The Ten: Lily Taylor

Interview by Vincent Miceli. Photo by Joe Picard.

To see a Lily Taylor performance is unlike any other visual or musical experience in Dallas. Taylor, a true chataneuse and incredible singer is a member of Ulnae, a noise/drone/experimental project along with multi-instrumentalist Darcy Neal and her solo project with husband, Sean Miller, a visual artist. THRWD’s newest writer, Vincent Miceli chatted with Taylor about her upcoming show next weekend at Two Bronze Doors with Black Taffy, SLTM, Reversus, BRR, and c10.

1. How did you first get into music?

I have always loved to sing, but it wasn’t until I moved to Texas from Massachusetts that I started focusing on music, and allowing it to shape my identity of who I thought I was; I was 12. My scheduling didn’t work for both art and music classes, and I ended up in choir. I was the kind of kid who was addicted to the radio (this was in Boston in the 80′s/ early 90′s) and thankfully my parents allowed my brother and I to play with their record collection of Tina Turner, Chuck Berry. The Beatles, and Ravi Shankar among others.

2. 
You are a part of multiple projects. How does your character in each differ from one another?

In my solo project I really try to put my self out there as a vocalist and songwriter. My focus in college was vocal studies at the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe (class of 2004). After that, I moved to San Francisco and spent four years developing as a performer, collaborator, and writing new material. I started working with Karina Denike’s band, singing harmony and sitting-in with the jazz band she fronts, The Cottontails. When I do a jazz set or sing with Karina Denike’s band, I feel I’m playing an archetypal role as a vocalist. It’s my job to get the audience involved and have a good time, as well as to honor the songs I’m singing as best I can with the best delivery I can muster. Performing in Ulnae allows me to take a step back and focus on the entire soundscape, on the delivery of a musical idea, and the development of it. Darcy Neal and I discuss an outline, inspirations, sound quality, dynamics, and then we put our improvisational skills to work.

3. Do you find that your projects influence each other?

I do. Ulnae helps me let go, and my solo set keeps me in check- I have to remember how the songs go. It’s a good balance to bring either of those elements to either project. I’m essentially using the same equipment, but utilizing it differently as a performer.

4. 
What artists have influenced you?

I’m a music nerd, so this question is hard for me. I listen to a lot of music (obviously), but I would say the artists I work with have been the most influential for me. Karina Denike has influenced me a great deal as a writer and performer. She taught me how to approach writing from different angles, and how to be comfortable on any stage. When I have an idea I think is developed enough, sometimes I’ll run it by my husband, video artist, Sean Miller. He is brutally honest with me, which I’m grateful for. Mica Sigourney , David Glamamore, and Ryan Crowder are huge influences for me as a performer. I learned to ask the question, “What else can we do?” and “Am I working this as hard and as far as I can; do I need to take a step back?”. Really good questions to keep in mind when developing work. 
In terms of the Texan artists in the scene, Skullcaster, How I Quit Crack, Prisons, Dromez, and Deflowered Electric Flesh Bride have opened my consciousness as a musician quite considerably. Their stage presents and integrity are absolutely mind blowing. Going to shows like that has sparked many an idea.

5. 
What inspires and influences you beyond other music?

I am a hopeless romantic so, anything can influence me from the weather to a deep conversation to something I read or saw, even a fight (verbal) or an embarrassing situation. I wrote the song Taxi after I literally fell out of one in North Beach, scraping my leg. I was mortified and thought that singing it out would help me feel better, which it did. Now it’s a great .

5. How do you compare the Denton and Dallas music scenes, and where else have you performed?

I would say that the difference in the music scenes between big and little d is structure and commerce. It is incredibly difficult to make any money as a musician in Denton unless you are performing specific genres. Generally, musicians don’t perform in Denton to make money, they perform because that is what they love to do, they have an idea, and they want to make something happen. It is over flowing with good ideas, amazing shows, and talent. The structure of the scene is based on merit and the ability to conjure one’s inner and deepest badass-dom. In Dallas, a musician has a chance to take home some money after a gig, especially if the show has a corporate sponsor or promoter which I’ve noticed is quite common down here. As well as the more mainstream shows, there is this emerging underground scene that is growing right along with the art world. It’s an exciting time to be moving to Dallas and see what I can do as a performer here. 

I have performed in Dallas, Denton, Austin, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Portland, Denver, New York, and Brooklyn…I think that’s everywhere… All incredibly different audiences and line-ups, as you can imagine.

6. 
With sites like Bandcamp and Spotify, it’s so much easier to get our name out there, but it also makes it more difficult to monetize your work. How do you deal with this changing technology?

I think Bandcamp is great because the platform they have developed puts a lot of control directly in the hands of the musicians. An artist can put a demo up there for free in exchange for an email to add to their newsletter list, or an artist can charge for a song or album, setting the price to whatever they feel is best, even off setting the costs of the cut Paypal takes for the transaction. It is incredibly hard to get people to pay for music, but for some reason Bandcamp works. Ulnae has a page and we ask people to pay what they want. Usually people pay; it’s great. You can download a track, pop it on your playlist and go. 
I don’t use Spotify. I don’t have my music on there, and I have no interest in putting it up at this time. I prefer Soundcloud, which has a great networking element. If I want to listen to a signed musician I turn on the radio. I’ve taken to scrolling through Soundcloud pages looking for really obscure stuff to download. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes I pay. I can’t really think of any musician I know who makes a huge chunk of cash from the sales of their work. It’s been my experience that you have to perform at shows to have a shot at making money as a musician. Our culture is in a constant struggle with value- of any kind. Each individual has to decide what he or she is going to find valuable, and how he or she is going to react to that found value, downloading music or other wise.

8. 
With so much information accessible today, do you feel that it is important for music to have a strong visual element as counterpart, as yours does?

I spent years up on stage just me and my pedals singing my heart out, and I’ve seen many a show with very little visual elements that have moved me to tears. I also download a bunch of stuff from Soundcloud which I have absolutely no idea who these people are or what they look like, and I couldn’t care less- I just like it. At the same time, I love strange theatrics and costumes. While in San Francisco, California I started performing in collaboration with modern dancers and drag queens. My songs are kind of mellow, so collaborating with performing artists was a way to bring the performance and show to another level without having to write a mainstream 4/4 pop song to gain audience’s attention. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pop song, but I’m not really interested in developing that kind of music myself right now. Other people seem to have it covered just fine. 
We collaborated a little, but it wasn’t until Sean Miller and I moved to Texas in 2011 that we started performing every show together, Sean performing live visual accompaniment to my set and to Ulnae’s set. I think his video is absolutely unbelievable, and I thank my lucky stars that he wants to show his work with my performing acts. He develops specific video patches for each show. Here is Sean Miller’s website to get a better idea of what he is up to: http://cargocollective.com/seanpmiller

9. What project are you working on for the near future?

Currently, I am working with Ulnae, an experimental noise duo (Darcy Neal and myself) with visuals by Sean Miller. We performed NMASS last weekend in Austin, TX. I am also working on booking a tour for my solo album, The Ride which is being released by Pour le Corps Records this summer.

10. The contemporary art scene and contemporary hip-hop scene in Dallas are both flourishing and receiving national attention. What is your favorite Dallas-based hip-hop artist, collective, or group?

My fav local hip hop artist would have to be Juicy the Emissary. We’ve been working on a song together for his upcoming album. He both produces and raps- always a killer show. I also really enjoy Blue the Misfit.

LT
about.me/lily.taylor

Lily is set to release a tape and vinyl album this July with Pour le Corps Records called, “The Ride”.