Taylor Mckenna
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Taylor Mckenna

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"You Gotta Know Artist of the Month"

This month, Musiqtone goes back to the musical hotbed of Dallas, Texas again to unearth yet another gem in the Texas landscape. He is the first You Gotta Know to be directly linked to a past You Gotta Know, having written songs for Lauren Briant, who closed out 2005 with You Gotta Know of the Year as well as being December's You Gotta Know.

But, it's not just about his songwriting. He can sing and play the guitar just as well as he writes on paper. He is among the acts set to play in this year's Virgin Mega College Tour, going alongside headliners Yellowcard and Mae. His music is similar to that of fellow Dallas natives Ryan Cabrera and Michael Celedon, but add a little folk and put a little bit of an edge.

He is most certainly poised to join a new generation of talented musicians to come out of the state of Texas and that is why Musiqtone has made Dallas native Taylor McKenna a You Gotta Know for the month of April.

- Musiqtone.com


"Taylor Mckennas self titled CD"

10-1-2005

Taylor McKenna’s First Full-Length CD
Now Available

Texas Songwriter was the Featured Artist on IndiePodcasting.com and


Rock singer-songwriter and the current buzz on dozens of music sites and magazines, Taylor McKenna’s first full-length CD is now available. The self-released album features a sampling of 13 titles from the prolific songwriter’s 100 plus song portfolio, and showcases the latest of his much-hailed singer/songwriter-oriented rock. Taylors Self-Titled CD was recorded at Hurricane Studios in Garland, Texas, and was produced by Taylor McKenna with Taylor performing vocals and guitars, Mike Gage and Dan Wojokowski on drums, and Mike Gage on bass. The engineers were Mike Gage and Hal Fitzgerald.

The Show kicks off the album — a melancholy narrative of a pre-show pep talk, delivered with a close, almost spoken intimacy. In it, the optimism of the first verse, “Of course you know you’ll do big things for this show/ I can already see,” dissolves into defeat by the chorus, “Twenty hours fifteen days until the show,/I think you all know there’s no way we can pull it off.” Most of the cuts have a darker side to some degree, though it’s often cleverly disguised. “She Walked Away” is one such slight of hand, echoing the roots pop of Freedy Johnston with it’s hooky big-strumming chorus and the regular guy sincerity of “And then she walked away from me/And I was there to meet her/ She’s as gone as she can be/She’s not the one.” “It Wasn’t Easy” opens with an acoustic lick, but picks up speed fast and adds electric guitars to create jangling locomotion. Like all the catchy, unforgettable songs, it’s sure to bring McKenna a wide audience across all brands of emotional, song-driven acoustic rock. He cites such artists as John Mayer, Nick Drake, and Gordon Lightfoot as influences, and this musical melting pot is apparent in McKenna’s studied blend of writerly wordplay, smart guitar work and engaging song structure.

Currently, McKenna’s songs can be heard on a dozen internet and podcasting stations including indiepodcasting.com, where he is currently the featured artist, and Radio Crystal Blue, Indieartist Radio, OutboundMusic.com, Band Radio, and The Independent Nation Radio Show on newartistradio.com. “It Wasn’t Easy” recently appeared on the “Small Guy Music” compilation of Dallas-area bands and artists. McKenna has been profiled in Discovering Artist Magazine and Unsigned Music Magazine, and in January, he will be promoted at IRL Music in France, the largest World Music Trade Show in the world. Taylor's music will also be promoted in Asia in the "ringtone" market.

McKenna lives in Dallas where he teaches guitar and music theory lessons. He is already at work recording a follow-up his latest album.

Contact information is available at www.taylormckenna.com

For booking information contact talent@suncrestmanagement.com or call Suncrest Management at (469) 877-2933 or (469) 323-9929



- SMC MUSIC


"Discovering Artist.com"

Taylor McKenna
06.22.05

Taylor McKenna is new on our radar because he's got a dark sound with intricate songwriting skills. We took a few minutes to talk to him about his music-making, and music teaching! Read on for more!


Your music has this dark intrinsic sense. Did you have to strive to create the unique sound or was it innate to you?

As you write a song, you have a certain sense of how its going and how you want it to turn out. That part of it is innate and just comes with being a songwriter. You put into it what you know and feel. But when you are recording it becomes more important to stay focused and work on keeping the sound and feel you were first going for. So in that way, in the studio you do strive for a certain sound.

Tell us a little about producing your album. What is your favorite track? Where were many of the songs written and recorded?

I recorded most of the songs at Hurricane studios in Garland, TX. A few of the songs and some other finishing touches were added at Maximedia Studios in Dallas. I owe a lot to Mike Gage and Hal Fitzgerald the two engineers that I worked with throughout the process. I was on my own recording and producing for the first time so I bounced a lot of ideas off of them and we came up with what you hear. The last track I added to the album was Sure.

George Brunt, a good friend and producer flew in from Utah and did the honors for that song and I think it turned out great. George was also instrumental in shaping the drum sounds for the album.

As far as the writing goes, it started in Utah at college. I wrote mostly in the many apartments I occupied during my stay there. Then after moving to Dallas I had a period of about 4 months were I finished most of the songs on the record and was writing every day pretty intensely. The last minute add-ons were The Show and Sure. My favorite song is always the last one I wrote. It will be on the next album.

What artists are you listening to currently?

I have a wide range of stuff in my changer. Gordon Lightfoot, an old school Canadian folk singer has always been a favorite and a major songwriting influence. But then I have the Strokes and the White Stripes, David Grey, Ben Kweller, The Stones, Badly Drawn Boy, Pete Yorn and stuff like that.

So you teach guitar as a day job? How is that going?

Its going great. It’s cool to see my kids getting excited about the same music that I was discovering at that age. They come and ask to play Zepplin or AC/DC or the Beatles and its like they discovered this great new song that they had no idea about and it really inspires them. Although lately they will bring in songs they consider old and I'm like, wait a minute, this CD came out when I was in high school. But it’s a great job to have and I’m lucky my students are very cool.

My future career goals are to do music. It’s the only thing I feel like I understand, the only thing I'm halfway good at and the only thing I can take day in and day out. It’s always been my goal to make people feel the way I do when I hear a good song. Something inside just happens and not many people can do that.

I also hope the future gives me more opportunities to write good music for myself and others. I love music theory and composition so doing soundtracks for movies with full orchestras or even loftier projects also interests me. But for now I want people to get a chance to hear this CD and see what they think.

Any artists you dream of playing with?

I dream of meeting or playing with all the artist that inspired me to be a musician and the ones I listened to growing up. My first musical love was the Beatles. I saw Paul McCartney in concert when I was in the fifth grade and as far a musical icons go, it doesn't get any bigger. Dave Matthews was a big influence during high school and college and I really respect the way he built up his fans and the way he has conducted his career since. And as I mentioned earlier Gordon Lightfoot who in my opinion is one of the greatest pure songwriters ever would also be a thrilling person to meet or to play with.

Thanks so much for your time, Taylor!

Interviewed by Kristen Fischer
DiscoveringArtists.com




• Copyright ® 2005 • DiscoveringArtists.com • Privacy Policy








- Kristen Fischer


"Unsigned Music Magazine"

Taylor has recently been accepted to be interviewed and reviewed by Unsigned Music Magazine!
Date: TBA - N.K.


Discography

THE AWFUL DIN: Purple Twilight, Smoke and Mirror, Give Me Something Strong, Off Living Life, Something Out of Nothing, Fly by Night, Top of Morning, Waste of Time, Simon Eyes, Ignorance or Bliss, The lim and the Lister, Aching, Loaded.
TAYLOR MCKENNA: The Show, Raise The Bar, Woo Hoo Hoo, She Walked Away, Sure, Eastern Shore, The Evenings, It Wasn't Easy, Now You Know, Like I Said, Time Gone, See It Through.

Photos

Bio

Since the debut of his self titled album in 2006 Taylor Mckenna has accumulated a myriad of praise and accomplishments. Soon after its release, Taylor's first album won him the "Emerging Artist" slot on the 2006 Virgin College Mega Tour where he shared the stage with Yellowcard and Mae. He was chosen from hundreds of bands nationwide vying for the spot. Taylor continued to expand his fanbase by playing various festivals and receiving airplay on radio stations and podcasts across the country. Taylor then began work on his second album "The Awful Din" which was released in September of 2007 and has been grabbing the attention of critics and fans alike. Taylor's Myspace page continues to be flooded with interest and praise for his music, and is one of the most visited "Folk Rock" sites on Myspace.
Check out his myspace page www.myspace.com/taylormckennaband

TAYLOR'S MUSIC IS BEING PLAYED ON THE FOLLOWING RADIO STATIONS:
Alexa Digital Radio
New Artist Radio (The Indepandent Nation)
Indie Artist Radio (Indie Limelight Radio Show)
103.7 Radio L.A.
Radio Crystal Blue
Band Radio
Streetblast Radio
Celtica Radio
Toolshed Music Network
Outbound Music.com
RadioXfm

TAYLOR'S MUSIC IS BEING PLAYED ON PODCASTING STATIONS"
Indie podcasting.com
Music 4idpods.com

PENDING PRESS
DISCOVERING ARTIST.COM
UNSIGNED MUSIC MAGAZINE
HOLLYWOOD REEL TO REEL MAGAZINE
Dallas Morning News
The Observer

FEATURED ARTIST
PODCASTING.COM
"YOU GOTTA KNOW" Artist for April 2006 at
www.musiqtones.com
Purevolume.com September 2007

COMPILATIONS CD'S
"SMALL GUY MUSIC"
"ROCK THE TROOPS"
"RADIO BAND COMPILATION 111
"SHMUSICMUSIC AUSTIN 2007"
FESTIVALS"
"HEART OF TEXAS QUADRIPLE BYPASS"
"MIDPOINT MUSIC FESTIVAL"-CINCINNATI OH
"DEWEY BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL"-DEWEY BEACH DE

TOURS:
"VIRGIN COLLEGE MEGA TOUR 2006" -AN 18 CITY NATIONWIDE TOUR

MUSIC, PUBLISHING, PRESS CONTRACTS OFFERED
LOUD DUST RECORDING
ALPHA MUSIC GROUP
HARD PRESSED PUBLISHING
CRASH AVENUE
BLUE DOLPHIN MUSIC

Taylor Mckenna works from over 12 years of classical training and musical theory expertise to lay the foundations for his songs. Those who hear his music are impressed by how poignantly original it is. Taylor's roots are mainly Rock and Roll, Alternative and Folk. Although each style is evident in his songs, he manages to combine the genres into an entirely new animal.
DISCOVERING ARTIST.COM (Interview in June 2005 issue) states that Taylor has " intricate songwriting skills." His skills are not only intricate, but PROLIFIC with nearly one hundred songs to his credit! Taylor's songs will be available as "ringtones" beginning in 2006. Taylor music is being promoted at the MIDEM trade show in Cannes France.

Both of Taylor Mckenna's albums are available on Itunes, Napster, and Rhapsody.