Paul Taylor

Long a vital part of Memphis' vibrant 21st century music scene, multi-instrumentalist and producer Paul Taylor has always followed his own sense of direction. The son of a Memphis musician and studio engineer, Taylor spent his teen years hanging with other second-generation Memphis musicians, playing gigs by the time he was 14 years old, starting his first band with classmate Steve Selvidge (later of Big Ass Truck). Taylor met brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson through Selvidge, and at 16, was playing drums (he had gotten his first trap kit when he was only two years old) with them in the band DDT, which built up a loyal fan following in the Memphis region. Taylor left the band just as it began to transform into the North Mississippi Allstars. By now playing more bass than drums, Taylor worked with several successful Memphis bands, including stints in Big Ass Truck, the Gamble Brothers Band, the Pirates, and with the Grifters' David Shouse in an incarnation of Shouse's Bloodthirsty Lovers, and sitting in on either drums or bass with numerous jazz and blues artists. On the side, Taylor crafted his songwriting and production chops, producing his girlfriend (and bassist) Amy LaVere's debut album, This World Is Not My Home, and playing drums in her road band along with Eric Lewis (pedal steel) and Jason Freeman (guitar). Taylor recorded a solo project in 2001 but opted not to release it, then recorded a second solo project, but shelved that, as well. Contacted by former Memphis musician Kurt Gunn about an interactive website he was developing, Taylor sent him some demos of songs he was working on at the time. Gunn came to Memphis and joined Taylor at his home studio with engineer Kevin Houston, and over the course of five days, Taylor recorded a third solo project, Open...