Hot Indie News Exclusive Interview with R&B Artist Taylor James
As a Hot Indie News reporter I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking to many artists over the years. It’s a new year and to start it off, here’s a chat I had with R&B singer Taylor James:
Hot Indie News: It looks like you have been recording since 1975 with a lot of breaks in between releases. What were the reasons behind all the stops and starts over the years?
Taylor James: Well, I was in college at JacksonStateUniversity from 1971- 1976, got married in 1981 and shortly afterward began raising two kids. Got divorced in 1997 and while going through that experience, I was also working full time at UPS and continuing to support my kids. Music and my personal life has been a constant juggling act. I love my music and although I have been on and off again and again, I have never given up because I felt it was my emotional way out. Loving music as I do was my crutch, something I could lean on. My life experiences gave me the outlet I needed to be creative with my music.
Hot Indie News: We have notice that there have been credited references to your work using several names: Taylor James, James Pane, and James Taylor. Why so many names?
Taylor James: I started out with my childhood nickname, “James Pane” but as I became older, we decided to go with James Taylor because it sounded more mature. However, we found ourselves running into problems because of the legendary pop singer “Sweet Baby” James Taylor. It got so bad that his record label Columbia records wrote my manager and asked him how he had James Taylor on his label also. So, that’s when Taylor James evolved.
Hot Indie News: Over the past decades you have worked with quite a few artists. Tell us about some of your favorite people you’ve worked with and best experience.
Taylor James: I have worked with Wayne Henderson of the world renowned “Jazz Crusaders”. He was my favorite and I learned a lot of recording and production techniques from him. It was kind of like going to production school. We recorded about six R&B soundtracks together in L.A. at his studio Wiletracks.
Bobby Rush and Willie Clayton were also two of my favorites. I enjoyed working with them because most of our recordings were live when we first started; there were no sequencing of the tracks. Most of the sessions, we would bring in the rhythm section first, then the horn section, and finally the background vocalists. Afterwards, the lead vocalist would come and complete the session. During this time, I was engineering, all of the sessions and co-producing. But as time passed and technology changed, we almost exclusively went to sequencing tracks on the computer and recording keyboards with sixteen and twenty-four track on board sequences. Try to search for dating reviews on Mydatinghome.com and find you match on one of those sites.
I have worked with gospel groups such as The Williams Brothers and The Canton Spirituals. We did some studio and live recordings. In some cases, we would record live in the studio and enhance the sound by touching up some of tracks or completely re-cutting some of them, especially the vocals. This was great because it gave me a lot of experience with live recording.
Hot Indie News: During the course of your career is there any one thing that you would change if you could?
Taylor James: Yes, actually there is. I would like to have had more time writing and producing myself. I enjoy what I do and I love helping other artists but to put that same time and energy into myself would have meant so much to me.
Hot Indie News: Besides being a performer, you’re also a writer/composer. Do you employ a “method” or “process” in your writing? If so, tell us a bit about how you go about creating new songs.
Taylor James: First, I come up with a title that’s catchy and tends to move the imagination. I then sit down at the keyboard and start playing chord progressions to figure out the best melody that coincides with the title. Once I establish the main hook line of the song, the rest is pure creativity. My primary goal is to always tell a story or drive certain viewpoints through my lyrics.
- Create a short catchy yet flashy intro
- 1st verse/ 1st hook
- 2nd verse/2nd hook
- Bridge/back to hook and vamp the song out.
Sometimes I may mix it up a little bit, but this is my basic procedure for writing a song.
Hot Indie News: Your latest single “Good News” is quite topical. Can you tell us about what inspired you to write and record this song?
Taylor James: I wrote “Good News” in 1992 which was about the time I started paying attention to politics and economics for a better understanding of these conditions. At that time the social and economic problem were not as dire as they are now but I could see the depth of these problems in the country growing deeper.
I was in my studio working on a new song and decided to take a short break, turned the video monitor on to get the news for the day. A politician was giving a speech about the details and numbers for the State of the Nation. I immediately took out a pen and pad and started writing the lyrics to “Good News”.
“Good News” spells out the great problems we have as a nation and what I believe is the foundation toward a solution. Whether it was God prophesying through me or if I just looked at what was happening then and saw into the future, I don’t know. What I do know is that we all need a little good news (God’s Word). It’s all in the book and written in stone: The Ten Commandments. Just Look!!!
Hot Indie News: On “Good News” you appear to be quite critical with the state of current world and where the world is going. Care to elaborate?
Taylor James: I grew up in the church. My father was a Baptist minister. I was taught that the Bible, also known as “Good News”, was the roadmap for mankind. I believe that most people would agree when I say that the world has made a few wrong turns and lost its way. Of course, this is just my analysis and by no means am I saying that I am right, but some things could have been handled differently in my opinion. I will not go into details because it is a very complicated and controversial subject.
Hot Indie News: Are you involved in the world of politics, causes or charities? If so, which one and what form does your involvement take?
Taylor James: No, I am not involved in world politics. I just watch the news and keep up with current affairs. I am however, involved in a national education movement called Real Life 101 that my brother started in 2000 that provides scholarships, laptop computers, and personal mentors for young African American males. I am the State Manager for Mississippi. The website is www. Reallife101.org. As mentioned before, this was something my brother, Sid Taylor started. At that time, statistics showed that 50% of the prison population was young African American males. This is our way of segmenting our society that is in trouble. “Educate, don’t incarcerate” is the program’s slogan.
Hot Indie News: Other than just you the cover artwork on your “Taylor-Made” EP features an attractive young lady. Who is she and why does she share the cover with you?
Taylor James: She is a friend and local model. However, she is not the young lady that sings on the tracks. That woman lives out of state and could not make it to the photo shoot. The song “Christmas & You” talks about a couple that has been in a great relationship for a long time and although the young lady and I are not in a relationship, we have been friends for some time and I felt that she would be great for the photo.
Hot Indie News: If the phone rang tomorrow and you were told you had the opportunity to work with any artist of your choice, who would that person be?
Taylor James: I am pretty sure a lot of people would say this but I would like to work with Beyoncé’. I really do enjoy her rhythm tracks. Back in college, I majored in percussion because I love doing rhythmic music and I do believe I have some tracks that fit her style.
Hot Indie News: What’s up for Taylor James for 2014?
Taylor James: I am currently working on an album entitled “Serious” which comes out this spring.
Hot Indie News: How do people find out more about you?
Taylor James: I can be reached on Facebook and also www.heartsofgoldrecording.com
