Ron Taylor used to be the vocalist of melodic
rockers
LILLIAN AXE for quite some years until the members
unfortunately decided to lay the band on ice for a while.
Well, in the meantime Ron hooked up with his old mate
Drew Smith and formed a new project called THE BRIDGE.
Read the following interview with Ron about his current activities.
First of all, it's
great to have you back with a new band
and a new CD, so please tell our readers what you have done
within the last years, since LILLIAN AXE split up?
"Well, Drew and I had started writing and
recording
together back in October '94, while LILLIAN was still together.
After the last LILLIAN shows, I decided to step away from the
actual business of music and focus on what made me love
music in the first place, the satisfaction of writing, creating
and performing music that made me happy."
Why did
LILLIAN AXE split up?
"LILLIAN
never officially broke up, we decided to go our
separate ways for a while to try new things and just haven't had
the urge to play together again. Steve and I are really enjoying
our new projects but haven't closed the door on ever doing
LILLIAN again, we'll see."
Do you know
what the ex-bandmembers do?
"Steve has
a band called NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE.
Jon has a new baby girl, Jordan Anna Ster, and is not interested
in the music biz anymore. Darrin has a two year old boy and
another one on the way. I've been talking to Darrin about forming
a new project. Tommy is living in Los Angeles and playing with a
couple of different bands. We are all still friends, it was
just time to put LILLIAN to rest."
THE BRIDGE
musically takes a different direction
than LILLIAN AXE, into a more acoustic rock style, why this change?
"Drew and I
had played together in the early 80's and
always loved some of the more mellow pop bands, so that's
the direction we went with THE BRIDGE. I had been playing
hard rock for 20 years, so I was ready for a change. I still love
hard rock and my next band will probably be more in that vein,
but I wanted to try something different."
Do THE
BRIDGE only consist of you and Drew Smith?
Who wrote the songs on the CD?
"We both
write the songs. Most of the time, he gives me
a music idea and I run with the melody line and lyrics but we
both contribute to all phases of the writing process."
I only heard
three songs till today, and I love them,
especially "Remember What She Said" and "Standing"...
Are the other songs in the same vein?
"Yes, most
of the songs are like the ones you've heard.
When we put out that three song tape, we wanted to give people
an idea of what we were about, so yes they are in the same vein."
Will you
also tour in Europe?
"We would
love to tour Europe!!!! Right now, we have
to concentrate on getting a recording contract, so we will be
able to come to Europe and the rest of the world as well. I had
such a great time when LILLIAN toured Europe, I can't wait to
come back!!"
Which of
your own albums do you personally like the
most and why? And what are your fave albums of other bands / artists?
"I like
"Love and War" the best of all the LILLIAN records,
it's just got something about it that sets it apart from the rest.
Lets see, right now I love "Doyle Bramhall II", this is the best
record I've heard in a long time. Those FOO FIGHTERS records
are great too! I love SARAH MCLACHLAN, TONIC, DEL AMITRI
and JAMES TAYLOR too."
Did you ever
have vocal lessons, because your voice
is one of the greatest I know?
"No, I've
never taken a voice lesson. My mom always
sang to me as a child and we would sing songs together, so
I owe it all to her. I was singing in a county gospel band in church
at age 4 and just kept on singing."
It's sad
that melodic rock is in the underground, so for
bands like THE BRIDGE it's difficult to get a record deal. So, what
do you think about the music-scene at the moment?
"I try not
to think about the music scene right now.
I'm just doing what makes me happy and not worrying about
what I cannot control. If someone likes what THE BRIDGE is
doing, great, if not, that's fine too. There is some really great
music out there though, unlike the beginning of this whole 90's thing."
Please tell
us your near future plans with THE BRIDGE?
"Well,
we're writing again and sending the "Demo" out to
some people to see if we can get a bite from someone. If we never
get a deal, that's ok because we have been blessed with the ability
to create and perform music and that's enough to keep me
happy for the rest of my life."
To contact Ron Taylor in the net,
the following address: e-mail: bertski747@aol.com
Martin Zalien