Julian Taylor – The Ridge

By starrymag | June 17, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound? 

A) I’m a singer-songwriter at the heart of everything that I do.  It also starts with the song and I am the kind of writer that lets the song dictate the direction that it needs to go. I write and perform folk music, rock and roll, soul music, reggae and blues primarily. So, it’s a bit of a smorgasbord of musical styles, to be honest. One reviewer pretty much summed it up best when he called me “a solid slice of roots oriented folk and soul.”

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) I, like many other songwriters, have so many.  I love Jim Croce and Bill Withers, which I think is very evident in my own writing. Tracy Chapman is a hero of mine for sure, and then I love a lot of hip hop, jazz, and rock acts, too. A Tribe Called Quest is one of my favorites and my all-time favorite singer is Ella Fitzgerald.

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “The Ridge.”

A) The song is about innocence. When I was a young child, my sister and I would spend summers with my grandparents in a little town called Maple Ridge in British Columbua. They had a little farm and bred dogs and horses. It was a magical place for a child to grow up. Every lyric of the song is true. They had a little pond on the way down to the barn and my sister and I would catch frogs there. I have pictures of me with all the horses (Frosty, Zarreef and Sherry) who actually bucked me off her once when I was about eight years old. My aunt, Roberta, use to come out West with us and be our chaperone. She loved cats and laughed lots. When my grandparents got older, they couldn’t physically keep up with the upkeep of the farm and they had to sell the place. When I think of my happy place, it takes me there back to the driveway that was enveloped by huge trees and greenery right up to the red front door of their house and I can see it all. I can visualize my childhood. My grandparents and my aunt have since passed away, but they all live in my heart and through the stories we shared and memories that we created.

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

A) I truly believe that it is such a relatable story and that’s why people gravitate to the song. It’s a journey that all of us have had in some way or another. We were all children once.  Life was simpler then. Not for all, but for a lot of people. It was harder for some, and I acknowledge that. This particular song is about a boy and is grandmother, his sister and his love for a place and the people that helped shaped who he has become. That’s the story of life, is it not?

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

A) The video means the world to me. Those are pictures of my life and of my family. The entire story behind the song is real.  It’s real life and the pictures prove that. I didn’t know how to shoot a video for the song and the idea of making a collage of pictures from my life was planted by some bar stool prophet, I guess.

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

A) It changes from song to song. I usually write melody and chords before I write the lyrics, but since my band’s last album, Avalanche, I have tried very hard to work on lyrics first because I find that stories and telling them can often feel closer to the heart when you do it like that.

Q) Saam Hashemi lent a hand with production, but how much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) Saam is one of the most talented producers in the business and we have a great working relationship as well as beautiful friendship. He engineered the record and mixed it.  When it comes to song choices and general arrangements and instrumentation, the initial idea starts with me and is filtered through him. I orchestrated the group of musicians that I wanted on the record and took care of the business side of getting the whole recording done. Saam also played some percussion and piano on the record, as did I.

Q) Your upcoming album, The Ridge, features deeply personal tracks. What are some themes you will be exploring?

A) Truthfully, I am exploring quite a bit, but at the root of it all is my feelings about losing my innocence.  When my grandmother passed, it was extremely difficult because it was wrapped in controversy and it was very strange how the whole thing happened. I don’t want to get into any further because it is deeply personal.  All that I can tell you is that so many things about the history of my family surfaced and it literally felt to me as if I had my entire childhood ripped away from me.  I had to find a way back and did that through song.

Q) What songs off your new album are you looking forward to performing live?

A) I really love performing the title track because of the way I strum the guitar on it.  I use my thumb and mute the strings in order to give it this driving sound and feel.  It’s a lot of fun, and I don’t play any of my other songs that way.

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

A) I don’t know. I write songs to connect with the feelings that I have that I find hardest share with people.  Stuff that gets stuck inside me eventually has this way of finding its way out through the songwriting and recording process. I only hope that the feelings that other people may have that they find hard to share are in some way similar to mine.  So, with that, I hope they take solace and even a sense of pride with them after listening to my music, because that’s what I get.

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

A) I loved playing at City Winery in Nashville last year.  My band came down for AmericanaFest and we got to be on the same stage as Keb’ Mo’. I’d love to play Red Rocks though, and Massey Hall one day.

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) I’d very much like to collaborate with musicians like myself who are mixed and/or Indigenous or Black. To me, that would be the ultimate sharing experience. Artists like Jeremy Dutcher, AHI, Michael Franti, Leelay Gilday and Digging Roots.

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

A) I love Greyhounds from Austin, Texas.  They have such a cool, groovy sound.  It’s just a trio, but they fill up a lot of space.  Start with the song “What’s On Your Mind” and go from there.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) Yes, I am part of social media and it’s something that concerns me. The reason being is because I do find it fun and kind of addictive, which ultimately leads to it becoming a major distraction in my life. As an artist, I see why it’s something you must do, and, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy it and I love hearing from fans and friends and connecting with them.  All I am saying is that, ironically, it is all a bit disconnected at the same time.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) I would like to say thank you. Thank you very much for listening and for the vote of confidence. I’ve been doing this for almost twenty-five years and I enjoy it immensely.  It’s not an easy way to make a living and each listener who listens is like currency to me.  That feeds my soul and helps me to keep going.