Born in 1974 in the vibrant musical landscape of South Florida, Tommy Boylston's early exposure to hip-hop and electro laid the foundation for his unconventional musical odyssey. Instead of diving directly into music creation, Tommy started by recording comedic sketches and mock radio commercials onto cassette tapes, displaying an innate talent for storytelling and humor. As time passed, Tommy's creative endeavors evolved into parody songs set to Casio beats, showcasing his knack for blending humor with music. His fearless exploration eventually led him to create explicit, x-rated rap verses, recorded on a trusty boombox, which quickly gained a cult following among his friends.
Tommy's musical arsenal expanded with the acquisition of a Realistic Concertmate 500, a Radio Shack equivalent of the Casio SK-5 sampler, and a Boss DR-550 drum machine. This marked a turning point in his musical journey, as he dedicated countless hours to crafting beats and experimenting with lo-fi samples, ultimately cultivating a distinctive and primitive style. In 1991, armed with his first turntable and mixer, Tommy dove headfirst into scratching, adding a dynamic layer to his sonic palette. The introduction of a Tascam 4-track recorder further expanded his creative horizons, allowing him to refine his evolving style.
The pivotal moment came in 1992 with the release of The Revelation, a cassette tape that changed everything. With a sixty-minute runtime, the project featured a blend of rap-based tracks with obnoxious interludes, showcasing Tommy's unique production style. He duplicated over a hundred tapes, selling them out of the back of his car and at old Pompano Square Mall, solidifying his presence in the local music scene. A chance encounter with a punk girl he met in 1992 led to a profound shift in Tommy's musical interests as she introduced him to Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Suicidal Tendencies, and Dead Boys just to name a few. It was at this point that his musical trajectory took a sharp turn.
Growing disenchanted with the direction of hip hop in 1993, Tommy founded the punk/industrial rap band Miscreants, signaling a significant evolution in his sound. Their first release, White Trash on Dope, showcased a fusion of fast-paced punk and thrash tracks alongside rap compositions. This marked the beginning of a prolific period for the Miscreants, with six projects released between 1993 and 1999, each showcasing Tommy's eclectic sonic insight and DIY ethic.
Over the years, Tommy's sound continued to evolve, gravitating towards an electronic, experimental instrumental direction. In 1997, he released the dual-cassette project Beats, Noises, Vibes under the name Tripnophonic, exploring genres like big beat, jungle, drum & bass, as well as down-tempo madness. A handful of projects, as well as mixtapes were released under the Tripnophonic name, the last being 2001's Momentum in Negative. During this time, it was getting easier and easier to compose music on a PC, but there was still a great deal of reluctance to go this route as Tommy saw it as painting by numbers. Little did anybody know that behind this reluctance was an immense curiosity over the sonic possibilities.
In 2002, Tommy adopted the moniker Casiohardcore and fully embraced digital production. Initially, this was going to be an electro-punk project, but shifted into an assimilation of all things electronic; drum & bass, IDM, big beat, down-tempo and so on. He would put tracks together and share them on ACID Planet for feedback and after a few months, the first Casiohardcore project was released. Gone were the days of sharing music by cassette as this brave new world allowed one to upload and share their music in ways that were never possible. His releases between 2002 and 2015 were prolific, finding their way to various online platforms and garnering a dedicated following.
In 2008, Tommy took a brief hiatus from PC-based production to focus on Dynamic Adventures in Beat Reconstruction, a one-off instrumental album released under the name The Hi-Fi Low-Life. This project, recorded on a cassette 4-track, captured the audio aesthetics of mid-nineties beat tapes as it was produced using only a Boss SP-202 sampler. In 2012, a follow-up to Dynamic Adventures was released titled Music for Sleazy + Illicit Encounters. Rather than samples, this project relied on live instrumentation to create unique jazz-funk instrumentals. As the mixdown and mastering process were underway, a long-form music video was also being constructed that went along with the album perfectly. The resulting video, Sleaze, is a psychedelic cut and paste piece with clips from old b-movies, skateboarding videos, and bizarre educational films.
In 2016, Tommy rebranded Miscreant Productions to Aloha Miscreant and also took the latter as his new moniker. In that same year, he released Tropical Dystopia, an instrumental project characterized by intricately programmed, bass-heavy beats and lo-fi synthesis. This release marked a new era, as it became available on streaming platforms, expanding his sonic reach to a wider audience. Throughout the years, Tommy Boylston has continued to release music as Aloha Miscreant and perform occasionally, incorporating a mix of instrumentation, turntablism, and energetic rapping into his shows. His enduring passion for music shines through, as he creates for the sheer love of it, not for fame, recognition, or financial gain.
Today, residing in Southwest Florida, Tommy Boylston is not only a dedicated musician but also a digital artist, media consultant, technical writer, and cat dad. With an unwavering commitment to his craft, he plans to continue creating music for as long as he walks this Earth.