Interview: Debut Project to Vinyl Release; Taylor Kropp
Singer/Songwriter Taylor Kropp spills detials on upcoming releases throughout the months ahead, inspration behind debut project, and touring with Tayna Tucker plus many others!
Thank you for chatting with Music Update Central! You released your debut record 'Coming Up For Air'. What's the inspiration behind the record? I was really inspired to write after moving to Nashville, even though I moved out here to play guitar as a sideman. Working with so many amazing songwriters made me want to focus on my writing and try to write as well as the people I was playing for. So I wrote the 9 songs on Coming Up for Air in the first year and a half that I lived in Nashville. I tried to follow through whenever inspiration struck. I wanted to release a record that was hopeful and wasn't entirely a downer. It's easy to write sad songs. It's much harder to write from a hopeful perspective and have it still sound valid artistic statement.
You've been the guitarist for Tayna Tucker, Kristen Kelly, and Josh Dorr. What did you learn from being on the road with them? You have to be yourself. The thing that all three of those artists have in common is that when they step on that stage there is nothing they do on their stage for the "show" that isn't a huge part of who they are. They are authentic artists who bring their own experience and stories to the stage to share with their fans. There's nothing contrived about their music.
Your bio states that you've been always attracted to the 'Old West'. How does that play a part of what makes you an artist? I think it played a huge part in my falling in love with traditional country music. I can't help but associate Marty Robbins with the old west. That's part of the reason I love that music. It evokes familiar feelings. I love baritone guitars, fender reverb, telecasters, slide guitar. Those sounds are associated musically with western soundtracks and the like. I'd love to write a concept album about the old west. Perhaps travel to different historical sites and write songs there. See how you can be inspired in the "now" by the history around you.
What can fans expect for 2018? Coming Up for Air will be released on vinyl this year. So that's exciting. I will be touring heavily in 2018 bringing Coming Up for Air to the people. There are gigs booked out through September and the band and I should hit 100 shows this year. In April I'll be in Chicago, Louisville, and Michigan. California in May. I'll be doing a two-three week tour of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana in July. I love playing in that part of the country cause the people are so kind and gracious to traveling bands. I've also started gathering ideas for my next record. That's a ways down the road but hopefully I can start writing the songs this year and we can start incorporating those into the set.
MUC Random: What's your favorite memory as a kid? Going to the mojave desert as a kid. Specifically Red Rock Canyon State Park. That's where I fell in love with the desert and the old west. I used to explore ghost towns with my family, ride motorcycles and climb the steep desert cliffs. A really magical time in my life"
Where can our readers follow you at?
Website: taylorkroppmusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/taylorkroppmusic
Youtube: youtube.com/taylorkroppmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/taylorkropp
Instagram: instagram.com/guitarplayntaylor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/taylorkroppmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4zBdAu4U6BycQrK3xfd85V