Machan Taylor – An Xperience Interview

By Rob Smittix.

RRX: First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. I’m excited about our conversation.

MT: Wonderful. Yeah, me too. Thank you.

RRX: I know very soon we have you coming to Saratoga Springs (SPAC Aug 1st) with Brit Floyd, so that’s exciting.

MT: Yeah, that particular show is with Get The Led Out, a Led Zeppelin tribute band. So it’s like an oldies rock and roll show.

RRX: I love it, though; those are all great groups.

MT: Yeah, absolutely, it should be fun.

RRX: I know we don’t have a lot of time, so I’d like to just get to the meat and potatoes. I saw that you have a book out, and I think that’d be cool to talk about.

MT: The book is called “Naked Out Loud”; it’s a memoir. It was released last December, and it’s getting some really nice reviews. I’m very pleased. I’ve been doing a lot of podcasts and interviews, just trying to get the word out there about it.

RRX: So, the memoir … I imagine from your lengthy resume and all of the cool things that you’ve done over the years … is that the focus? 

MT: Well, honestly, the overview of the story is definitely talking about my career, my music career, my background, where I grew up, and things like that.  But … for me, I think the important part of the story is really what was going on underneath the surface of the seemingly very glamorous career that I was having, and I did have. What was really going on for me spiritually, emotionally, personally through a lot of those years that I was touring and working in the business.

RRX: Sure. That makes a lot of sense. People don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. You get up there on stage, do your thing, and everyone leaves happy.

MT: Well, everybody leaves pretty happy from the show, but it’s not always happy behind the scenes, you know? That to me is really the important part of the story.

RRX: But telling the story and getting it out there must feel good to get it off your chest, I’d imagine.

MT: Yeah, it was a very cathartic process writing the book. Honestly, I never intended to write a book. The book really came out of almost three years of journaling and writing stories down; it was almost a therapeutic process. Then I realized at a certain point that I had over 60,000 words written. That culminated in the book, and I was lucky enough to get a small publishing deal, so they put it out there, and it’s amazing how it all unfolded. But that was not my original plan.

RRX: Sometimes things just have a way of working themselves out, you know?

MT: Yeah, I feel very grateful that it worked out the way it did.

RRX: I’ll tell you what, I’m definitely gonna go ahead and order myself a copy. I’ve always wanted to write a book; I’ve started before, but 60,000 words can seem really far away.

MT: Maybe the thing is to pretend like you’re not really writing a book; you’re just writing. And then maybe you’ll find that it’ll unfold easier, without putting a lot of pressure on yourself.

RRX: I can definitely respect that. Well, obviously you’re on a really cool tour right now, and you’ve done so much over the years … anything in your music career that really stands out for you as a pivotal moment?

MT: Definitely when I toured with Pink Floyd in ’87, 88 – that was a huge and amazing world tour. But the really amazing part of that story is how it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Over the years, I’ve gotten so many calls and opportunities to work, you know? So-called tribute bands, and for some reason, I think the number is in the thousands for Pink Floyd tribute bands around the world. They’re not all like Brit Floyd; I would say Brit Floyd is the premier number one Pink Floyd tribute band. There are a lot of smaller localized groups that I’ve worked with; like in Italy, there are some very good Pink Floyd tribute bands that I’ve worked with. I’ve gotten calls from people all over the world to come and sing with them that have these Pink Floyd tribute bands. So it’s kind of funny; it was not something I ever expected, but like I said, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

RRX: It sure is. And yeah, definitely Brit Floyd is a top-tier tribute band, but what I do appreciate about Pink Floyd tributes is that many of them have a very different take on how they do it. There are so many out there, as you said. There’s the Australian one, and we even have a local tribute here in town called Run Rabbit Run, and they’ve got their own take on it too. Zeppelin’s got a lot of tributes as well, and KISS is definitely up there. Oh, and of course, the Grateful Dead. I think they’re probably the top 4 all-time for tribute bands.

MT: Yeah, it’s a thing.  I don’t remember this 20-30 years ago so much. I don’t remember seeing so many tribute bands, but it seems like it’s a trend. Because a lot of people still love that music, but the bands are gone; the original bands are never gonna happen again.

RRX: Definitely, you’re right. You can’t see the original acts anymore for a lot of these tributes, and venues will sell out or come pretty close to it for these acts; there’s a big audience and market for it.

MT: It’s really amazing. Who knew?

RRX: They’ve started ‘90s tribute acts already, and I think it could be too soon. I don’t see those shows do as well. And many of those bands are still around, with exceptions like Nirvana.

MT: Well, Dave Grohl, he’s still around, and he’s still working, so that’s kind of an offshoot of Nirvana.

RRX: True, he’s probably the biggest rock star that’s official in the entire world right now.

MT: He’s really great.

RRX: Anything else you’d like to get out to the world? 

MT: This is sort of a two-fold story … working with Brit Floyd, doing shows with them is a wonderful and nostalgic experience for me, and the band is so wonderful – really lovely people. It’s been fun for me to kind of relive those memories. Next year, 2027 to 2028, is going to mark the 40th anniversary of the Delicate Sound of Thunder Tour that I did with the real Floyd. So, the next couple of years are kind of special, and there’s gonna be some celebratory shows with Brit Floyd and possibly some other stuff.

RRX: Oh, you’re gonna be getting a lot of phone calls.

MT: (Laughs) Yes! That’s gonna be interesting, and I think probably after 2028, that’ll be sort of the end of this little hoorah for me. I feel like that’s gonna be a really nice time to kind of put that to bed for myself. But the flip side of the story – I hope people will check out my book. It’s a very vulnerable story; it’s taken a lot for me to put that book and that story out there because it is so personal. I would love to hear people’s thoughts and feedback.

For more on Machan Taylor and links to purchase “Naked Out Loud,” visit: machantaylor.com