06.22.05
Taylor McKenna is new on our radar because he's
got a dark sound with intricate songwriting skills.
We took a few minutes to talk to him about his music-making,
and music teaching! Read on for more!
 Your
music has this dark intrinsic sense. Did you have to
strive to create the unique sound or was it innate to
you?
As you write a song, you have a certain sense of how
its going and how you want it to turn out. That part
of it is innate and just comes with being a songwriter.
You put into it what you know and feel. But when you
are recording it becomes more important to stay focused
and work on keeping the sound and feel you were first
going for. So in that way, in the studio you do strive
for a certain sound.
Tell us a little about producing your album. What
is your favorite track? Where were many of the songs
written and recorded?
I recorded most of the songs at Hurricane studios in
Garland, TX. A few of the songs and some other finishing
touches were added at Maximedia Studios in Dallas. I
owe a lot to Mike Gage and Hal Fitzgerald the two engineers
that I worked with throughout the process. I was on
my own recording and producing for the first time so
I bounced a lot of ideas off of them and we came up
with what you hear. The last track I added to the album
was Sure.
George Brunt, a good friend and producer flew in from
Utah and did the honors for that song and I think it
turned out great. George was also instrumental in shaping
the drum sounds for the album.
As far as the writing goes, it started in Utah at college.
I wrote mostly in the many apartments I occupied during
my stay there. Then after moving to Dallas I had a period
of about 4 months were I finished most of the songs
on the record and was writing every day pretty intensely.
The last minute add-ons were The Show and Sure. My favorite
song is always the last one I wrote. It will be on the
next album.
What artists are you listening to currently?
I have a wide range of stuff in my changer. Gordon
Lightfoot, an old school Canadian folk singer has always
been a favorite and a major songwriting influence. But
then I have the Strokes and the White Stripes, David
Grey, Ben Kweller, The Stones, Badly Drawn Boy, Pete
Yorn and stuff like that.
So you teach guitar as a day job? How is that going?
Its going great. It’s cool to see my kids getting
excited about the same music that I was discovering
at that age. They come and ask to play Zepplin or AC/DC
or the Beatles and its like they discovered this great
new song that they had no idea about and it really inspires
them. Although lately they will bring in songs they
consider old and I'm like, wait a minute, this CD came
out when I was in high school. But it’s a great
job to have and I’m lucky my students are very
cool.
My future career goals are to do music. It’s
the only thing I feel like I understand, the only thing
I'm halfway good at and the only thing I can take day
in and day out. It’s always been my goal to make
people feel the way I do when I hear a good song. Something
inside just happens and not many people can do that.
I also hope the future gives me more opportunities
to write good music for myself and others. I love music
theory and composition so doing soundtracks for movies
with full orchestras or even loftier projects also interests
me. But for now I want people to get a chance to hear
this CD and see what they think.
Any artists you dream of playing with?
I dream of meeting or playing with all the artist
that inspired me to be a musician and the ones I listened
to growing up. My first musical love was the Beatles.
I saw Paul McCartney in concert when I was in the fifth
grade and as far a musical icons go, it doesn't get
any bigger. Dave Matthews was a big influence during
high school and college and I really respect the way
he built up his fans and the way he has conducted his
career since. And as I mentioned earlier Gordon Lightfoot
who in my opinion is one of the greatest pure songwriters
ever would also be a thrilling person to meet or to
play with.
Thanks so much for your time, Taylor!
Interviewed by Kristen Fischer
DiscoveringArtists.com
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