Rising Music Star Gileah Taylor On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Eden Gold
There are many people who would tell you that you absolutely must put yourself “out there” as an artist, and as a consumer I can see why people want to know more about an artist. However, I believe it’s important to keep some kind of mystery and intrigue alive in your public-facing life as an artist. If you share too much, some of that mystery is lost and people might not want to know more. I realize this goes against the modern advice, but it works for me on a personal level.
As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing North Florida indie-folk songwriter Gileah Taylor.
Taylor’s new chamber-pop album Slow Parade (out Apr. 26 via Velvet Blue Music) is an autobiographical concept album about life’s journey from idealized childhoods to choosing happiness as an adult. Gileah is a songwriter at the top of her game as piano and guitars join lush orchestral strings in this album exploring dichotomies of depression and hope — all through a filter of family, romance and the secrets that the moon and the sun hold. It’s a record about embracing change, and growing into a better version of yourself.
Gileah (pronounced GIL-ee-uh) has opened for Over the Rhine, played festival stages with Jeff Tweedy and Roseanne Cash, and has been a live guest on NPR’s Echoes. You can hear her song “Going Home” in the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why. Her new record Slow Parade was produced by Nashville brothers Gideon Klein and Gabe Klein, and features a string quartet led by Gideon on cello.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
My life as a child was very simple. I read a lot of books and I wandered around the neighborhood on my bicycle until I heard my mom ring out a few dings on the triangle we kept near the back porch. That meant it was dinner time, so I rode home.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?
My journey in music began when I was a little girl. My earliest memories are of singing, writing little songs and singing to my friends on the school bus. I’m not sure they loved that first thing in the morning! But they put up with me for the most part. I had some heroes in the music world, but my dad was my biggest hero when I was little. We all sat around the living room nearly every night and he would play hymns, spirituals and folk songs. My three sisters and I would join in. My mom sometimes sang with us but she’s an artist of a different sort — back then it was sculptures and then she moved into painting. I was born into the artistic life.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
My story is probably the most interesting to people who are like me. I’m a wife and a mom and my life is centered around the life of my family. It’s possible that the most interesting thing I could tell you is that I’ve always had the itch to write songs, so I write them. And then when I recognize that a group of songs should be made into a record, I follow along. Meanwhile, I live a very normal life. Songwriting has a hold on me that I can’t quite explain, but I do my best to put my music out, in the hope that the songs I’ve written just for me also have an encouraging impact on others out there.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Well, this is just a practical tip, and I figured it out when I was a teenager playing in a coffee shop. The barista offered me a drink, so I enjoyed a latte before I played. Then when I played, my voice broke several times in a very, um, unpleasant way. I was quite embarrassed and to this day I don’t eat or drink very much at all in the hours before I play a show, and absolutely no dairy! Herbal tea with a squeeze of lemon and some honey is the way to go.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m grateful to my husband for encouraging me to record my songs and release records. He’s my longtime angel investor. If you’ll allow me to mention another person, it would be the owner of the label I’m fortunate to work with, Jeff Cloud of Velvet Blue Music. In 2016, I wrote Jeff an email and said how much I would like to be on his label. We’d briefly met at Cornerstone Music Festival in the late ’90s when I was a kid with a CD demo. He was kind to me then, and he responded in 2016 with kindness. Without someone like him standing behind me and beside me, as I release music (starting with that solo record called Songs For Late At Night Volume 2 and then with my band Leem of Earth), I don’t think I would’ve had the courage or the know-how to release music on my own. I’d been independent for a while, and that takes a lot out of the artist. Jeff specializes in giving artists like me a broader platform than we would have on our own, and I am eternally grateful to him for believing in my music.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
For quite a while I’ve been working on a songwriting field guide. I love seeing behind the scenes of my favorite artists. Thom Yorke and Radiohead are a good example of a band that gives their fans occasional insight into their creative process. I’ve been saving stories for several years, and would love to share them in a fun and whimsical guide to inspire people who want to write songs.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
It seems to me that there is already so much diversity in the entertainment industry, and that diversity serves the culture at large because people from all walks of life, from all over the world, are able to see themselves represented in music. I find joy in listening to so many artists, and whether I’m playing by myself at home or playing a show, I love to sing songs by all the greats — from Otis Redding to Patsy Cline to Wilco to The Weeknd. Beautiful songs are beautiful because they speak to the human condition, no matter who originally wrote them or sang them.
As a successful music star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated? How do you overcome obstacles in your career?
For me, I don’t struggle with being motivated. It’s more that I have to remind myself to simply “be”…to live my life. To take in all the life around me, from birds on my walks to the people chattering in a cafe or bar. I like to take it all in and allow myself to imagine or daydream as often as I can. From that frame of mind, I find it easy to get into the mode of songwriting and recording. And I don’t know if I’ve ever come across an obstacle in my career. Because everything that happens in my life was meant to be, and for the most part I’ve chosen the things that some might consider to be obstacles. Having children put things on hold as often as I had them, which was only three times, but I can’t imagine my life without them. I like to say that I’m crab walking through my music career: sometimes sideways, however — I’m always moving.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . There is this advice from the writing world: write what you know. It makes sense, but occasionally I like to write something that I’ve read in a book, or watched in a film or TV show. I’ve written from the point of view of a character named Annie from an old book by George MacDonald, Alec Forbes of Howglen. In my song “Alec,” I write in Annie’s voice as she wills her long time friend and true love home to her from his travels in an Arctic land.
2 . There is something you need to figure out right now, and it is this — who are you writing for? If you are writing what you think people want to hear, then I promise you, they will see through it. Instead, I encourage you to write for yourself. Write what you want to hear. Every time I listen to a newly finished song, even if it’s just a voice memo in my phone, and I find myself near to tears, then I know I’ve written something that might be relatable to somebody else out there and it’s probably a good song.
3 . There are many people who would tell you that you absolutely must put yourself “out there” as an artist, and as a consumer I can see why people want to know more about an artist. However, I believe it’s important to keep some kind of mystery and intrigue alive in your public-facing life as an artist. If you share too much, some of that mystery is lost and people might not want to know more. I realize this goes against the modern advice, but it works for me on a personal level.
4 . There are some who would have you convinced that you must learn music theory and be a master of an instrument in order to write songs. I’m here to tell you that while I love and appreciate all of the musicians I know who have mastered the craft, I don’t find it necessary as a songwriter. In fact, there are times when I am in the middle of writing a song, and my melody might go somewhere that isn’t within the accepted group of chords for the song. I don’t care, and I completely ignore the rules, as long as it sounds good and beautiful. I don’t write in a chaotic way, but I don’t always write in the textbook way either.
5 . There is a pull to imitate the artists you love and listen to regularly. I get this and I have absolutely imitated my favorite artists. However, I would encourage a new singer songwriter to find their true voice. What is your true voice? Well, it’s probably the voice you sing in when nobody is listening. I am not a singer who can riff. I’m not a singer who can belt. My true voice is very simple and sweet. If you can riff, then riff! If you can belt, then do it! But if your voice is simple, or strange, or husky — then don’t try to sound like the current thing! Listeners will appreciate you, just as you are.
Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?
I have addressed much of my creative process already, so now I will touch on how I approach musical collaborations. I’ve put out a number of records, and have collaborated with many different musicians and producers. The most important thing is that everyone involved in your project actually wants to be there. If you need to hire a string quartet, that’s totally fine! But it’s crucial that your collaborators feel some ownership of the final product. That’s when they will do their best work, and that’s when the song will be the best that it can be.
Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?
My music is now and has always been very wholesome. I don’t know quite what to compare it to, but maybe it’s like a Hallmark movie, with a few meandering trails through seasons of sadness. I’m a very optimistic, idealistic, daydreaming person. But often my songs reflect my sadness or loneliness. I think this is pretty normal for creative people, and I don’t like to think about it too much, because I don’t like to interfere with the magic that is making music.
How do you connect with your audience?
It’s always been a little difficult for me to truly connect with my audience because I’m a bit insecure and I wish that my music could be the thing people focus on, but I recognize that in this modern world, it’s nearly impossible. When I feel like it, I like to record a simple piano or guitar performance and release it so that the listener feels like they are with me in the room. When I play live, it’s much easier, because my shows are half music and half comedy. I like to bring the audience to tears with a sad song and then make them laugh with a joke about myself. Often, the jokes are about my hair which is very curly and tends to grow outward in my hometown shows in humid Florida.
With your busy schedule and demanding performances, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a balance between your personal life and career in the music industry?
My life is very simple. It’s focused on my immediate family, and after that I love to go on long walks. I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood with a million beautiful trees and birds that I never know the name of, but I love to stop and watch them. I love to ride my bicycle to the grocery store or the farmer’s market. I love to read books, some that I’ve already read a few times, and some that are new to me. And interestingly, it’s all of these moments that go into the making of new songs. And it seems that my adult self is very similar to my child self.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I believe that the most amount of good happens in very small ways. One of my favorite living authors is Jan Karon, who wrote the Mitford series. Her books are about an Episcopal priest, Father Tim, who starts out every day with the prayer, “Make me a blessing to someone today.” Father Tim is a fictional character, but I have often found myself quoting him, or returning to these books. I think there are fourteen in the series and I have read them three times now! Which reminds me, I’d like to start again.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
It won’t be a private lunch, but this follows up on the previous question. I have a ticket to a tea with Jan Karon in May. I’ve often thought how much I would love to have tea with L.M. Montgomery of the Anne of Green Gables series. Or maybe a meal with George MacDonald, who wrote so many fairy tales and novels and fantasies. Or Madeleine L’Engle, who wrote in the library at St. John the Divine in New York City and was the author of so many beautiful books, including one of my favorites, Walking on Water.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
gileah.com has updates. On Instagram and X, I am GileahTaylor and on Facebook I am Gileah.
SOCIAL LINKS
Website * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Spotify * Apple * Velvet Blue Music (label)
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
