Joel Taylor sits down for a One On One Session at City Winery New York on March 6th, 2018. For more info visit: https://www.thisisjoeltaylor.com Audio & Video by: Ehud Lazin
Setlist:
Two Sides
Give Myself Away
What Good Is Love
When Sydney, Australia-turned-L.A.-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joel Taylor was born, the doctor turned to his mom and asked about his name. “Like Billy Joel? Is he going to be a piano player?” Given his birthright, it’s no surprise the answer to that was in the affirmative. Taylor’s grandfather learned to play boogie-woogie piano from Jerry Lee Lewis, performing with his brothers in Col Joye & the Joy Boys, one of Australia’s very first rock bands in the mid-‘50s, before becoming a noted manager, concert and tour promoter Down Under. Joel learned to play New Orleans stride from his mom – who learned it from her dad -- following in the tradition of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Ray Charles, Elton John and his namesake. “’New York State of Mind’ was the first song I ever learned to play,” says Taylor, whose father was a cabaret lounge jazz singer that fronted swing bands in the mid-‘70s.
Joel always seems to caught between his Australian legacy and his adopted home, leaving at the tender age of 18 to seek his fortune in Hollywood, where, again like his idol, plied his trade at local piano bars for a hundred dollars and the contents of a tip jar, interspersing his own originals with standards. Upon arriving in Los Angeles he rented a room in Echo Park with noted, French, guitar-maker to the stars James Trussart and was constantly surrounded by a consistent cast of musical characters that added to the color of his burgeoning, musical narrative. At any given time Joel could walk downstairs for his morning coffee and be greeted by the likes of ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Lianne La Havas, John Oats and Robbie Krieger, John Densmore and Chris Robinson who he later sat in with for The Doors 50th anniversary. After years of absorbing these moments, being a working musician and perfecting his song-writing craft, Joel felt the pull to step out front as an artist and begin his solo career.
We were first introduced to Joel in 2017 when he debuted with his double single Two Sides. His unique blend of American soul music with modern touches driven by his deeply, emotional and soaring voice made his presence known as one of the new and exciting faces in the singer/songwriter world. “Two Sides”, a piano driven, energized, ballad shined a spotlight on Joel’s masterful piano-playing while the B-side “What Good Is Love”gave us a beautifully yet heartbreaking, acoustic driven, love song. These “two sides” of Taylor are omnipresent in his work.
Taylor’s newest single is “Give Myself Away” which he co-wrote and produced with Josh Cumbee and Afsheen (Madonna, Galantis, Chris Brown) and was mixed by the legendary Bob Clearmountain. He says that the song lyrically “is about being stuck, caught in a rut, or just really in a phase of transition that seems to take forever. The first verse came to me as I found myself literally stuck in Berlin for a month - when the re-entry visa system broke down and I was in immigration limbo - unable to return to the US where I lived and also unable to go to Australia as my passport was tied up in the immigration process. The lyric originally was “something’s got a hold of me, something won’t let me win- something’s got a hold of me…Berlin” He continues “Musically I think it’s a really good mix of a “good old pop song” with some nice modern elements in it. It’s a big soulful song that really lifts in the chorus- I threw every instrument I could play at it...and just saw what stuck!”
With his third track “Give Myself Away” out in the world, Joel is looking towards putting the final touches on his debut EP coming later his year, touring and connecting with new fans through his music. “I’m really excited for my live shows this round, introducing songs and stories to new faces. I have one song in the works that’s coming soon called “Moment’s Notice” where this Aussie, Jewish boy is gonna take y’all to church! I’m ready to play every instrument, sing every background vocal, scream my lungs out, play every hole in the wall and then some in order to share my stories with the masses”.
