When it comes to aspiring musicians residing in Toledo, very few have the drive and ambition of Dean Tartaglia. Those paying attention to the regional music scene have heard his music. His motto: “If you work hard at it you’ll get your credit eventually.” Born in Morristown, New Jersey, he moved to Toledo at a young age and graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in 2008. Now, at 23, Tartaglia’s musical credentials are impressive. In 2012 he graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Music in saxophone performance.
Varied experience
For a while he was the frontman in not just one band, but two: Mind Fish and Silent Lions. He has also played saxophone with the local Toledo band Gold and Detroit’s The Sights. In all, Dean has performed on 9 albums – a handful of which were self-produced. He has worked with producers Eddie Ashworth and Jim Diamond, as well as Electric Six guitarist Zach Shipps; he is no stranger to the Detroit music scene. In the fall of 2012 he went on a European tour with The Sights, supporting Tenacious D. He’s done about a dozen other tours here in the US and has performed in nearly 500 shows. There’s no doubt about one thing: over the last five years Dean has kept busy. His recipe for musical success is “make your own rules and play your own game. Stick to your vision.”
At the moment, his primary project is the Silent Lions – a two-piece outfit rounded out by the hard-hitting and precise drum work of Matt Klein. Dean mostly plays bass, but the synthesizer, saxophone, layers of distotion pedals, and haunting vocals play a role in shaping the sound. With loud rock music at the core, elements of electronic, soul, and hip-hop all make frequent guest appearances, delivering a blend of many genres into one that’s eclectic enough for elitists while still palatable for a wider audience.
The dynamic duo
As a duo, Tartaglia and Klein have actively pursued wider success for two years, record contract or no: “We’re not waiting around to get credit for it, we’re becoming our own bosses. We’re the ones that decide what is good and what isn’t.” They self-released their debut album “The Parliaments” just over a year ago, and over the last 12 months they’ve watched their fan base grow, playing over 100 shows in cities throughout the Midwest and along the east coast.
Tartaglia’s work is paying off. Recently, Silent Lions released a promotional song through Popmatters, one of the most trafficked music websites. The hype behind Silent Lions is reaching a fever pitch.
On Friday, February 7 Dean will perform solo at the Toledo Museum of Art in the glass pavilion from 6:30 to 8:30 as part of the Art Museum’s first Friday of the month music series. The museum has welcomed several local musicians as part of the program, but never a solo set by a musician so young as Tartaglia—the set is a testament to his hard work ethic. The set will be performed unplugged and include a mix of old and new songs from his catalog of music spanning the past 5 years. This performance is, essentially, a pre-show before the release of Silent Lions’ second album “The Compartments”, which will take place later that night at the Ottawa Tavern (1815 Adams St., no cover). In commenting on the current era in music, Dean remarked, “It’s a really great time just to try a bunch of things and ways of doing things. Toledo is a great city to find your craft and hone your vision.”
Dean Tartaglia will perform solo on Friday,
February 7, 6:30pm. Toledo Museum of Art,
2445 Monroe St. 419-255-8000.
toledomuseum.org Free.
