Exposed Vocals Interviews Tabla Rasa

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Tabla Rasa: I grew up in Lawrence, KS in the home of the Jayhawks. I grew up skateboarding as I still do with friends of mine by the names of Weaver (Weave Pancho) and Stoney Jackson. We all spent our downtime when we weren’t skating writing rhymes and free styling with one another. I was always musically guided throughout childhood from playing piano to singing along with any and everything I heard.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Tabla Rasa: I chose the name after I had created a few recordings with a producer friend of mine Kush Cobain. I was sitting in my eleventh grade history class and we had just happened to learn about John Locke’s theory of Tabula Rasa. In his theory he believed that everyone was born with no prior knowledge before entering the world and that we are all “clean slates”. As of lately I’ve been gaining more knowledge on meanings of the two words. In India a tabla is a root drum while the word rasa relates to divinity. I research astrology as well and it turns out that my Vedic Moon for my birth on October 11, 1995 is under the name “Tula Rashi”. Just an odd coincidence.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Tabla Rasa: I think that online music sharing is great in this day and age. It can be kind of bleak sometimes because you have to really learn to navigate your way through the online streams to make it possible for others to hear your creations. I personally have given away all of my mixtapes for free up until this point due to ownership reasons. I have used a lot of producers I have found online as well as the few that had began to make beats in town. I disclose their names on my tracks to give them credit and to avoid any conflict with my usage of their beats.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Tabla Rasa: Meet people. Go out to your local shows and venues and introduce yourself to someone new each time. Every show I have done has been offered to me through others that I’ve met along the way. Connecting with others opens doorways to music that will distinguish your skills while learning so much more along the way.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Tabla Rasa: I gather my inspiration throughout gaps of time, but when it comes to my writing process it is always pretty spontaneous. I speak for more than just myself when I say that the best songs an artist will make will always take the least amount of time. There’s always a certain vibe that gets portrayed within the moment that you wrote the song or just let out what was going on inside of your head and soul.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Tabla Rasa: I have a page on Soundcloud under Tabla Rasa. Soundcloud is the only platform I use at the moment because I’m really waiting to be self sufficient when it comes to the production of the instrumentations before I branch out to more sights.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Tabla Rasa: If I had half a million dollars and a year off I would be reaching out to as many producers to work with as possible as well as recording with friends I’ve been jamming with for the last six months. I would also invest in a lot of musical equipment.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Tabla Rasa: Word of mouth is always the best way. Music is as much of a hustle as anything in life, and if that means making fliers and cd’s to hand out for free in preparation for shows or for a new project then it must be done. Sites such as this one are also great for getting your name out to streams that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Tabla Rasa: I just released a project “Hopeless Romantic” that had been sitting on my computer for over a year. My next projects consist of acoustic and jam band music and improv as well.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Tabla Rasa: If I weren’t making music I would still be drawing, painting, and skateboard as I always have.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Tabla Rasa: Self discipline is all you really can do. It can be hard sometimes, but with connections I have made with others it gives a little more incentive to work even harder just to do what I love to do. As long as I keep my head on straight money and food haven’t ever caused too much stress in my life.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Tabla Rasa: I’ve got three project ideas I will be working toward over the next year. The first will be called “Bag Of Bones”. It will be a solo acoustic tape with some accompaniment. The other is with my roommate under the group name “Meeting Of Minds”. The name of that project will be “Designs by Nature”. The third is a hip hop project I am going to entitle “Healers”. So, I’ve got a full plate, but as I previously said the self discipline will play a large roll in completing these goals.