MySpace a place for friends

Bryan Cole and Marvin Taylor began their musical alliance in 1973. Bryan was the drummer in the band Mose Jones, who were label mates and drinking buddies with Lynyrd Skynyrd, both bands produced by Al Kooper for MCA/Sounds Of The South records. Marvin had moved to Atlanta from Alabama, where he had previously played guitar in The K-Otics, a band produced by Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, then Dan Penn in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, for Bang Records. Mose Jones had taken a brief hiatus during which time the original guitarist, Jimmy O'Neill, had formed his own band. Marvin took over the guitar slot in the newly formed Mose Jones.

After a year or so, Bryan left the band to tour and record with legendary fiddler Vassar Clements, and to put in time as a staff writer at Tree in Nashville. One of his songs written while at tree was "Close Friends", recorded by Jim Glazier on his album "Man In The Mirror", which earned Glazier New Country Artist Of The Year in 1982. With Chris Seymour on drums, Mose Jones recorded two albums for RCA produced by Buddy Buie and toured extensively as opening act for Buie's "other" band, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, as well as long time friends Sea Level and others. The Atlanta Rhythm Section's hit "The Alien" was co-written by Steve McRay and Randy Lewis of Mose Jones along with Buie, and was first recorded by Mose Jones on an unreleased album for RCA.

The strong musical bonds and alliances between all these musicians carried them through the next thirty years in various combinations, including bands Out A Hand and Java Monkey. Bryan produced dozens of albums for Ichiban Records often using Java Monkey as his session musicians, and he and original Mose Jones guitarist Jimmy O'Niell became partners in CMO Records and Studio.

One of the many successful collaborations of this great assemblage of musicians has been working with international Blues/Jazz singer, Francine Reed. In addition to being a member of Lyle Lovett's Large Band for over twenty years, Miss Reed has enjoyed successes with a number of CDs produced by Bryan for numerous labels, with Java Monkey as her back up band both in the studio and on international tours. Marvin and his wife Raven have written songs for each of Francine's CDs. Her recording of their song "Been There, Done That" from her Capitol/Ichiban album, I Can't Make It On My Own, was nominated for Song Of The Year by the W.C.Handy Blues Society, the Blues equivalent of a Grammy.

The Francine Reed projects enabled Bryan and Marvin to record with such luminaries as Lyle Lovette, Willie Nelson, and Delbert McClinton, as well as Al Kooper and Motown bassist Bob Babbit. When Bryan was faced with the task of producing Willie Nelson, he realized that for the first time in his career (with the possible exception of playing on the sessions of one of his earliest heroes, Howard Tate) that he was a little star stuck. When he asked Willie to test the microphone, Willie just said "Hello". Hearing that voice through the speakers, Bryan just said "Damn! Let's record!" Bryan's diverse background has netted him gold and platinum records from other genres as well, such as Dead Eye Dick's "New Age Girl" and 95 South's mega-hit, "Whoot There It Is".

For the past couple of years Bryan and Marvin have begun focusing their songwriting and production efforts as a creative duo. "We have similar instincts musically," said Marvin, "yet differ just enough to offset each other. Plus we have some of the best talent in Atlanta as our good friends, and they are all on speed dial."

The first project that they officially took on as a co-production team was Mark Scott's "Saints And Angels" which won the 2007 Georgia Country Music Song Of The Year. "Saints And Angels" was recorded at Marvin and his wife Raven's studio, Five Feathers Music.

It strikes both Bryan and Marvin as odd that after thirty years of working together, they are only now writing songs together, but it does not surprise anyone who knows them that the combination works well!

The successes of their combined efforts have led Bryan and Marvin to their next logical undertaking - recording their own project as Cole/Taylor, a CD entitled "Mercy Road." Both agree it was as much fun as they had ever had with anything!

Scott Freeman of Creative Loafing wrote about "Mercy Road":“A smartly-crafted collection of original songs by two of Atlanta's premier musicians, ‘Mercy Road’ is full of stand-out tracks that were born out of life's joys and its hard lessons. Impossible to categorize, not easy to forget.”