[004] Influences: James Taylor

The Gunshy Patriots Show

Romel (going solo) talks about James Taylor, an artist that has influenced him as a musician, and points out James Taylor's influence in a Gunshy Patriots song. In this episode: Talking in the morning Romel explains why he isn't going to talk about the Beatles as an influence in this podcast... and proceeds to talk about the Beatles at length The rise of the singer-songwriter and the clean break from the past James Taylor as an influence: songwriter and guitar wizard Romel's mother as a gateway fan, and ordering CDs from Amazon "Caroline I See You" Intros as pictures, and lyrics like a hooded sweater zipping down and up, or a mirror Scholastic 2-page book catalogs and the James Taylor Songwriting Contest that Romel didn't actually join because he went through a phase of preferring instrumental music "Shower the People" Showering the people you love with love as a life philosophy of hopeless romanticism Belief in verse Not being exposed to James Taylor's most popular song James Taylor being able to bottle up the feeling immediately after losing someone, even before you have a chance to become sad "Fire and Rain" Living past losses, or not declaring your bed a deathbed prematurely The genesis of a song: Waking up to words called to mind by the ocean "If You Were You" Recording an album's worth of songs in one night