THUNDER BAY – The Julian Taylor Band is a great excuse to hit the Thunder Bay Blues Festival as early as possible on Friday night.
Known as the pilgrims of funk, soul and roll, Taylor said he and his eight-piece outfit are coming to town to help kick the weekend-long party off in style.
Taylor, who spent 10 years fronting the Toronto rock-band Staggered Crossing, said sometimes bigger is better when it comes to live music.
Initially thinking about putting together a smaller group of musicians to hit the road, the 39-year-old Taylor said they quickly realized it just wouldn’t work.
“Basically, when I put that together we were just doing Motown covers,” Taylor said, reached by phone late Thursday afternoon.
“It felt really good, my voice seemed to flow with it really well and we ended up making a record. We just couldn’t really recreate it without everyone.”
The result mimics the type of sound created by the musicians backing a legendary on-stage workhorse Bruce Springsteen, known for his tightly produced marathon four-hour shows.
“It’s a lot of fun. I love having that many guys on stage. That many guys off stage is fun too,” Taylor said. “It’s a much bigger sound. We’ve got two keyboards, we’ve got to horns and we’ve got two guitars. It’s like a wall of sound, sort of like the E-Street Band, to be honest.”
Add in a little Tower of Power, a smattering of the Doobie Brothers and a dose of Loggins and Messina, and you get the idea of what the Julian Taylor Band is trying to accomplish – in a groovy, funky kind of way, with rock roots and even a little folk thrown in for good measure.
Taylor, who once stuffed 78 Coke bottle-top candies in his mouth for a music video, said there’s nowhere he’d rather be than on stage.
It’s the best way to deliver music to the masses and why he shouts out “Live music is better!” at every stop on tour.
“I think it’s the element of human connection, to be honest. You can’t download the feeling of being somewhere and being with people. And I think that’s something that’s sort of been getting lost these days,” Taylor said.
“Everybody’s getting their gratification instantly on their cell phones, on their tablets and online. And the one thing I’ve noticed is that I can actually reach out my hand, if the stage is close enough, and I can touch them. You can’t get that anywhere else.”
The Julian Taylor Band takes to the stage at 5:15 p.m. on Friday.
Friday's schedule
- 4 p.m.: Rock Steady
- 5:15 p.m.: The Julian Taylor Band
- 6:30 p.m.: Kim Mitchell
- 7:45 p.m.: Sam Roberts Band
- 9:30 p.m.: Amanda Marshall
