STAGE
RIGHT. SCOTT TAYLOR.
Playing accompanist and soloist to
singer-songwriter-guitarist Chris Dreyer, the 22 year-old Taylor adds his blend
of subtle rhythm-playing and ferociously intense solo work to the unique vocal
stylings of Chris's songs. It is Scott's natural ability to perform that
matches him perfectly with the stage presence and creative abilities of Dreyer.
An accomplished performer, he is equally
at home on stage at a club with local musicians or in a concert hall with the
Tallahassee Symphony. He is constantly being compared to some his main
influences: guitarists Tim Reynolds and Trey Anastasio (of Phish). However,
being classically-trained, the influences and inspirations from which he draws
are seemingly endless.
Scott was born in Nashua, New Hampshire
in 1979 and remained in New England for the first six years of his life until
he and his family moved to Cookeville, Tennessee. His father's love for music
and his mother's life in the theatre gave him exposure to the arts from a very
early age.
It was the purchase of an acoustic
guitar at a local yard sale that ignited his passion for music. He began
studying the instrument soon after with local musician Randy Gouge who began to
foster Scott’s natural ability with the instrument. These studies culminated
when Taylor, at age 11, held his own in a local guitar competition with
musicians more than twice his age.
When Scott reached junior high, he
joined the school music program where he all but abandoned his guitar studies
while discovering his knack for the trumpet. His studies with the trumpet
became intensive – a summer at the Governor's School for the Arts, another at
the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp, and a membership in the Nashville Youth
Symphony. After high school, he was awarded a full-scholarship to attend The
Florida State University as a music performance major and selected to be a
member of the premiere undergraduate chamber music ensemble at FSU, The Titan
Brass. In the spring of 2001, the group spent a semester in London at FSU's
London Study Centre – the trip included two performances in The Duke's Hall at
London's Royal Academy of Music.
After arriving in London for a semester
in 2001, Scott met Chris Dreyer, another musician and FSU student who was
working on a demo in London. They spent an evening playing and jamming on some
of Chris’s original music. Their chemistry was apparent immediately. Scott had
the musical ability with no songs of his own. Chris had an impressive list of
original songs, but was looking for something to make them really come alive.
What started as a simple jam session turned into a full-blown concert in a
London flat that lasted until 8am. Neither the players nor their listeners
wanted the night to end, but it also became very apparent that their partnership
would not end there.