Taylor Hollingsworth

Taylor and the Puffs

I'm not certain, but I believe this thing we received at the office is White Out, the new EP from Taylor and the Puffs. The 20-minute cassette is clad in a bright red handmade label, and the title is crudely scrawled in White Out, which has crumbled all over the place (info on the sleeve is in ballpoint pen). The package for the band's CD, You Know That Summer's Comin', is desktop publishing at its most hurried and haphazard. If these were items from Pavement or The Fall, each would be regarded as just one more element of those bands' studied, practiced, and wholly affected amateurism. It's hard to be so sure about these Birmingham guys, though. They may just be plain pathetic. That in no respect precludes their being the best garage band this city has seen in a great long while. Maybe ever.

They are sloppy and wild in the mode of the Stooges or The MC5 (or the Rolling Stones at their worst), which are likely models, yet this band's overall tone often recalls bands such as The Only Ones or The Heartbreakers. If they played fast and hard instead of loose and slinky, they could even be The Saints. A lot of the sloppiness is salvaged, or accented, by white-hot guitar runs that take the sound into Johnny Thunders territory, by way of Billy Gibbons. Vocals, for the most part, remain in the more disturbing/intriguing range of Peter Perret and Nikki Sudden, so you can see why it is difficult to accept this band's approach as just a happy accident. Anyone who doesn't know who Sudden and Perret are should not be allowed near the stage where Taylor and the Puffs perform; in fact, I'm calling security right now.

More pleasing still is the band's tendency to open in a T. Rex kind of way, and then finish the same song as Foghat or even, in the case of "When I Get Around," ZZ Top. Maybe that's what we like about the South. An especially sleazy number, "You're Lost," is basically an extended—very extended—take on Alice Cooper's "Eighteen," although it is doubtful that these lads know they have done such a spooky thing; 18 appears to be their median age, judging from photos. They probably have never heard of the New York Dolls, even though that is who they were in a past life.

The most hopeful quality that these youngsters exhibit is an affinity for the rawest segment of the T. Rex/David Bowie glam era. If they continue in that vein, it is imperative that the very able guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth tune his instrument and choose his chords as though he were Mick Ronson. They've already got the Marc Bolan thing down, and Hollingsworth's excellent blues trappings need no more polishing, as that dulls the edge. Also essential is the addition of catchy riffs and melodies, a Marc Bolan trademark if ever there was one. Yet, if the wonderful acoustic number on the EP is any evidence (it sounded accidentally tacked on, and there's no title, of course), song craft won't be a problem either. Catch this band at City Stages, because right now, they are astonishing, and you'll want to see them before they become amazing. —David Pelfrey (Saturday, June 19, 3:35 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.) - Black and White City Paper

Show Review- Tasty World, Athens

For an accomplished indie rocker, Taylor Hollingsworth looks as deceptively
young as he is rakishly thin, but the lad's been around and his laid-back
vocals bear the hallmark of someone who's not trying too hard but has grown
out of the post-Nirvana slacker era (albeit in Birmingham, AL).
Hollingsworth rolled with the Dave Grohl-produced Southern rock outfit
Verbena in the early 2000s, and while his vocals are less than tumescent,
his guitar and the driving beats and heavy bass lines are pure Ramones-style
rock.

With the Ishues show pumping upstairs, the volume downstairs is up (down?)
to old Tasty World standards, making it hard to discern a lot from the
vocals except to say they are what you'd expect from a moderately melodic,
hard, ‘90s indie rock sound. Mid-set, the trio abandons all pretense of
indie rock for a while, and plays some cranking 12-bar "She's Got The
Jack"-style blues before going for an old alt-country ballad about someone
called Dolly. The final song is pure speed rock with Hendrix blues riffage
as Hollingsworth plays with his tuning pegs on the fly to create a devolved
mire of whaling sounds. Nice boys, nice rock, nice show.
—Ben Gerrard - Flagpole

"... if bluesy rock-n-roll infused into solid, dirty pop songs is your particular drug of choice, then the sound of Taylor and the Puffs is homegrown black-tar heroin..." - Birmingham Weekly

Taylor Hollingsworth delivers catchy, poppy hooks and light-hearted
guitar-strumming sing-alongs that sound like they might make a nice,
laidback soundtrack to a drunken picnic in the sunshine. It’s a winsome mix
of Beatles-influenced melodies and Tom Petty-esque vocal styling. If you
ever had a hippie high-school girlfriend, then this would be the type thing
she might throw into the disc player as a backdrop while you both roll
around in the grass and smoke herb. For the most part, a dreamy, upbeat mood
that toys with psychedelia. Taylor’s laidback singing style makes me think
of being in love on drugs, and his guitar work, especially when he abandons
the strumming for some flashy solos, really adds a lot.
—Rex Dangerfield - Birmingham Weekly

Taylor Hollingsworth delivers catchy, poppy hooks and light-hearted
guitar-strumming sing-alongs that sound like they might make a nice,
laidback soundtrack to a drunken picnic in the sunshine. It’s a winsome mix
of Beatles-influenced melodies and Tom Petty-esque vocal styling. If you
ever had a hippie high-school girlfriend, then this would be the type thing
she might throw into the disc player as a backdrop while you both roll
around in the grass and smoke herb. For the most part, a dreamy, upbeat mood
that toys with psychedelia. Taylor’s laidback singing style makes me think
of being in love on drugs, and his guitar work, especially when he abandons
the strumming for some flashy solos, really adds a lot.
—Rex Dangerfield - Birmingham Weekly

Birmingham, Ala.'s Taylor Hollingsworth and his three-piece backing crew don't really care if you need another garage band like you need another four years of Bush. Not only do they not care, they are going to provide you one with the attitude of Bowie, the snarl of Black Francis and a foot the size of Shaquille O'Neal to kick you in the ass with, of course.
—David Pelfrey


- Creative Loafing - Atlanta, Weekly Planet - Charlotte

Birmingham, Ala.'s Taylor Hollingsworth and his three-piece backing crew don't really care if you need another garage band like you need another four years of Bush. Not only do they not care, they are going to provide you one with the attitude of Bowie, the snarl of Black Francis and a foot the size of Shaquille O'Neal to kick you in the ass with, of course.
—David Pelfrey


- Creative Loafing - Atlanta, Weekly Planet - Charlotte

Few people familiar with Birmingham music are completely new to the name Taylor Hollingsworth. Taylor played guitar with local rock kings Verbena in their prime, and for the past year has been fronting his own band Taylor and the Puffs, though you may have known it under one if its other six incarnations. Amidst a vortex of name-changing that would have made Spinal Tap blush, the band has been called The Silverpops, Silverpops, the Silver Pops, the Puffs, the Pink Puffs, and Taylor and the Pink Puffs before finally settling on their current nom de la scène. Anyone who has taken in a show can't help that acknowledge that Taylor's lifetime of playing guitar has paid off–his deep blues riffs and stunning solos often wow his audience into stunned silence, and cause explosions of applause after the final note. Fleabomb recently got a chance to ask Taylor the really important questions concerning music, one of which is why he recorded his latest EP on an analog tape (currently released by Skybucket Records).
FB: Why record on a tape when I finally took my tape-player out of my car six months ago?

TH Tape is the shit....

FB: You've stuck with the same name, Taylor and the Puffs, for about eight months now. How did you do it?

TH: Not sure... still think about changing it.

FB: Who are "The Puffs," and how do they feel about being associated with pastries?

TH: The puffs are Macey Taylor, and Blake Williamson. They are not here but I think I can speak for them and say that never in their wildest dreams would they have ever thought they would be associated with any breakfast item.

FB: Who is your guitar idol?

TH: I've been influenced by many guitarists, but I would say, like many others often do... Jimi Hendrix.

FB: How long have you been playing guitar, and who were some people around here that influenced you at a young age?

TH: Almost 10 years... I was influenced by the obvious 90s radio bands like Nirvana, Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., and classic bands like Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Stones, and The Beatles. As far as around here goes my brother Van had a big influence on me, and the guys that hung out at highland music, like Tony Lombardo, Ben Trexel, Don Murdoch, and then also my friends that I would jam with, some of whom you know: Banks, Martin, Britt, and many others.

FB: One word that comes to mind when I listen to your music is metallic: does that make any sense, and if so, where does that twangy, metallic sound come from (artistically rather than literally)?

TH: Metallica? Never really been a fan but Kurt Hammet can really shred. I guess I just play that way...

FB: What TV personality do you feel you could take in a fight?

TH: I guess I think I could kick the shit out of Barney Fife, although I do love the guy.

FB: Describe your most memorable bowel movement.

TH: Hell hole in Budapest a few weeks ago...hands down!

FB: What would be your dream gig?

TH: Playing at the high note lounge and Christian Laetner is there. No, I guess I don't really have a dream gig, or I have a thousand dream gigs which would basically just be to play with people I respect and to be treated as an equal. I guess that would be a dream gig, at least a realistic one. I mean I could say to open for The Beatles or something.

FB: Do you think that, as a musician, you'll ever rise to the level of a Mark Slaughter or a Doug Aldrich?

TH: Not even if I sold my soul to Satan.

FB: How much did your days with Verbena influence you as a songwriter, and a guitarist?

TH: Who? Oh yeah, them... this much (my hands are held apart about 2 feet) Actually I was probably influenced by the band more before I played with them.

FB: Usually when I see you the day after a show, you have the prefect rock-star look. How does a lay-person such as myself achieve that look, without "rocking out" as you young people put it?

TH: There is no other way to achieve this look Stanley... I mean, let's get serious here. I'm not saying you have to rock out at a show but I am saying you have to rock out, like in your closet or something.

FB: If TV's ALF said he would pay you $10-million to sleep with him, would you do it?

TH: I would do a lot of things for ten million.

FB: What do you want your audiences to walk away from one of your shows with?

TH: I would like people to walk away feeling like the sky just opened up, lightning struck the ground, the earth shook, and they can't live another day without it... only they can, and they come again to the next show. Of course if they just thought it was pretty cool, this would be o.k. too.

- Fleabomb.com

Few people familiar with Birmingham music are completely new to the name Taylor Hollingsworth. Taylor played guitar with local rock kings Verbena in their prime, and for the past year has been fronting his own band Taylor and the Puffs, though you may have known it under one if its other six incarnations. Amidst a vortex of name-changing that would have made Spinal Tap blush, the band has been called The Silverpops, Silverpops, the Silver Pops, the Puffs, the Pink Puffs, and Taylor and the Pink Puffs before finally settling on their current nom de la scène. Anyone who has taken in a show can't help that acknowledge that Taylor's lifetime of playing guitar has paid off–his deep blues riffs and stunning solos often wow his audience into stunned silence, and cause explosions of applause after the final note. Fleabomb recently got a chance to ask Taylor the really important questions concerning music, one of which is why he recorded his latest EP on an analog tape (currently released by Skybucket Records).
FB: Why record on a tape when I finally took my tape-player out of my car six months ago?

TH Tape is the shit....

FB: You've stuck with the same name, Taylor and the Puffs, for about eight months now. How did you do it?

TH: Not sure... still think about changing it.

FB: Who are "The Puffs," and how do they feel about being associated with pastries?

TH: The puffs are Macey Taylor, and Blake Williamson. They are not here but I think I can speak for them and say that never in their wildest dreams would they have ever thought they would be associated with any breakfast item.

FB: Who is your guitar idol?

TH: I've been influenced by many guitarists, but I would say, like many others often do... Jimi Hendrix.

FB: How long have you been playing guitar, and who were some people around here that influenced you at a young age?

TH: Almost 10 years... I was influenced by the obvious 90s radio bands like Nirvana, Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., and classic bands like Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Stones, and The Beatles. As far as around here goes my brother Van had a big influence on me, and the guys that hung out at highland music, like Tony Lombardo, Ben Trexel, Don Murdoch, and then also my friends that I would jam with, some of whom you know: Banks, Martin, Britt, and many others.

FB: One word that comes to mind when I listen to your music is metallic: does that make any sense, and if so, where does that twangy, metallic sound come from (artistically rather than literally)?

TH: Metallica? Never really been a fan but Kurt Hammet can really shred. I guess I just play that way...

FB: What TV personality do you feel you could take in a fight?

TH: I guess I think I could kick the shit out of Barney Fife, although I do love the guy.

FB: Describe your most memorable bowel movement.

TH: Hell hole in Budapest a few weeks ago...hands down!

FB: What would be your dream gig?

TH: Playing at the high note lounge and Christian Laetner is there. No, I guess I don't really have a dream gig, or I have a thousand dream gigs which would basically just be to play with people I respect and to be treated as an equal. I guess that would be a dream gig, at least a realistic one. I mean I could say to open for The Beatles or something.

FB: Do you think that, as a musician, you'll ever rise to the level of a Mark Slaughter or a Doug Aldrich?

TH: Not even if I sold my soul to Satan.

FB: How much did your days with Verbena influence you as a songwriter, and a guitarist?

TH: Who? Oh yeah, them... this much (my hands are held apart about 2 feet) Actually I was probably influenced by the band more before I played with them.

FB: Usually when I see you the day after a show, you have the prefect rock-star look. How does a lay-person such as myself achieve that look, without "rocking out" as you young people put it?

TH: There is no other way to achieve this look Stanley... I mean, let's get serious here. I'm not saying you have to rock out at a show but I am saying you have to rock out, like in your closet or something.

FB: If TV's ALF said he would pay you $10-million to sleep with him, would you do it?

TH: I would do a lot of things for ten million.

FB: What do you want your audiences to walk away from one of your shows with?

TH: I would like people to walk away feeling like the sky just opened up, lightning struck the ground, the earth shook, and they can't live another day without it... only they can, and they come again to the next show. Of course if they just thought it was pretty cool, this would be o.k. too.

- Fleabomb.com

How many more damned garage bands do we need in this already bloated hog of a niche?
Well, based on the caliber of You Know That Summer's Comin', we need to allow for one more. I hate to hang that hat on Taylor (Hollingsworth) and the Puffs, as they are anything but a mere Strokes rip-off band -- they bring equal measures of Rolling Stones, Pixies, Beck, Replacements, T-Rex and Soul Asylum (remember when they were good?) to the game and serve it up as something unique. "Take the Money" mixes the dirty South with Harlem sass, and the resultant sound might have been a B-side from the Stones' Tattoo You sessions. "Summer's Comin'", on an entirely different tack, delivers a poppy faux-calliope-driven hook that creeps along behind Hollingsworth, who musters his best Wayne Coyne impression for the occasion.

What do you think might happen next? Wrong. The band rolls out the glam-rocking, Marc Bolanesque "Whole Lotta Shakin" -- listen to the guitar shredding on this one if you doubt the talent at work here. The fourteen-minute epic "You're Lost" recalls a costumed Bowie circa 1979, and tacks on a gritty 12-bar blues-inspired outro at the eight-and-a-half-minute mark. Macabre vocals slither between your ears as Hollingsworth sings, "Well, I want you to know / well, I've got one hand one your money, baby, and two around your throat."

You Know That Summer's Comin''s most endearing aspect is its lo-fi recording aesthetic -- and before you shoot me for that most unoriginal of descriptions, hear me out. It's doubtful that Taylor and company did much polishing when they transferred the four-track demos to Denial Studios (?), run by Daniel Farris (??), as the mix is pure crap. Glorious crap. The kind of wonderfully glorious and honest crap that you can't replicate with Sony looking over your shoulder. Each track sounds different from those that surround it -- sometimes bass-heavy, sometimes hella treble-heavy and always sloppy in a Stereophonic Soul Manure kind of way. This would probably be annoying if it weren't for the Puffs' commitment to the songs and their insistence that "yeah, this guitar in your right ear is way too damn loud -- so let me turn it up a little".

Forget bands like Jet: that stuff is played. I thought that someone gave Meg White a couple of uppers when I heard it. Taylor and the Puffs have my vote for the anti-garage band of the year.

- Splendid Magazine

How many more damned garage bands do we need in this already bloated hog of a niche?
Well, based on the caliber of You Know That Summer's Comin', we need to allow for one more. I hate to hang that hat on Taylor (Hollingsworth) and the Puffs, as they are anything but a mere Strokes rip-off band -- they bring equal measures of Rolling Stones, Pixies, Beck, Replacements, T-Rex and Soul Asylum (remember when they were good?) to the game and serve it up as something unique. "Take the Money" mixes the dirty South with Harlem sass, and the resultant sound might have been a B-side from the Stones' Tattoo You sessions. "Summer's Comin'", on an entirely different tack, delivers a poppy faux-calliope-driven hook that creeps along behind Hollingsworth, who musters his best Wayne Coyne impression for the occasion.

What do you think might happen next? Wrong. The band rolls out the glam-rocking, Marc Bolanesque "Whole Lotta Shakin" -- listen to the guitar shredding on this one if you doubt the talent at work here. The fourteen-minute epic "You're Lost" recalls a costumed Bowie circa 1979, and tacks on a gritty 12-bar blues-inspired outro at the eight-and-a-half-minute mark. Macabre vocals slither between your ears as Hollingsworth sings, "Well, I want you to know / well, I've got one hand one your money, baby, and two around your throat."

You Know That Summer's Comin''s most endearing aspect is its lo-fi recording aesthetic -- and before you shoot me for that most unoriginal of descriptions, hear me out. It's doubtful that Taylor and company did much polishing when they transferred the four-track demos to Denial Studios (?), run by Daniel Farris (??), as the mix is pure crap. Glorious crap. The kind of wonderfully glorious and honest crap that you can't replicate with Sony looking over your shoulder. Each track sounds different from those that surround it -- sometimes bass-heavy, sometimes hella treble-heavy and always sloppy in a Stereophonic Soul Manure kind of way. This would probably be annoying if it weren't for the Puffs' commitment to the songs and their insistence that "yeah, this guitar in your right ear is way too damn loud -- so let me turn it up a little".

Forget bands like Jet: that stuff is played. I thought that someone gave Meg White a couple of uppers when I heard it. Taylor and the Puffs have my vote for the anti-garage band of the year.

- Splendid Magazine

Taylor and the Puffs– You Know that Summer's Comin'

It's so refreshing to hear a young band that has only been together for a short while manage to put together a disk of ten original tunes, and come off sounding, well, mature. Mature in the sense that they aren't trying very hard to sound like anyone else, they don't seem to care too much about Indie-rock conventions, and they manage to move forward without forgetting where they came from. Taylor and the Puffs, in their short tenure on the Birmingham scene, have changed names about as often as Spinal Tap in their early days, swinging through incarnations such as The Silver Pops, Silverpops, Taylor and the Pink Puffs, and finally Taylor and the Puffs. Taylor Hollingsworth, the band's frontman and former guitarist for Birmingham rock staples such as Verbena and Cutgrass, has assured me that this is the final incarnation. Back to more serious matters, the album is laden with rock riffs as thick as the gravy at Niki's West, and I bring the comparison because the album comes off almost as southern as the famed restaurant (and save the sniggers, I know it's owned by Greeks). While this album will surely invite comparisons to the early sixties rock that has thrust it's beer crusted head into the mainstream, there is no element as prevalent as the delta blues upon which many a Birmingham guitarist has been raised, and it's like a breath of fresh air. While there are a few tracks that I had to skip through on the second listen, like Summer's Comin' and Whole Lotta Shakin', starting with the fourth track, Dolly Dee, the album escapes from garage band anonymity and delivers seven astonishingly hard-hitting, punch-you-in-yer-fat-gut rock tunes that will delight any fan of blues or modern rock. No, I didn't miscount. Keep listening. While even on these stellar tracks there exist a few examples of the band's green limbs, like the distracting cell-phone-interference effect on It Don't Come Easy, or the unharmonious harmonization at the end You Just Wanna Be Alone, only a jerk-off rock critic would let them stand in the way of the songs' overall fullness and power. Taylor seizes on the blues format to demonstrate his amazing ability on the guitar, lacing the album with traditional yet effective solos. All in all, this one of the best local CDs I've had the pleasure to review.
- Fleabomb.com

Taylor and the Puffs– You Know that Summer's Comin'

It's so refreshing to hear a young band that has only been together for a short while manage to put together a disk of ten original tunes, and come off sounding, well, mature. Mature in the sense that they aren't trying very hard to sound like anyone else, they don't seem to care too much about Indie-rock conventions, and they manage to move forward without forgetting where they came from. Taylor and the Puffs, in their short tenure on the Birmingham scene, have changed names about as often as Spinal Tap in their early days, swinging through incarnations such as The Silver Pops, Silverpops, Taylor and the Pink Puffs, and finally Taylor and the Puffs. Taylor Hollingsworth, the band's frontman and former guitarist for Birmingham rock staples such as Verbena and Cutgrass, has assured me that this is the final incarnation. Back to more serious matters, the album is laden with rock riffs as thick as the gravy at Niki's West, and I bring the comparison because the album comes off almost as southern as the famed restaurant (and save the sniggers, I know it's owned by Greeks). While this album will surely invite comparisons to the early sixties rock that has thrust it's beer crusted head into the mainstream, there is no element as prevalent as the delta blues upon which many a Birmingham guitarist has been raised, and it's like a breath of fresh air. While there are a few tracks that I had to skip through on the second listen, like Summer's Comin' and Whole Lotta Shakin', starting with the fourth track, Dolly Dee, the album escapes from garage band anonymity and delivers seven astonishingly hard-hitting, punch-you-in-yer-fat-gut rock tunes that will delight any fan of blues or modern rock. No, I didn't miscount. Keep listening. While even on these stellar tracks there exist a few examples of the band's green limbs, like the distracting cell-phone-interference effect on It Don't Come Easy, or the unharmonious harmonization at the end You Just Wanna Be Alone, only a jerk-off rock critic would let them stand in the way of the songs' overall fullness and power. Taylor seizes on the blues format to demonstrate his amazing ability on the guitar, lacing the album with traditional yet effective solos. All in all, this one of the best local CDs I've had the pleasure to review.
- Fleabomb.com