Meet Tash Cox

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tash Cox. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tash below.

Tash, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
When I think of the idea of finding my purpose, I think of it as a sweet whisper in the wind that opens your heart and reminds you of who you are. Sometimes you hear it and ignore it, sometimes it rings true right away, and sometimes it takes many whispers to finally hear and understand. I believe that we all have the potential to reach other people and to make the world a better place in our own ways if we can listen to our own heart whispers and help others find theirs.

Music came to me as an immediate gift that was recognized by my parents when they heard me singing in tune in church at the age of 9 months old. They found a piano teacher willing to teach me when I was 2, and I learned to read music before I fully read sentences. I think that since music had been a part of me since the beginning of my conscious life, it didn’t initially occur to me that it was a big part of my purpose. I think I was under the impression that one’s role or purpose in life had to be a big, grandiose academic-based job that was considered to be more respectable amongst many in my community. I did well in school, and I initially thought I would be a doctor or scientist, helping the world through science and medicine through an accredited and socially accepted pathway. I overlooked the fact that when I played the piano that I brought joy to people…and I also overlooked that my first paid work was as an accompanist. I helped my friends get into music schools, but it never occurred to me to audition myself.

I think I had a kind of awakening when I was playing the piano for some of my parents’ friends, as I often did when they gathered. One of the women started to cry and shared that the song I was playing, Pachelbel’s Canon, reminded her of when she gave birth. She was deeply moved, and so was I. I think this moment made me realize that one of the gifts of music is that you can channel an expression that helps people feel and remember how beautiful it is to be human…in all its challenges, joys, and the dreams that interweave it all.

I had a lot of difficulties growing up in West Texas and had been severely bullied for being different and also for coming from an impoverished family. Music was an escape and a solace for me. It was my place to feel like I was safe and free and could say anything I wanted through my fingertips. I wrote a lot of poetry growing up and started writing songs that expressed so much of my heart and soul…writing from my own experiences, my lens of the world, and how I survived it through finding my voice.

When I first performed in my first rock band, Mankind is Obsolete, I’ll never forget watching someone singing my lyrics with me. I realized that a song is a way to connect people. When we write our stories through our songs, we are sending out little letters to the world to let people know that they are not alone and that we all share so much in common in our human experience. We had the unique opportunity to serve as cultural envoys for the US State Department to both Algeria and Uzbekistan through their program that bridges worlds through art and music. From these experiences, I saw that even if people speak different languages, have different cultures or beliefs, that music is universal and that we can all connect and find love through music.

As I now have been deeply embedded in my band AL1CE, and we have toured extensively since 2016, I’ve seen that while the details, circumstances, and surface of life may shift, the deeper meaning and purpose holds strong and true…to find oneness within oneself and to connect and bridge through music…love, love, and love some more through our shared meaningful human experience in its infinite spectrum of dark and light.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hello, friends! My name is tash, and I’m a multi-disciplinary collaborative artist who is one of the co-founders of The Alice Project, a collective of musicians, filmmakers, dancers, and visual artists. I view art and music as a way of bridging worlds and have had many beautiful opportunities with our collective to connect with various communities around the world.

My main focus is as a multi-instrumental musician, writer, and singer and have played, recorded, or composed for different projects such as Mankind is Obsolete, Alice Underground, Pseudocipher, System Syn, Inure, and Elias Black. I’m the lead singer of the electronic rock band AL1CE. I’m originally from West Texas and currently based in Los Angeles, where I’ve found a home with an incredible community of other artists. AL1CE is in the middle of a 3-part US tour this year, in tandem with our upcoming “So Below” album. We recently finished our spring leg and will be back on the road in July with more dates to follow in the fall. Writing music for AL1CE has been my way of finding deep healing and expression, and I feel so grateful to not only be a part of such a special band but also to be able to share our music that means so much to us.

AL1CE is an independent band, and one of my roles in our band is to book all of our tours. My guitar player, Scott Landes, and I teamed up to create an app called Tourouter to help us and other bands to manage all tour details. I’m very passionate about the live music community and am inspired to help other artists in our community. I love encouraging bands and artists to empower their own careers, which is entirely possible without a label!

I’ve also written a children’s book that my bandmate Haezl illustrated called, “My Best Friend, Fear.” Besides music, I love to write, and I currently have the next installment of our children’s book series on deck, a short story, and a graphic novel I’ve been brewing up.

I look at art in general as a way to express and transform, heal and transmute, and ultimately find a way to evolve and transcend. I find that the medium of art itself can span across so many forms and that the world can be a better place when people have a means of being able to express what they hold inside or see beyond. I feel like it’s vitally important to enable people to find their voices, and I’m very driven to help other artists.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Discipline/consistency – I grew up in the competitive musical, academic, and athletic worlds at a young age. I spent a great deal of time preparing for the next competition, race, game, or test. While I myself had the revelation that the world of competition could be toxic and damaging and ultimately walked away from it, I also took away the vital lessons in the importance of putting in consistent time, energy, and focused work into whatever field I felt passionate about.

I developed a work ethic from these early experiences that I saw was applicable to anything I set my mind on…that I could see amazing results if I showed up every day. I found a sense of zen from practicing the piano every day and loved seeing how much I could push my physical boundaries. I discovered that the physical body was capable of so many amazing things with the mindset to support it and have since applied these principles that have helped me accomplish so many things I never imagined I could do like running a marathon, creating with incredible artists, and writing the bodies of work that I have. I’ve found that even a little every day goes a very long way if I simply show up at the page and put a little love into it with dedicated consistency.

2) Tenacity/resilience – Everyone has experienced a no, a closed door, a rejection, disappointment, and what can be perceived as failure. Everyone has experienced varying degrees of pain, because that is one of the inevitable parts about being human. I really love the inspiring stories of people who have continued in their journeys in spite of these voices that tell us we’re not good enough or we can’t. I’ve lived through so many challenges in my life and have survived friends that I’ve lost because they didn’t know how to heal and instead walked a self-destructive path. I’ve looked down cliffs myself and have had days where I can’t even see into the next hour, let alone the next day.

When I feel like I’m completely maxed out by life, I can still hear this small, strong, inner voice that feels like it’s as persistent as a heartbeat that says to me, “Keep on going, keep on going.” I hold onto this voice like a mantra, and it somehow has helped me take another breath, walk another step, write another word, try again. I’ve discovered that just one more go around can be transformational and that every day I wake up, I get to grow and build and learn even more. I’ve also learned that through these cycles of challenges that healing can be just on the other side and much closer than you might realize…and that in holding on, finding your own healing, that you can help others, which is a true gift.

3) Compassion – for yourself and others. This quality stems from quality #1 of discipline and is something I think is very important for balance. I’m definitely a very driven person who loves to work hard and have found that too much discipline and too much doing-ness can lead to varying forms of suffering. I love the practice of talking to myself like I would a best friend. And talking to strangers like a best friend. And just finding friends in all the nooks and crannies. I’ve never regretted practicing compassion and have instead seen how incredibly magical sharing compassion is. The world has its fair share of judgment and violence…so many ways we can hate and hurt each other and ourselves. I think we could all use more compassion all around.

To those who can relate or are seeking advice, my best advice would be to listen to your own voice and celebrate the uniqueness of what only you can bring. Fear can be a beautiful companion, because when you have a real conversation with your fear, you can discover what your strengths are and also how much courage you really have. I mean, just to be able to walk in this world takes so much courage…so you’re amazing, and you’re enough. The qualities I mentioned above are ones that have worked for me…what are yours? And remember that while you might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there are those out there who want to hear what you have to say. Myself included.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Oh, YES, PLEASE! Collaboration is at the very heart of every project I’m a part of. I love collaborating with filmmakers, dancers, visual artists, other musicians, artists of life, healing artists, and entrepreneurs. In another chapter, I worked with startups here in LA on the technology side and loved helping them get off the ground. I love creating with, musing with, and finding other kindred spirits who share my passion for expression, innovation, and freedom. We’ve had the incredible experience of creating bodies of work with other creatives, and we always welcome more!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All files are named with the photographer credited if applicable for each photo. Daniel Sliwa HAEZL/Carl Garcia Secret Playground Photography Jean Renard Angela Dimock Photography Scott Landes

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