Steve taylor & the perfect foil L-R:
Steve Taylor, John Mark Painter, Jimmy Abegg, Peter Furler
collaborated regularly since the early
days of Newsboys — I produced a
number of their albums since “Not
Ashamed,” and Peter and I wrote a lot
of their songs together. John Mark
Painter and I have worked together on
everything from Newsboys to Sixpence
None The Richer to songs for Veggie
Tales. And Jimmy and I have been
friends for decades — we actually went
to the same high school in Denver. So
we started hanging out once or twice a
week in John’s studio, and were getting
close to finishing an album. Then a
Kickstarter campaign miraculously
funded the “Blue Like Jazz” movie, so I
had to put the music on hold for a
couple more years to make the movie.
like a small miracle every time a song
gets finished.
CR - Where do you draw inspiration for
writing music/lyrics?
ST - We’ve got eclectic tastes as a band,
and John’s got a massive vinyl
collection in the studio control room, so
we’re constantly pulling out old albums
for inspiration, as well as referencing
new bands we may have just
discovered. For lyrics, I read a lot and
am constantly jotting down ideas. I also
take long drives on remote roads so I
can sing really loud without bothering
anybody and keep tweaking each line
until it finally sounds right.
CR - What has it been like working with
other veterans of the music industry John Mark Painter, Jimmy Abegg, and
Peter Furler?
CR - For anyone who hasn't yet listened
to your new album, can you tell me if
there is a collective theme that runs
throughout "Goliath", or does each track
have a message of it's own?
ST - It’s a nonstop party. Peter is my
favorite melody writer. John is quite
simply the best musician I’ve ever
worked with. And Jimmy is a walking
maelstrom of random creativity. It’s a
four-way collaboration, and we’ve all
got pretty high standards, so it seems
ST - There wasn’t a conscious theme
running through the entire album — I
doubt the four of us could ever agree on
anything that