Fan's Forum II: A Conversation With Sally Taylor Part Two: Catching up with the Band By Pat Hill I hope you enjoyed the first portion of the latest conversation with Sally Taylor. In the next portion, we focused on how the band has grown… Q: What are you doing to ensure that you're continuing to grow as a person and create as a musician? SALLY: A lot of things have happened this year with movements of the music and the business of it all. With the business end of it, I've realized that some of the people who were working for me I don't need, and I've had to restructure the way that I work. I still manage myself and-- in actually some ways I've had to get more help, which is nice, that's means the business is growing. With my music, I feel that I've really opened up a new channel, incorporating the audience into the last CD ("Shotgun") and the response has been tremendous. Getting the perspective of the audience on what I'm creating has enabled me to grow and take a different look at my music. Not only from my personal point of view and the guys from the band, but from the audience-and that has helped me to grow. Q: For the past three years, the band has centered it's direction and sound in folk rock and stayed true to the roots; however, "Shotgun" overall has a very unique feel to it, with a few tracks in specific that may be branching out from your sound and style. Most notably "Victim," "Amazing," "Girl In The Picture." Is this something you attempted on purpose or did the music come to you this way? SALLY: I think it's a natural evolution of our music. "Shotgun" is also the first CD I've produced by myself. The first album, "Tomboy Bride," I co-produced with Wendy Woo I really didn't know what I was doing and was getting my feet wet in production. When I did "Apt. 6-S," that album was co-produced with someone I had hired. Looking back that may have been a move further away from my own type of production. "Shotgun" has much more of myself in it. I wanted to minimize as much as possible by staying away from re-verb and layering of instruments. Just focusing on the songs and words made this project my own and "Shotgun" is the result of that, even though it's a demo in some ways. Q: From comments on your Fans' Message Board on the web site and other e-mail and verbal feedback I've heard, "Shotgun" is being received in a very positive sense, and I'd have never guessed it was partly intended as a demo. It's full of life and is as complete as any album I've heard. SALLY: That's good to hear that people aren't perceiving it as a demo in a true sense. It's a little more than a demo… If it were a true demo I'd probably not have it out there as much on the web site and at shows. The reason I did "Shotgun" is I want my music to evolve and my fans to be a part of it because they are the ones who are buying the albums. Q: One thing that is so impressive with your release of "Shotgun," is that you have made the fans part of the process and part of your success. Sharing in that is exciting and unselfish and most fans would be hard-pressed to identify many other musicians who have had success and can be so down to Earth. SALLY: It's one thing to create the album and be fulfilled as the architect, but it's another thing have others help this evolution and be co-creation between the artist and audience. To imagine a holier than now position detracts from the music. It's important to follow the song once it's together but once it's comes down to all the instruments and re-verbs, and other "salad-dressings" for a song it's a matter of preference. It's great for me to get the audience reaction because it gives me an idea of what other people see and want to hear. Q: And that reinforces the point that your fans are a sincere part of your product, and how different, refreshing and wonderful that is. This also seems to translate into other areas of your personality, as many fans openly mention how approachable and friendly you are, and that your albums just keep getting stronger. SALLY: It's been inspiring and amazing ride so far. It's great to travel with the guys in the band and play in front of the people who come out to the shows, and believe me, I'm just grateful to have the fans I've got. Q: Last year when we spoke, you had mentioned that a goal was to get the band financially stabilized and start to begin making money. Have you officially cleared that first hurdle with the band financially, is Moby paid off? SALLY: It's always a struggle and as my Dad has told me again and again this is really a blue-collared job. It's important to not expect anything other than hard work and earning a living, that and that's true. It takes an exceptional amount of money to keep going. Being an independent artist, my income is mostly based on CD and merchandise sales and shows. I have to pay a total of about 30 peoples' salaries to support my business so can end up being a small loss but I've expected that right from the beginning. Plus, with the recent tragedy and what's happening in our country promoters are scared to hire talent. It's very difficult to schedule shows right now because promoters are freaked out about the current economy and worried if people will show up to gigs and make their money back. The only thing I can say about that is people need to have a good time, people need to enjoy themselves and they cannot feel guilty about being treated to a good time. This is a time that Americans are faced with that we need to be around each other and appreciate the times we can get together, laugh and feel good about ourselves. Q: This is a difficult time for many of us and attempting to move on and continue our lives, and music is a way that serves as a release for many of us. And, it goes without saying, but anytime we can find room to enjoy the arts we should take advantage of it, don't you agree? SALLY: Yes. I would say that, even if it's just a few dollars a week that you are able to save up and go out once in a while and support the arts it's worthwhile for your culture and peace-of-mind. Q: Your self-started record label is called "Blue Elbow." How did you arrive at that title? Is there a story behind that? SALLY: Yeah, "Blue Elbow" is the combination of two words that I associate with being a musician in this day and age: A lot of elbow grease, and it's a blue-collar job. So, it's those two words together. You hear about these other labels springing up called things like "Invincible" and "Immortal" and so on, and what it really is, is elbow grease and a blue collar job. Q: There is another question in particular about your record label, in terms of other musicians being a part of it. Are you actively pursuing independent artists or have any contacted you to be "signed" on as a part of "Blue Elbow?" SALLY: Yeah, they do get in touch with me, it's really sweet. I guess people assume that I have other artists on the label, but as I said before I'm just trying to break even with the business so right now I cannot invest in someone else. It's a gamble to invest in my own career right now, and I know I'm going to work hard. Q: Have you experienced other artists migrating to you for advise about starting out their careers and gaining insight into what has brought you to your current level of success? SALLY: Yes, a friend called me just the other day and asked me about some publishing ideas, and that is one of my favorite parts of being in the business and what I've accomplished so far. I've really invested in the sharing of information and gained an education in the music industry. The past three years, I've definitely accomplished the knowledge to be an independent artist. Along with that, I've learned what it means to be with a major label, to perform publishing responsibilities, paying mechanical royalties and I understand this in a way that makes me proud and enjoy helping out others. Sorting out what the legal mumbo-jumbo means, advising what to do in certain situations, being on the cover of magazines, how to handle a crew-these are other examples of what I can help with that feels really good to me. Giving people the appropriate answers to things I've been learning over the last three to 27 years of my life. If I couldn't make music anymore, and sing and play guitar, I would definitely want to be a musical advisor for the independent artist. Q: Being an independent artist yourself, and writing the song "Strangest of Strangers" about the face of the record industry and how they tend to use up and spit out the modern artist, are you still be contacted by the major labels and offered deals? Are you any closer to considering a major label deal? SALLY: To a greater and sometimes lesser degree in different shapes and forms, I've been contacted. They'll still ask me if I'm signed but I haven't changed my mind about the way I feel still goes (to remain independent). I throw the idea around in my brain once in a while to think about what it would look like for me to be signed to a major label… and I just cringe. Then I think about other ways to go about doing business, and I find independent investors who can help and then I can pay them back. There's lots of things an independent artist can do, but I didn't get into this business with the illusion that this was going to be some grand money making scheme for the next 30 years. I'm just going to keep on doing this because it's what I'm passionate about and I can't imagine as passionate about something else. We'll see what comes of it… Q: It's well known that you have a colligate degree in Human Sciences/Medical Anthropology. Is this something that you have put on the back burner and or is it something you plan to adopt into your life at some point? Now a few years removed from college, has your studies left an impact on you? SALLY: There's no doubt about it that my education influences the way that I see my life. I feel as if I see life through a lens. I'll probably never go on to do field work in Peru, but when it comes to examining my career and performance and the way I do business, it comes from my anthropological point of view. It is still a part of me. Other things I love to do-writing music and prose, knitting, cooking… I've just started cooking! Q: What have you made recently now that you are on a break from major touring for the rest of the year? SALLY: I just made the best stuff in this Thai cookbook I got-- eggplant ptarmigan, spinach and mushroom quiche, zucchini soufflé. I'm making all this stuff. I love hiking and being outdoors… There are all sorts of things I'm passionate about, but music is the thing that drives me. Orchestrating different pieces of the business to work in my favor, financial matters, being someone who wants to help everyone and be in good favor. I insist having integrity and honest, and if that contributes to the way we deal with one another, then I've done my part. Q: What are the major challenges the band faces at this time besides a sluggish economy? SALLY: There's always a challenge, a sluggish economy equates to fewer gigs and less money coming in for the band. Then, of course everyone needs to make money, so the guys in the band look elsewhere to play different gigs and different jobs. It's harder to get on the road with another band because of all there is involved, there's always something that needs to be problem solved. Looking to find a new drummer, booking agent, your publicist has an emergency and you need to reschedule all your interviews. There is a lesson I've learned from that because the first year it drove me crazy. I thought the drummer quitting would tear us apart and that we'd never get ourselves together again. What I've learned from it is you take things as they come. Let go of it and let stuff happen. Q: The Internet has revolutionized the way people do business, especially for the independent and small to medium size businesses reaching out to people in ways they couldn't have imagined a few years ago. It seems to be a tremendous asset to independent musicians, as veteran and new fans alike can access information quickly about upcoming shows and learn more about an artist in a very convenient way. What has it done for your career? SALLY: It's interesting. From a marketing point of view, it is a Godsend as a way for fans to buy music directly and quickly. However, most people have a hard time finding the great independent artists because they only find the narrow scope of what they search for, and it's usually a very specific artist. Most independent artists are not found as a result. Even when Napster was out there, most new bands were not being found. Bands that were being sought out and downloaded were mostly popular and established bands. I think why people were angry about Napster was because people were taking money from the musicians' pockets, and in other locations like Liquid Audio, there was more control over what was downloaded for free and for a cost. About the only way you used to find an independent web site is by surfing around a lot of links on many different pages. That has been frustrating to business-Internet people and a huge relief from an artist's point of view... I know that I dislike being force-fed… anything… Even when I was a baby my Mom was trying to nurse me at three-weeks-old I was like, "OK, done with that, where's the bottle…" I want to be able to discover stuff on my own and look for things that I've heard about and peak my interest. Q: What sparks your interest about the way items are marketed on the Internet? SALLY: People actually say, in the advertising world, that for someone who is not familiar with your music to go in an buy a CD, that person needs seven interactions with that album… Name (title of CD), sound, the visual of the cover, hear it's a good album by a friend or two, see me live, click onto a link on the Internet, as well as a few others up until before a person knows he/she has been exposed to the album in six or seven different ways-- before the average person buys an album. That's what the Internet provides and it has revolutionized the industry by the way people buy music. This has also deconstructed the service industry-which is primarily what record companies are. Now, you can find a publicist and a manufacturer and they don't have to be on a record label and be signed. Nevertheless, It's interesting that people never seeing me on television will still be able to log onto the Internet and buy my CD(s). Q: When you're at shows and spending time with your audiences, what in particular do children talk to you about, do you find they have an interest in the arts? SALLY: Nobody at that age at one of my shows has even told me they wanted to be a musician; however, one girl I spoke with was intent on being famous… I don't think she understood what fame actually is. I would never tell this to a child, but if anyone came to me looking for fame you'd better go to a therapist for a few years first… Make sure that it's that you just don't like yourself. I think because the record industry is the way it is right now and the influence of the media is set up, people really don't know what they actually are getting into by becoming musicians. As a result a lot of people sign record contracts to get on the cover of People Magazine. It's a social phenomena I think. Q: I've also had the pleasure to ask bandmate Chris Soucy some questions and that interview appears on the web site on the bio link near Chris' photo. One of the things he talked about was putting together an album of his own. SALLY: That's great! Yes, the Soucy solo album! That's going to be fantastic! He's borrowed some of my stuff and is figuring out how to make it work. I'm sure it's going to happen, knowing him, he's so determined, he'll make it happen. Q: He had mentioned that he is planning on recruiting other band members for the album. So, this could be another Sally Taylor Band type side-album? How will you contribute to it? SALLY: Oh yeah, that goes without saying, we'll all be more than willing to jump on that. This will be kind of low-key and cool. I think he may use a couple songs we have co-written. In that case I'll probably be singing some. It will be interesting and really cool. To Interview Part III Return to Top Page