art, you could argue
it’s ego. I just always wanted to tell people stuff, things that I
saw and thought were wrong or beautiful.
Anything
else you’d like to add?
SBT:
Nope. If you want fruity last words, ASK JT.
JT:
In times of trouble, I often think to myself; ‘What would Tyra
Banks do?’
The
Taskers' fifth album Rat Residence will be available this autumn.
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