Hi Everyone! Are you ready for the next Spotlight on YOU Open Mic coming up on August 18th? To wet your whistles, it's my pleasure to introduce to you, a wonderfully talented artist, who was the first to kick start me on my guitar, who I am grateful to call my friend, Joe Taylor!
Many of you probably don't know Joe, but you are in for a treat!
"Soulful", "evocative", and "awe-inspiring" are the words used by music critics and fans alike that experience Joe Taylor live. His album “Anything’s Possible,” captures the magic and vibrancy of his live performances that combine stellar songwriting, soaring tones and stripped down instrumentation, allowing Joe's unique artistry to connect with his listeners. Joe’s signature sound developed early in his native Toronto and evolved after moving to New York City performing solo at such iconic music venues as CBGB’s 313 Gallery, The Knitting Factory’s Tap Room, The Bitter End, Kenny’s Castaway, The Triad Theater, The Red Lion, C-Note, and The Back Fence. During this time, The New York Times took notice and dubbed him the “Subway Idol” while Joe auditioned for a coveted spot in New York City’s MTA's Music Under New York.
“That was always a great experience, playing in subways, ’cause I could test out new songs. If you’re in Grand Central or Penn Station at rush hour and you can stop someone who’s clearly on a mission to get the hell out of there, or you can trick a couple of them into actually smiling for a few seconds, then you know what you’re doing is good.” Today Joe headlines in clubs in major American cities like The House of Blues, The Paramount, the Mandalay Bay Casino, M Resorts, The Tower Theater, college tours and music festivals. Joe continues to excite, inspire and move audiences with the sweet melodic timbre of his amazing original sound and performances. Joe's CD “Anything’s Possible” is a collaboration with Jeff Gross and Grammy®-winning engineer Matthew Spindel, and produced the song “The Sweetest Tune” which charted all the way to Number ONE on Canadian FM radio and was featured on NBC’s daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”
Here are some interesting questions I asked Joe for this interview:
1) Can you share with us an interesting fact that most people don’t know about you?
I'm actually ambidextrous. I can play guitar and bass both right and left handed. It has served me well learning the piano and with multi tasking.
2) How did you discover music and how was your talent uncovered? Do you have a particularly interesting story that you'd like to share with the readers?
When I was 5 years old my father used to play John Denver records for me. He played John's album "Season's Of The Heart" endlessly. This taught me how to sing and how to start thinking about music. Then when I was 10 years old my older brother introduced me to the Beatles and John Lennon. From that moment on only wanted to do music 24/7.
I was first discovered in the 6th grade where I was cast to be the lead of the play "Joseph And The Technicolor Dream Coat" I later started performing in band up in Canada and was an up and coming artist in Toronto Canada. When I finally moved to NY I was discovered by the NY Times and dubbed the Subway Idol of NYC before heading off to Los Angeles to make music.
I used to practice with my band in Toronto at Humber College where I went to school and every night our band would rehearse when everyone else was gone in the music rooms. We had a member that wasn't from Humber so he shouldn't have been in there with us anyway the security guard that was our friend was the one who actually busted us one night and we we're always worried about the security guard who was mean. It was the nice guy that caught us. Anyway lesson learned. Watch for the nice people. They're the ones that will get you in the end. Fun times just the same.
3) What motivates your creativity and passion for life? Name three things that never fails to put a smile on your face!
I'm actually motivated by every day life situations. As a writer and performer I'm constantly trying to understand the other persons side of the story and because I do that I do lots of people watching. This helps with creativity and also defines my sense of purpose while feeding off of peoples different energies from Urban cities to the country. Anywhere and everywhere someone has a story to be learned and written about. Three things that put a smile on my face is the sound of an audience cheering after a song is done. Walking into a rehearsal session and seeing all the other band members getting organized. And hearing a new song I recorded for the first time once a new album has been pressed and listen to for the first time. Mostly all music things make me smile.
4) Share with us what you have in the pipeline for us to be on the lookout for!
Lots of exciting things happening. I'm just about to release a new album called "Try Again" and I'm working on two other albums coming out over the next year so. I'm working on more touring as well in the future once the albums have been released. And look and vote for me for my song "All Around The World" has been nominated for the Hollywood Music Awards for Best video in November, 2016.
Come join us next Spotlight on YOU Open Mic on August 18th and meet Joe Taylor while you are there! I promise you will not regret it! Hope to see you then!