Can you share your musical journey with us, from when you first discovered your passion for music to where you are today as an independent musician?
My journey as a performer began early, and led me on a path of creative expression throughout my life. I have always been drawn to music, inspired by melodic hooks, rhythms, and the stories woven through the music I heard in my parents’ record collection, public concerts I attended as a child in Boston, and my obsession with radio. I later studied contemporary music at College of Santa Fe in New Mexico, becoming a professional musician in Santa Fe, NM. Later in San Francisco, CA, I met and began working with Karina Denike and her band. During this time, I was developing my own sound as a solo musician, composing with the looping pedal and performing in every spot I could think of to book a show from cafes, small theaters, and Drag revues to galleries and retail shops. I am now based in North Texas where I perform, teach voice lessons, and host a radio show called BandwidthTX on KUZU LP 92.9FM Denton, TX. For many years I booked showcases in the local scenes of Denton, Dallas, and Fort Worth (the DFW Metroplex), but now I am focused on my own projects.
What motivates you to create music, and how do you stay inspired to continue making new and unique music?
Making sure there is a performance in the calendar coming up helps motivate me, and focus ideas. Also, going to see live music can be extremely inspiring. I listen to a lot of new music because I am always searching for cool tracks to put on my radio show, and I find that process inspiring.
As an independent musician, you wear many hats – from composing to marketing. How do you balance these different aspects of your career, and what challenges do you face in the process?
Being a musician is a lifestyle of rehearsal, creating, promoting, teaching, learning, these aspects come naturally. The challenge is navigating the world we live in that values things and profit over humanity. Streaming is a promotional tool, not an income, and that fact is dictated by the companies who control the streaming platforms, not the artists. Concerts take effort from many different people, if you don’t have a functional system working at the venue from promotion to the box office operations to sound equipment to security at the door, you can end up with hopefully a fun time, but no profit. The best way to learn is by doing and trying to refine what you do as you go. Cultivating your own audience over time that you can directly notify with updates and get a sense of how much merch you can realistically order to sell at concerts as well as building relationships with venues can make a lasting impact.
Could you tell us about your creative process? How do you come up with new ideas for songs, and how do you go about turning those ideas into finished tracks?
Different tracks have different approaches. I feel that the songs tell me when they are complete. Sometimes I am utilizing the limitations of the equipment I am using, and sometimes I am trying to refine a chord progression or a lyric choice. I like to perform the material for different audiences and in different conditions to see how the song translates. I think of the studio version like a photograph, capturing the piece in a moment in time, but live, I may extend or shorten certain parts, even coming up with alternative lyrics, though that has only happened a few times.
Independent musicians often face financial challenges. How do you manage your finances to sustain your music career while also covering your personal expenses?
Putting your creative projects out there in the world, and then relying on them to do well monetarily can be terrifying. Also, how do you know what you don’t know; you owe it to yourself to try. Over the past two decades as a musician, I have always taught voice lessons, and often had to rely on some other form of income. At times this gets in the way of my creative process. I have worked jobs that intertwine with the skills needed for being a musician like running a record shop, grant writing, social media management and promotion coordination, sales, booking concert showcases, or event-staff at a venue, among other things. No matter the gig, I learn elements that serve my personal projects, and add these experiences to my lifestyle of creating. Having worked on grants, I understand the power of using a budget for each project. Being able to map out when costs must be covered, what costs can wait, and what can be crossed off the list entirely, is an artform in itself.
Can you share a particularly memorable or challenging experience from your journey as a musician that has had a significant impact on your career and personal growth?
I have learned along the way to let the music and performance speak for itself. Everyone has an opinion, and that’s great. I spend my time proving myself to myself, not the critics.
With the rise of digital platforms, the music industry has changed significantly. How do you navigate the digital landscape, including streaming services and social media, to promote your music and connect with your audience?
Streaming is just one part of the puzzle. I see it as a promotional tool to reach more listeners across the globe, but in general, I lament what big-music-business has done to the landscape of working musicians in setting up the systems we are accustomed to, today. Personally, I prefer to listen to community radio (radio garden is a great tool), directly from an artist’s page, or by putting a physical album on the turntable, but I understand the convenience and cultural value of curated playlists.
Collaboration is a key part of the music industry. Have you worked with other musicians or producers, and how have these collaborations influenced your sound and career?
Yes! My latest album is an example. I was able to work with musician and producer BLACK TAFFY (Leaving Records) and Alex Bhore at Elmwood Recording to shape the project and finalize for production. BLACK TAFFY performed on most of the tracks and we wrote ‘EVER NEW’ and ‘KEPLER WELLS’ together, as well as arranging the tracks ‘THREAD’ and ‘MY BABY’. We were able to capture a sound and production quality that I had been dreaming about for years.
I also have a noise/drone/video art project with my husband, Sean Miller, called LOCATIONS. We met in art school in 2000 in New Mexico, but began this project together in 2012 performing at a noise festival in Austin, TX. We mostly perform in Denton, TX, but have done shows in LA and NY. The exploration of improvising and using my voice outside of the confines of a song-structure has greatly influenced my approach and sound as a vocalist.
More of my collaborations are listed on my website. www.lilytaylormusic.com including Karina Denine, Gil Trythall, Wanz Dover, Juicy The Emissary, Concussed, and more.
Your music likely reflects your unique style and perspective. Could you describe your musical identity and what makes your sound stand out in a crowded industry?
Mark Hosler of Negativeland referred to the album AMPHORA as “unclassifiable music”. Such a great compliment! I identify as an outsider-artist, having grown up going back and forth between states in the USA, and later living in an entirely different part of the country – I never really fit in, and my music journey has reflected that. I love a good pop song, but I tend to look for music to listen to that is different or unexpected, and I want to explore ideas in my own music that are outside of what is expected. I studied many different forms of music, tuning systems, rhythms, and I practice my modal scales often, so I’m approaching musical ideas from a truly expressive place that is outside of the Western pop box. There is no one else like me, and I find strength in that idea as I get older. My time at College of Santa Fe in New Mexico with teachers like David Dunn, Polly Tapia Ferber, Steven M Miller, Mirabai, and Joan LaBarbara had a huge impact on my philosophies about music and my music practice. Later working with vocalist Jay Clayton as well.
What role does live performance play in your music career, and how do you approach planning and executing your live shows, especially in light of recent challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic?
Live performance is the driving force in my music career. I’m doing all of this so that I may experience sacred time on stage; it’s where I feel most alive. I have performed thousands of times, coordinated over a thousand events for other people to experience the same joy, and coach performers in private lessons and studio sessions. The pandemic threw a wrench into my event planning, but in the following years, I was able to pivot my attention and focus to finishing my album and prioritizing my art. I am grateful for this opportunity, and can’t take one show for granted anymore knowing that at one point we weren’t sure any of “normal” life would resume again.
Many fans are interested in the stories behind the songs. Could you share the backstory or inspiration behind one of your recent tracks that holds special meaning to you?
The song ‘THREAD’ from the album AMPHORA was recently featured on Memory Terminal Records’ Memory Terminal Autumnal Equinox Compilation. This song was inspired by spiritual ideas about reincarnation and scientific theories about DNA that connect us all together in the human experience. “Hands hardened with time, seem so soft when I hold them in mine, you have, you have infinite” these lyrics are referring to perception of time, and perceptions about value in humanity. We either see ourselves and our fellow humans as deserving value and access to equal rights or we don’t. There are few things in this world that are so clearly simple.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations as an independent musician? Are there any upcoming projects or exciting developments in your career that you’d like to share with your fans and the audience?
I am currently rehearsing with the Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band for a show in Oak Cliff coming up. I know we hope to record at some point. I have an ongoing collaboration in the act LOCATIONS, and I continue to promote and perform songs from the album AMPHORA as well as THE RIDE.
Thank you for these questions and an opportunity to reach new listeners!
