This could be the year to remember in the life of Gavin Taylor.
And it could be the kick-off to something big.
With the Aug. 9 release of his new song, “Reruns,” and being in the running for a shot at performing at the Hollywood Bowl, Taylor is going into adulthood with rock star abandon. He’s on a mission.
“This contest is a chance for me to get my music out there and connect with as many people as possible,” he said. “I create deeply personal music to make other people not feel alone.”
Voting closed at midnight Thursday in the contest, sponsored by The Open Act.
Taylor said it was a maternal nudge that caused him to enter. His mother, Mandy has been his biggest fan. He recognizes her.
“My beautiful mother enticed me into competing,” he said. “She the reason I do it at all. She’s a special human.”
Taylor said not only his mother but also his entire family supports him in his musical dream. They encourage him to be his bold true self.
“I believe in what I do with all my soul and I know I work very hard at it,” he said. “That being said, sometimes I limit myself. My family has always made sure that I don’t do that. I am beyond blessed to have such a supportive clan.”
You’ll get a good sense of who Taylor is from last week’s episode of Oklahoma Life TV’s “Starting Somewhere” series with Dani Carson. It ends with his latest single, “Tiger in the Egg” and is well worth giving a watch: https://youtu.be/ZshF2gCnF-Q.
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Taylor offered a great insight into who he is as a developing musician and as he grows into manhood. The two are intertwined with all his aspects of being.
“Music to me is as important as drinking water or breathing,” he said in the video. “Without music, then life would be pretty bland, for one, and I feel like a song, or a rhythm or some sort of melody is what gets people through the day even if they don’t listen to the music.”
“Musicians are like doctors you don’t have to pay,” he said.
In catching up with Taylor, a lot has evolved in the best of ways. Lawton, however, remains a constant part of his heart.
A proud Lawton High School graduate, Taylor said his senior year was idyllic. It meant a lot, moving back from Norman a year earlier. As a third-generation Wolverine, he said it felt like he fulfilled a family tradition.
“Talk about a beautiful last year of high school,” he said. “Lawton High welcomed me with open arms and it was an honor to be welcomed. There was divine energy in the building not only from the students and staff but the history.”
Being from a military family, Taylor thought returning would be out of the question. Being accepted as he is was a knockout. Having his art connected and also accepted was the cherry on top.
“If you would’ve told me that I would’ve won Mr. LHS by singing my original music I would have said you were crazy,” he said. “The performances were electric. They willingly let me do whatever my heart desired. The crowd reaction was just as wild. It was truly a humbling experience and I’m so grateful to have made such beautiful connections.”
Although he’s growing up, Taylor’s focus is writing youth-oriented music. He’s a purist for the rock spirit. Himself influenced by as many now senior or dead music artists, he knows the spirit of those songs are what immortalizes the artist.
“I will always make rock ‘n’ roll for youthful souls and high school kids are the main audience for that,” he said.
A rising star, Taylor keeps shooting for the stars. He said his biggest project yet is putting on a prime time going-away concert Aug. 19 at Cameron University.
“This has been the only thing I have been working on for the past two months,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, it’s going to be wild.”
Taylor calls the show, “my final farewell to grade school.” He promises a collage of everything he does as a musician.
“The aesthetic of the show is exactly what I’ve been working towards,” he said. “A 70s glam rock spectacle filled with ballads, old school film projections and most of all heavy rockers. The energy of the show will be up to 11.”
His friends and “spectacular musicians”: Wesley Bergerson, Ian Toress and Josh Stenis; will perform as Taylor’s Muffled Sirens and special guests A.J. McDonald and Luke McDonald of The Peace Monsters will open the show. He said it’s special the McDonalds perform that night; there’s history and there’s respect.
“The Peace Monsters also happen to be two of my best friends and the founding members of my first band Treason 58,” he said. “I am incredibly proud of them, they are spectacular.”
Taylor said it’s only fitting to have his dear friend from the Lawton Community Theater, Alberto Rivas serve as the master of ceremonies. The theater has been a special creative space and more, he said.
“Lawton Community Theater is a second home to me, the whole team has my heart,” he said. “Alberto is a very special human being and it’s an honor that he’s setting the whole thing off.”
Three days later, and after ample time spent with “best friend and kid sister,” Taylor will be blasting off towards his future. He’ll move out of his beloved family home and hometown to a dorm room where he’ll be a college student at the esteemed Academy of Contemporary Music at The University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO). This college is on Oklahoma City’s Bricktown campus where he will be joining around 400 other full-time students working to make their mark in the world of music.
Something tells me he’ll stand out.
Taylor said going there means he has an appreciation for here and everywhere he’s grown. That’s what those experiences did for him, he said.
“I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have had here. I try to not take anything for granted,” he said.
With the Aug. 9 rollout of his latest single, “Reruns,” it’s only fitting you check out a live performance from Taylor’s June 2021 concert at the Vaska Theatre: https://youtu.be/PqCABBvIl90.
Keep up with Taylor through all social media and online music platforms. He said no matter where he goes or how big things get, he knows where his heart is.
“Thank you all for the support and love,” he said. “Lawton-Fort Sill Sill is truly my home.
The “official” first Norville video for “The Witch” is now available for everyone to enjoy. Featuring footage from our April 23 performance at the Railhead Saloon film images edited and mixed in by our own Dustlord, and music recorded that night and remixed by the amazing Brandon Cramer of 1121 Recordings, this is a pretty boss introduction to what Norville is about: https://youtu.be/hSZ14zW6iUQ.
Also, if you missed its premiere Thursday night, you can still view the “Starting Somewhere” episode featuring an interview with Norville and Dani Carson on Oklahoma Life TV: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUytdY2MYDrAGkFMlSwjBiQ/featured, or: https://oklahomalife.tv/startingsomewhere-oklahoma-life-tv/.
If you need more, and you know you do, catch Norville opening up live music around 9 p.m. Saturday at the Railhead Saloon, 909 S. Sheridan as we join Texas bands Prophets & Martyrs and The Fleeting Romance and our own Southwest Oklahoma desert doom brothers in Chasing the Coyote headlining for four corners of mayhem.
It’ll be our last live shot before hitting 1121 Recordings in August to record the band’s debut EP. After that, I suppose you ought to keep Oct. 29 on your calendars as Norville joins Lucavi and DeadCore for a Halloween throwdown for the ages at the Railhead.
Soundemonium Musaic Lawton music archive homepage: Scott Rains — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPw__GedGPOUD-wROFcuZ8w.