by alyanna m.
photo by eddi m
New Haven, Connecticut is home to a handful of cultural and historical landmarks, specialty pizza, and to the upcoming rock band: Showpony. Aaron Taos, one of the founding members of the group, is equipped to transform his solo discography into a heavier atmospheric, collaborative journey. He reflects on his earlier works that garnered further recognition from social media, the significance of The Elm City to his newest project, and his former barber turned bandmate (a new trope perhaps). From his first EP, GUITS, that racked up his reverb Indie sound, all the way to his acoustic record, juniper, Aaron Taos is no stranger to transformation, and Showpony will be quite indicative of this.
Aaron, you’ve been in the music industry for a decade now! 2015 was the year of your debut EP, Guits, a project that was self produced, recorded, mixed and mastered. Following the release of your latest single, “Copacetic,” how do you believe you’ve reformed as a musician since the start of your journey up until now?
Aaron Taos: “Crazy, right! So much has changed since then in terms of the landscape of music. Personally, I feel like after a long journey of trying, learning, writing so many different things — I’m a bit back where I started. My first experience with making music was as a teenager in high school playing in a rock band. This new Showpony project is kind of scratching that old itch, just with a new perspective on things.”
Your discography has usually had instrumental versions of your albums, all the way from your 2018 album, Night Thoughts, to 2023’s juniper. Was there a reason for releasing those secondary versions?
Aaron: “To be honest, a bunch of fans reached out asking for instrumentals! Instead of sending people to a Dropbox folder, I thought it was just better to release them publicly. I mean, I get it — I definitely geek out on listening to instrumentals or acapellas from artists I love. I’m flattered folks even wanna listen.”
As an artist residing out of LA, previously being based in Brooklyn and New Haven, which of these cities has given you the fondest memories and inspired your work, as a musician?
Aaron: “I mean, the answer is in the question with that one [laughs]. I’ve been kind of a nomad for a while now. LA is best for weather and collaboration, so many talented artists, producers, songwriters there. Brooklyn was where I got my start with my solo project, so lots of fond memories of the early days, making music in my tiny apartment and then meeting the right people that helped begin my career.
New Haven is where I grew up, so it’s different. Playing my very first shows ever as a 16-year-old at storied venues like Toad’s Place instilled in me the desire of playing music in front of a crowd, seeing their reaction, feeling the raw energy. Again, very full circle that I’m back representing a band based out of New Haven. It’s special.”
Although your music hasn’t been confined to one genre throughout the years, you are currently expanding and starting a new band, Showpony. May you tell us more about this ensemble?
Aaron: “Yeah, for sure. I formed Showpony with my friend Tyler Lindsay who is also from New Haven, CT. We met a couple years ago at a hair salon Tyler was working at called Skull & Combs. He cut my hair and we became friends since we both made music. We were hanging out late last year and thought how cool it’d be to start a band representing where we’re both from. Over the next couple months, Showpony was formed.”
What are the origins of the artist project name, “Showpony?”
Aaron: “So, if you’re driving through New Haven on I-95, there’s a handful of iconic pieces of infrastructure. One is the Hotel Marcel, which is a large brutalist structure. Another is the harbor itself which is littered with water towers and power plants. And finally there’s Sport’s Haven, a large cylindrical building where people bet on sports. On the outside of the building there’s a huge mural of race horses running. We named ourselves as an homage to that famous piece of the city.”
Your friend and now Showpony bandmate, Tyler Lindsay, have shared some history back in New Haven, with Tyler originally being your barber. As the friendship blossomed over the years, can you recall the very moment when either of you realized that working together was something that felt inevitable?
Aaron: “So we met back around the pandemic and then kept in touch, sharing music with each other. The first time we actually worked was in 2023 when Tyler co-wrote/produced an Aaron Taos song of mine called ‘tail lights,’ which was on my last album juniper: the long drive. Late last year, we were sending each other some tracks from the latest Fontaines DC album and both had the reaction, ‘how sick would it be to start a rock band again,’ and we just ran with it.”
A couple of Showpony’s musical heroes include older rock groups: Queens Of The Stone Age, Oasis, and Arctic Monkeys. Some modern groups that have been favorites to you both are Fontaines DC, Wunderhouse, and Been Stellar. With these influences in mind, how have these alternative rock and post-punk bands shaped Showpony in its current state?
Aaron: “Tyler and mine’s first experience with making music was in rock bands. I know for a fact Tyler was in the hardcore scene in New Haven growing up. The entire reason I even wanted to make music was when I heard Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and was obsessed with writing fast paced, post-punky, guitar music. The bands I mentioned above have always been a guiding light for Tyler and I as we made music for our solo projects over the years, but I think this new wave of artists like I also mentioned have re-instilled that reminder of like, ‘oh yeah, it’s pretty awesome to be in a band.’”
Showpony’s first single for the public is out on April 14th! What can you tell us about the process of assembling this track, and how it’ll set the tone for the group’s future works?
Aaron: “Yes! It’s called ‘Shine’ — I believe it was the second song Tyler and I wrote for the project. At first, it was more of a vibey upbeat track and then when Tyler started playing the chords on an acoustic guitar, we realized it better served as a more cinematic mid-tempo tune. Thematically, the content we sing about is a bit dark — usually stemming from lived experiences in New Haven. With this one we extrapolated a bit: it revolves around an acrobat who loves the spotlight so much that it leads to her death. As the audience we are in disbelief and horror, but at the same time can’t look away because her art is so beautiful. I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there, but let’s leave it at that for now [laughs].”
photo by eddi m
The single, “Control” from your 2019 debut album, Birthday Boy, was submitted from your distributor at the time to be part of the video game, NBA 2K20. With a new and upcoming project like Showpony, do you and Tyler have any goals of having your music exhibited to different media and art forms like the aforementioned?
Aaron: “For sure! To be honest, that video game sync changed my life. I wasn’t doing music full time prior to that. After the attention from the game and going kinda viral on TikTok, I got my first record deal and my whole career just sort of took a step up. It’d be amazing for a Showpony song to get in a video game, show, or movie. Since I was a former soccer player for many years, my ultimate goal would be to make it into a Fifa (Now EA Sports FC) video game. I’d die happy.”
How do you describe Showpony’s visual themes and artwork? Is it leaning towards a gothic romance genre?
Aaron: “Yeah, I’d definitely agree with that. I think what was so fun about starting a new project with all the things I’ve learned over the last decade is that it’s always better to be hyper focused about what the music sounds, looks, and feels like. Because my own solo project is literally my real name and most of the songs are real stories from 30 years of life, it feels like I have too many options of where to go with things and sometimes it’s hard to fully commit to the bit. It was very freeing to know from the outset that Showpony was the opposite. We make rock music, all visuals are black and white, and our themes/identity are based around New Haven. End of story. With that set, it’s been a preordained canvas to build on and we’ve been super inspired.”
Having toured nationally (as a solo musician) with King Princess, Charlotte Lawrence, and Weathers, who are some artists Showpony would relish in opening for? What cities and venues would Showpony place on the agenda-in terms of touring?
Aaron: “I mean, pie in the sky? Arctic Monkeys, Cage The Elephant, The Strokes, Cigarettes After Sex. More immediately, I can’t wait for our first New Haven show once we start to roll out this first project. Toad’s Place is such an iconic venue in the city, that I feel like that’d have to be the goal. It’s where I first got my start and now get to play with a new band 15 years later? How full circle would that be?”
Granted that Showpony is upcoming and will (absolutely) be on the rise, what are some end-of-year goals you hope to achieve for this band? Are there any future collaborations in the works that you can disclose for the fans/listeners?
Aaron: “I think our overall goal is pretty ambitious — we want to be the best band in the world. That may sound ridiculous, but why not reach for that? Fuck it. The bands that Tyler and I listened to as a kid completely changed the trajectory of our lives. As a 14 year old listening to Arctic Monkeys sing about stories in Sheffield, England on my way to Sunday soccer practice in a random town in Connecticut, I was inspired to try to do it myself. I think I speak for both of us that if any kid has the same response and wants to start their own band, we’d both be very proud of ourselves.”
