Music Avery Dey: Acoustic Therapy with Gary Taylor

I had the awesome opportunity to sit and chat with songwriter extraordinaire, Gary Taylor.  He performs Friday, May 22, 2015 for the first time in the UK with saxophone great Najee on the Under the Bridge Tour.  It was an insightful and deep conversation and I enjoyed every second of it……

AD  Hi Gary.  How are you?

GT:  Hi Avery, I’m doing fine.

AD:  I missed you at The Birchmere for the Mother’s Day show.  How did that go? and who threw what on stage and tried to take you home?

GT:  (chuckling) Well I usually get that after shows.  It’s always amazing to me that people in our demographic still looks forward to autographs, pictures and stuff like that.  You see I don’t care how old you are, I’ll still stay after the show until I’ve seen all of my fans who have supported my career.

AD:  So are you excited about your upcoming performance tomorrow in the UK with Najee?

GT:  Yes – this will be my first trip to the UK to perform.  I’m really excited about it.  I was riding around in my truck and Najee called and said your song, “Moonlight Over Carolina” is blowing up over there (UK), so you now we have to perform it.  I know I can since I performed it at The Birchmere 2 weeks ago.  As a performer and songwriter, as I listen to it (as well as other projects), and I usually free myself from it.  I let it go so I can go out there and completed the next one.  So as I’m listening to it, I’m saying to myself, “Hey this is a great tune.”  (We both chuckle).

AD:  Yes, it’s like “hey I surprised myself, huh?”

GT:  Yes, yes. I’m also glad and happy that God also ran something through me instead of Stevie Wonder or Paul McCartney.  I mean it’s a brilliant song about the moon over the state of Carolina.  It doesn’t really represent anything other than tying it to something romantic and/or what this particular vision does to you.  So (again) as I listen to it, I’m like hey, I can write some mean lyrics you know?  I mean Will Downing has told me many times “Man if I need lyrics, I know where to go to.”

AD:  I just spoke with him last week; and I think you both are great!

GT:  Thank you.  I’ve written maybe 12 or 14 songs on his last 3 or 4 projects.

AD:  Seriously?!  Wow I learn something new everyday.

GT:  I wrote the title track for his Christmas album.  On his “Love, Lust, & Lies” project, I have written 3 songs on there:  “Consensual”, “Sexy”, and I can’t think of the other one. 

AD:   Those are my favorites!

GT:  Thank you.  I’m glad you like them.  You know I became a writer because no one would record my music.  So I started it myself over in London.  I had the song “My Heart, Your Heart” on the “Take Control” album but Virgin Records didn’t like it and pretty much dropped me from the label.  My attorney took my song/project to a guy over in France who had a label called “Expansion” and they put my project out there.  After that, the rest was history.  I ended up doing at least 3 or 4 albums with them.

AD:  How long have you been writing?

GT:  I started writing in my head in the 70’s.  I started listening to my cousin Skip Scarborough’s songs because he wrote: “Can’t Hide Love” for Earth, Wind and Fire, “Love Changes” for Mother’s Finest, “Lovely Day” for Bill Withers.  I mean he was obsessed with love.

AD:  I see; yet he did a great job with it.

GT:  Yes indeed, I mean he is no longer with us but his lyrics live on.  He truly inspired me and I still feel him over my head when I write – probably to make certain I get it right.  (We both laugh)

AD: Hey I’ve been hearing buzz about your upcoming project, “Acoustic Therapy”.  Can you spill some tea about that?

GT:  It’s one of those crazy things.  Acoustic Therapy is therapy for me and for everyone else.  There are a lot of people who find healing through a song.  We could be humming in the kitchen doing dishes, or we find them (songs) when we are hurting, we find them in our joy, we find them in our memory.  It’s important for me to have songs that reflect the reality of who we are as a people.  Not just black people.  For me (for example) it makes me feel even more attached to God.  I have one song called “One Foot Into Heaven” and people are like that’s a bizarre song.  But to me it’s not bizarre when you take the time to listen. 

I remember when I was holding my mother’s hand when she was leaving her body.  And in the middle of her coma, she stared saying “The babies are coming, the babies are coming.” We were standing around her saying “What is mom talking about?”  She kept saying “They’re lining up and the babies are coming”.  Shortly, after she spoke, she left her body.  So we didn’t know what she was talking about; yet one year later, my niece had twins, most of my cousins, and other nieces and nephews were all having babies.  That was one situation; and I told my sister that mom was literally looking into heaven while she was there with us.  She had one foot into heaven and one foot on earth.  I thought that was very unique; but then my daughter had twins in 2013 on Christmas.  Through the first two months (she had a boy and a girl) Ryan, her son, would be in my lap with his eyes wide open, talking, mouth wide open and very excitingly moving around.  I was like wow he’s really excited, as if he was trying to say something.  He would be laughing and giggling in his sleep; and I said you know what, he’s still has a foot in heaven.  He’s still dancing with the angels.  They haven’t totally released him to us yet.

AD:  That’s deep.

GT:   If God was perfect as we know He is, He would’ve brought those babies here talking.  The babies would come here and start spilling all of the secrets to heaven; then we’re going to blow it.  We would start trying to market it and make money from it you know?  So, I told her Ryan is like your grandmother with one foot into heave and one on earth.  And that brought forth that song that is going to be included into this album.

AD:  When should we expect to hear your new project?

GT:  It’s expected to drop late Summer – early Fall.  It’s an exciting time for me and I’m looking forward to this ride – especially this trip to the UK.  No one has ever seen me live or know if I can really sing or not.  So it’s definitely going to be a pleasant surprise.  I’m going over here because, I enjoy what I do and I’m going to give them their money’s worth.  When I come on stage, I’m coming to make things do what they do and enjoy it.  I’m coming over there as me and no one else.  I’m enjoying