Episode 015 - Tom Taylor

Boise singer-songwriter Tom Taylor won Star Search back in the day with his band, Moment of Silence. In Episode 15, Tom sits down with me to talk about that experience and what went wrong.

Past and present play a huge part in Tom's songwriting and singing styles. We talk about his influences and the evolution of his music through the years. We also talk about the importance of "being in the moment" for Tom, and he shares a bit of advice for aspiring songwriters and singers.

Tom talks about the differences between his recordings and his live performances, his approach to releasing new music, and how the collaboration for his upcoming CD came about. We also talk about how the new CD, Voodoo Moon, differs from Tom's past work and about the challenge of putting together a concept album at a time when artists are increasingly putting out singles.

Along the way, Tom shares a song that has yet to make it onto CD, "Just in Time," and performs "Heaven On Earth" from his current CD, Sailing In A Paper Boat. We close the episode with that CD's title track.

In two weeks time, episode 16 drops featuring two bands, Logan's Heroes and Between Disasters. The one thing they have in common, singer-songwriter Jesse Niebolt. I'll sit down with Jesse and members of those bands.

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Episode 014 - Bruce Michael Miller

Longtime Nashville songwriter and newly minted Idaho resident Bruce Michael Miller takes center stage in episode 14 of Measured Voices. We cover a lot of ground, so buckle up.

Bruce and I begin by talking about what brought him from Nashville to Twin Falls, which he now calls home. Later, he also discusses the music scene in Twin Falls and his efforts to help develop it.

Along the way, Bruce talks about the necessity of at least spending some time in a major music market, "broadening your horizons," as he puts it. He also talks about the "culture of excellence" in such markets and says bands and songwriters need to go to see where they fit and how they measure up, even if they don't decide to actually move there.

Bruce is just warming up. He talks about his influences and his love of collaboration, as well as why writer's block is not an issue for him. From there, we talk about Bruce's mentoring of other songwriters and how that has allowed him to cast a critical eye on his own writing, as if the song had been written by someone else.

Bruce and I talk about the magic of songwriting, his other "gig," recording demos of other people's songs for them to use to pitch those songs to other artists, and his love of producing. Bruce then discusses what keeps him writing, along with the importance of creativity.

We wrap things up by talking about Bruce's favorite memory of living and working in Nashville, his enjoyment of doing house concerts, and about staying positive. As I said, a lot of ground.

Episode 15 features Boise songwriter Tom Taylor. Years ago, Tom and the band he was in at the time won the grand prize on Star Search. Tom has a new album about to come out, so the timing is perfect for us to sit down and talk.

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Visit Little Eden Studio online
Concerts In Your Home website


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