INTERVIEW WITH TAZ TAYLOR (TAZ TAYLOR BAND) - October 03 2006

 

Please tell me a little bit about the Taz Taylor band- is this a real band or a studio project?

It is most definitely a real band, having played many shows in Southern California over the past 2 years, performing the material from my instrumental album "Caffeine Racer"
 
 
How did you end up working with Graham Bonnet?

Well, I wanted to work with a vocalist this time around. I basically started at the top of my list and contacted my all time favorite singer...... Graham Bonnet. I loved his voice on the MSG album Assault Attack, as well as the Alcatrazz stuff and Down to Earth from Rainbow. Fortunately he got right back in touch, we hit it off right away. I sent him a copy of Caffeine Racer and he was impressed, so we started working on the songs I was writing. The writing process was very free flowing. Imagine writing music with your favorite vocalist in mind........the very same vocalist who you have been listening to for years on the albums that influenced you as a guitar player !! A lot of people have commented that the songs suggest we have been working together for longer than we have...........
 
 
 
What about your own personal background?

Well, I started to play guitar in '79 at age 11, I played in a few bands in the U.K. until the early '90s. I got disillusioned at that time by the downturn in musicianship in rock music and more or less dropped out of the scene completely. In 95 I simply became obsessed with guitar and decided to become the best player that I could. This is not an ego trip, I am not trying to be better than anyone else, it is not a competition. I simply love to play and want to play the best that I can !! I moved to California in Jan '97. I released Caffeine Racer in July 2004 and have been promoting that up until now.
 

Do you have any plans to tour?

Would love to !! We are booking shows right now in Southern California, to sort of test the waters. We have plans to hit the U.K. next May.
 
 
"Welcome to America" is very melodic album with a lot of twin guitars a la Thin Lizz ybut also firmly rooted in the 80-ies.Do you agree?

I don't hear the Thin Lizzy thing.........but you are not the first to mention it... Whenever I do guitar harmonies, I am thinking more in the vein of Michael Schenker or maybe Mathias Jabs from  Scorpions. But as long as people like the result, that's fine by me. Everyone hears things differently. Alot of reviews have compared our sound to Rainbow. Apart from Graham's voice I don't think we sound anything at all like Rainbow, but as I say........that's fine !!
 
 
 
Why did you record a cover of "Parisienne Walkways" - It this song precious to you?

We were playing it as part of our live set, so we decided to document it on the album because people always seem to enjoy it live. It is a very harmonically rich song, lots of chords and passages that are not strictly in the home key of the song, very interesting to the ear !!
 
 
 
Which guys would you consider to be your main influences?

Michael Schenker, Garry Moore, Randy Rhoads early Eddie Van Halen
 
 
 
How would you describe your music to someone who is not familiar with it?

Melodic Hard Rock.......would be the short answer.

 
 
How did you develop your own style of playing, did you take any lessons?

I took about 18 months of lessons beginning Jan '95. It was mostly music theory, which proved to be extremely valuable. My style developed naturally I guess. Just from wanting to create on guitar what I hear in my head.
 
 
What is the most important, feeling or technique? Can you survive with only one of them?

Great question !!  When you hear Yngwie Malmsteen for the very first time......you are amazed by his technique....right ?  He is probably the most gifted of all players from that standpoint. BUT that is not why he is as great as he is. It is his phrasing, his vibrato, his expressiveness that make him great. To answer the second part of your question.....I think that you have to have feeling to be great, but your technique has to be good enough to play what you want to play and do it well. My technique is way less advanced than Yngwie. More like Michael Schenker or Garry Moore. Good technique can be good, it can be clean, flawless....... without being advanced.  I hope that makes sense ?!
 

What kind of guitars and other equipment are you using live or in the studio?

I use Gibson Explorers, Marshall JCM 800 50 watt heads and 4x12 cabs. I use a Boss RV5 Digital Reverb pedal and I am thinking about maybe adding a wah pedal to use as a tone filter. That's it. Bone simple !!
 
 
How was the album recorded?

We recorded in a slightly unconventional way. we did one song a day as apposed to doing all of the drums, then all of the bass and so on.We also spread it out over about a year.........way too long. I would not do that again.
 
 
Which musicians would you like to play with some day?

I really have not thought about that. I love the guys I am playing with right now.

 
What kind of music do you like the least?

Rap, Hip Hop.........no wait, that's not music is it ??(I guesss not:-) )
 

Do you ever listen to music that is very different from what you do, if so what?

I listen to classical music a little from time to time, but apart from that not too much other stuff.
 
What other plans do you have for the near future?

I want to get out and play for as many people as possible and spread the word about our album" Welcome to America"

How is the musical climate for hard rock in the UK?