OK, so I’m writing my own discography. I’ll be the first to admit it. It will spare me the awkwardness of hyping myself up in the 3^rd person and provide you, the reader, with the honesty you deserve.   This method also allows criticism (of myself) which could not possibly exist from someone I would pay good money to pen an outline of my musical achievements. Onward . . .

            My name is Rob Taylor; I’m a 32 year-old singer-songwriter from Connecticut.

No bio or discography of mine would be complete without starting with my first band, “Safe Haven” because that is where it all began.   When I was in high school there were two groups of guys that inevitably got the girls: athletes and rockers. Since I was consistently pathetic at competitive sports, I bought one red guitar, one black amplifier and convinced a handful of guys that “option b” was our ticket.

            I was 16 in the early 90’s, a couple years before the masses began to trade their black rocker jeans for flannels. We still had a little window in time to be, yes, Heavy Metal.   With ambition rarely seen in youth dressed in black tee-shirts featuring skeletons in varying stages of decomposition, we learned how to really play and dedicated ourselves to the academia of learning to Rock.   I wrote most of the material and played lead guitar, Matt Douglas played rhythm/lead guitar, Matt Ballingham played bass, Matt Allen was on the drums and Chris Allen on vocals and keys.  We were fantastically loud, wrote dueling guitar solos in harmony and banged our heads occasionally, (which was frustrating for me because I had short hair – Taylor House rules).  We gained a following, toured the tri-state area, and produced several studio recordings of our all-original material. Most notable of the recordings was the epic, “Cries of Mercy” which received some nice airplay and sold every last clear cassette tape. More importantly, it gained us strong friendships and some teenage glory days not to be forgotten. To answer your question, yes we did attract a certain big-haired class of females – mission accomplished. 

            After Safe Haven broke up (for every cliché reason), I felt a need to veer musically into a new place. Population 1 (released in 1994) was my first solo effort. I looked at the project as a way to prove myself as a solo artist and to write lyrics that had substance and truth that my previous works had almost entirely lacked. I had to unplug my amp once in a while, learn to sing and express some sincerity. When it came time to think about compiling my new music to make a recording, it became obvious that I either needed a new band or to learn how to play all the instruments myself. Since I was over the band idea at the time, I decided to try my skills as a one man band.  I took the material into the studio and out came Population 1. I guess you could classify it as pop-based alternative. I couldn’t let go of my steamy electric guitar solos from yesteryear, so most songs boast soaring passages that tended to push the bounds of traditional radio pop. I had developed a way to tell honest stories that were personal and meaningful to me and had completed something I was proud of: 8 songs that were played and sung from front to back entirely by me. I was on my way, but already wanted more.

            Sleepless Lullabies (released in 1997) was my second solo release. I took several steps forward in refining the style I had established on Population 1 both lyrically and musically. I also felt I needed a change in recording studios. My search ultimately ended at Horizon Studios in West Haven, Connecticut. It was there that I met engineer/producer extraordinaire, Vic Stephens. He understood my vision instantly and we began work at once on the new material. Vic’s experience and knowledge about vocal expression and song structure is a guide for me to this day. I’m actually one of the few people who possess an “Inner Vic”; let me explain: Since I constantly work alone, I find myself asking, “What would Vic tell me to do?” My inner Vic usually chimes in, but if it doesn’t, I give him a call and we meet in person. Weird, huh? C’mon, you wish you had one. The general vibe of Sleepless Lullabies is the most hopeful and happy body of music I’ve written. It was before a certain ironic, slightly bitter, and world-weary angst entered my artistic expression. “Sleepless” material also provided me with the road to explore new instruments like the B3 organ, the acoustic piano, a virtual horn section and even some harmonica. The style of the album ranged from the driving electric guitars of “Silver Lining” to the stripped down piano and strings of “End?” I also experimented with different styles from ska-like rhythms featured in “Dreamland” and “Trouble in Paradise” to a punk rock version of “Earth Angel” (included as a hidden track)

            After the release of Sleepless Lullabies, I began to play out for the first time since the old Safe Haven Days. Of course I couldn’t play all 10 instruments at once, so I decided to strip my material down to the naked song and go all singer-songwriter with just my voice and the acoustic guitar. I wrote some new songs – most notably “Sucker”, and put together a set of all my favorite songs compiled from passed albums. I began playing the set at local cafés and received a great response. My favorite place to play was a coffee shop run by a super nice, mellow guy named Lazslo. I decided to do a live recording there and thus, “Live at Laszlo’s” (released in 1999) was born. 

Soon after the recording was completed, I decided to move out to Utah with the intent to try and learn something in college. The learning part didn’t really take, but I did find that I fit very nicely into the music scene in Provo and began playing live shows at any café and bookstore that would have me. I built a loyal fan-base, and with the tips from the various shows, I was able to begin to save up for an engagement ring for my beautiful college sweetheart, Laurie, whom I had met at the beginning of the semester. As long as tips kept-a-comin’, “Live at Laszlo’s” kept-a-sellin’ and she said yes, life was good. It wasn’t long before I realized that Laurie had an absolutely beautiful voice and would be an incredible addition to my live act, so we began singing at shows together. At last I was not alone up there. To answer your latest question, she did say, “yes” and we road-tripped back to Connecticut where my day-job alter-ego could actually make some money as a photographer.  

“Sucker” (released in 2001) is a true “power-pop” recording from beginning to end. It was, up to that point, my most radio-ready effort. The album was produced by Vic Stephens who gave the project tremendous support. For the first time, with the help of Vic's rolodex, I was able to call upon the talents of other musicians to add their talent to my tracks. The great John Peckman played drums on “Sucker” and “Escapism”,  Eric Klaastad played tasty bass licks on “Sucker”, Kate O’Brian and Tom Hudson played stirring string sections on “Boston” and “My Secret Identity” Scott Spray lended his smooth clean bass sensibilities on “My Secret Identity”. This is also the first recording to feature background vocals by Laurie Taylor who débuted her skill on “My Secret Identity”. It was very satisfying to let this album out of my hands and receive overwhelmingly positive reviews from both fans and critic/reviewers alike. “Sucker” won the “Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting Award” in the national “Great American Song Contest” (rock category) presented by “Songwriter’s Response Network” in 2002.  On March 14 2003, I received the Connecticut “Best Solo Artist” award from “Unsyned Artist” at the Webster Theater in Hartford, Connecticut.    

             In the wake of “Sucker’s” success, I decided to ditch the Connecticut music scene and head south. I chose Athens, Georgia as a base of operations. Again, I found myself without a band, so my songs morphed back into a café friendly, singer-songwriter, acoustic set ala “Live at Laszlo’s”. For the first time I began songs with the sole intention of playing and singing the songs with no other accompaniment. This resulted in folksy, sometimes jazzy, rhythmic, acoustic guitar passages that worked well with tongue-twisty percussive vocals. I was writing some of my favorite material to date, but I had less than zero money to record it. All I have laid down for that period of time are 10 demos I recorded on a small 16 track recorder. I have since compiled these demos and affectionately call the album, “Designer Reflections”. I hope I have the chance to fully realize those songs as true studio versions in the future, but there is a certain charm about those recordings, and I have fond memories of the struggling musician days – not like they’re over or anything . . .      

            This brings us to the here and now. It’s 2008 and I’m back in Connecticut recording my new album “Sun in a Box” (scheduled for a late 2008 release). I’ve spent the last year and a half building a recording studio so I am free to express myself at will.  I’ve been writing a lot on the piano for a change and have found that it brings out a very expressive side of me. I am really proud of my new stuff and am hoping to do the material justice as engineer, producer, writer and artist.   I am still playing everything, but surrendered some of the drum tracks to John Peckman – the extraordinarily talented drummer who worked with me on the “Sucker” EP. My wife, Laurie also accompanies me with her angelic vocal harmonies. I feel my style has matured and the overall feel of the music is deep, honest, and emotional – with a witty flare. This is definitely my most personal offering. What can I say? I have the highest hopes that some sunlight will escape my box and find its way into the world.