Biography
Tallboys existed only in nascent form while Aziza Wishnow, Vanessa Roworth, and Sheila Donovan attended Oberlin College. The group coalesced properly after the three graduated and reconvened in New York City. Once momentum built, stage names came first: Wishnow, the drummer, took the moniker Aziza Vis a Vis; Roworth, on guitar, became Vanessa Van Ness; and Donovan, handling vocals and guitar, adopted Sheila Sixteen. The trio’s sound pulled freely from post-punk sources, pairing serrated guitar figures with twitchy bass lines and Sixteen’s frenzied vocal delivery. In October 2003 Tallboys cut an EP for New Jersey independent label Jak Attak. The following month the Yeah Yeah Yeahs tapped them for a tour that extended into 2004, after which the band turned its attention to the February release of Scallywag Tag. Bassist Ryan Byzantine had joined the lineup by then.
Albums