Taylor Alexander LIVE

For as long as he can remember, Taylor Alexander has been singing. In the shower, in the car, when he thought no one could hear him and when he knew everyone could, he put his vocal talents to good use. At 12 he picked up his first guitar and at
16 he began penning his own music. Live performances followed suit and the rest, as
the old cliché goes, is history.


Named after James Taylor – no really, his parents are rad – Taylor Alexander grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. A city known more for its chili and sports teams that only make it so far, Cinci’s not exactly recognized as a hot bed of emerging talent. But, this is the same offshoot of the Ohio River that spawned Bootsy Collins, L.A. Reid, the Afghan
Whigs and 98 Degrees so there must be something in the water (or the chili) that breeds talent.

“I think Cincinnati has been an excellent place to hone my skills,” Taylor says about his birthplace. “It will always be my home and has been a wonderful
training ground.” It also helps that Taylor hails from a musical family. His maternal grandmother studied music in college and his grandfather was 1st trumpet in the Marine Corps Band. On his father’s side, his grandfather was also a singer. It doesn’t end there, his dad and uncle both talented singers, while his younger sister, Mia Carruthers, of MTV's 2009 reality drama 'Taking the Stage' is a talented pianist and singer/songwriter.

In his youth, Taylor took some music lessons and taught himself to read tablature online. However, it was the constant loop of tunes playing in his head that drove him to practice, practice, practice until that music was ready to leave his noggin and be set free into the world. He’s constantly singing, beat boxing and writing lyrics. If you
happen to be standing next to Taylor on the bus or subway, cock your ears because you may just hear a cut from his next release being worked out before you.

Influenced by the solo artists that came before him like, John Mayer, Jason Mraz and of course his namesake the “Fire and Rain” guy, Taylor used their music as a blueprint for his own.

“Their collective style is what made me want to make music,” he says. “I wanted to be able to captivate an audience like they can with guitar, voice and melody,” he continues, reflecting on the artists that shaped him. Other inspirations include
Justin Timberlake, Marc Cohn, David Gray, Michael Jackson and Alanis Morrisette. Like
the aforementioned artists there’s a real earnestness to Taylor’s music, a yearning
that can’t be ignored. Lyrical honesty is important to him and being an emotionally sensitive dude doesn’t hurt.

“My music is my coping mechanism,” says Taylor. It’s his therapy, it’s what gets him
through life and you never know, his music could help get your through yours.