Joanne Shaw Taylor
Blues From The Black Country

At 23 years of age Joanne Shaw Taylor is an uncommon blues purist. She’s an incredible guitar-slinger with a sultry voice who writes her own songs. Most musicians her age are rapping to syncopated beats and sampled music. Taylor has gotten rave reviews on her debut album White Sugar and has been gigging almost non-stop in Europe since she was a wee lass of 17 years. But age can be deceiving. Taylor plays like a seasoned pro and has already earned some pretty impressive credentials.

Henry Yates of the UK’s fastest growing music magazines Classic Rock marveled about White Sugar, “It is inconceivable that a young girl from the Midlands should be able to sing with Taylor’s sultry fire and smoke, throttle a guitar with the fleet fingered, hip-bucking soul displayed on the title track of this album, or write original material like Bones and Kiss The Ground Goodbye that takes up residence in your memory banks.

The BluesBlogger wrote, “White Sugar is tastefully done and is extremely catchy with plenty of blues, rock and soul…all ten of the album’s songs were written by Shaw-Taylor and they flow really well. She weaves her raspy vocal prowess with sweltering guitar licks beautifully and sounds natural doing it. It’s an impressive debut record and one I would strongly encourage my readers to fully explore. She is definitely a star on the rise”.

Dave Kingsbury reviewed her performance at a showcase event - The RUF Blues Caravan -featuring the RUF label’s female artists, “Joanne Shaw Taylor was the highlight of the night. Her Hendrix/Mayfield speedy rhythm patterns are exciting and accomplished and the phrasing of her guitar runs is quite breathtaking.”

Guitarist Magazine raved, “She plays with more attitude and flare than most. Massive potential here. Inspiring.”

The following interview with Ms. Taylor Shaw was conducted via the magic of cyberspace…

When did you first pick up the guitar?

I began taking classical lessons at my school when I was about 8 years old. My father and brother both played so there were always guitars around the house to strum. I was probably about 4 when I first picked one up but it wasn't till a little later that I really started to play. I started playing electric when I was 13 after getting in to the Blues via Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins.

Do you feel that growing up in The Midlands – the industrial blight of the Black Country – with its racial and ethnic conflict - provide the necessary conditions for creativity in music and the arts?

To be honest, I don't think I was ever really that aware of it growing up. I think Birmingham and the Black Country’s rich musical history had more of an Influence on me than anything, Bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, ELO and Slade. I like to think of it as the Rock City of England.

Are you familiar with another Midlands cat - Roy Wood and the Move? Did Wood leave a powerful legacy from his rocker days?

I wouldn't say he influenced me directly. The Move obviously had most of there hits before I was born. That said his presence is still felt on the Local music scene. He and Noddy Holder (Slade) actually co-own the best club in the Midlands that I play frequently, The Robin 2.

Your home town seems to have a similar spirit as Detroit, Chicago and Memphis where blacks and whites joined together to create incendiary forms of music. Do you share a sense of that experience?

Yes I think so. This will be my first visit to Detroit needless to say it's somewhere I've been eager to visit for sometime. There's certainly a similar spirit to the cities you've mentioned. The music scene here is less routed in the Blues obviously than Chicago or Memphis.

How was it that you were “discovered” at the tender age of 16 by rock icon Dave Stewart (Eurythmics)? What was it like for you to pass the audition, so to speak?

I did a charity show in aid of Breast cancer awareness in Birmingham organized by the band UB40. One of Dave's close friends was there and he passed along a demo to Dave who phoned me the next day and invited me to London. I remember sitting in Dave's Kitchen and playing him a slow blues song while he filmed it because he wanted to show it to Quincy Jones. Luckily being only 16 at the time I don't think I realized the gravity of the situation and was just glad to be out of school.

The quote from Stewart … “Last year I heard something I thought I would never hear…a British White Girl playing blues guitar so deep and passionately it made the hairs on the back of my head stand on end”…is that hard to live up to?

(Laughing) I never thought of it like that until you mentioned it! I don't think that comment was ever a "burden" obviously it's been quoted heavily in any press I've had but I always just took it as a wonderful compliment. Obviously I was very young when Dave made that comment (16) so I knew I had a lot of growing still to do as a guitarist and musician in general but was just pleased that I had such a talented and established musician offering me encouragement.

It must have been a daunting task to perform with seasoned pros like Mud Bone, Stewart, Candy Dulpher (Prince) and Jimmy Cliff in D.U.P. How long were you with them?

I toured with D.U.P on and off for about a year. That was an incredible experience to have at any stage of your career but to be 17 and touring Europe with that many diverse and talented artists was a huge blessing. I learned so much and they were a great bunch of personalities to work with. I think the main thing at that period in time was that I was being encouraged and receiving advice from as you say seasoned pros. Working with Dave, the thing he installed in me the most was the importance of working on becoming a songwriter and singer as well as a guitar player - that those two crafts were equally important in Blues as the big guitar solo.

What was it like to record your CD White Sugar with Jim Gaines, a legendary producer who had worked with one of your idols Stevie Ray Vaughn?

That was fantastic. He's someone I've wanted to work with for years, as you mentioned he produced some of the first Blues artists I heard, Albert Collins, SRV and Luther Allison and was always my first choice of producer to work with. I think we worked together really well. He had some great ideas regarding some of the song arrangements and about different guitar tones. He was really helpful with the guitar tones. Obviously over the years he's worked with some of the genre's best players and he's picked up quite a few tricks. I spent quite a lot of time in the studio harassing him to tell me stories about Albert Collins Amps setup etc.

I’ve listened to several of your songs and I was struck by the stunning sound of Going Home – that big full bodied sound you create with your Telecaster. Your melodic and powerful notation is reminiscent of late sixties Peter Green. Going Home could have fit nicely on Then Play On as a companion to his masterpiece Oh Well. Do you hear the connection?

I can't say as I ever heard the connection to be honest so I can't say it was a conscious one. I am a big Peter Green fan. I love his version of Freddie King's "Same old Blues". "Oh Well" is one of my favourite Blues/Rock tracks I'd probably record it if Kenny Wayne Shepherd hadn't already beaten me to it.

I love your sensual smoky singing. Were you inspired by any singer in particular?

Well firstly… thank you very much. Early on I was a huge Janis Joplin fan, then Dusty Springfield, Etta James. I would love to be able to sound like Mavis Staples but most of my singing practice is just trial by error. 10 years of singing in smokey Blues clubs has given me a little bit of rasp.

This is a tough market to crack especially for blues artists (typically our blues cats do better overseas than in the United States). Do you have a strategy to awaken this sleepy giant from its musical torpor?

I've heard the states is a tough scene to break into. Obviously given its history with the Blues it's a big desire of mine to be able to tour here consistently. No strategy as such, Right now I'm just focusing on putting on a good show that said I would love to break into the festival scene over here. You've got some of the best Blues Festivals in the world.

Any last comments?

Just to thank people for their continued support and I hope you like the album, Keep supporting the BLUES!

White Sugar was just released in the United States on May 12th and Ms. Taylor Shaw is preparing a brief American tour that includes a show at White’s Bar in Saginaw, Michigan. The gig is scheduled for on Wednesday June 10th at 8pm with the legendary Blues Creators opening. Don’t miss a chance to see the emergence of one of the bright lights on our musical horizon.

Peace
Bo White