Kim Taylor (musician)

{{short description|American independent singer-songwriter (born 1973)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Kim Taylor

| image = Kimtaylor320.jpg

| caption = Photo by David Strasser

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1973|12|20}}

| birth_place = Miami, Florida

| origin = Cincinnati, Ohio

| instrument = Vocals, guitar, piano

| genre = Folk, folk-influenced, singer-songwriter

| occupation = Singer-songwriter, musician, actress

| years_active = 2002–present

| label = Don't Darling Me

| associated_acts = Over the Rhine

| website = {{URL|kim-taylor.net}}

}}

Kim Taylor is an American independent singer-songwriter who plays primarily folk and folk-rock music.

To date, Taylor has released five full-length studio albums, toured with notable international artists, and embarked on an acting career which has garnered positive attention from critics and bloggers. Her first full-length film, I Used To Be Darker, premiered at the Sundance Festival in January 2013.

Biography

=Music career=

Originally from Florida, Taylor played instruments in school bands and sang in church as a child. She began performing professionally at age 18. "I have always done music in some fashion," Taylor said. "I played piano as a kid and played flute in the marching band at Murray Middle School." In 1996, she relocated to Cincinnati to pursue an English degree, and entered the local music scene of the city.{{cite web | url = http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/may/15/stuart-native-kim-taylors-music-gets-exposure-tv/ | title = Stuart Native Kim Taylor's Music Gets Exposure on TV | publisher = TCPalm | date = May 15, 2009 | accessdate = 2009-05-15}}

After garnering positive word-of-mouth and promising reviews and radio play for her earliest releases, So Black, So Bright (2002) and Extended Play (2004), Taylor began work on what would become I Feel Like a Fading Light (2006). She also self-released a live album, Live at the Miramar (2002), around the release of her debut "So Black, So Bright".

I Feel Like A Fading Light was recorded in New York City alongside Jimi Zhivago, former guitarist for the roots music purveyors Ollabelle. The music was performed almost entirely by Taylor and Zhivago, except for drums (which were provided by Mars Volta's Blake Fleming, Devon Ashley of The Lemonheads and Those Young Lions, and local musician Josh Seurkamp).{{Cite web|url=http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/print-article-1544-print.html|title = StackPath}} The album was released digitally, as well as on CD (however, they were only sold at shows). It was released on vinyl in December 2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-145-kim_taylor_tells_the_greatest_story.html |title=Kim Taylor Tells the Greatest Story |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=September 6, 2006}} The album was at one point dubbed an "Album of the Week" on NPR's World Cafe (via WXPN/NPR Music).{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/artists/15356397/kim-taylor |title=Kim Taylor |work=NPR |accessdate=November 6, 2006}}

After touring in support of the record, Taylor began work on a set of songs that would become the EP, The Greatest Story (2008). She recorded the EP with producer Mike Deneen (known for his work with Fountains of Wayne, Howie Day, and Aimee Mann)

"That project is part of a bigger picture that I'll finish and release as a full length." Taylor told Paste magazine after being named "Best of What's Next" in 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/best-of-whats-next-2009-kim-taylor-musician.html |title=Best of What's Next 2009: Kim Taylor |work=Paste |accessdate=August 14, 2009}}

Taylor continued playing shows and festivals such as NYC's CMJ Music Marathon and returned to Austin's SXSW Music,{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wx0DAAAAMBAJ&q=%22kim+taylor%22+los+angeles+over+the+rhine+review&pg=PA113 |title=The Who Sell Out? |work=Cincinnati Magazine |date=May 2005 |accessdate=May 1, 2005}}{{cite web |url=http://www.filthylucre.com/kim-taylor-playing-at-sxsw |title=Kim Taylor Playing at SXSW

|work=Filthy Lucre |date=February 27, 2009

|accessdate=February 27, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://schedule.sxsw.com/2011/events/event_MS11990 |title=Kim Taylor

|work=SXSW |accessdate=March 19, 2011}} this time promoting the EP. She toured extensively with Over the Rhine, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Ron Sexsmith,{{cite web |url=http://www.thebuzzabout.com/BuzzLA/reviews/12-album-reviews/333-kim-taylor-little-miracle |title=Kim Taylor // Little Miracle |work=The Buzz About |accessdate=November 1, 2010}} as well as with her friend, Lexington cellist Ben Sollee. Taylor and Sollee had done occasional shows together since 2007, but this tour found them playing both solo material, and accompanying one another during each other's sets.{{cite web |url=http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-145-kim_taylor_tells_the_greatest_story.html |title=Kim Taylor Tells the Greatest Story |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=October 30, 2008}}

In 2010, Taylor released Little Miracle. Written and recorded in just three days,{{cite web |url=http://performermag.com/2010/12/01/record-review-kim-taylor/ |title=Record Review: Kim Taylor |work=Performer Magazine |accessdate=December 1, 2010}} it too was recorded with Jimi Zhivago. However, this time, all instruments were played by Taylor and Zhivago: "I always write on both piano and guitar. Piano was my first instrument. The new project is just me and my friend Jimi Zhivago (out of NYC and plays with the band Ollabelle.) We play everything on it: guitars, piano, organs, percussion, etc."{{cite web |url=http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-1403-kim_taylor_returns_h.html |title=Kim Taylor Returns Home Friday |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=August 4, 2010}}

In 2013, Taylor worked again with Jimi Zhivago to release "Love's A Dog."{{cite web |url=https://www.citybeat.com/music/music-feature/article/13006375/good-dog |title=Good 'Dog' |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=October 23, 2013}}

"Songs of Instruction"—Taylor's 5th full-length record and first co-production—was released on February 22, 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.citybeat.com/music/music-feature/article/21048913/cincinnatis-kim-taylor-channels-love-loss-faith-and-years-of-teachable-moments-into-new-album-songs-of-instruction |title=Cincinnati's Kim Taylor Channels Love, Loss, Faith and Years of Teachable Moments Into 'Songs of Instruction' |work=Cincinnati Citybeat |accessdate=February 27, 2019}}

=Music in film and television=

Taylor's songs have been included in such shows as Smallville,{{cite web |url=http://www.find-songs.com/2011/03/26/smallville-season-10-episode-4-homecoming/ |title=Smallville Season 10, Episode 4: Homecoming |work=TuneFind |accessdate=March 26, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/smallville/season-10/6532 |title=Music From Smallville |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2010}} Justified,{{cite web |url=http://www.find-songs.com/2011/04/09/justified-season-1-episode-5-the-lord-of-war-and-thunder/ |title=Justified Season One, Episode 5: The Lord of War and Thunder |work=FindSongs |accessdate=April 9, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/justified/season-1/6193 |title=Music From Justified |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2010}} Eli Stone,{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/eli-stone/season-1/3073 |title=Music from Eli Stone |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2008}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/eli-stone/season-2/4057 |title=Music from Eli Stone |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}} One Tree Hill,{{cite web |url=http://www.find-songs.com/2010/12/13/one-tree-hill-season-6-episode-24-remember-me-as-a-time-of-day/ |title=find-songs.com |work=One Tree Hill Season 6, Episode 24: Remember Me as a Time of Day |accessdate=December 13, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/one-tree-hill/season-6/4004 |title=Music from One Tree Hill: Season Six |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.find-songs.com/2010/12/17/one-tree-hill-season-7-episode-10-you-are-a-runner-and-i-am-my-fathers-son/ |title=One Tree Hill, Season Seven, Episode 10: You are a Runner, and I am my Father's Son |work=FindSongs |accessdate=December 17, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/one-tree-hill/season-7/4320 |title=Music from One Tree Hill: Season Seven |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.find-songs.com/2010/12/17/one-tree-hill-season-7-episode-16-my-attendance-is-bad-but-my-intentions-are-good/ |title=One Tree Hill, Season Seven, Episode 16: My Attendance is bad but my Intentions are Good |work=FindSongs |accessdate=December 17, 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/one-tree-hill/season-7/4980 |title=Music from One Tree Hill: Season Seven |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPxMOhCZfhQ |title=Kim Taylor- Baby I Need You |work=YouTube |accessdate=December 7, 2009}} Ghost Whisperer,{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/ghost-whisperer/season-5/4346 |title=Music from Ghost Whisperer: Season Five |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}} Flashpoint,{{cite web |url=http://wegotthesolution.blogspot.com/2009/10/music-of-flashpoint.html |title=We Got the Solution: The Music of Flashpoint |work=We Got the Solution |date=July 15, 2011 |accessdate=July 15, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/flashpoint/season-1/6609 |title=Music from Flashpoint: Season One |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2008}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/flashpoint/season-4/8969 |title=Music from Flashpoint: Season Four |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/flashpoint/season-2/3884 |title=Music from Flashpoint: Season Two |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/flashpoint/season-2/3890 |title=Music from Flashpoint: Season Two |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}} Army Wives,{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/army-wives/season-4/6120 |title=Music from Army Wives: Season Four |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2010}} Hawthorne,{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/hawthorne/season-1/7926 |title=Music from Hawthorne: Season One |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/show/hawthorne/season-1/7929 |title=Music from Hawthorne: Season One |work=TuneFind |accessdate=December 31, 2009}} The Unit, All My Children, and Days of Our Lives.{{cite web | url = http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-21810-kim_taylor_miracle_worker.html | title = Kim Taylor: Miracle Worker | publisher = Cincinnati City Beat | date = October 13, 2010 | accessdate = 2010-10-13}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tunefind.com/artist/kim-taylor |title=Music by Kim Taylor |work=TuneFind |accessdate=February 4, 2012}}

Taylor's songs "No More War" and "A Good Man" can also be found on the soundtrack for the 2005 film, My Brother's War.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468516/soundtrack |title=Soundtracks for My Brother's War |work=Internet Movie Database |accessdate=January 31, 2005}}

In 2009, Taylor signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement with MTV so that the network could use her songs on some of their hit shows. Additionally, she struck a deal with Revlon in 2010, for her song "Little Miracle" to be used in an ad campaign.

In 2019, "The Hard Way" from Taylor's "Songs of Instruction" was used in the Chinese thriller film Sheep Without A Shepherd directed by Sam Quah.

In 2020, "The Hard Way" was used in the Chinese web series "Detective Chinatown."

= Film =

Taylor starred in director Matthew Porterfield's independent film, I Used to Be Darker, about a pregnant Northern Irish runaway who seeks refuge with family in Baltimore, MD, only to find her aunt on the verge of divorce. Taylor plays the aunt (who like Taylor, is a singer-songwriter named Kim).{{cite web |url=http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2011/07/kickstarter-matt-porterfields-i-used-to-be-darker/ |title=Kickstarter: Matt Porterfield's "I Used to be Darker." |work=Filmmaker Magazine |date=July 15, 2011 |accessdate=July 15, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-2169-local_musician_cast_.html |title=Local Musician Cast in Indie Flick |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=July 18, 2011}} The film premiered in January 2013, at the Sundance Film Festival.{{cite news

|title=I Used to Be Darker

|newspaper=Sundance Film Festival

|url=http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/13100/i_used_to_be_darker}} It then gave its international film premiere at the Berlinale in Berlin, Germany in February 2013.{{cite news

|title=I Used to be Darker

|newspaper=Berlinale Internationale Filmfestspiele

|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=20130911}} To accompany the launch of the film, Taylor also performed at Sundance's ASCAP Cafe in January 2013.{{cite news

|title=Kim Taylor

|newspaper=ASCAP

|url=http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/events/sundance/2013/bios/kim-taylor-c.aspx}}

The film was funded by use of the pledge-platform Kickstarter{{cite web |url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/puttyhill/i-used-to-be-darker |title=Kickstarter: I Used to be Darker |work=Kickstarter |accessdate=July 15, 2011}} and began filming in August 2011.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2011/07/i-used-to-be-darker-kickstarter.html |title=The Front Row: Money Matters |magazine=The New Yorker |date=July 15, 2011 |accessdate=July 15, 2011}}{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2011/08/07/arts-donation-website-helps-matt-porterfield-turn-his-new-film-into-a-cliffhanger/ |title=Arts-donation Website Helps Matt Porterfield Turn His New Film into a Cliffhanger |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=August 7, 2011 |access-date=August 7, 2011}}

The film was ranked as one of IndieWire's "Most Anticipated Indie Films of 2012"{{cite web |url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-playlists-most-anticipated-indie-films-of-2012 |title=Sundance Picks & More: The Playlist's Most Anticipated Indie Films of 2012 |work=IONCINEMA |date=January 10, 2012 |accessdate=January 10, 2012}} and is #27 on IONCINEMA's "Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2012"{{cite web |url=http://www.ioncinema.com/news/id/6973/top-100-most-anticipated-films-of-2012-27-matthew-porterfields-i-used-to-be-darker |title=Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2012: #27. Matthew Porterfield's I Used to be Darker |work=IndieWire |date=January 8, 2012 |accessdate=January 8, 2012}} list. Post-premier, the film received positive reviews from such publications as The New Yorker{{cite news

|first=Richard

|last=Brody

|title=Three Excellent Sundance Films

|newspaper=The New Yorker

|date=January 23, 2013

|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2013/01/reviews-of-upstream-color-i-used-to-be-darker-and-computer-chess.html}} and Time Out Chicago.{{cite news

|first=A.A.

|last=Dowd

|title=Sundance Film Festival 2013

|newspaper=Time Out Chicago

|date=January 21, 2013

|url=http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/film/16015926/sundance-film-festival-2013-i-used-to-be-darker-computer-chess-kill-your-}}

=Personal life=

Taylor was born in Miami, Florida.{{cite web |url=http://www.livingroomny.com/artist/kim-taylor |title=Kim Taylor |work=The Living Room |accessdate=October 22, 2009 |archive-date=October 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018000855/http://www.livingroomny.com/artist/kim-taylor |url-status=dead }} Her father grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and her mother in Lakeland, Florida. Taylor's father was a PATCO air-traffic controller and is now president of the re-formed union. She is an only child.

Taylor is married and has one son.

For several years, Taylor also owned a much-loved coffee shop, Pleasant Perk, in Cincinnati.{{cite web |url=http://cincinnati.metromix.com/restaurants/desserts/pleasant-perk-amberley-village/913485/content |title=Pleasant Perk |work=Metromix |accessdate=February 4, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/32/362578/restaurant/Oakley-Pleasant-Ridge/Pleasant-Perk-Cincinnati |title=Pleasant Perk |work=Urbanspoon |accessdate=February 4, 2012}} "The shop serves a lot of purposes for me," she says. "It quickly relieves the tension when I come back from playing music."{{cite web |url=http://cincinnati.metromix.com/music/article/local-watch-kim-taylor-pleasant-ridge/1031886/content |title=Local Watch: Kim Taylor |work=Cincinnati City Beat |accessdate=March 18, 2009}}