Computer technician nominated

IU geology computer technician Denis Taaffe "rocks" at work and at home.\nTaaffe's instrumental guitar album "Modern Rock Guitar Vol. III" was pre-nominated for a Grammy in early December in nine different categories, including "Album of the Year" and "Best Rock Instrumental." Three of the 36 entries in the latter category were from Taaffe's latest album. \nThough Taaffe made it through the preliminary screening and nomination procedures, he was notified by the Recording Academy on Jan. 7 that he hadn't been chosen as one of the five finalists. Considering he independently releases all his albums, which are recorded at his home studio in Bloomington, performs live without a backing band and maintains his own Web site, Taaffe said he isn't discouraged.\n"Getting recognition like this legitimizes what I do as an artist because it shows that people appreciate what I do," he said. \nHowever, his achievement does not come as that much of a surprise to Taaffe or those that know of his endeavors.\n"A lot of people (I know) were expecting this to go places," he said of his new album.\nTaaffe's unique approach to guitar playing lies in his improvisational style and innovative use of looping, a process by which musical phrases are recorded and repeated through the use of rack-mounted effects. This not only provides Taaffe with complete artistic control when recording but also enables him to play live without a rhythm section. \nHe is able to mimic bass guitar lines, synthesizer melodies and percussion sections single-handedly while performing for an audience. His new album was recorded in this manner, with the addition of a drum machine, and was completely improvised with no over-dubbing. \nBorn in Madison, Wisc., Taaffe has been a Bloomington resident for 20 years. As a child, he went to St. Charles Catholic School in Bloomington, where students were encouraged to participate in musical activities. At the age of seven, Taaffe first started playing guitar.\n"It was either that or singing in a choir," he said laughing. \nTaaffe graduated from IU in 1994, majoring in French, and worked in various IT related jobs at IU for six years before focusing on his music. He currently works part-time in the IU geology buildings computer support department and also gives guitar lessons at Vance Music Center in downtown Bloomington. \n"Denis was a customer here for a quite awhile before he started teaching," said Eric Gause, general manager at Vance.\nGause said he is popular with the guitar students.\n"Most of his students, if they quit, it's because of time conflicts, not because they don't like him as a teacher," added owner of the music center, Phil Gause.\nIn addition to the recognition he has attained in the last year, Taaffe has also been asked to perform at several music showcases including the Millennium Music Conference in Pennsylvania and the West Virginia Music conference. Such events offer artists an opportunity to perform their music for music industry professionals. \nTaaffe can be seen performing at various venues around town such as Vertigo and the Runcible Spoon.\nHis CDs are available at www.amazon.com or visit www.dtguitar.com for more information.