Rising Music Star Tommy Taylor On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

An Interview With Elana Cohen

Much as I hate it, learn to self promote and to look outside of your comfort zone for opportunities. Just because you play with this band or that band, or you do your own music, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work outside of those or find collaborations with other artists. I always just wanted to be in a “Beatles.” Sometimes that works out, but be prepared to go anywhere and do anything that looks inviting or promising. One thing for sure, if you wait around for someone to suggest something it probably won’t happen. If you have an idea and you pitch it and it goes nowhere you lost nothing. If it does, you might be bigger and reach a bigger audience than you had before, with just that association.

As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tommy Taylor.

For some, the process of making music can appear effortless. For others, bringing one’s music to life might take decades. The music welling up in the heart and mind of its creator, like a fine wine, or in this case, one of the finest debut albums, by any artist, in any genre, in many decades. One could say that Tommy Taylor has one of those classic “you don’t know me, but you’ve heard me” musician stories. He has spent years as the drummer and backing vocalist behind singer/songwriter (Grammy and Oscar winner) Christopher Cross and guitarist Eric Johnson. Tommy has also played behind: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Charlie Sexton, Will Sexton, Sara Hickman, Charlie and Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, Jake Andrews, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Benson and Shawn Colvin. Tommy has been preparing himself and his music for years to become the album Across The Stars. It is a recording comprised of what Taylor calls “Chekovian vignettes” — nine cinematic stories filtered through a lifetime of insights and emotions, delivered in his tenor voice that falls somewhere between the lilt of Jackson Browne’s and the edge of Don Henley. Taylor’s lyrics are incredibly personal and incredibly universal simultaneously. Who hasn’t felt like the people in your life were there to “Let You Down?” Taylor describes himself as an observer. However, the songs on this album are filled with the stories and experience you get by living — not by watching. At the end of the 9 songs, you are left with a man’s personal catharsis, and you are the richer for having had the experience. After years of his friends and colleagues encouraging Tommy to write his songs and get them recorded, Taylor finally went in the studio and started work on the album. With a little help from Christopher Cross, legendary record producer and keyboardist Michael Omartian (Christopher Cross, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Amy Grant, Steely Dan, Glen Campbell, Boz Scaggs, Jerry Garcia and Dolly Parton) agreed to play on Tommy’s album. After finishing his work and hearing the final mixes Michael said: “Man, this is a really good album. Everything sounds great. Wonderful songs and the overall production and musicianship is first rate.” That was on top of praise for Taylor’s vocals on various tracks, and his declaration that the song “Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down” “sounds like a smash.” You might catch yourself singing along to that chorus the very first time you hear it. Michael Omartian’s words are a priceless endorsement, especially for an artist whose debut work has taken a few decades to arrive. But in his Across The Stars liner notes, Taylor explains, “This first effort is a culmination of a lifetime of personal ups and downs, and interests and pursuits.” Isn’t that a perfect description of a life well-lived? Across the Stars was digitally released on September 22, 2023.

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?

I grew up in Austin, Texas in the 1960s and 1970s. We were a fairly average post war family. My dad had been a fighter pilot in WWII and was highly decorated though he didn’t say much about it. He had escorted President Roosevelt to the Casablanca Conference and had been mentioned in Time Magazine and Newsweek in the early part of the campaign. He flew Spitfires with the RAF before being transferred to the North African Theater. He was a mechanical engineer and my mom took a job as a book keeper, later on. I was kind of born into a, full on, rock and roll record collection. My sister was 11 years older than I was the year I was born. I loved 45 rpm records. I have a near photographic memory. Long before I could read, I could pull any requested song from a stack of a 100 45’s. I could visually use the wear pattern on the labels and grooves in the vinyl to discern which records were which, even though many artists and songs were on the same labels. I was infatuated with the art form. I wanted to make 45’s someday. As I grew older, I really fancied being a disc jockey. I had a toy broadcast set that would allow me to create my own radio shows and broadcast them on the many radios tuned to my station throughout our home. I did all of the normal things that boys in the 60s did. I was in Cub Scouts for a bit. I played with slot cars, swimming, rode bicycles, mini-bikes, the first skate boards. I was into music very early on but I was also into cars and most anything with wheels on it. My sister’s boyfriends were a big influence. Surfing and hot rods were a large motif in those early years.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did your journey begin?

I think, like almost everyone my age, The Beatles were what really started the idea of a musical career. Every kid wanted an electric guitar at that point. A neighbor friend who was about 3 years older than I was had one and taught me a few chords. Shortly after he also started playing drums and I followed that lead and that became my predominant instrument. Really it was that I had a natural talent toward it at a very early age. I got recognition for that and it seemed the obvious route. It helped set me apart from other kids. We’re all looking to shine in some way.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most?…man there are so many. I was a big fan of Paul Kossoff’s group Backstreet Crawler. I really admired Tony Braunagel, the drummer in the group. I mentioned it to Andy Salmon our bassist in Christopher Cross. It was not something I talked about, for fear of being ostracized for their music not being in keeping with what we were “supposed” to like and listen to. To my surprise Andy told me that he knew Tony and that when we got to L.A. to showcase he would call him up and have him come down to the show. So that actually happened and strangely Tony was already familiar with our record and a fan of MINE. It was almost too surreal, honestly. He came down and we were instantly great friends and have been for 44 years. When it came time to record Eric Johnson’s “Tones” Lp our producer wanted a “China” cymbal for some parts on the record. I rang up Tony and asked if he had one I could use. We were in L.A. and he was someone I knew well enough to ask. He said sure, no problem. He said I should come by and pick one out of several he had. We went out to his studio and he showed me the china cymbals. I hit this one and said, “that’s the cymbal you played on ‘Stop Doin’ What You’re Doin’ on the Second Street Album.” He was surprised and said I had a really great ear because that was the very one that he had played. I had to have it on our album. So that is in fact the cymbal that is used on things like “Bristol Shore.” I was also recording under the famous Hal Blaine, beach umbrella on those sessions in the large room at United Western — Ocean Way on Sunset. So, meeting one of my heroes and becoming friends with him was really cool. I’ve got many stories like that.

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?

I dunno really. I’ve got so many stories hahah! It wasn’t a huge mistake but it stuck with me. One of the drummers I looked up to when I was a kid was Curly Smith. He ended up in this band called Jo Jo Gunne that had a big record in 1970. Some of the other cats had been in Spirit. His girlfriend’s sister dated one of the guitar players I was playing with. We got a chance to see them play in concert. Everyone got back stage but me and they were motioning me to come back. I was nervous not do the wrong thing. The green room where everyone was, was on the opposite side of the stage from where the backstage entrance was. I had never been in that kind of a setting before. I was only 13. I got let back there, but they were all on the opposite side. The band was on stage playing. I didn’t know about scrims and how draping worked. They kept motioning me to come to their side of the stage. Not knowing any better, I just walked right behind the drum kit while they were playing a number…hahahahaha. I didn’t realize I could go behind the rear drape to cross over unseen. Lesson learned. Self explanatory. DON’T walk across the stage while the headliner is on stage performing.

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?

“It takes a village.” So many people along the way helped me. One of them was a guy named Rusty Weir. When I was young, the hottest local group was called The Wig. Rusty was their drummer/lead vocalist. He was a true “performer.” So much so, that the band was inevitably known as “Rusty Weir and the Wig.” One summer, when I was just turned 11, my band got a chance to open for his new super group, The Lavender Hill Express, at a weekly Monday concert series in one of the local parks. Our vocalist had pre-booked a vacation with his parents to Europe at the same time. We weren’t going to miss our opportunity to play in front of LHE, so we decided to wing it, with our bassist covering a couple of tunes vocally. He wasn’t much of a singer. We took up the majority of the 30 minute time slot with me covering two extended drum solo songs. It was a very hot June evening in Austin, and by the end of the finale, I was about to pass out from heat prostration. Before I could exit the stage Rusty was up there, drying me off with a towel with his arm around me, escorting me off. He expressed such admiration for my playing, and offered to buy me a cold drink. I protested, saying that I needed to tear down my gear, as my mom would be by to pick it up very soon. He said for me not to worry. His guys would tear it all down for me and stack it off to the side of the stage. He wanted to talk to me for a few minutes. I never dreamed I would ever have the chance to play on the same stage as these guys, much less to have Rusty talk to me. They were like the local Beatles. He became a mentor figure throughout my early life. I looked up to him for many years. He got one of the first major label deals out of Austin in the early 70s. He let me see the importance of engaging an audience, rather than just playing the music. He was a treasure, and we were friends until he passed away. He was one of many. I grew up in an amazing musical community. I was very young and everyone treated me as an equal, even though I was easily 10 years younger or more than most of them.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m working on a follow up album to my debut “Across the Stars.” I have about 7 songs recorded and nearly finished. One is a cover of a Steve Miller song that I sang with my good friend Sara Hickman. Steve suggested that I get a female to sing the song with me. Sara was an obvious choice there. She’s so great and we’ve been friends for over 30 years now. These songs are a bit of a departure from the first album. I’ve got a couple of more R & B type of things on this one too. One tune has The Texas Horns on it and also Jimmy Vaughan. I’m also producing a young artist in a similar genre to mine, who goes by simply RYAN. We’re looking to be releasing a few of his tracks after the first of the year. I’m very excited to finally get a chance to really show my production chops over and above what I’ve done on my own recordings. I’m finally really confident in my producing. I should’ve been pursuing it for many years now. RYAN’s music has given me the opportunity to explore that aspect outside of my own 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?

Well I think music IS diversity really. What better exemplifies diversity? I think the idea is cool. Every culture brings a style or styles with it. People gravitate toward what resonates with them culturally or where they might have an outside interest. Personally, I don’t venture far off the beaten path from where I come from musically. That being said, I love some East Indian music and also I always enjoy Korean music for some reason. I’ve been intrigued by radio stations broadcasting on American Indian Reservations too. I was into a Native American flute player for a bit. She was amazing and I lost her name and now can’t find her. People don’t realize that the Native Americans have their own universes on the reservations. They have a radio network that we never hear about unless you happen to be driving with the radio on in your car. It’s far out! It kind of depends on the circumstances. I’m not sure forcing anything on anyone really works. I prefer a natural yearning-leaning approach. Exposure is cool, but mandating things tends to plasticize them maybe. It’s a slippery slope, depending on one’s view. The extreme of insisting that there be Zulu Dance music on an American television show might be as inappropriate as insisting the Dave Clark Five be on TV in Swaziland. I’m not personally one who thinks that it is necessarily a great idea to amalgamate all cultures into ONE World Culture. You run the risk of losing what it means to be…Zulu or Czech or Mauri or whatever, if you do that. There is a beauty in preserving culture and ethnicities while acknowledging them fully. Trying to get people to naturally acknowledge another culture or ideal is cool. Demanding it, is something different. Now you have the reverse potential, whereby people are seemingly offended by some weird concept of cultural appropriation. People will go crazy with too much information and causes. Be natural. That’s the best approach.

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?

I think it’s harder all the time. The new “democratic” music business is cool, but it unleashes an almost insurmountable amount of involvement, over and above creating art, for the artist. There is no real “record business” any longer except for a certain elite, that are seemingly groomed from the beginning to be a certain “thing.” Then also, tenured artists with catalogue. That’s it really. There’s no money per se in selling music for record labels any longer, except for those 2 groups. Hard copy sales for now are certainly not what they were. Streaming…not a lot of money there for a record company. So if you don’t fall into one of those categories your chances of signing to a major are nil. Some people think that’s great. But, that means EVERYTHING that the record companies used to do for their 88% gets dumped on the artist. Art work, releasing, distribution, promotion….you name it. It’s a huge endeavor to be an independent “artist.” Management is certainly more difficult to court when there’s very little money brought in to take commission from. People gravitate to what presents the fastest most obvious financial gains. One doesn’t have a lot of assistance, often times, in the places they need it the most. I think one has to be in it for the creative outlet and hope somehow the financial strides follow. You’re always looking for that better shot. For a sideman, a good position, touring or recording, with someone whose music you can relate to. For a solo artist, that opening slot, or a cover of one of your tunes by a better known artist, or an opportunity for inclusion in some film or television production. At the end of the day, great songs are written by people who feel like they have something to say…not by people who feel they need to say something. The latter tends to rubbish. As long as I have something to say, I’m motivated to write and to produce music. Obstacles are always there. Perseverance is seemingly the key. I like some of what Rick Rubin talks about. Don’t make art for other people so much. You make what you need to express. If that’s valid, you’ll find your audience hopefully. They’ll be genuine and you’ll make a better more honest work of it because you’re not catering to be something you’re not for acknowledgement.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1 . Get a contract! This is something you don’t think about when you’re young. You’re aspiring and just wanting to get somewhere. Make sure you have your ducks in a row. Learn the business and be professional. It’s not a game. I was very naive early on and it cost me 10s of millions of dollars over time. Just after my tenure with Christopher Cross ended and I was left with nothing to show for it, my friend Chris Layton was playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. They were about to embark on a higher tier than before and Chris came to me for advice. I told him, “don’t do what I did.” I asked him about Stevie and what kind of a guy he was. I knew him, but not well. I said, “Chris, you and Tommy and Stevie need to sit down and have a straight up talk right now. You need to know WHO you and Tommy are in this scenario, and what that means and how your involvement shapes up financially and contractually. If Stevie is the guy you think he is, you guys will have everything lined out and there won’t be any issues. If he’s not, you won’t, and you can act accordingly, BEFORE things get weird.” Stevie turned out to be the good guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan AND DOUBLE TROUBLE were signed royalty artists as a group, and had an equitable split of the entire group’s financial pie. Christopher Cross had also been a band originally, by that name. Chris Geppert took the name as his own and signed solo to the label. We had no contracts with him stating anything about our involvement. Only his word. We had worked tirelessly for years as a group entity to promote that music to labels and get a record deal. We got screwed. Also not being “signed royalty artists” the grammy awards that OUR work garnered were never awarded to us. Chris personally walked away with the awards that should’ve been ours.

2 . Don’t trust your friends. See above. You think that just because you are in a band and share hotels, food and roadwork with people, that they have your best interests at heart. They don’t necessarily. When success and money start to happen people change very quickly. Even when people seemingly have FAR more money and success than anyone could ever need, greed is a disease. You will get nothing and they will take as much as they can get. These things are avoidable with communication. If you can’t get an audience for your business queries, be cautious. Communication is paramount!

3 . Write the songs. The majority of the money in the music business is in the writing and publishing of the songs. Even if you don’t write, start. You’ll get better. Also, be sure that ANY lyric or melodic content that you volunteer to a song is YOUR property and you have a legal, contractually designated interest in such things stated up front. Christopher Cross was signed on a song called “Say You’ll Be Mine.” I contributed that line and what ended up being the title of the song. Peter Allen wrote one line in “Arthur’s Theme.” The first line of the chorus, “when you get caught between the moon and New York City.” He gets 1/4 of that songwriting credit for that one line. “Say you’ll be mine” is equally important to that song. I get nothing. I fault my own naivety, but you’re kind of on your own. Nobody is looking out for you.

4 . Learn to read and make simple charts. I still don’t do this, but I wish I had learned early on. I would’ve had a much more viable session career had that been the case. Your ego is a dumb excuse for lack of success. Knowledge is power.

5 . Much as I hate it, learn to self promote and to look outside of your comfort zone for opportunities. Just because you play with this band or that band, or you do your own music, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work outside of those or find collaborations with other artists. I always just wanted to be in a “Beatles.” Sometimes that works out, but be prepared to go anywhere and do anything that looks inviting or promising. One thing for sure, if you wait around for someone to suggest something it probably won’t happen. If you have an idea and you pitch it and it goes nowhere you lost nothing. If it does, you might be bigger and reach a bigger audience than you had before, with just that association.

Can you share some insights into your creative process? How do you approach songwriting? How do you approach musical collaborations?

From a drumming standpoint, I think it’s decades of experience. I realized sometime back that I’m actually telling little rhythmic stories within the stories of the songs with the drums. It’s rather savant on some level. It really is just experience I guess. It’s like a Jim Keltner thing. Some people play math problems. Some play music. It’s not something I consciously do. It just sort of turns out that way. I think it comes from wanting to be in a band my whole life, not just wanting to play drums. I pay a LOT of attention to songs that I record, be they mine or those of others. Lyrics are VERY important to me. From my point of view, if your drummer doesn’t know the lyrics to your songs, you might look for someone else. Lyrics are that important. Every instrument needs to be supporting the message that the lyrics portray. My friend Vince Mariani hipped me to a lot of basic concepts in writing. Legally “song” is melody ONLY in an instrumental, and lyric and melody ONLY in a vocal piece. The rest is “arrangement.” For me, a great song has to stand on its own with no arrangement. One of the most shocking realizations of that for me was in the film “Across the Universe.” it’s a movie based on Beatles’ songs. They had a female artist sing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” as a ballad. Over the years, the song has been overshadowed by Lennon/McCartney’s and even Harrison’s more advanced pieces. “Hand” was, seemingly, kind of a comparative throw away maybe. Hearing it done the way it was treated in the film, showed how incredible of a song it was, even after the fact. Lyrically and melodically it holds up as something far more maybe, than we might’ve thought it was. I often begin writing a cappella. I feel like if I can sing a song a cappella and have it work, then the arrangement will only augment that. Often a song like “Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down” will start with one line. I had that line around for a decade probably. I was playing around with my guitar one afternoon thinking about “River” by Joni Mitchell and that interpolation of “Jingle Bells” that she does as an intro. That’s where the intro guitar part on my song came from. The song just sort of wrote itself then. Very rarely have I sat down with instrumentation first. It always starts with a lyrical concept, at least, for me. I think lyrics are my strong suit. Songs may take years to finish. I have a song on the new album I’m working on called “The Scrap Book.” It took 2 years to finish, once I had bits of the chorus. I knew what I needed to say. That’s half the battle. I can’t contrive songs. They have to have a need to be expressed. I wrote the chorus a cappella while walking around in Central Park in NYC in November of 2019 just before Covid. I finished the song in Zurich in 2021. I’ve never had a lot of faith in “puppy mill” songwriting. Some people are very good at that craft. Writing for money. I’m not sure I could really do that or that I would want to. No judgement really, it’s just not my thing. I haven’t been successful co/writing with anyone yet. I’ve contributed to songs of others. I’m hoping that RYAN and I will eventually be able to write something together. I could try. Every time I think I’d like to, I realize it’s laziness or a cop out on my part. I just can’t finish something I’ve started, and want someone else to step in. Actually sitting down with someone and coming up with something simultaneously, I’m not sure how that would be. I’d be open to trying that.

Your music has resonated with so many fans worldwide. What do you believe sets your music apart?

Wow, I don’t know really. I hope that I present things that make people feel like they belong. That was what was so stunning to me when I started getting into serious literature in High School. I was kind of a lost kid and fairly robotic. I had a lot of things germinating inside of me but none of my perspectives seemed to resonate with my peers, really. In exploring great fiction I found a universality of experience that really gave birth to an entirely different person than I was headed toward being. For me lyrics are the vehicle. So, hopefully, people will find things in my words that make them feel like their life experiences are not so foreign. I always hope to attract fans that really listen. The kinds of pieces that I’m producing are not really background music. To really “get” what I’m presenting requires that someone sit down and actually pay attention. Sadly, not as many people really do that today with all of the media distraction. There are many different kinds of music. Some offer different avenues. I came from an era where people looked hard for music and artists that they could relate to personally. We studied those people and their lives and the songs they either wrote or covered. We found things that we related to personally. It helped us get through the ups and downs in life. I want people to think and ponder what I’m saying and how they can also see something of themselves in the songs. There aren’t a lot of artists out there going to the trouble of realizing songs and production to their full potentials today maybe. It’s become easy enough to just release something whenever one thinks it’s done. No gatekeepers. More often than not it seems to have lowered the bar over all. I came up in an era where some pretty amazing production was happening. To get the opportunity, you had to present something that was to a certain level of proficiency and excellence just to be in the running. I have no choice but to try and hold that standard.

How do you connect with your audience?

Social media is big today. It makes it easier on one hand. I’m the guy behind the pages. No one is doing that for me. As long as I can manage it on top of everything else I’ll be the one commenting and interacting. I’d like to get into more live playing hopefully and broaden that type of exchange. I’ve played to huge audiences as backing musician, but solo I haven’t really stepped out too much yet. That will be changing quite a bit this year, I think. I’ll try and fit performances of my music in between playing with everyone else.

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?

I try to eat well. People have different opinions on that. I’ve been vegetarian for 38 years now. I think it’s a healthier diet as long as you make good choices. Some folks don’t necessarily agree. That’s cool. I try to eat smart. I’ve dropped a lot of weight since Covid cleared and I’m happier about that than I’ve been in the past. We eat far too much really and a lot of the wrong things. I try to be efficient. Look at photos of people on beaches in the 1950s and 60s and even 70s. Look at pictures today. What changed? The diet and a more sedentary lifestyle! I’ll go off the rails for fun occasionally, but I don’t necessarily like that “I just ate a battleship” feeling. I love traveling because it forces me to walk. Walking is the best exercise really. I get in around 25 to 30,0000 steps a day when I’m away from home. I try to sleep a decent amount. I don’t go overboard, but you need rest. I’m blessed with a pretty strong constitution so I can push that when needed, but you have to catch up. I do have alternative body maintenance like, reflexology, massage therapy. I’ve been seeing a NUCCA chiropractor for decades keeping that in check. I do an extended meditation daily. Still it’s very easy to let the art side take over and demand too much of your time. I also do vintage mechanical watch repair as a side career. That is a very demanding side, but it also develops concentration and takes the mind to a different arena to balance out the music side.

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 dunno about movements so much. Movements can be scary. Even some of the best causes devolve over time. People get into money and greed so easily. The best movement is really paying attention. That’s hard to do! It’s very easy with all of the electronica today for people to quickly be headlined to death and simply accept whatever is being spouted as truth, without properly vetting anything. They’ve managed to set it all up that away. Everyone is so busy trying to live and make ends meet and keep UP…that they consume information like junk food. They take this concept and gorge on it and move on without looking at the ingredients and seeing how toxic the information might actually be…what to say of it being true? We’re all guilty to an extent. The mind works by repetition. The more times you hear something said by more people, the more it becomes accepted as valid. That makes it a very easy sell, when everyone is so overwhelmed that they don’t have time to look past anything to see beyond it. I wish at the top, that there was a real interest in promoting true awareness and the evolvement of all people on all levels. Everyone is at a very individual place from that standpoint. Each should have a chance to better themselves to whatever degree they desire. I fear that probably isn’t the main focus today. The concept is not even promoted. I think education today, is more aimed at forcing an agenda rather than teaching people to think clearly for themselves and to evolve into truth and reality. The more people think alike, the easier it is to control them. Conformity is the hard sell. It’s small minded. It often comes in the guise of openness. It’s bait and switch. We have 60–80 years here. What are we doing with our time? You can go to sleep and hope you wake up to something better, or try hard to stay awake and grow. How about a “read classic fiction” movement! Reading actual words on paper! It goes so far in broadening all aspects of life.

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. :-)

Wow! i think that’s difficult because so often people are not who they portray themselves as. Most people we would aspire to meeting are “presenting” publicly. That may have very little to do with who they are “off camera.” I’ve always been intrigued by Bob Dylan. I think half the battle in these kinds of situations is getting to spend enough time with someone to make them realize you aren’t out to get anything from them. Most people with any public notoriety are so used to being constantly “hit on” that they have layers and layers of protect mechanisms in place and they probably have very few close friends. Their friends if they have any, see them very differently than the public does.

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

I’m on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and I have my own website as well. https://www.youtube.com/tommytaylorofficial https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTommyTaylor https://www.instagram.com/tommytaylorofficial/ https://tommytaylor.com/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!