Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor | |
---|---|
Born | Roland Stephen Taylor December 9, 1957 Brawley, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Education | Biola University University of Colorado Boulder |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse |
Debbie L. Taylor (m. 1985) |
Children | 1 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels | |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Lipscomb University |
Roland Stephen Taylor (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music executive, film maker, assistant professor, and actor. A figure in what has come to be known as
Biography
Early life
Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in
Upon graduation from high school, Taylor enrolled at Biola University in California. During his first year, he was first of the 100 chosen, from 20,000 applicants, to spend the summer at John Davidson's summer camp. At the camp, Taylor spent time learning from singers like Tony Orlando, Florence Henderson, and John Davidson.
Taylor returned home and enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder, to study "serious music". He graduated there in 1980, but described his Bachelor of Arts degree in music and theater as being worth "slightly more than the cash value of a Pizza Hut coupon."[1]
1980s
In 1980, Taylor wrote and directed a pop musical comedy titled Nothing to Lose based on the parable of the Prodigal Son from the Bible. It had a short run at a community theater in Denver. He also wrote and starred in a short film, Joe's Distributing, a parody of avant-garde films.
Taylor wrote articles during this time that were published in The Wittenburg Door and CCM Magazine (for which he won an award from the Evangelical Press Association).
After recording a demo of original songs, Taylor began to write for the musical group the Continental Singers.[2] The Continental Singers' founder, Cam Floria invited Taylor to join the group as assistant director on a tour to France, Italy, and Poland sponsored by Solidarity.
When he returned to the United States, he was asked to perform at the Christian Artists' 1982 Music Seminar in Denver. Billy Ray Hearn, president of Sparrow Records, was backstage and immediately signed Taylor to a recording contract.
He recorded his debut solo project I Want to Be a Clone in 1982 and released it in January 1983. He quickly gained a reputation for writing songs that satirized beliefs and practices with which he disagreed.
In 1983, Taylor recorded his first full-length album. Released in 1984,
Another track on Meltdown, "Guilty By Association", one of the original demo songs, includes a jab with an impression in the
During a performance at 1984's Cornerstone Festival, Taylor fractured his ankle while jumping off the stage. He finished the summer's tour in an electric wheelchair.[4]
In 1985, Taylor received his first
Taylor followed that release with
Taylor also recorded a duet with
Taylor and Walsh also participated in the recording of "Do Something Now" in 1985, a collaborative effort, similar to "We Are the World", to raise money for Compassion International's famine relief programs in Africa. Other artists participating included Amy Grant, Larry Norman, Russ Taff, Randy Stonehill, Mylon LeFevre, Steve Camp, Evie, Phil Keaggy, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Sandi Patty, Bill Gaither and Rick Cua.
In between performing, recording and touring, Taylor met and married Debbie Butler of Irvine, California. They were married by Taylor's father at a private ceremony in Connecticut. Mrs. Taylor designed the album cover for a compilation on Sparrow, The Best We Could Find (Plus 3 That Never Escaped) and Myrrh's I Predict 1990, as well as some of Taylor's more colorful stage costumes.
In 1987, Taylor once again lived up to his controversial reputation with a song called "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good". The song criticizes anyone who claims to be a
Taylor's tour for I Predict was his most ambitious to date, bringing him to Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Sweden and the Philippines.
1990s
Taylor then took a break from music until 1990, when he returned as the lead singer of Chagall Guevara. Their first recording was "Tale o' the Twister", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume. The band released an album, the self-titled Chagall Guevara, in 1991 on MCA Records. A follow-up album was begun, but it was not finished until 2022 as part of a Kickstarter campaign. The band was released from its contract, following slow sales for their debut, and broke up.
Taylor returned with another solo album,
A
In the years following those releases, Taylor focused his efforts on running
Taylor began working as a full-time film maker, directing
2000s
While still running Squint, Taylor had begun a film project called St. Gimp, co-written with Ben Pearson and Willie Williams. That film was abandoned in 2001 when Squint Entertainment lost its financial backing and Taylor was forced out of the company. Taylor co-wrote and directed the feature film The Second Chance starring Michael W. Smith, released February 17, 2006. He also appeared in the documentary film Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? (released on DVD in 2006), in interview segments and performing part of "We Don't Need No Colour Code". New music was scarce, but Taylor did contribute one song, "Shortstop", to Squint's 2000 compilation Roaring Lambs. He also recorded "Yo Ho Hero", a collaborative track for the 2008 VeggieTales movie The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.
2010s
In 2010, Taylor began working on a film adaptation of Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz. Kickstarter donations helped finish the project, and the film was released theatrically on April 13, 2012, and on DVD/Blu-ray on August 7, 2012.[9]
June 2011 saw the release of "Closer" (featuring Steve Taylor and Some Other Band), a collaboration with Peter Furler on his first solo album, On Fire. The group consisted of Taylor on vocals, Jimmy Abegg on guitar, John Mark Painter on bass, and Furler on drums. According to Furler, an entire album was recorded from these sessions, the material consisting of Taylor/Furler songs unused by the Newsboys.[10] One track from the group, "A Life Preserved", was released August 7, 2012 on the Blue Like Jazz Motion Picture Soundtrack album and credited to Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. An "official remix" of "A Life Preserved" also surfaced at pastemagazine.com, and Taylor returned to the stage for Creation 2013 festival.[11] A 2013 Kickstarter drive funded the band in studio and on the road.[12]
A February 2014 Kickstarter update revealed previously completed studio work to be an album by tour co-headliner Peter Furler Band (released March 2014), with the four members of the Perfect Foil as producers.[13] Soon after, Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil announced via Kickstarter that their own new album Goliath was completed August 23, 2014. This marked Taylor's first studio album in twenty years.[14] "Only a Ride", the debut single from the album, was released via streaming and mp3 download on September 16, 2014, only to Kickstarter campaign supporters.[15] The music video for "Only a Ride" featured scenes from the film trailer for Stunt Rock, a 1980 film by director Brian Trenchard-Smith.[16] Music videos for "Standing in Line"[17] and the title track to Goliath followed.[18] The album, distributed independently, through Taylor's own Splint Entertainment, was released on November 18, 2014.[19] Plans for extensive touring were announced.[20]
In June 2015, Taylor and the Perfect Foil entered Electrical Audio in Chicago with Daniel Smith of Danielson and engineer Steve Albini. In December 2015, Taylor announced (via Kickstarter) that the resulting EP, Wow to the Deadness, was released in January 2016, under the name Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil.[21]
Along with new music making, Taylor also had the honor of becoming filmmaker-in-residence at Lipscomb University's cinematic arts program. His roles would include assistant professor of film & creative media and director of the School of Theatre and Cinematic Arts. He would also begin development on another feature film, a political comedy: The Independent.[22]
2020s
On August 1, 2020, a live crowdfunding campaign was launched for the release of The Last Amen, the long-delayed Chagall Guevara live album. It was to be accompanied by a collection, Halcyon Days, to include rare and unreleased CG material as well as new recordings with Taylor's former band. The latter nine-track release was made available to Kickstarter backers in mid-May 2022, and was released to the public in June of that year.[23] The band played one show together on July 2, 2022 to celebrate the release of the new album. [24]
Discography
Studio albums
- Meltdown, 1984 album (Sparrow)
- On the Fritz, 1985 album (Sparrow)
- I Predict 1990, 1987 album (Myrrh)
- Squint, 1993 album (Warner Alliance)
- Goliath (with The Perfect Foil), 2014 album (Splint)
EPs
- I Want to Be a Clone, 1983 debut EP (Sparrow)
- Wow to the Deadness, 2016 EP (with The Danielson Foil) (Splint Entertainment/Sounds Familyre)
Live albums
- Limelight, 1986 live album (Sparrow)
- Liver, 1995 live album (Warner Alliance)
- Wow to the Liveness, 2016 live album (with The Danielson Foil) (Splint Entertainment/Sounds Familyre)[25]
- The Last Amen, 2021 live album (with Chagall Guevara)[26]
Compilations
- The Best We Could Find (+3 That Never Escaped), 1988 album (Sparrow)
- Christmas, 1988 album (one track by Taylor)
- Now The Truth Can Be Told, 1994 two-disc box set (WAL)
- Roaring Lambs Various Artists, 2000 compilation (one track by Taylor)
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie Soundtrack, 2007 (one track by Taylor)
- Blue Like Jazz Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012 (one track by Taylor; an alternate arrangement of this track can also be found on the Goliath album.)
With Chagall Guevara
- Chagall Guevara, 1991 album (MCA)
- Pump Up the Volume soundtrack, 1990, includes one song by Chagall Guevara, "Tale O' the Twister".
- "Treasure of the Broken Land" (single), 1992, included on the 1994 album Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark Heard and its 1996 re-release with more material Orphans of God.
- Halcyon Days, 2022 studio collection[27]
Promotional singles
Year | Single | CCM peak chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AC | CHR | Rock | |||
1983 | "I Want to Be a Clone" | — | — | 3 | I Want to Be a Clone |
1984 | "Sin for a Season" | — | — | 1 | Meltdown |
"Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud's)" | — | — | 1 | ||
"Guilty by Association" | — | — | 16 | ||
1985 | "This Disco (Used to Be a Cute Cathedral)" | — | 3 | 1 | On the Fritz |
"On the Fritz" | — | — | 9 | ||
"Lifeboat" | — | — | — | ||
1986 | "To Forgive" | — | — | 8 | |
"I Just Wanna Know" | 5 | 5 | — | ||
1987 | "Svengali" | — | — | 2 | I Predict 1990 |
1988 | "Harder to Believe Than Not To" | 36 | — | — | |
"I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" | — | — | 5 | ||
"What Is the Measure of Your Success?" | — | — | 8 | ||
"Under the Blood" | — | — | 20 | The Best We Could Find (+3 That Never Escaped) | |
1989 | "Jim Morrison's Grave" | — | — | 3 | I Predict 1990 |
1991 | "Violent Blue" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | 10 | Chagall Guevara |
"Murder in the Big House" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | 1 | ||
1992 | "Escher's World" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | 4 | |
"Play God" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | 7 | ||
"If It All Comes True" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | 4 | ||
1993 | "Bannerman" | — | 5 | 1 | Squint |
1994 | "The Lament of Desmond R.G. Underwood-Frederick IV" | — | — | 1 | |
"The Finish Line" | — | — | 2 | ||
"Curses" | — | — | 1 | ||
1995 | "On the Fritz" (live) | — | — | 6 | Liver |
2000 | "Shortstop" | — | — | 1 | Roaring Lambs |
2014 | "Only a Ride" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
— | — | — | Goliath |
"Standing in Line" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
— | — | — | ||
"Goliath" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
— | — | — | ||
2015 | "A Life Preserved" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
— | — | — | |
"Moonshot" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
— | — | — | ||
2016 | "Wow to the Deadness" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) |
— | — | — | Wow to the Deadness |
"Nonchalant" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) |
— | — | — | ||
2020 | "Ecstatic Delight" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) |
— | — | — | Electric Jesus (Soundtrack) |
2022 | "Resurrection #9" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | — | Halcyon Days |
"Got Any Change?" (Chagall Guevara) |
— | — | — | ||
"Fire" | — | — | — | There's a Rainbow Somewhere: The Songs of Randy Stonehill |
Music videos
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
1984 | "Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud's)" | Meltdown |
"We Don't Need No Colour Code" | ||
1985 | "Lifeboat" | On the Fritz |
1988 | "What Is the Measure of Your Success?" | I Predict 1990 |
"I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" | ||
"A Principled Man" | ||
"Jim Morrison's Grave" | ||
"Babylon" | ||
"Svengali" | ||
"Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel a Lot Better" | ||
"Harder to Believe Than Not To" | ||
1991 | "Violent Blue" (Chagall Guevara) |
Chagall Guevara |
1993 | "Bannerman" | Squint |
1994 | "Smug" | |
"The Moshing Floor" | ||
"Jesus Is for Losers" | ||
"Sock Heaven" | ||
"Cash Cow (A Rock Opera in Three Small Acts)" | ||
"The Finish Line" | ||
1995 | "On the Fritz" (live) | Liver |
2014 | "Only a Ride" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) |
Goliath |
"Standing in Line" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) | ||
"Goliath" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) | ||
2015 | "Moonshot" (Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil) | |
2016 | "Wow to the Deadness" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) |
Wow to the Deadness |
"Nonchalant" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) | ||
2020 | "Ecstatic Delight" (Steve Taylor & The Danielson Foil) |
Electric Jesus (Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture) |
Video collections
- Videoworks, 1985 video collection (Sparrow)
- Limelight, 1986 live video (Sparrow)
- I Predict 1990: The Video Album, 1987 video collection (Myrrh)
- Squint: Movies From the Soundtrack, 1993 video collection (Warner Alliance)
- Now The Truth Can Be Told, 1994 video collection (WAL)
Filmography
Title | Year | Credited as | Notes | Ref(s) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Actor | Role | ||||
Joe's Distributing | 1980 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Comedy short | |||
Nothing To Lose | 1980 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
Baby Talk | 1982 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
Greenbelt '88 on Super 8 | 1988 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Himself | Documentary short | ||
Rich Mullins: Pursuit of a Legacy | 1994 | Yes | Yes | — | Documentary | ||||
Strong Hand of Love | 1994 | Yes | Himself | ||||||
Down Under the Big Top
|
1996 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature film | ||
Homeless Man: The Restless Heart of Rich Mullins | 1998 | Yes | Yes | Documentary | |||||
The Cornerstone Festival: Twenty Years and Counting | 2004 | Yes | |||||||
The Second Chance | 2006 | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Feature film | |||
Kabul 24 | 2009 | Yes | — | Documentary | |||||
Adventure Now | 2010 | Yes | Elko | TV series | |||||
Pound Dogs | 2011 | Yes | Yuppie Guy (voice) | Animated comedy short | |||||
Blue Like Jazz | 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Feature film | |||
"Spy vs. Guy" | 2013 | Yes | Spy | Comedy short |
References
- ^ "Meltdown Press Release". Sparrow Records. April 1984. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Lyrics to "Mae East"". Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Religious Rock n Roll: Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: Chapter 9". Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ Clone Club News Flash Fall 1984/Winter 1985 (Sock Heaven)
- ^ Bill Gothard: Encyclopedia - Bill Gothard Archived November 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music; Powell; p931; Hendrickson Publishers; paperback edition (August 2002)
- ^ Smug: About the Song Archived September 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at SockHeaven.org
- ^ "Steve Taylor's Musical Matinee". Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ SAVE Blue Like Jazz! (the movie) at Kickstarter.com
- ^ "A Conversation With Solo Artist And Former Newsboys Lead Singer Peter Furler". Whole Notes. July 28, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ Site News & Updates In 2013 at SockHeaven.org
- ^ "Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil. New album. Really". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Update #15: The Perfect Tour". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Update #36: Birth Announcement/Due Dates". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ Site News & Updates In 2014 at SockHeaven.org
- ^ "See It First! Nashville Rockers...Debut New 'Ride' @ Yahoo Music". October 3, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Wondering Sound: Video Premiere: Steve Taylor & the Perfect Foil, "Standing in Line"". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Relevant Magazine: 'Goliath' Music Video premiere". Relevant Magazine. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Shore Fire Media: ST&PF Goliath". Shore Fire Media. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "H2O Artist Agency: S.T." Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Steve Taylor and the Danielson Foil". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- ^ "Lipscomb University Directory: Steve Taylor". Lipscomb University. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Chagall Guevara: The Last Amen". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Chagall Guevara Setlist at Ryman Auditorium, Nashville". setlist.fm. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ "Wow to the Liveness". Discogs. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Chagall Guevara: The Last Amen". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Chagall Guevara: The Last Amen". Kickstarter. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
External links
- Steve Taylor - Official page for Taylor's music and film projects.
- Sock Heaven - The longest-running Steve Taylor and Chagall Guevara fan site and archive.
- Steve Taylor at IMDb
- QRSTUV - The Quantitative Roland Stephen Taylor Ubiquitous Volume (Archived)
- Steve Taylor's Digital Clone - interactive documentary about Steve
- "N The Queue" radio interview with Steve regarding "Blue Like Jazz", "Saint Gimp" and his upcoming solo album