"The blues is really the musical incarnation of the human condition. The battle of good and evil in your life, living with the consequences of those choices, searching for truth and meaning."

George Taylor: Sunshine In South

George Taylor, Goochland Virginia native, is a storyteller at heart. The inspirations of his southern roots help him craft stories about common people, raw emotions and the reality of the world around him. But instead of a written manuscript, Taylor tells his stories through an Americana soundtrack laced with a bluesy guitar and harmonica. The final product is as honest and real as music comes- no easy job in a world where the musical tug of war between artistic and commercial rages on. Taylor is an artist who remains true to his musical voice.

After releasing his debut album, TroubleTown, that musical journey led him to the Delta searching for the heart of the blues, the genre that had taken a stranglehold on him.  Serendipitously, while touring Helena, Arkansas, he found himself at a live broadcast of the historic blues radio show “King Biscuit Time.” The legendary DJ Sonny Payne, upon receiving and reviewing a copy of TroubleTown, invited Taylor to do an on air interview and featured “Raining & Cold” on the show! Then he hit the road to Austin, the “live music capital of the world.” In the three years he spent in Austin, Taylor established himself as a must see performer with residencies in the area. He has opened for Dale Watson, a Texas country legend, played with the late Gene Kurtz and wowed SXSW crowds. In summer 2013 he returned home to Richmond, VA where he has shared the stage with Charles Bradley and is leaving audiences in awe along with The George Taylor Group at shows in the region. Taylor is diligent in pursuit of mastering his craft as a writer, performer and musician. 2012 saw the release of Rain or Shine, a demo recorded at Shine Studios, Austin. He followed this by releasing the fan favorite video “Harvest Moon.” These tracks included on his highly anticipated Rain or Shine album (2014)! For Taylor the road goes on as he continues to build a collection of new fans, stories and songs along his way.

Interview by Michael Limnios

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

“The blues ain’t nothing but a good man feeling bad,” to quote Jimmie Rodgers and I feel about the same. The blues is really the musical incarnation of the human condition. The battle of good and evil in your life, living with the consequences of those choices, searching for truth and meaning. Yearning for something or someplace better, and crying out from pain, for help or for healing. How do you take all of that and make someone feel it and understand it in 2-4 minutes, I mean feel it so deeply that the hair on their body stands up. Then you’re playing the blues, then you’re doing something.

How do you describe George Taylor sound and songbook? What characterize your music philosophy?

My sound and songbook I would describe as Earnest American Music. I guess that’s my philosophy as well. Just be true to what’s in you, what’s influenced you, and do what comes out of you naturally with passion. 

I’m awful at musically coloring within the lines. I mean, I’ll play blues and then do a country song and close the set with a rock and roll tune.  It’s not usually served me well. People want to be able to categorize you or understand exactly what you’re doing or trying to do, you know, put you in a box. So anything that’s indigenous to the Unites States is what I do musically and that’s blues, country and rock and roll. Levon Helm said it’s Rock and Roll. 

"Our music can tell these stories, can give you perspective and help you understand what having an identity is about. If you go to remote parts of Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, or plenty of other small towns across America you can still get a dose of it."

Which is the moment that you change your music life most? Which memory from Gene Kurtz makes you smile?

I think the great recession probably had a big influence, in that it pushed me to do what I had known for a few years was a desire on my heart, to write songs and make music. Writing was my first passion, so I think of myself a songwriter first. I didn’t want to get out and perform at first, it was too nerve racking and still can be, but I’ve learned to harness that emotion to hopefully give a memorable, worthwhile show.

Gene Kurtz played a gig with me at the Poodle Dog Lounge in Austin, TX.  It’s just a dive pool hall/beer joint that has a lot of history, though you’d never know it from just stopping in on any Friday night. Gene was as kind, gentle and sincere as they come. His son also came out to the show. It was the kind of place you can brown bag your liquor since they only sold beer. Gene had a tequila shot with me and the rest of the guys after the gig. I’m sure he didn’t know any of my songs, but he fell right in on that bass. He was just a cool cat to be around. He’d been around for a while, writing “Treat Her Right” and performing for Roy Head in ’65 and touring with Dale Watson more recently, but man the guy was so humble. It was at the time where his health was declining. He mentioned that, but not much about what was going on exactly. A few months later I saw online that he had passed. So I posted the YouTube video of us doing Muddy Waters, “Got My Mojo Working.” I’m really glad I asked him to do a song.  It has to be one of my favorite memories from Austin. Gene really gave me a great example of how to be a Pro.    

Why did you think that the Southern culture and music continues to generate such a devoted following?

That’s an interesting question. I guess that’s about all that’s left of the southern culture so it’s preserved in a way through music. The old ways of life are mostly gone, farming is industrialized and mom and pop stores have given way to big boxes. It’s harder to get people to have dinner together or to church or even share your Christian beliefs. Then there’s the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to the history of the South. Our music can tell these stories, can give you perspective and help you understand what having an identity is about. If you go to remote parts of Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, or plenty of other small towns across America you can still get a dose of it. But most people from those places are either dying off or dying to get out of there. So you go get a degree, move to a city and it’s not like you lose who you are, but it gets easier to forget. I mean, I’m from a small town in Virginia called Goochland. It’s great to be here some days and it’s the last place in the world I want to be some days. This is home though, it’s a big part of who I am and it’s where my people are. It wouldn’t have mattered if I went to college or wrote the first song to anyone here.

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? What is the best advice ever given you?

The time I met “Sunshine” Sonny Payne (photo) of King Biscuit Time radio show in Helena, Arkansas was pretty amazing experience. He’s a legend and that’s a historic show. Just to get to be in there during a show was great, but for him to play one of my tunes and interview me was an incredible experience I’ll never forget. Recently I got in touch with Frank Roszak and that has served me well. He’s a very solid promoter. Other than that, I can’t really say that I’ve had any meetings that led to any real big breaks or anything. I once had a meeting with some guy from a songwriters group in Nashville. He told me I’d never get cut in Nashville. So that led me to record my own stuff instead of waiting to meet and impress a publisher. As brutal as it was, I guess that was pretty important to hear. I’m just out here trying to write great songs and record them for people to hear.

The best advice I’ve ever been given was from a friend that works at the Walmart in Round Rock, TX off of 79. She said, “George, it doesn’t matter if there’s one person out there or 1,000 people out there. You give it all to them and leave it on that stage.” She was very personal and sweet like that, a beautiful God fearing woman.

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio which you’d like to share with us?

I really enjoyed my time at Shine Studios in Austin, TX. Justin Douglas has a special musical mind. I think what impressed me most about him was not just his playing ability and experience recording, but his desire to keep things very organic. I really appreciate that. I mean here’s a dude with all the tools and resources to make this album, Rain or Shine, something else completely and he wants to make it about me and highlight what I’m doing and feeling. I think that comes across when you listen to the record. He’s a class act, someone I really want to work with again in the future.

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

That raw emotion of it. The lack of restriction from the science or math of music at times. I don’t always hear that in modern blues music. Don’t get me wrong, some guys are right on the money, but some of it just feels forced and over rehearsed. I mean try to do what Son House does on that dobro or how the Wolf played harp. It’s about conveying the feeling. That doesn’t usually require overplaying, just hitting the right notes at the right time or making it dynamic. The dynamics of a violent delivery like Elmore James or making it so subtle you’re straining to hear it like some of Buddy Guy’s licks. Some of what I’m hearing now leaves quite a bit to be desired. It can easily all become vanilla and washed out if that continues to happen. I hope that I can make a difference through blues records that people will dig. With Rain or Shine it’s very Country-Blues at times and Singer/Songwriter at times. That’s just who I am and I hope blues lovers can appreciate the entirety of the work. As I said before, that can be really hard for people to do when it’s not all the same thing. I’m really hoping to make a full on blues record soon.  Just have to put all the pieces in place and it takes longer when an independent musician. 

If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

That content would trump capital. I mean, what if the quality of the song (content) meant what it used to. I’ve had people straight up tell me that they wish it were different, but it doesn’t matter anymore if I write great songs, what matters is how many Twitter or YouTube followers I have.  This way o thinking is part of the problem, not the solution. I don’t claim to be the greatest singer, musician or songwriter around. But I beleve there’s a synergy to it all that makes a pretty damn good package, one that should be considered. There should be less gatekeepers in this business and more people trying to present the best product. The internet is a blessing and a curse in that it’s given us all the opportunity for a platform, but the massive amount of music it contains has become so congested it’s just become white noise, drowning one another out. And now the industry is less profitable than ever and the people with the money are only looking at who has the best chance at an immediate return on their investment, and those people are the ones with the “human capital” or likes, followers, etc.

What are the lines that connect the legacy of Blues with Americana and continue to bluegrass and Folk music?

The emotion and heritage of it all. These are all very pure musical genres/art forms. I think a lot of what shaped each is related to geography. It was what was prevalent in that area when folks were learning to play and what was happening in the area when recordings started happening. So it went from where it was just handed down from generations to where we can go get these records and learn from them and start putting it all together.

It takes a committed person to get down to the roots of music. You know you really like Gary Clark Jr., but do you like it enough to find out where it came from.  It doesn’t matter if it’s him, Clapton, Justin Townes Earle, Alison Krauss or Hendrix. It all came from some previous influence. Those influences could be Jimmy Martin, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmie Rodgers, Otis Rush, The Carter Family or Robert Johnson. But they got it from somewhere too. There really isn’t anything we can do musically that hasn’t already been done. You just go back and listen and study it, and just maybe when you regurgitate it, part of yourself is now in it. And that’s a beautiful experience.

What has made you laugh lately and what touched (emotionally) you from the music circuits?

Creating relationships with folks that have the same love and passion for creating and sharing music is something that’s pretty special. It’s not all a bed of roses and it’s nice to have conversations with people that understand the grind and work that goes into the shows and recordings.

"My sound and songbook I would describe as Earnest American Music. I guess that’s my philosophy as well." 

Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really wanna go for a whole day..?

2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago to be at Chess Records during their heyday for sure. To be in that studio and have a drink with Muddy, Wolf, Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and Buddy Guy. To witness some of those magical recordings happening would definitely be one of my first stops. I’d just love to just hear all those legends banter, hang out and play.

George Taylor - Official website