Introducing ... Macyn Taylor !!

There is nothing more exciting (at least for me, anyway) than seeing a musician for the first time, knowing very little about them coming into it, and leaving the show with the feeling that you've been blown away by their talent, and the knowledge that they are going to be favorites of yours for a long, long time.  All I knew about Macyn Taylor heading into her performance on the night of July 13th was that Emily Forst said she was amazing, and that she was the 2013 WAMI recipient of the Folk/Celtic Artist of the Year.  And since Emily Forst is amazing, I figured she had a good radar for amazing.
Boy was she right !  I was in awe of her guitar playing that night.  I mean, between her set and Emily's, I had to walk away for a few minutes to figure out what my contribution to life was.  I mean, that morning, I know I ate a pop tart for breakfast.  I'm pretty sure I monkeyed around on my fantasy baseball website for a few minutes.  But Macyn Taylor surely has found her calling.  I knew immediately that Macyn would be featured on newgazzi in August.

I really enjoy writing about local artists.  On the first volume of newgazzi, back in February, it was a joy to feature three friends (Gary Banach, Emily Forst and James Tristan Redding).  In March, I drove 90 miles to see Nataly Dawn play a show in Madison, and had the pleasure to hear Anna Vogelzang perform to open the show.  Same deal, I knew driving home that night she would be featured in April.  And Anna was featured as both the opening and closing tracks that month.  In June, Anna introduced me to a friend named Dietrich Gosser, and I enjoyed him enough to feature him at the end of June.  But truth be told, they were not featured because we were friends.  They were featured because they are very good at what they do.  Really good, and the same with Macyn.  I may be a nice guy, but I if I don't think you're great, or that my readers would enjoy your music, I'm not going to take the time.  After all, I'm no critic.  I just want to celebrate what I love to listen to.

I reached out to Macyn recently, and spent a good amount of time with her album this past weekend.  Macyn was asked if she'd like to participate in the latest installment of "Daddy and Gracie Each Have One Question", and she was very happy to oblige ...

How do you deal with pre-show nerves or jitters?

"I've been performing since I was seven. I started out in retirement homes and the older audiences were very forgiving and encouraging. Nerves have never really bothered me before I play a show."

I like to listen to records with my Daddy.  Which records did you like to listen to with your Daddy when you were a kid?

 "My dad used to listen to a lot of music with me when I was younger. I would say most of my music influence came from him. We would listen to records by Mississippi John Hurt, The Carter Family, John Prine, Bob Dylan, and Blind Blake just to name a few."

Macyn is playing a bunch of shows in Wisconsin this summer.  Read more about Macyn and where you can see her by checking out her website ....  Macyn Taylor's Official Website

And check out today's newgazzi track of the day.  It's called "Vincent", and can also be heard on her album, which I recommend picking up.  I chose this song because I remember Julio Iglesias covering this, and he was my Grandma's favorite singer ...