ERIC TAYLOR

People have been talking about Eric Taylor and his songs since the early 1970s, when he was an integral part of a Houston songwriting scene that included Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Taylor is one of the most influential songwriters to ever come out of Texas. Over the years, as his reputation and song catalogue have grown, he has had a profound effect on the evolution and development of such well-known Texas artists as Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, and others. "Eric Taylor was one of my heroes and teachers when I started playing around Houston in the early 1970s," says Earle. "He's the real deal."

Taylor released his first album, the masterful Shameless Love, in 1981 and shortly thereafter decided to take an extended sabbatical from the music business. Over the years his songs would appear on albums by the likes of Griffith, Lovett, and June Tabor (from Steeleye Span).

It wasn't until 1995's Eric Taylor release that he reentered the music business full-time. Hailed by fans and critics alike as one of the finest albums of that year (it was voted Texas Album Of The Year at the Kerrville Music Awards), Eric Taylor pushed Taylor back into the mainstream folk and singer-songwriter limelight. He began to tour on a steady basis and in 1998 put out his third album, Resurrect, recently named one of the "100 essential records of all time" by Texas magazine Buddy.

2001 brought forth Scuffletown, and following its release, he was a featured artist on Austin City Limits and NPR's Morning Edition. The Kerrville Tapes (2003) is Eric's first live album, recorded during three years of appearances at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival. In 2004, heeding repeated requests by fans and media, Eric re-mastered the vinyl Shameless Love and reissued it as a CD with 2 never-released-before bonus tracks.

In the spring of 2005, Taylor returned to Rock Romano's Red Shack in Houston to record his 5th studio album, The Great Divide. Garnering rave reviews at home and abroad, The Great Divide quickly reached #3 on the Euro Americana Chart and in 2006 was named one of the Top Releases Most Played by Folk Radio.

Hollywood Pocketknife is a 10-song collection (7 new songs, 3 surprising covers) that shows Taylor in his prime as a writer and performer, with his exquisite narrative style, his keen, studied observation of the human spirit, and his intricate, roots-driven guitar work. Produced by Taylor, Hollywood Pocketknife also features a stellar cast of musicians, including Eric Demmer (saxophone), David Webb (keyboard, Hammond organ), Mathias Schneider (lap steel), James Gilmer (percussion), Vince Bell (vocals), Steven Fromholz (vocals), and Susan Lindfors (vocals).

In early 2008, Eric Taylor and Hollywood Pocketknife were nominated for Folkwax Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year. In addition to receiving rave reviews, Hollywood Pocketknife reached #3 on the Euro American Chart and #5 on the Freeform American Roots Chart. And the nationally revered Sing Out! magazine included "Peppercorn Tree" in its summer 2008 issue and 20-song sampler CD.

A mesmerizing performer, Taylor has been a featured artist at many festivals, including Kerrville, Newport Folk Festival, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival and the Take Root Festival in Holland. His U.S. tours have taken him to the Northeast (Club Passim, The Bottom Line), Northwest (Civic Auditorium, Walters Cultural Arts Center), Southeast (Bluebird Cafe, Eddie's Attic), Southwest (The Outpost) and Midwest (The Ark, CSPS, Cafe Carpe).

Taylor also tours extensively in Europe, playing notable venues such as the Paradiso (Amsterdam), Theatre Kikker (Utrecht), The Errigle Inn (Belfast), Hotel du Nord (Paris), Grey's Pub (Brighton), The Bein Inn (Perth), The Borderline (London) and The Mercat (Edinburgh). During his past four European tours, Taylor has played sold-out shows throughout The Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany, and the UK.

In addition to his appearances on Austin City Limits and NPR's Morning Edition, Taylor has performed on Late Night With David Letterman (with Nanci Griffith), NPR's Mountain Stage, and BBC Radio Scotland.

He has taught at the Kerrville Folk Festival Songwriting School, and has conducted songwriting workshops at the Fulston Manor Performing Arts Centre (Kent, UK), CARAD (Rhayader, Wales), and the Plowshares Coffeehouse (Pennsylvania).

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