can I get a witness

Local Seattle/Tacoma WA Artist Spotlight, Taylor Enloe
 
 
As I sit in my red, vinyl bean bag chair, headsets on, cord attached to the turntable …
 
I remember how my relationship with Music first began. Do you remember how yours started?
Like many people, my relationship with music began in church. Sitting with my family in the pews, singing out of worn hymnals. The organist and the choir wearing heavy robes. Usually quite solemn.
I blame my failure in becoming a backup singer, totally on my lack of exposure to singing Gospel Music in church… I’m SURE that’s the reason ;)

But, after my church music, came singing in the school choir and learning to play the piano. I loved feeling the music flow through my body.  During this time, I also started watching the TV show American Bandstand. On a black and white tv, and usually the bands were lip syncing. Half of the time their instruments didn’t even have cords attached to the amplifiers. It was fun to watch, but difficult to develop a relationship with the music …. Because it wasn’t real.  For me to truly understand the music, I need to be in the presence of the artist. Or else, I can’t determine what is real, and what is fake.
 
That determination came to light, after a conversation that I had with the artist I’m writing about; Taylor Enloe. I was selling merchandise at a Jessica Lynne and The Cousins show. Taylor walked up and introduced himself to me. ‘Hi, I’m Taylor Enloe, guitarist for Grieve The Astronaut.”

Yes…. The band’s website that I’m writing this blog on. I know the band leader Raymond Hayden and the drummer Mike Burt, but the rest of the band I haven’t officially met. I’ve watched him perform before, but we’ve never shaken hands and had a conversation. He said he read my music blogs (Thank You!) and wondered if I ever wrote about music I just listened to.  If I did, would I be willing to listen to his music and write about it.

An interesting, and perfectly timed question. I had been approached by another company, asking if I would want to listen to music and review it. I was not sure how to respond to that. However, after my conversation with Taylor, I could identify and set up boundaries for my music reviews.
For me to give an honest and truthful commentary about an artist’s music, I must be in their presence. Either through conversation, or at a live performance. Ideally, it would be both.
So, I said YES. I would listen and write a blog about Taylor’s music.
 
If you scroll back through the archives of my blog, you will read my review of the Grieve The Astronaut concert, March 2017. It was my first one. What an outstanding performance, and Raymond Hayden kept saying he had brought his new Secret Weapon into the band. That Secret Weapon was lead guitarist Taylor Enloe.

​The audience went wild during that show. Taylor totally shredded it up on stage. So, it was interesting to start researching him online, and realize what an all-around excellent musician he is.  There are various videos of his performances with several bands. His craftsmanship as a guitarist was obvious. 

​But then on YouTube, I found his powerful solo performance of his recently released song, “Farewell To Blackened Days”. An acoustic guitar and vocal piece, that really showcases his talent. When the energy and power from a band is removed, the true soul and skill level of an artist is revealed. 

​“Farewell To Blackened Days” is a skillfully executed song, that shows the truth behind Taylor’s work as a musician. Beautiful guitar riffs, accompanied by his powerful vocals.  I felt like I was seeing the real Taylor. I was curious to know more of his background and his relationship with music. I had heard he was self-taught, which I thought was fascinating. That takes a lot of drive and determination, to teach yourself an instrument.  So, I asked him to write a little bit about himself. It always helps to understand where an artist is coming from, when you know the road they have traveled.
 
 
This is what he wrote:
 
“I started playing guitar when I was 11, after hearing ‘Voodoo” by Jimi Hendrix. My grandfather bought me my first acoustic and I started teaching myself from there. After moving to Gig Harbor, WA from Stockton, CA when I was 13, my brother and I shared our first electric guitar. Dad had given it to us for Christmas. That year I got really into the band Rage Against the Machine, and would come home every day after school to jam out to their albums.   Shortly after High School began, my brother introduced me to Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Randy Rhoads’ tribute album. And, that completely changed my life. I became obsessed with metal and shred guitar.    
When I was 15, my brother and I started our first band, Wilde Thunder (RIP Alex J. Kelley). It was kind of like hair metal on steroids. After a year of that, a few friends and I started our next band, Sword of Judgement. We were thrash metal, very much in the wheel house of bands like Megadeath and Overkill. We were together for a little over 4 years and played a lot in Seattle, opening for many national heavy metal bands.

In 2011, I went on a mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico and committed my life to Jesus. After that, I felt like I was being called to ministry and began leading worship at church. Late last year I decided to pursue my own music again and recorded my first EP “Been Here Before” and have only recently returned to the music scene after finally finding my dream band. Along the way, I got asked to join Grieve The Astronaut with Raymond Hayden, which has been an absolute blast. I am also doing solo gigs with my wife and leading worship on Sunday’s, whenever possible.” 
 
Wow…that’s quite the story and journey! However, that is exactly what I love about music. It really does represent what is going on in an artist’s life. And, that’s why we are so drawn to it. Whatever we are going through, we can find a song that walks along with us, on that point in our journey.
 
I’m really looking forward to watching Taylor’s musical career grow, and of course, hear more of his performances! The next Grieve The Astronaut concert will be at The Auburn Avenue Theater, on September 16th. This is the ticket link.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grieve-the-astronaut-live-in-concert-tickets-36123411095
 
 
You can also find Taylor’s work, on the following media sites:

 
 https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/been-here-before-ep/id1176003810
 
https://cdbaby.com/artist/enloe
 
https://soundcloud.com/enloeband/sets/been-here-before
 
https://open.spotify.com/album/6SEnif5J6y6zbQ56X3i8dW
 
https://m.facebook.com/enloeofficial
 
https://youtu.be/7DsrZWPymbs
 
 
LET’S ROCK!

SUSAN IN SEATTLE