Quick Facts
Biography
Steve Taylor is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. In addition to his solo career, he has played keyboards and guitar for bands such as Rhye, Nicki Bluhm, and Rogue Wave. He was born in Sacramento, California and grew up in the College Greens area, attending Saint Ignatius Catholic School and the Sacramento Waldorf School. Dropping out in 10th grade following a period of misdiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), he later enrolled at Sacramento High School.
He then moved to Seattle and attended the University of Washington. On the side he began playing with various local musicians, including Jason McGerr, future drummer of Death Cab for Cutie. In 2001, he recorded his debut self-titled EP with Martin Feveyear. Still searching for his niche, he moved to New York, attending The New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, where his fellow students included Georgia Ann Muldrow, who would go on to help him release his own music. While in NYC, he joined the Afrobeat band Akoya, playing tenor guitar. While getting settled in New York, tragedy struck when the one story building he was living in in Williamsburg, Brooklyn collapsed while he was sleeping. While Steve was unhurt, it destroyed many of his belongings, including rare musical equipment. Never regaining his footing, he left New York, settling in Nevada City for a time, and eventually San Francisco, CA. It was here that after listening to gospel music outside of a Baptist church in the Western Addition neighborhood, he was invited inside to join in a jam session. After this chance meeting, he became a sought after guitarist, and sometime pianist, in various African American churches, often being the only white person present.
In 2008 he did a tour playing keyboards with hip hop bands Zion I and The Mighty Underdogs, and in 2009 began playing keyboards and guitorgan with Rogue Wave, contributing to their 2010 album, Permalight. In February 2008, after recording off and on for four years, he released his first full-length album Has The Size of The Road Got The Better of You?, a mixture of Laurel Canyon folk, Brill Building soul, and psych rock arrangements. The album was performed entirely by Steve Taylor on guitar, organ, piano, Crumar Orchestrator, bass and drums, except for a couple of tracks, which featured Marco Benevento and Joe Russo on organ and drums, respectively. The album is currently out of print after selling out of the initial pressing of 1000 copies.
From 2011 to 2013 he played organ and guitar with Jackie Greene and Nicki Bluhm, in the process jamming with heroes Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Jeff Chimenti. In late 2012 after moving to Los Angeles he joined the electro-soul group Rhye, touring with them through 2013. Following this he released his second solo album "The Land of Milk and Honey".