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Young musician and performer Grant Austin Taylor reaches more than just the ear as a guitarist on stage. He touches the soul with his sophisticated, yet, emotional playing style.
Having taken the stage as a guitar player at the tender age of eight, Grant absorbed early on the exhilarating rush of stage life as an audience of 3500 repeatedly chanted his name. This was the fuel that he needed to add to the fire of his guitar playing. Eventually, Grant branched out more into lead guitar playing due to the inspiration of his mentor Henry Johnson.
Throughout the past five years, Grant has opened for some national acts such as Motley Crue, Aerosmith, and Steve Miller. He has also received the following awards: America’s Most Talented Kids (May 2005), and Outstanding Blues/Rock Artist (Young Artist Awards/March 2007).
Grant’s sound is a mix of rock, blues, country, and jazz. His original songs are a compilation of feelings experienced through various relationships in life. For example, “When Life Turns Gray” is a blunt, yet creative depiction of what life is like at the age of 88. He wrote the song about his grandmother. Even though the theme is serious because it mentions the effects of dementia, it is catchy, bluesy, and upbeat. His use of the oxymoron “walk to run and then run to walk” in the chorus takes us from one extreme stage of life to the other. The theme hits hard when he finishes the line with “might have to crawl to make it round the block.”
An artist who has dedicated himself to realistic, earthy, and, most importantly, meaningful songs, Grant believes in the songs that he sings wholeheartedly. This shows in his vocals. For instance, in his ballad, “Make This Love Last”, the audience leaves the show believing that Grant wishes to hold on to a loved one that perhaps he feels like he is losing or has lost. Most importantly, the song has universal appeal. Lending themselves to themes that are image-driven and powerful, Grant’s songs move the audience with emotion, anything from happiness to sadness, and capture life’s intensity and the enjoyment of living through that intensity. “We Walk Alone” is the most forceful of the songs. We are taken through a journey in life in which the speaker tells us that we all must “walk alone” and not depend upon others as we drive ourselves through our self-evident goals.
Grant is a guitar player who is driven by listening to other renowned players such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson, and Joe Bonamassa. When his guitar is in hand, he is living his dream.
Grant uses Dean Markley Blue Steel LT and Super-V REG on his electric guitars and Alchemy Gold Bronze LT on his acoustics.
Feel free to visit the Grant Austin Taylor website at:
www.GrantAustinTaylor.com.
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