TAS 1000

This article is about the band TAS 1000, for the user of the same name please see TAS 1000 (user).

TAS 1000 was an experimental Canadian band famous for their single "(I've Been) Delayed" made popular in earlier versions of Club Penguin (most notably Penguin Chat 3).

Inspiration
Their works mixed recorded answering machine messages with music composed by various members of the band. The band got their inspiration for their music after Matt Krysko bought a used Sanyo TAS-1000 machine with its tape still in it at a Value Village store in Kelowna, British Colombia. The previous owner, an art conservator named Marta, did not erase the tape so her messages became the blueprints for the vocals in the band's songs.

Local Popularity
The band never intended to play live at first, but they would go on to become a novelty act in Vancouver and Victoria. Made somewhat infamous for their shows, which regularly included releasing a swarm of bees on the audience and other semi-dangerous acts. This would sometimes escalate into on-stage violence and property damage. Part of this violence was said to be a result of the band's strict on-stage dress code it was also said that they waned the band to have a "adversial stance".

They were more than just a novelty act however:


 * " Message for Marta is a catchy, well-crafted, musically accomplished and often poignant collection."
 * -Harold Heft, Exclaim!
 * -Harold Heft, Exclaim!



Receiving critical acclaim and airplay on CBC radio, the band also proved popular at "English as a Second Language Parties", but were also heavily criticized.

Proliferation
While their single (I've Been) Delayed saw popularity in the Club Penguin game franchise another one of their singles, Birthday, was considered for use in national commercials for a Canadian restaurant chain however they lost to another much more popular band.

Legal Troubles
Getting them some attention: the band was sued and given cease and desist orders several times. The first time they were sued was by Marta and her family who didn't approve of the band's usage of her answering machine messages. They were then sued several times by various boat manufactures the band had claimed to have been sponsored by.

Zeus
Many of the band's members played in the psychedelic rock band Zeus, which was formed in 2003. Zeus, named after the grecian god, performed several short apocalypse themed gigs before disbanding in 2005. They once played together with TAS 1000 at a concert.

Documentary
A 2006 documentary about the band named Stagnant Bog was made about the band, the documentary is about the band and particularly an event where the band dumped over a 300 hundred unsold copies of Message for Marta into a local bog. They were thought to have been inspired by Atari E.T. video game burial urban legend to discard their works in the bog.

The documentary has not yet been made available for online purchase.

End of the band
At their farewell concert they stopped after only two songs. At the abrupt end of the show the band drop-kicked the TAS 1000 until it was effectively destroyed, symbolically ending the band.

Split
TAS 1000 split up in 2005 when each member decided to explore their own musical interests and because they had "run out of source material".

Death?
Scott Howard is known to be deceased, the year of his death is unknown.

There is inconclusive evidence that suggests all former members of Tas 1000 and their sister band Zeus died at-least prior to late 2009. Whether or not they are actually dead is a matter of some controversy.

Cassidy Picken said that none of the band members were dead on Facebook, but the whereabouts of Matt Krysko are unknown.

Discography

 * Right on Girl (200X) (rare recording)(re-issued online by GlacialFreez, youtube video)
 * A Message for Marta (2009) (re-issue download compiled and converted by Newtown, released on Hellopayton and the Internet Archive, MP3)
 * A Message for Marta (2007) (re-issue download from RFSHQ, WMA)
 * Club Penguin: The Soundtrack (2006) (featured track)
 * Florian EP (200X) (rare recording)
 * Ron Rondon Calling EP (2003)
 * A Message for Marta (2002)

Trivia

 * The band would sometimes take live bees in jars as payment for albums. It's thought these were bees were used as part of their stage show.

Links

 * The band's original website (via Archive.org)
 * A Message for Marta Download
 * Tas 1000 on Last.FM