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King's X
King's X in 2009
Background information
Also known as	The Edge, Sneak Preview
Origin	Springfield, Missouri, United States
Genres	Hard rock, progressive metal
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Megaforce, Atlantic, Metal Blade, InsideOut Music
Website	www.kingsxrocks.com
Members
Doug Pinnick Ty Tabor Jerry Gaskill
Past members
Dan McCollam Kirk Henderson

King's X is an American hard rock band that combines progressive metal, funk and soul with vocal arrangements influenced by gospel, blues, and British Invasion rock groups. The band's lyrics are largely based on the members' struggles with religion and self-acceptance. King's X was ranked No. 83 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Since being signed to Megaforce Records in 1987, King's X has released twelve studio albums, one official live album, and several independent releases. The band is currently^[when?] recording for the InsideOut Music label, and continues to tour with each new release. Early in their major label career, they had many opening slots on arena tours, but lately,^[when?] the band for the most part headline their own shows playing mostly clubs and smaller venues. Each member of the group has recorded solo albums and has made numerous guest appearances on other artists' albums and compilation projects. Doug Pinnick and Ty Tabor also have albums released with side bands in which they participate.

The spiritual nature of the band's lyrics, particularly on their first three albums, has often led to them being labeled a Christian rock band.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Early years (1980 - 1984)[link]

The group traces its beginnings to 1979 in Springfield, Missouri, when bassist Doug Pinnick and drummer Jerry Gaskill were brought together to take part in a musical project coordinated by Greg X. Volz of the Christian rock band Petra. Within a month of Pinnick's arrival from Illinois, the project folded and he and Gaskill were left without a band. They soon landed a job as rhythm section for guitarist Phil Keaggy's live band. The two toured the country for several months in support of Keaggy's album Ph'lip Side. During the group's show in Springfield, Gaskill was approached by Ty Tabor who was a member of the opening band that night. The drummer for Tabor's band had quit the night before the show and Tabor had volunteered to take over on drums for the gig. However, seeing as he had no drums, he was forced to ask Gaskill if he could borrow his kit for the show. Gaskill obliged and the show went on.

When the tour ended, Pinnick and Gaskill returned to Springfield and set about looking for more work. Gaskill landed a job doing demo work for the Tracy Zinn Band that happened to include Ty Tabor on guitar. The two became friends and were involved off and on together in different musical projects.

In the spring of 1980, Pinnick attended a music show at Evangel College and watched a set by another of Tabor's bands. Pinnick was impressed with Tabor's skills and the two soon began collaborating musically.^[1]

Eventually Gaskill, Pinnick, and Tabor decided to pool their talents into a single outlet. Calling themselves The Edge, they initially were a four piece with the inclusion of Dan McCollam on rhythm guitar. McCollam quit after only a brief time and was replaced by Kirk Henderson, who was a friend of Tabor's from Jackson, Mississippi. The group performed extensively on the Springfield bar and club circuit specializing in classic rock and Top 40 covers at the time.

By 1983, Henderson had quit the band and Pinnick, Tabor, and Gaskill decided to continue on as a trio. They also decided to change the name of the band, and settled on calling themselves Sneak Preview.

The group had been writing and recording many original songs up to this point. They chose ten of these songs to record for an independently released self-titled LP in 1983. After the album's release, the band continued to tour and hone their songwriting skills.

Move to Houston (1985 - 1987)[link]

By 1985, the group had made connections at Star Song Records based in Houston, Texas and were encouraged to move the band there. The first order of business for the three was to become part of a touring band for CCM artist Morgan Cryar. Tabor and Pinnick are also credited for co-writing several songs on Cryar's second album Fuel on the Fire in 1986. Tabor also performed some guitar parts on the album and both he and Pinnick are credited with background vocals.

However, when it came to signing Sneak Preview to a recording contract with Star Song, negotiations broke down and the deal came to a halt.

While in Houston, the group met Sam Taylor, then vice president of ZZ Top's production company. Taylor quickly became interested in the trio and convinced them to change their name to King's X. He also supported and nurtured the group's transition from radio friendly, rock originals to a more experimental and complex songwriting style. Taylor would soon become the group's manager, producer, mentor, and according to some, the fourth member of the group. He was instrumental in helping the group secure a contract with Megaforce Records in 1987.^{[citation needed]}

Megaforce era (1988 - 1989)[link]

The group released its first album as King's X, entitled Out of the Silent Planet, in 1988. Despite being hailed by music critics, the album did not fare well commercially, peaking at No. 144 on the Billboard album charts. The songs "King" and "Shot of Love" were released as singles, but failed to garner much attention. The album derives its name from the C. S. Lewis novel Out of the Silent Planet. This appears to be the band's first of multiple references to the British author.

In 1989, the band released Gretchen Goes to Nebraska. Considered by many fans to be their landmark album and most creative period, the album fared only slightly better from a commercial standpoint than Out of the Silent Planet. The album contains many fan favorites such as "Summerland", "Mission", and "The Burning Down". The song "The Difference (In the Garden of St. Anne's-on-the-Hill)" appears to be another C.S. Lewis reference, this time to a scene in the book That Hideous Strength, third and final installment of the "science-fiction" trilogy begun by Out of the Silent Planet. The song "Pleiades" is credited by Ty Tabor as being the genesis of the King's X sound when he presented the demo to the other band members a few years earlier. Significantly, the song "Over My Head" received moderate airplay on MTV and radio. The increase in exposure would prove beneficial when the band released their third album, Faith, Hope, Love, in the fall of 1990.

Faith Hope Love was the group's first album to crack the US Top 100, with the help of the successful single "It's Love". Another track, the funk-rock "We Were Born to Be Loved", has enjoyed a long life on Late Night with David Letterman as a commercial bumper instrumental favorite of Paul Shaffer's CBS Orchestra. Still, with major mainstream success continuously eluding them, King's X began questioning Sam Taylor's commitment to the group.^[2]

The band landed the opening slot for AC/DC in the U.S. and Europe for the first half of 1991. They also toured with Living Colour, themselves near the peak of their popularity. That summer, their song "Junior's Gone Wild" appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.^[3]

Atlantic era (1990 - 1997)[link]

The band was signed to major label Atlantic Records for the release of their fourth album, King's X, in the spring of 1992. But rising tensions with Taylor led the band to eschew the upbeat approach of previous albums and turn out a darker, more introspective effort. Unfortunately, despite critical praise, their new style did not translate well among the record-buying public, thus garnering fewer sales than Faith, Hope, Love. "Black Flag," the album's lone single, received only moderate airplay on MTV and radio. Not long after the release of King's X, the band parted ways with Taylor. The details of the split were not made public, but it was believed to be rather bitter. Taylor would admit in 1996 that his company Wilde Silas MusicWorks was growing and, as a result, he was no longer giving King's X, whom he considered "the top dogs," the attention they deserved.^[2] In the aftermath, King's X took over a year off to consider their collective future together. The band members followed other, non-musical pursuits; most notably, guitarist Ty Tabor took up semi-professional motocross motorcycle racing.

With grunge at the peak of its popularity, and Pearl Jam's bassist Jeff Ament declaring that "King's X invented grunge"^[4] (despite the group's trademark sound being very different from that of the commercially successful grunge acts), the band went looking for a new sound upon their return. They enlisted veteran producer Brendan O'Brien, who had recently produced albums for the Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam. The resulting album, 1994's Dogman, showcased a much more muscular and heavy sound from the group, along with less abstract and spiritual lyrics. The record received a heavier promotional push from Atlantic including a compilation promotional CD entitled: Building Blox, as King's X enjoyed a successful tour, capped by an appearance at the Woodstock 94 festival in August. But despite a return to the Top 100 for the group, the album failed to sell as well as Atlantic had hoped, and the label's support for the group quickly faded.

The band's third release under Atlantic, 1996's Ear Candy, would also be their last for the label (not including a subsequent Best of King's X compilation). Although it sold to the band's sizeable core following, it lacked the relative mainstream success of previous efforts. The record was soon out of print, and it seemed that the group's chance for commercial success had come and gone.

Metal Blade era (1998 - 2004)[link]

The group moved to Metal Blade Records in 1998. Their first album under the label, Tape Head, signaled a new era for the band. They modified their creative methods by writing and recording the album together in the studio, rather than coming together to record songs that the individual members had written separately. They also elected not to hire an outside producer and recorded the album at Pinnicks Hound Pound and Tabor's Alien Beans Studios, thus cutting production costs. Their next two albums, Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous (2000) and Manic Moonlight (2001), were more or less created in the same way.

Manic Moonlight featured the band experimenting with electronic drum loops and other sounds for the first time on a record. The new direction, along with the relatively short length of the album, was generally not well received by long time fans, but did get some positive critical reviews.

For their next album, 2003's Black Like Sunday, the group arranged and recorded an album of original songs that the band had regularly performed during The Edge and Sneak Preview days of the early 1980s. The cover art for this album was selected from artwork submitted by fans in an online contest.

The double-disc set Live All Over The Place (2004) was the band's final album for Metal Blade Records, and their first official live release.

InsideOut era (2005 - present)[link]

In 2005, King's X signed to InsideOut Music, the label that had previously released some of Tabor's side projects. The album Ogre Tones was released in September 2005 and was described by many as a return to a more "classic" King's X sound. It was produced by famed rock producer Michael Wagener (Dokken, Extreme, Stryper, White Lion, Skid Row) and recorded at Wageners Wire-World Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. The tour for Ogre Tones featured the band playing every song from the album during shows.

King's X again worked with Michael Wagener on its second album for InsideOut Music titled XV, released in May 2008. They spent the summer of 2008 touring with the band Extreme as part of a travelling version of the Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp. Live dates in the U.S. in December 2008 were followed by the band's first European tour in several years in early 2009.

Molken Music, an independent label started by Wally Farkas (ex- Galactic Cowboys) in 2005, has released several titles by King's X and its members. Live & Live Some More, a live concert recorded during the Dogman tour, is available there as well as demo compilations, rehearsal tapes, and other items. The label released the band's first live DVD, Gretchen Goes to London in November 2008. It was a live concert filmed in London in 1990.^[5] On January 22, 2009, their concert at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, was filmed and released as a live DVD and CD entitled "Live Love in London".^{[citation needed]}

On February 26, 2012, Jerry Gaskill suffered a heart attack temporarily stopping the band's touring schedule, and was on a ventilator for several days, also suffering from pneumonia.^[6] Later, King's X compiled an exclusive live release from their archives entitled, Burning Down Boston: Live at The Channel 6.12.91.^[7] The proceeds from the release are scheduled to go directly to Gaskill in helping him to offset mounting medical expenses. Gaskill posted a video message on Facebook on April 4, 2012, thanking everyone who had supported him during his illness.^{[citation needed]}

Solo and side projects[link]

The members of King's X have been musically prolific since the separation from Atlantic in 1997, releasing a number of solo albums and participating in side bands.

Doug Pinnick recorded two solo albums under the name of Poundhound (Massive Grooves... (1997) and Pineappleskunk (2001), while the subsequent releases Emotional Animal (2005) and Strum Sum Up (2007) were credited as dUg Pinnick.

Ty Tabor has released seven solo albums: Naomi's Solar Pumpkin (1997), Moonflower Lane (1998), Safety (2002), Rock Garden (2006), Balance (2008), Something's Coming and Trip Magnet (2010).

Jerry Gaskill released a solo album in 2004 titled Come Somewhere and also played drums on a 5 song EP by the band Black and Blues (featuring Virus from the band Dope).

Tabor has additionally played with several bands other than King's X, releasing two albums with Platypus, one album with Jughead, and three albums with The Jelly Jam. He also has an electronica style project with Wally Farkas called Xenuphobe with two albums released through Molken Music. In 2008, Tabor also recorded vocal parts for the song "Connect the Dots" off the Ayreon album 01011001.

Doug Pinnick released one album with Trouble guitarist Bruce Franklin called Supershine in 2000 as well as one album with The Mob featuring Reb Beach and Kelly Keaggy in 2005.

Pinnick has recorded several cover songs for various tribute albums including the Jimi Hendrix tribute In From The Storm performing lead vocals on the song "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp" as well as tributes to Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Kiss, Metallica and others. There is a demo recording of Doug with Dimebag Darrell of Pantera performing a cover of Cream's "Born Under A Bad Sign".

Pinnick stood in for lead singer Corey Glover on Living Colour's August 2006 European tour.

Characterizations[link]

Christian rock[link]

Whether the band's name was intended as a Christian reference or not, the band members themselves have resisted being identified as a Christian metal or Christian rock band.^[8] Although many of their early lyrics have a clear spiritual influence, generally this came from the individual faith of the members rather than an explicit attempt to tap into the contemporary Christian music market in the way groups such as Petra did.^[3] The fact that King's X signed to Christian labels early in their career^[4] and that the Faith Hope Love CD insert contained an entire chapter of the Bible, likely further fueled their association as a Christian band.^[3] What's more, some of their albums were marketed through Christian book stores, but most removed King's X records after Pinnick's announcement in 1998 of his homosexuality.^[9][10] A former Protestant, Pinnick has since openly discussed his agnosticism and his belief that Jesus Christ was not truly the Son of God.^[11]

Band members[link]

Current members[link]

• Doug Pinnick – bass guitar, lead & backing vocals (1980–present)
• Ty Tabor – lead guitar, backing & lead vocals (1980–present)
• Jerry Gaskill – drums, percussion, backing & lead vocals (1980–present)

Former members[link]

• Dan McCollam – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1980)
• Kirk Henderson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1980–1983)

Discography[link]

Studio albums and EPs[link]

Singles[link]

King's X DVD[link]

• Gretchen Goes to London (2008 Molken Music)
• Live Love in London (2010 Inside Out/EMI)

See also[link]

Rock music portal

• Platypus
• The Jelly Jam
• Jughead
• The Mob

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

SX may refer to:

• An abbreviation for Supercross, a form of off-road motorcycle racing held in outdoor and indoor stadia.
• SX News, a gay and lesbian newspaper in Sydney, Australia
• Parallax SX, a range of micro-controllers made by Ubicom
• 1000BASE-SX, a fiber optic gigabit Ethernet standard
• Skybus Airlines's IATA airline code
• SX, the aircraft registration prefix for Greek aircraft
• Sx, a medical shorthand for symptoms
• SX (band), a Belgian band
• SX Guitars, a guitar manufacturer

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Kings may refer to:

• Monarchs: The Sovereign Heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
• One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
  • The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
  • The Shahnama, an 11th century epic Persian poem
  • The Morgan Bible, a French medieval picture Bible
  • The Pararaton, a 16th century Javanese history of southeast Asia
• Kings (game), a popular drinking game also known as King's Cup
• Kings (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada
• Kings (handball), also known as "Chinese handball"
• Kings Family Restaurants, a chain of restaurants located in Pennsylvania and Ohio
• Kings (film), a 2007 Irish language film by Tom Collins
• "Kings" (song), a song by rock group Steely Dan on the album Can't Buy a Thrill
• Kings Super Markets, a chain supermarket in northern New Jersey
• The Kings, a Canadian rock band formed in 1977.
• Kings of Leon, an American rock group
• Kings (Australian TV series), an Australian TV series
• Kings (American TV series), an American TV series on NBC
• King's Favourites, a brand of cigarettes
• King's Discount Stores, a chain of stores in the USA

In amusement parks[link]

• Kings Dominion, an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia
• Kings Island, an amusement park in Mason, Ohio

In geography[link]

• Kings Bay (disambiguation), the name of several bays
• Kings County (disambiguation)
  • Kings County, New York, more commonly known as Brooklyn
  • King County, Washington
• Kings, Coles County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Coles County, Illinois
• Kings, Ogle County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Ogle County, Illinois

Electoral districts[link]

• King's (New Brunswick electoral district) (1867–1903)
• King's (Prince Edward Island electoral district) (1892–1966)
• Kings (electoral district), Nova Scotia (1867–1924)

In sports[link]

• Barangay Ginebra Kings, a Philippine basketball team
• Chennai Super Kings, an Indian Premier League team based in Chennai, India
• Chittagong Kings, a Bangladesh Premier League team based in Chittagong, Bangladesh
• Cincinnati Kings, a USL Premier Development League soccer team based in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Eastern Province Kings, a provincial rugby union team based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
• Kings XI Punjab, an Indian Premier League team based in Mohali, India
• Kings of Wrestling (TNA) or Kings of Professional Wrestling
• Los Angeles Kings, an NHL team based in Los Angeles, California
• Sacramento Kings, an NBA team based in Sacramento, California
• Southern Kings, a proposed Super Rugby team based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
• Sydney Kings, an NBL team based in Sydney, New South Wales
• Ledley King, an english football player. Currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur FC

In education:

• University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• King's University College (Edmonton) in Edmonton, Alberta
• King's University College (University of Western Ontario), a campus of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario
• King's College London, a constituent college of the University of London
• King's College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge
• King's College School, a leading Eton Group school founded by King George IV
• King's College, Guildford, an International Baccalaureate school
• King's College (Taunton), a private boarding secondary school in Taunton, Somerset
• King's College, Newcastle, a former college of Durham University, which left to form Newcastle University
• King's College Hospital, a hospital in the London Borough of Southwark
• King's College, Aberdeen, the oldest part of the University of Aberdeen
• King College in Bristol, Tennessee
• King's College (North Carolina) in Charlotte, North Carolina
• King's College (Pennsylvania) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• The King's College (California) in Los Angeles
• The King's College (New York) in New York City
• King's College (Thailand), Sampran, Nakonprathom
• King's College (Hong Kong), in Sai Wan
• King's College Budo, in Wakiso district, Uganda
• King's College, Lagos, Nigeria
• Kings College, Madrid
• King's College, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia
• King's College, Auckland, New Zealand
• King's College, Christchurch, New Zealand
• King's College, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
• Kings International College, a secondary school in Camberley, Surrey
• The King's School, Parramatta, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
• The King's School, Sydney, closed in 1832, was located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• King's School (Auckland), Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand
• King's Schools, a private Christian school in North Seattle, United States
• King's School, Bruton, Somerset
• King's School Ottery St. Mary, Devon
• The King's School, Basingstoke, Hampshire
• The King's School, Grantham, Lincolnshire
• The King's School, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
• The King's School, Macclesfield, Cheshire
• The King's School, Nottingham
• The King's School, Plymouth
• The King's School, Pontefract, West Yorkshire
• The King's School, Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear
• The King's School, Witney, Oxfordshire
• The King's C.E. School, Wolverhampton
• Kings' School, Winchester, Hampshire
• King's School Senior, Fair Oak, Hampshire
• Kings School of English, a group of private English Language Schools
• "The King's School" most often refers to one of the seven schools established, or re-endowed and renamed, by King Henry VIII in 1541 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, to pray for his soul:
  • The King's School, Canterbury
  • The King's School, Chester
  • The King's School, Ely
  • The King's School, Gloucester
  • The King's School, Peterborough
  • The King's School, Rochester
  • The King's School, Worcester

Formerly known as King's College:

• Columbia University was known as King's College in the colonial-era
• University of Toronto was known as King's College from 1843 to 1850
• University of New Brunswick was originally named King's College
• Oriel College, Oxford was known as King's College from about 1326 to 1526

See also[link]

• King (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ty Tabor
Ty Tabor performing in King's X in 2009
Background information
Born	(1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 50)
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Associated acts	King's X, Platypus, Jelly Jam

Ty Tabor (born September 17, 1961 in Pearl, Mississippi^[1]) is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the progressive metal band, King's X.

Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to soaring melodic passages. His use of volume swells and ambient passages add an elemental texture to his compositions. His influences include The Beatles, Mick Ronson, Brian May, Alex Lifeson, Ace Frehley, Jimi Hendrix, Phil Keaggy, Hum, and the original Alice Cooper band.

History[link]

Ty Tabor began singing and playing guitar at a young age, and by his early teens was performing with his father (an accomplished bluegrass musician) and his brother in a bluegrass band in and around his native Jackson. The band would play various festivals and shows, sharing the bill with bluegrass legends like Lester Flatt and Grandpa Jones. Tabor had also been taken over by the rock and roll sounds of the 60' and 70's (most notably, The Beatles and Alice Cooper) and began playing in rock bands in his teen years. One of these was a Christian rock outfit called Matthew. Upon graduating from high school, Tabor began touring with Matthew throughout the south. Times were tough on that tour with the band often setting up and performing in the parking lots of restaurants in exchange for food.

He left Matthew and decided to move to Springfield, MO. to attend Evangel College where he quickly entrenched himself in the local music scene. One group he played with got the chance to open up for guitarist Phil Keaggy. However, right before the show, the drummer for Tabors band quit. Instead of cancelling and missing out on the big opportunity, Tabor volunteered to play drums for the show. Not having his own drum kit however, forced Tabor to ask Keaggy's drummer if he could use his. The drummer, who happened to be Jerry Gaskill, agreed and the show took place.

Tabor and Gaskill again crossed paths during some demo recording sessions with the Tracy Zinn Band. The two became friends and were involved off and on with other musical projects together.

In spring of 1980, Tabor was asked to perform at a talent show at Evangel with a female singer. In the audience was Doug Pinnick, who was floored by Tabor's performance. Pinnick eventually got in touch with Tabor and the two began collaborating musically.

Eventually Tabor, Pinnick, Gaskill, and guitarist Dan McCollam formed their own band called The Edge which, over time, evolved into King's X.

Since then, Tabor has become one of the more acclaimed and respected guitarists in music today. His playing style and guitar tone, as well as his vocals and songwriting, are crucial elements in the "King's X sound".

Tabor has also opened his own recording and mastering facility in Katy, TX. called Alien Beans Studios. He has mastered numerous album projects as well as produced albums by The Rez Band, Jerry Gaskill's solo album "Come Somewhere" and many others.

Other Bands and Collaborations[link]

Solo Works[link]

After writing and performing almost exclusively for King's X for over 15 years, Tabor's first solo album, Naomi's Solar Pumpkin, was released independently in 1997. Most of the songs from that debut appeared (re-recorded) on his following 1998 album, Moonflower Lane. It was released on Metal Blade Records with much wider distribution as well as a few new tracks, and also featured drummer Alan Doss on the entire album.

Tabor's next release was 2002's Safety, a much more introspective album that reflected on his then-recent divorce. Tabor's fourth solo album entitled Rock Garden was released in 2006. His fifth solo album, entitled Balance, was released on December 6, 2008. His sixth solo album "Something's Coming" was released in March 2010.

Other Bands[link]

Tabor has also been a member of several other bands. He played guitar and sang in Platypus featuring Rod Morgenstein (previously of the Dixie Dregs and Winger) on drums, John Myung (of Dream Theater) on bass, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (of Planet X and formerly Dream Theater). They released two albums.

The same group minus Derek Sherinian continued on as The Jelly Jam and currently have three full length albums to their credit.

Ty played guitar solos on 2 tracks, Ode To Pain and Goodbye 25, with Dallas/Houston friends, Mind Body Soul, on their self titled 4 song EP in 1998, which Ty also mixed and mastered.

Tabor was also involved with the band Jughead featuring two-time David Lee Roth band member Gregg Bissonette (drums), Derek Sherinian (keyboards), and Matt Bissonette (lead vocals, bass). Jughead's self-titled LP was released in 2002 on InsideOut Music.

Tabor has guest appearances on several albums including two different Carmine Appice Guitar Zeus albums, Loudness drummer Munetaka Higuchi's Free World album, and Gregg Bissonette's self titled solo record.

He also played electric guitar and bass on King's X bandmate Jerry Gaskill's solo album Come Somewhere.

He currently has an ambient / electronica style project with Wally Farkas called Xenuphobe. They have 2 albums that were released through Molken Music.

Tabor also sang one of the human roles on Ayreon's recent release, 01011001. He played the character "Ty" in the first interlude, Connect the Dots.

Tabor, along with King's X bandmate Doug Pinnick and former Galactic Cowboys members Wally Farkas and Alan Doss, have a new band called The Jibbs who have a single song available for download to benefit relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Gear[link]

Early in his career with King's X, Tabor's guitar sound was considered one of the most sought-after in rock. He played an unusual model of Fender Stratocaster called the "Elite", a short-lived guitar with an on-board active mid-boost circuit that was only in production in the U.S.A. in 1983 and 1984. The remainder of his gear was more of a mystery; he would switch the logos on his amplifiers to keep his tone a secret. He later abandoned this clandestine approach, and revealed in an interview in the May 1996 issue of Guitar Player magazine that he had used a solid-state Gibson Lab Series L5 amplifier along with the Strat Elite guitar to record the first four King's X albums. By the time of the interview, however, he had changed his equipment completely, the main pieces of his gear being a rack-mounted Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and the preamp of his Elite Stratocaster that was converted into a rack-mounted preamp (this allowed him to emulate the sound of his Elite Stratocaster, regardless of what guitar he used), which was his setup during the Dogman era, and would continue into the 1990s and early 2000s.

Tabor endorsed Zion Guitars, around the time of the recording of Dogman. Phil Keaggy played Zion Guitars earlier. The Zion Ty Tabor Model was a Strat style guitar, with a basswood body and a maple cap. It featured Joe Barden Pickups, a 3 button pickup selector with no tone control. It came only in candy apple red. The neck was maple with a rosewood fingerboard. It featured a relatively new machine head at the time, a gold accented locking model made by Sperzel. Tabor personally signed each guitar. In recent years, Tabor has endorsed Mesa Boogie, Line 6, and Randall amplifiers, as well as Yamaha guitars, including the AES series and his now discontinued signature RGX-TT model. The RGX-TT was an unusual guitar in that it featured a basswood body with a maple center section. On this guitar Tabor use pickups by Seymour Duncan, in the H-S-S fashion. The bridge humbucker could be switched to single coil mode with a push switch. On the "Go Tell Somebody" tour with King's X, Tabor is using the M4 preamp from Egnater and Dean Soltero guitars. In 2008 and through mid-2009 Ty toured with two black Frank Lamara designed/Gene Baker built signature model guitars, with pickup (Motor City Pickups) covers showing an X on one and a V on the other. These symbolized the name of the album King's X were supporting at the time. In 2009, Ty began working with luthier John Guilford to create the Ty Tabor model of Guilford guitars. The Ty Tabor model features a mahogany body, maple neck (inlaid with the stylized X at the 12th fret) and maple fretboard, and two Seymour Duncan P-Rails pickups. The combination allows for tones ranging from traditional single-coil to dual humbucker to P90. Ty has used these guitars extensively on tour in support of XV.

Complete Discography[link]