Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Waylon Jennings is certainly casting a long shadow over the alt./insurgent/neo outlaw-country scene. Hell, since his death, his legacy has gone from a sunspot to a near full eclipse in terms of claimed influence for new artists and fans alike. But such superficially fashionable developments always tend to make me a little suspicious. It's kind of like a few years ago when punk supposedly made a comeback, and, almost overnight, on the rear windows and T-shirts of slightly discomfited high school bromides everywhere appeared the symbol and name of Black Flag. Great, I was and am a big fan of Henry Rollins and his former band, no problem there, but for all of the merchandise I saw proclaiming allegiance from those born at the height of Rick Astley's popularity, never once did I pull up alongside a car adorned with the unmistakable four vertical bar emblem and actually hear Black Flag blasting from the stereo. And I'd hate to think that Waylon would suffer the same fate, but so far I've heard a lot of talk and not much music.
So when I received the Jackson Taylor Band's new CD Gypsies & Drifters and saw that it was dedicated to Waylon Jennings, my first thought was this had better be one damn good disc. Then when I discovered that Jackson Lee Taylor is from Humboldt County, California, I thought this had better be one hell of a damn good disc because that dedication was now starting to look a little like audacity and a challenge. Well, a few notes into the first song and I realized that Mr. Taylor and the boys (Ronnie Belaire, Mark Belaire, Mick Jaeger, Jeff Carolus, and Rick Bourgoin) had, indeed, made one hell of a damn good disc, and one that I have no doubt Waymore would fully approve.
With traces of Waylon, David Allan Coe, and Mike Plume (earlier in his career), Jackson Taylor and his band have laid the foundation for a promising future. While Gypsies & Drifters may be unfairly dismissed by some as yet another addition to the "Texas and Beer" school of music, in my opinion it is the closest thing to the old Outlaw sound I may have ever heard; in fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were to ever pull alongside Jackson Taylor at a stoplight, I know what I'd hear coming out of his stereo, and there probably wouldn't even be a sticker in the window to tip me off.
- Jud Block (Rockzilla World)
In the liner notes to Jackson Taylor's debut disc, he thanks and praises his "Holy Trinity: Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver" - but he didn't have to spell them out. Their influences are clear throughout "Humboldt County," a time-warp disc that recalls the late '50s, when the fences between country and rock 'n' roll were a whole lot lower.
Taylor (no relation to James) has found a musical middle ground without compromising his sound. The mix of covers and originals are equally appealing.
Taylor will probably find his biggest audience in Nashville, but his music has the kind of heart and honesty that deserves much wider acclaim.
- New York Post
"Jackson Taylor is a friend of mine who comes from a long line of hard working folks. His songs are so real and honest you know straight off he's been there and done that. He writes and sings like he lives, great songs that I believe will live forever.
He is a great man to have on your side in a barroom brawl. Jackson doesn't start fights, he finishes 'em.
He's got a heart as big as Texas and a gentle side that almost makes you want to cry. He can't be beat so we might as well all join him and enjoy the ride. He is a good man through and through. God has blessed him with a wonderful talent. More power to him, amen and amen."
A friend and fan,
Billy Joe Shaver
- Personal Quote
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
What do you get when you cross Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard, and Lynyrd Skynard? You get the music styles and modern sound of Jackson Taylor. The Jackson Taylor Band has gone through many line-ups over the last few years. The one constant though has been singer/songwriter Jackson Lee Taylor. Jackson's passion for music began as a little boy in Moody, Texas, a small town just north of Austin. His father would take him to see the greats such as Willie, Billy Joe Shaver and Waylon. These musicians planted a deep seed in the heart and mind of that young boy.
Jackson was heart broken when he and his father moved to California to find work on fruit ranches. He and his father spent the rest of Jackson's adolescences bouncing from one migrant labor town to another, finally settling in a small farming town in Washington state. After high school, Jackson moved back to Texas for a while before going to Nashville. There, Jackson found work as a songwriter for Of music, and for legendary songwriter Dewayne Blackwell.
After a couple of years, Jackson had to face the hard truth that Nashville would not let him produce and pick his own material. ("I ain't got nothing against Tim McGraw or Mark Wills or none of those folks, but that just ain't the kind of music I feel in my heart. If I am going to do something I don't care to do, I might as well go back to school and a day job.”)
Jackson moved to New York City to play clubs, and found a vibrant live scene. There, Jackson met the owner of a small Southern California label. Within a month of the meeting, Jackson was in the studio recording "Humboldt County," a record dedicated to his brother who had died there the year before. "Humboldt" got great reviews and did well enough to gain attention from pop mogle George Tobin. Jackson and Tobin struck a deal. After a year Jackson realized Tobin was the same as the Nashville crowd; whatever is on the radio is what you need to sound like. Jackson and Tobin where never able to agree on a song selection or sound, but they parted ways as friends.
Jackson talked to his label and told them he wanted to go back home to Texas. Gaske had reservations, because Texas wasn't LA, Nashville or New York, but Jackson said that was the whole point. Before leaving from Los Angeles and heading to Austin, Jackson went into the studio and recorded "Gypsies & Drifters." After getting settled in Austin, Jackson had to go back up North for a few months to play previously booked shows. While he was there he recorded his third CD "Hollow Eyed & Wasted." Now Jackson is back in Texas where he belongs, writing and producing the kind of music he was born to do. On his long journey back to Texas, he has played some of the world’s most famous venues, from Tooties in Nashville to The Gorge in Washington State, and also shared the stage with some of the biggest stars in music including, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, and Ty England. Jackson is headed to the top, and is destined to be a star because that’s how I believe Waylon would have written it.
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