Tab Tabscott’s past occupations are as diverse as his talents. His career began in high school, when he began bucking drywall for a company that remodeled century-old buildings on the St Louis, Missouri waterfront. Having developed skills pertinent to the construction industry, he was soon working for a roofing company in the summers for five dollars an hour.
Tabscott traded in his tool belt for textbooks in 1980 and left fulltime construction for college. His love of music led him down yet another path and he tried his hand as a radio disc jockey; then later became a talk show host and news anchor. Life behind the microphone led him all over the country, in markets stretching from St. Louis to Seattle.
In 1988, he attended the University of Washington and obtained a geography degree with a minor in music. After graduation, Tabscott worked as a software test engineer at Microsoft Corporation—a place he would call home for many years.
Tiring of the rat race, he “quit the city” and headed for Vashon Island in 2001. Over the years, Tabscott had been a frequent visitor to Vashon. Beginning in the mid ’80s, he would play the dobro at the Strawberry Festival with his good friend John Schubert. “He always urged me to move here, but I never considered it until on one such visit in 2001,” says Tabscott. “I met the lovely Polly Carson while playing music at the old Stray Dog restaurant. I was smitten, and decided to pull up stakes.”
Today, Tab lives on Vashon Island with his wife Polly and two young sons Thaylo and Numinous. Having returned to his construction roots, he works only on the islands of Vashon and Maury (though Bill Gates stills calls for advice from time to time). Tabscott prefers to stay close to home, leaving the islands only a few times per year. He has clearly left his city life behind, but his many talents continue to evolve.