I've created this page not only to chronicle my musical adventures up to this point in my life, but also to pay homage to those that I have created music with along the way. Thank you all for personal growth that I never would have attained without you. And now, a brief synopsis of my projects, present to past...
BLUE MAN GROUP - Current job: a Blue Man in the Boston production. Check out the website for all kinds of details on the show. And for the love, go see it--you'll laugh your ass off, and that's always a good thing.
GLORYDIVE - (2002-2007): I was the hand percussionist in this crazy trio, along with Mark Nippert on electric violin and Taylor Roberts on guitar and lead vocals. Alex McKinney of 'Athanaeum' fame joined us on bass a lot of the time. 'glorydive' started out, for me, not unlike all my other musical endeavors. Just a chance to have fun jammin' with people while I try to tackle the real world. Then all of a sudden the real world started fading away, and 5 years later we were in the midst of actually trying to make a career out of our music. Easier said than done, but we stuck with it, releasting our first album under the name 'glorydive' in November of 2006 (our EP and first album were both released under the name "Taylor Roberts Music"). "Keep the Change" is a song inspired by my mother, another key figure in jumpstarting my musical career...she's the only reason I ever started playing djembe in the first place. 'glorydive' is on hiatus while I'm doing the Blue Man thing...but Mark is still out there playing violin somewhere and Taylor has just started up his own Raleigh recording studio, "Suburban Studios"...for more info, email him at [email protected].
THE DOGWOOD DEDDY - (2007-???): formed by 2 members of Chapel Hill-based band BUS.(formerly Big Pretty and the Red Rockets)--Leon Godwin on guitar/harmonica/vocals, and Joe Kwon ..o/vocals, myself on djembe/guitar/melodica/vocals. It would have been impossible not to play music with these guys--they're talent for a good song is intoxicating, and we share the same vision of bringing genuine, relaxed, backporch-style tunes to the stage. "7sixV" is my writing contribution to our new EP, 'Mayfly'. Currently 'The Dogwood Deddy' is still writing and playing, now as the husband-and-wife team of Leon and Brianne Godwin. Joe Kwon is rockin' out on his cello on tour with 'The Avett Brothers'.
NO OUTLET - (1998-2000): perhaps the greatest high-school band in the history of the world, in my ever-so-humble opinion. Amidst playing 'Star Wars Trivial Pursuit' and getting entirely too drunk while camping at the lake, somehow my friends Adam Bergeron (guitar, vocals), George Androney (drums, vocals), and myself (bass, vocals) found time to make music. We played many school functions and open mics in our hometown of Asheville, NC, and had a brief recording stint with family-friend Thad Johnson (a.k.a. the bald guy with mysteriously long hair). All original music at 17--gotta love it. "The Charlie Song", written by the Bergel and Crazy-George was the first ever recording I had played hand percussion on. For this reason, and so many others, 'No Outlet' is 99% responsible for my pursuits in music.
TUCKAWAY DRIVE - (2000-2001): an acoustic guitar/bass guitar duo with my high school friend Trevor Stoia. With both of us attending NC State University, we decided to create some songs and take a stab at starting a college band. Our first gig was none other than "BUGFEST" on day before the first day of classes. I can only recall being insanely nervous, playing for all these old hippies out in the middle of a guy named Junebug's backyard. Months later, after jamming with all sorts of people, we decided to record a song I had written called "Home Sweet Home", with the help of Lauren Winslow on vocals and some guy named Kyle on drums. We recorded at the "Tree House", practice space of popular Raleigh jamband 'Shady Tree' (brother of Trevor, friends of my older brother, etc.) with engineer Jamie "Bird" Perkins.
That's it for now. The list can only get longer from here, and I hope it does. As a musician, the more outlets for your music and the more styles you can perform in, the more open your mind becomes to such an infinite profession. Let me know if you want to jam.
