Welcome back to our appointment with Independent Interviews.
Today I have the honor of speaking with one of the most legendary and well-known independent artists: the great Jackson Taylor!
Hi Jackson, thanks for your availability. It is truly an honor for me to be able to host you here on my independent blog. Tell us about yourself: where are you from, where did you grow up and when did you decide that music would be your life?
I grew up bouncing from Merced Ca, up to Yakima Wa, and over into Montana as a migrant farm worker.
As far as music. I can’t ever remember not wanting to be Elvis.
Nothing has changed. Music has always been my main thing.
What were your biggest influences? What music do you listen to when you want to relax or have fun?
Elvis, Waylon, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Merle Haggard, Prince, George Michael, Duran Duran, The Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, Sinatra, Billy Joe Shaver, Buck Owen is the list goes on and on and on.
Right now I’m really into the Teskey Brothers.
When, I’m in the mood to just drive around and listen, I will listen to them a lot.
Elvis is always on every playlist.
You have a really substantial discography, is there an album of yours that you are more attached to? Are there any songs that are autobiographical?
All of my songs are autobiographical.
I don’t have a favorite record.
They are all apart of me.
Bad Juju, is often the hardest to listen too, because it is a perfect reflection of my life at the time. And it was far, far past the edge.
You have been around for a long time and have always remained absolutely independent and in control of your music: how difficult is this type of choice? Was there a moment in which perhaps you thought of giving up or maybe looking for a shortcut in Nashville?
Staying independent and owning everything that, I create, has never cost my anything, I valued.
So, I’ve never felt a temptation to buy in or sell out.
I spent a few years in Nashville. I wouldn’t call it a short cut.
It’s more akin to a butcher, where you decide how much of yourself you are willing to slice off.
Once I realized that. I left.
Nashville was the long way around to what, I wanted more than a shortcut.
How do you manage to reconcile family life with the life of a musician, being always on the road playing?
It can’t be reconciled.
Family life suffers and there’s no way at around it.
Music is a selfish mistress and we who put it above all else.
Are inherently selfish human beings. Anyone who says differently, is lying to themselves or just lying to you.
Streaming is important, for example your music has even crossed the ocean and arrived in Italy, but what is your relationship with this world? Is merchandising really so fundamental for an independent artist?
Merchandise is everything.
At the end of the day, I make a living by being a brand and selling items with my logo on them.
You have played thousands of concerts in your long career: is there a place you are more attached to and maybe one where you dream of playing sooner or later? Have you already played in Europe?
I’ve played across Europe many times.
I try not to perceive anyplace as my “favorite”: a stage is a stage no matter where it is.
That way, I’m always happy to be there. I’m a picker. I come to pick.
It is a golden moment for independent music, are there any artists you feel like recommending? Or songs that you like to listen to and that have struck you?
Right now, I’m totally obsessed with The Teskey Brothers.
Your new album has just come out, after a long time: why did you let so much time pass? Tell us about this «In Memphis».
I just didn’t have a band that had reached the point of cohesion that warranted taking into the studio since 2018.
I used my band in the studio not sessions players for the most part.
That’s not easy thing to create. A real band, not a bunch of side guys.
Now that, I have that again. We are recoding on a regular basis.
I already have a new record ready for this summer.
It’s a love letter to Sun Records and artist of the early and mid 1950’s who came out of it.
It’s was a dream come true.
Thanks Jackson for this interview and I hope you continue your fantastic career always as you started it and congratulations on your new album really fantastic: real country!
Trex
