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Meltdown Press Release

April 1st, 1984

With the 1982 Sparrow Records release of I Want To Be A Clone, 26 year old Steve Taylor added a new dimension to the definition of contemporary Christian music. "Clone," a six-song mini LP, written entirely by Taylor, focuses on the various issues, conditions and current attitudes in contemporary society. England's Buzz magazine called "Clone" "the most exciting and radically 'prophetic' recording the rock n' roll subculture has so far presented to the Church."

In a similar vein, Steve's new full-length Sparrow recording "Meltdown" (SPR 1083) contains all the bite and wit of its predecessor, while looking at the hypocrisy in a world where few are willing to take a stand.

Steve Taylor was born in Brawley, California, a small town some 50 miles north of the Mexican border. His father Roland, a Baptist minister, relocated the family to Northglenn, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, when Taylor was six. There, as the eldest of three children, he attended Northglenn High School where he graduated in 1976.

"I started out playing trombone in grade school," recalls Taylor of his musical studies that began in the 6th grade. "I was really bad for the first seven years and only slightly bad for the eighth. After switching from trombone to piano lessons in high school and playing bass guitar in 'assorted gigless garage bands,' I decided I was not meant to play a musical instrument and sold my trombone, piano book and bass for a planet ticket to California."

Upon his arrival in California, Taylor applied and was granted a scholarship to Biola University in Los Angeles. In the summer following his freshman year, he auditioned and was selected to attend John Davidson's Summer Singers Camp, after hearing about it one night on the "Tonight Show." The experience proved to be a month-long learning session for pop singers/entertainers supervised by Davidson, with training in all the essentials of the music business except "where to buy food stamps."

Full of new enthusiasm, Taylor returned home to Colorado and enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder, to advance his study in "serious music."

Taylor put himself through school as the youth director for his church in Denver. (One of his more unique activity nights came to an abrupt halt when his youth group was removed from the Denver airport for playing "Capture The Flag.") After surviving a faculty recommendation that he be kicked out of school for an inability to sing opera, Taylor graduated in 1980. He now describes his Bachelor of Arts Degree in music/theater as being worth "slightly more than the cash value of a Pizza Hut coupon."

The year 1980 also saw the opening of Nothing To Lose, a pop musical comedy written and directed by Taylor based on the Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son. The show had a short but successful run at a local Denver community theater. Later that year, while pursuing graduate studies at C.U., Taylor became involved in film making, producing a comedy short entitled The Shocking Truth Behind The Gas Shortage, followed by two narrative sequences for Nothing To Lose (used in conjunction with the musical.) He also wrote and starred in the movie short Joe's Distributing, a satire on avant-garde film making.

It was during this same time period that Taylor started writing songs and producing budget demo recordings of his material. Two years of rejection letters by every major record label followed, during which time he did some writing for Contemporary Christian Music Magazine (which earned him an Evangelical Press Association Award) and the popular Wittenburg Door.

Through a meeting with Christian Artists president Cam Floria, Taylor was invited to travel with the organization's Continental Singers to Poland for a series of Solidarity-sponsored concerts behind the Iron Curtain. Upon his return, Taylor began work on a new film project, Baby Talk, a comedy short he wrote and directed along with Academy Award nominee Jerry Aronson, based on the true story of a man and wife who attempted to trade their infant son for a sports car.

An eleventh hour addition put Steve Taylor and band on the line-up at Christian Artists' 1982 Music Seminar in the Rockies for their first live performance, and a decidedly middle-of-the-road crowd responded to "I Want To Be A Clone" with a standing ovation.

Sparrow president, Billy Ray Hearn, who was in the audience, was so impressed with Taylor's performance that he signed him to a recording contract. Shortly following the release of "Clone" Taylor began a nine month tour as director of the nation's premiere Christian musical comedy group, "Jeremiah People." In addition to his directing and recording responsibilities, he wrote the songs and co-authored the script for their production "The Reunion." While on tour, Taylor wrote the "rap music" style narrations for the Dove Award winning "Dreamer," a contemporary musical produced by Cam Floria and released through Sparrow, based on the Old Testament character of Joseph.

Steve Taylor & Some Band are now taking their brand of new music on the road, which includes concert tours this year of the United States, Canada, Europe and South America, as well as several appearances with Chicago's Rez Band.

In conjunction with the release of "Meltdown," Taylor produced, directed and stared in a video production based on the album's title cut, "Meltdown (At Madame Tussaud's,") which feature Steve amidst a bevy of wax figures in a replica of the world famous was museum. The project was edited by Millie Paul, who also was responsible for editing the popular "Making Of Thriller" video.

Despite his hectic schedule, Steve still leaves enough time for outside hobbies that include trying to invent a musical instrument easy enough for him to play and collecting rubber "Confidential" stamps.

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April 1, 1984

Sock Heaven

A salute to the solo artist Steve Taylor and the bands Chagall Guevara and Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil

Meltdown Press Release

A salute to the solo artist Steve Taylor
and the bands Chagall Guevara
and Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil