Sean Taylor (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, harmonica, programming)
Other musicians I record with include:
Jeff Gordon (acoustic guitar, vocals)
Lisa Taylor (backing vocals)
Shawn Loud (electric guitar, mixing)
Derik Keel (electric guitar)
Carrie Eggers (keyboards)
Lee Henson (bass)
Bill Rullan (drums)
Patrick Heath (electric guitar)
Tim Moore (drums)
Influences
Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Counting Crows, Train, The Flaming Lips, Hoobastank, Linkin Park, The Rolling Stones, Abraham Laboriel, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Sixpence None the Richer, Vanessa Mae, Kings X, Van Halen, composer James MacMillan, Guardian, Switchfoot, Miles, Davis, John Coltrane, J.S. Bach, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Mussorgsky, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, 77s, Steve Taylor, Daniel Amos, trance and progressive trance, and '80s funk, rock, and new wave.
Sounds Like
Some of it if folk in the vain of Dylan and The Band, some of it the bastard lovechild of 80s rock and techno, and some is just plain weird.
Music has always been an important part of my life. I can still remember playing "air band" to my Uncle Roderick's 45s from the '70s and then graduating up to creating pretend instruments out of household items (a few pots, pans, and trash cans for a drum kit; tennis racquets for guitars, and well, an actually a child's organ for the keyboard). We hammed it up to the music of the Clique, Five Man Electrical Band, and Three Dog Night until I was finally able to request my own music (the first of which were cassettes of Kiss Dynasty and REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, for the record).
Eventually I moved up to real instruments and joins a few bands in high school and college, and now I've settled into a more relaxing mode of playing for my church's band and writing and recording a mixture of electronic music and old-school rock and roll at home.
Between 1988 and 1992 I played bass in the Christian rock band, Reign. We had an '80s fetish going big-time, and would have given our last dollar to be Toto or Van Halen (most of the time). We played mostly for churches at camps, youth events, or community event, but we did have three big event gigs -- one at IS Fest, during which we played the same stage as two of my faves, Adam Again and the Choir, and two at Atlanta Fest, the Southeast's biggest Christian music festival. We released one cassette called i of the storm, and later began work on a second release, tentatively titled Even in the Dry Season, but never finished it before the band broke up in the early 90s.
Back in 2003, I released my first solo CD of "electronic-infused garage rock," Pop Nightmare, and am currently working on the second, Dreaming and Other Diversions. What's it sound like? I like to thing it sounds like modern incidental music from shows like Alias and the like, but I'm probably just dreaming. Maybe it's like the accident that would happen if the Chemical Brothers smashed their bus into Van Halen or Nirvana. Who knows? Just listen and find out for yourself.
One of my newest musical projects is called Blue Mercy Cafe. That's a catch-all, made-up band name to include stuff I do both alone and with friends that falls into the acoustic, folksy, art-hymn vein. I'm hoping to finish recording about 15 songs for a BMC CD I plan to call 12 Dirty Breadcrumbs. I also want to eventually put together a project called Solid, which will be a artsy-folksy arrangment of many of the hymns I grew up with in church in the South.
One of my most fulfilling musical ventures at the moment is the time I spend with the worship band at my home church, Lakeland Community Church. We're a bit different from the average church band, mostly because we throw a lot of stuff from the radio into the sets in addition to praise and worship songs. We just really aren't that big into so-called Christian music and like to find nuggets to add to the repetoire such as Collective Soul's "Shine," the Youngblood's "Get Together," the O'Jays' "Love Train," U2's "When Love Comes to Town" and "40" and Lifehouse's "Hanging for a Moment." On top of that, we have the freedom to write original songs that reflect the tone and culture of our church (relational-based and grace-focused, it's hard to find a morality-cop on duty in the foyer).
Are you going to Feedback? if you want to get your music heard by the best in the Christian music industry, this is an event you MUST to be at. Sign up now while there is still room for you! http://www.feedbackconference.com
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
Sean Taylor,
My prayer for you is the same. May you continue to grow in the love of Christ and may HIS blessings ever be upon your life.
Before we headed off to Alpha Centauri we left our album for free download (11 Tracks, MP3, 192 kBit/s) directly through a link on our myspace site. Enjoy the space trip. Peace
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13
Sean Taylor,
May God bless you as you seek the Lord with all of your heart.
