Don’t stop till you get enough

I know I just claimed I had seen all of my “must see” acts. I was moving on to the more obvious, universal must see list—bands that are known for spectacle, or their live show, or their near-universal appeal. Even that list is pretty short: U2, Radiohead, Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay. Two of those are coming to Birmingham in the next six weeks; another will be in Atlanta this fall. It’s a do-able list.

But the problem (joy?) of listening to lots of music is that there’s always someone to fall in love with. And so, my must see list is expanding yet again. Many of these are bands I’ve known of or even been a fan of for a while, but the more I listen, the more I’m convinced that I must see them live.

NPR’s concert podcast is at least partially at fault here. All of these artists (save for a certain Beatle) have been recorded for that podcast over the past few years, and listening to live performances has convinced me that I need to experience them in concert. Sam Phillips is a great example. I’ve liked her for several years, then discovered I really like her with the release of her most recent album, Don’t Do Anything. I found an old show on NPR, and enjoyed it so much that it was worth repeat listens.

So here’s to my ever-expanding must see list. Who’s on yours?

Sam Phillips

Bon Iver (June 6 at WorkPlay, $15)

Radiohead

Loney Dear

Decemberists (more tour dates to come, I’ve heard, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for a Birmingham show)

Paul McCartney

Maria Taylor shares her music, herself on latest album

Maria Taylor. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

There are a number of reasons you might know Maria Taylor. Several songs from her last album, Lynn Teeter Flower, showed up on that hit-making show Grey’s Anatomy. She garnered plenty of attention as one half of the indie pop group Azure Ray. And of course, the Birmingham native is only one member of a music-making family (siblings Macey and Kate are also developing names for themselves both locally and nationally).

She’ll be back in Birmingham for a show at Bottletree on April 7—also the day Taylor’s new album, Ladyluck, is released. In the weeks before the album’s release, she took a few minutes to share with us about the music, performing live and another set of musical siblings.

Birmingham Box Set: Much of Ladyluck reflects the end of a relationship. I’m not a songwriter myself, but I’ve always assumed that putting these emotions into music would be therapeutic.

Maria Taylor: Yeah, definitely.

BBS: But I’ve also wondered, is it hard to play something so personal live?

MT: Yeah, you have to find a balance. You have to sort of detach yours from it a little bit so you don’t put yourself through complete hell every time you play the song. You take it out of the body and it becomes something else, it becomes art.

But you have to find a balance, because you want to still be connected to it so people feel you mean it.

It depends on what kind of mood I’m in. Sometimes I’ll play a song and I’ll want to cry on stage. Pull it together, pull it together. But I get nervous … and that helps me not cry!

BBS: This is surprisingly hopeful for what some might dub a “break up album.”

MT: There’s some elements—well, it’s mostly about change. Because it’s much more about that. I moved to another city, I changed labels and I have made so many new friends. Not that I have a completely different life because I’m still very much connected to my old life. I love it here. It’s exciting.

BBS: When exactly did you move to LA?

MT: A year and a half ago. I really love it and it’s so beautiful here. The beach is 20 minutes away from my house.

BBS: In addition to keeping Ladyluck on repeat, I’ve been listening to a lot of your older solo work. There’s definitely continuity throughout. How would you say your music or songwriting has evolved?

MT: I think just as I’ve evolved as a person … it’s all a reflection of my life and where I am in my life. So the changes that I can see are just more from my perspective on life. But I feel like I write the same way.

I pick up my guitar and then I put down a chord progression and a melody, then I try to put down lyrics that match what I’m feeling. I feel like my method hasn’t really changed, but my perspective on life has.

I think the goal of any writer is to find new ways to say the same thing because I think we always feel the same thing.

MT: You come from an awfully musical family. Did that influence you as a musician?

MT: I’m sure it’s influenced me. Growing up we all just played music, and that’s one of the many ways that we communicate as a family. Listening to music has always been a huge part of our upbringing. I love, more than anything, playing music with my brother and sister and my dad. Then my mom is such a music lover. I don’t think there was much question for any of us what we wanted to do in life. This is what we know. We’re pretty lucky to be doing what we love.

BBS: I know there are others out there, but you don’t hear of very many families where all the siblings are musicians!

MT: I know. We’ve got the Jonas Brothers and then the Taylors! [laughs]

BBS: [laughs] And you sound just alike, too! Well, I know you make it down here on tour periodically; are you able to visit Birmingham much besides?

MT: Yeah, I try to get down there like at least two or three time a year. I do a lot of recording in Athens, Ga., still. So whenever I go to record I always try to come home for a few days before and a few days after. Also my grandparents are getting old. And also I am so close with my family, if I don’t see them after a few months I just have major [longing to see them].

BBS: And since you mentioned listening to music—I always love hearing what musicians are listening to lately.

MT: I just always make playlists of the same stuff, the same stuff I’ve been listening to for years and years. I listen to things that people would expect. I love the Dixie Chicks.

BBS: [laughs] Me too!

MT: Lots of my friends are like, what? [laughs] I’m like shut up, just listen to it, you’ll like it.

There’s one song, that Killers song, “Human?” I love that song. But other than that I like MGMT, Vampire Weekend, this band, it’s a new band, they’re from LA, they’re called Little Joy, I’m really liking them right now.

Maria Taylor will play Bottletree with The Whispertown 2000. The show is scheduled for 8 p.m. April 7; tickets are $10 in advance, $12 day of show and are available at thebottletree.com. Check out Taylor’s latest on her website or her Myspace page; also visit Azure Ray’s website for an introduction to some of Taylor’s past work.

Are you tough enough?

I’m not embarrassed by my early tastes in music. I have Debbie Gibson and Paula Abdul on my iPod, even now, and I still own my cassette tape of Gibson’s Out of the Blue album. (It was a birthday present from my younger sister. I was happy with her that year.) And so even now, when other women my age confess embarrassment at their childhood love for New Kids on the Block, I embrace those memories.

I was 7 when they hit it big—and who do you think they were targeting but young and pre-teen girls? NKOTB is one of those bands that all girls of a certain age reminisce about. If you were between the ages of 7 and, I don’t know, 15? in the late 80s, you remember Jordan, Jon, Joey, Danny and Donny. You probably have a story about which guy was your favorite, and you might have even slept under NKOTB sheets and bed spreads. (For what it’s worth—and I’d venture that’s not much!—Joey McIntyre was my favorite. I was entirely too logical even as a child; I picked him because he was the youngest New Kid, and therefore the most realistic match. And I just checked his age on Wikipedia: He’s nine years older than me.)

My story? New Kids on the Block are the source of my earliest recollection of peer pressure. I enjoyed dancing around my bedroom when “Hangin’ Tough” came on the radio, but I certainly wasn’t the girl leading the slumber party discussions of all things New Kids. Because all the other girls in my grade were obsessed, I asked my mom if I could buy the tape. She checked with the music minister at our church. He said no.

It’s been 20 years since New Kids mania first struck, and 10 years since Jordan and Joey attempted their solo comebacks. But the NKOTB story lives on … and I bet we’ll be sharing our New Kids stories more frequently this summer. New Kids on the Block will play the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Pelham on May 29. A variety of presale offers begin April 1, and tickets are on sale to the public on April 4. Tickets range from $10 to $75 and are available at livenation.com.

In the meantime, tell me—what’s your New Kids story? I’m especially interested if you’re male and were in NKOTB’s age demographic. Did y’all care at all, or were the New Kids only for prepubescent girls? I still thought most boys had cooties when I was 7, so I’m afraid I missed out on your perspective the first time around …