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10 Questions with ... Travis Taylor
April 6, 2009
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NAME:Travis TaylorTITLE:Musician
Label:
Periday RecordsDiscography:
You Have Loved (2009)1) Can you give us a brief recap of your musical journey?
I started playing guitar, drums and a little piano at a young age. My parents are musicians so I grew up in an environment that made it easy to fall in love with music. I remember traveling with my parents' band when I was young, loving every minute of it. I started my first "real" band with my younger brother Jeff when I was in high school. We had no idea what we were getting into. What came about was a crazy, HEAVY rock band that was fun but a little scary looking back on it! We covered songs from some of the heaviest bands at that time (early '90s). I think it's hilarious that I started out there and ended up the artist I am today, mostly hiding behind an acoustic guitar, leading worship in churches. I was in a few other bands, mostly involving one or both of my two brothers, and then I finally went off and kind of started fresh on my own. That's pretty much where I'm at now in California.
2) Do you have any interesting or funny stories from your recent visits with radio folks?
Well this is still kind of new for m but I would say it's been pretty normal so far, I think. I'm always a little freaked out at the idea of playing for two or three people in a small room, totally different than being on a stage playing for a "crowd."
3) What's the story behind the single "No One Who Compares"?
This is a song I wrote with my guitar player Erick. We were hanging out in Claremont working on some other songs and he started playing this chord progression, which lead to me adding to the mix. Eventually we worked out lyrics to a melody that was already telling the story. It was one of those songs that had great energy before any words were even penned. We knew we wanted the song to have a very uplifting theme, so we dove into the Word and started fine-tuning our thoughts with Scripture. "No one who compares" just kept ringing in my head and it eventually became the chorus. I ended up writing the bridge a few weeks later to finish it up. We tried it out on our faithful focus group at Calvary Church on a Sunday morning and it was a hit.
4) Do you have a favorite song to perform live?
"You Have Loved" is a song that you might not expect. It starts off really raw, almost entirely acoustic, but by the end of the song, the whole band is pouring everything we've got into it. The song's lyrics just say something that I can't sing without putting every ounce of passion I have into it.
5) Which do you enjoy more the process or the performance?
The process is something that I've grown to love more and more. I love producing for other artists as well. I'm really blessed in the fact that we have a great studio at our church in Pacific Palisades, CA, that lets me go deeper into this. I've got to say though, there's nothing like ending a night of worship, having held nothing back, with a crowd of people that are right there with you in the moment. Those nights are not an everyday thing so I think I want both on a steady basis.
6) What is the message you hope to convey through the album "You Have Loved"?
He has, is and will always be in love with us more than we can imagine. Really, the title track "You Have Loved" says it all and every other song on the record revolves around that theme.
7) What's your favorite song on the new record?
Well, since I've already mentioned how much I like to play "You Have Loved," I'll say "Meet You" is one of my favorites to hear. It's a song I wrote about my son and it always takes me back to that place and reminds me of some great times.
8) As you're in the studio working on this new album, was there a moment where you thought, "Wow, now we have a record"?
I think it was when we got the first round of mixes back. Dwayne Larring (producer) and I were stoked. I think it was just refreshing to get almost exactly what you set out to get in a recording. That's not such an easy thing to do as an artist working with a producer. We recorded in two phases. Six songs first, then started the next round. So even though I thought things were sounding great, it was not until the mixes of that first round came back that I realized how much I was really liking it.
9) Be honest: A worship leader in Pacific Palisades? The first thing I think is, "Lucky!" How does that work? How did that job come about with Calvary Church? What are some of the exciting things happening in that world?
It works great! I am lucky. Even though I'm a Texas boy, I've been California dreaming most of my life, at least for good surf that is. Let's just say Texas waves are not so consistent. Seriously though, our church is great. We love our pastor and we have a great team of leaders on our staff. Even though this place is absolutely beautiful with picture perfect weather most of the time, we would not have left our family back in Texas if this were not something we felt like the Lord wanted us to do. We've really seen a transformation, specifically in the worship side of things over the past five years here. I'm also really excited about some future opportunities that are arising with a micro-financing organization called Opportunity International, although we have not officially launched into that (we're about to).
10) Do you have much time to check out other artists' music? What are you listening to right now?
I wish I had more time to just listen. I've had a few things in rotation lately. One of my favorites is that acoustic album that Jon Foreman recently put out called "Limbs and Branches."
Bonus Questions
1) Who would be a dream artist to record with and why?
Bono, come on. Besides the fact that he's amazing as an artist, I love that he uses his fame to give back to people who really need someone to fight for them.
2) Favorite city to visit:
New York
3) Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?
Old school George Strait. You know, "Amarillo by morning, up from San-Antone."
4) Favorite book that you've read recently:
"God Stories" by Andrew Wilson
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