Eric Taylor
8-4-16 (Ballroom)
"He's the real deal. Eric Taylor was one of my heroes and teachers when I started playing around Houston in the early 1970s." - Steve Earle
"To say that Eric Taylor is one of the finest writers of our time, would be an understatement. Eric is a voice I consider the William Faulkner of songwriting in our current time." - Nanci Griffith
If you're not familiar with Eric Taylor by name, you've probably heard his songs performed by people such as Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett. He has created a multitude of fans and devotees that are legends themselves in the singer/songwriter realm, artists who have long considered Taylor to be a lyrical genius and guitar master whose time is long overdue. He was just nominated for an Emmy for musical compositions written for the Storyworks TV documentary "Road Kid to Writer: The Tracks of Jim Tully."
In 1977 Taylor was a winner of the "New Folk" competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. "Shameless Love," his first album, came out in 1981, and after a hiatus of almost 14 years, he returned with the self-titled "Eric Taylor," released in 1995. His eponymous release was chosen as the 1996 Kerrville Folk Festival Album of the Year. Three years later he released "Resurrect," and it was subsequently named one of the "100 essential records of all time" by Buddy magazine. Taylor has headlined the prestigious Newport Folk Festival, played National Public Radio's "Mountain Stage" and has appeared on both "Late Night With David Letterman" with Nanci Griffith and "Austin City Limits" with Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, and Robert Earl Keen.
Nanci Griffith has recorded several of Taylor's songs, including "Deadwood," "Storms," "Dollar Matinee" and "Ghost in the Music," which they wrote together. Lyle Lovett, who has recorded Taylor's "Memphis Midnight/Memphis Morning," “Whooping Crane,” “Understand You,” and with whom Taylor co-wrote the immensely popular "Fat Babies," compares Taylor's narrative voice to that of Bruce Springsteen. Iain Matthews claims, "Once you become a Taylor fanatic, it gives one immense joy and pride to be able to enlighten others to the man's work."
In early 2011 Taylor decided to bring together some of his oldest friends and favorite musicians for a live recording at The Red Shack studio in Houston, Texas. There was a film crew and live studio audience. Nanci Griffith flew in from Nashville to sing, Lyle Lovett came in to sing, Denice Franke and Susan Lindfors Taylor came in to sing, Marco Python Fecchio flew in from Milan, Italy to play electric guitar, and James Gilmer came in to play percussion. The performances are stunning, and this "Live At The Red Shack CD" is unlike anything out there; named One Of The Top 10 Albums Of The Year (Texas Music magazine) and Best Of 2012 – Live Album (Third Coast Music magazine).
"He's one of those songwriters that has the ability to plop you down in the middle of a story or a situation and make you care that you're there." - Acoustic Guitar Magazine
"An audience instinctively knows to shut up and pay attention." - Charlie Hunter: Flying Under the Radar Productions
"I'm always the opening act when I'm around Eric. I love his voice and he has a great narrative quanlity and sense of detail. He sort of takes you out of your own reality and into the reality of his songs. It's good writing no matter how you cut it." - Lyle Lovett
"He's the real deal. Eric Taylor was one of my heroes and teachers when I started playing around Houston in the early 1970s." - Steve Earle
"To say that Eric Taylor is one of the finest writers of our time, would be an understatement. Eric is a voice I consider the William Faulkner of songwriting in our current time." - Nanci Griffith
If you're not familiar with Eric Taylor by name, you've probably heard his songs performed by people such as Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett. He has created a multitude of fans and devotees that are legends themselves in the singer/songwriter realm, artists who have long considered Taylor to be a lyrical genius and guitar master whose time is long overdue. He was just nominated for an Emmy for musical compositions written for the Storyworks TV documentary "Road Kid to Writer: The Tracks of Jim Tully."
In 1977 Taylor was a winner of the "New Folk" competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. "Shameless Love," his first album, came out in 1981, and after a hiatus of almost 14 years, he returned with the self-titled "Eric Taylor," released in 1995. His eponymous release was chosen as the 1996 Kerrville Folk Festival Album of the Year. Three years later he released "Resurrect," and it was subsequently named one of the "100 essential records of all time" by Buddy magazine. Taylor has headlined the prestigious Newport Folk Festival, played National Public Radio's "Mountain Stage" and has appeared on both "Late Night With David Letterman" with Nanci Griffith and "Austin City Limits" with Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, and Robert Earl Keen.
Nanci Griffith has recorded several of Taylor's songs, including "Deadwood," "Storms," "Dollar Matinee" and "Ghost in the Music," which they wrote together. Lyle Lovett, who has recorded Taylor's "Memphis Midnight/Memphis Morning," “Whooping Crane,” “Understand You,” and with whom Taylor co-wrote the immensely popular "Fat Babies," compares Taylor's narrative voice to that of Bruce Springsteen. Iain Matthews claims, "Once you become a Taylor fanatic, it gives one immense joy and pride to be able to enlighten others to the man's work."
In early 2011 Taylor decided to bring together some of his oldest friends and favorite musicians for a live recording at The Red Shack studio in Houston, Texas. There was a film crew and live studio audience. Nanci Griffith flew in from Nashville to sing, Lyle Lovett came in to sing, Denice Franke and Susan Lindfors Taylor came in to sing, Marco Python Fecchio flew in from Milan, Italy to play electric guitar, and James Gilmer came in to play percussion. The performances are stunning, and this "Live At The Red Shack CD" is unlike anything out there; named One Of The Top 10 Albums Of The Year (Texas Music magazine) and Best Of 2012 – Live Album (Third Coast Music magazine).
"He's one of those songwriters that has the ability to plop you down in the middle of a story or a situation and make you care that you're there." - Acoustic Guitar Magazine
"An audience instinctively knows to shut up and pay attention." - Charlie Hunter: Flying Under the Radar Productions
"I'm always the opening act when I'm around Eric. I love his voice and he has a great narrative quanlity and sense of detail. He sort of takes you out of your own reality and into the reality of his songs. It's good writing no matter how you cut it." - Lyle Lovett