Conversations with James Taylor, Jr.

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Taylor, Jr. 

Hi James, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The story, as my mom tells it, is that I began dancing in the womb. And I began singing as soon as I could talk. The part of the story I know to be true is “Over The Rainbow” being the first song I could sing all the way through. From there, I “accidentally” hit the stage at 4 years old. My dad performed at nursing homes, and I would tag along. One day, I decided to tag along right behind him as he performed. It was such a hit that my dad put it in the show, and we had our own “Me and My Shadow” number. From there, I did a children’s theater group (singing “Greased Lightning” before anyone should even know what that song means, but also before I could even read). I wrote poetry starting at six years old (as silly as it might have been). The real work toward who I am as an artist today started when I began writing songs at the age of 12. There was something more, something deeper, to the poetry that I had been writing. I’m not saying I’ve had the hardest life, but it certainly has been eventful. 

Pain informed a lot of my early writing. It still does. It kept me sane and able to continue to feel joy. I’m happy to have grown even more as an artist and writer and be able to share joy in my music as well. This was difficult for me for a long time. Even more than that, I am currently working on an entire album inspired by GSRM (that’s Gender, Sexuality, and Romantic Minorities… or you can just say LGBTQIA+) history, icons, and other queer themes. In 2020, I released an early version of the title track, “Pride”, called “Pride (Stripped)”. I also released a music video featuring photos of various people showing their pride, from local performers like KJ Karen O’Brien and Sir Walt, celebrities like Lydia Cornell, Chef Andre Carthen, and Kathy Ireland, to family members like my parents, my mom’s late twin brother, and my niece. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Much like many creative types of my generation, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I had my friends, and I got along with a lot of different groups of students my age. I also got bullied and harassed continuously throughout all of my school years. Contributing to this was my coming out at an early age. I came out to close friends and family when I was 12/13 years old, and I’ve never stopped coming out. (It’s amazing how many people assume heterosexuality to be the default, even while you’re wearing a rainbow-striped shirt.) By 15/16, I was done skirting around the topic. If someone asked if I was gay, I’d just say “yep.” It was that simple. It earned me a lot of respect from many of my peers (including from some unlikely sources aka at least one or two former bullies), but it also earned me a lot of unwanted attention. And it doesn’t stop: from being chased down on the streets of Princeton, Kentucky, to having pennies thrown at my head walking down the halls of Lincoln High School in Willis, Michigan, all the way into adulthood, where I’ve often been yelled at and called “the f word” and even had it spray-painted on my car once. 

There has also been death. In 2000, I faced my first immediate loss, my grandmother. In 2002, my mom’s boyfriend passed away on the weekend we were to be moving in with him. Wow, was this a real eventful couple of weeks! We went from a small house in Princeton, Kentucky, to packing up to move to Lexington, to staying at a friends in Indianapolis, and finally to me moving in with my dad back in Michigan. A couple of failed relationships, a betrayal, and if it hadn’t been for my dad there was a moment I was on the brink of homelessness. A few years ago, I lost several family members and two of my best friends in just under a year. 

As they say, the struggle is real. But so are the rewards at the end of the day. For some, all the hurt and pain, all the bad situations, they’re the highlight. I’d rather acknowledge the pain and use it to push me forward to something better. I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason. I do believe, however, that we can find or make reason from everything that happens. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I consider myself a singer/songwriter. I also play keyboard and ukulele. I consider myself a singer FIRST, a songwriter as a close second, and everything else comes after. 

My earlier writing stemmed mostly from my poetry and from emotions. “haze” from my “hi / jt” EP/album series is a good example of that. While I may not have understood when I wrote it, I look at it now and realize that I was writing about my struggle with ADHD and other mental health issues. As I developed more as a writer, I began writing stories. This is evident in my single “When She’s Gone”, which is perhaps still one of my favorite songs and is definitely my partner’s favorite song of mine. My current “PRIDE” project is another evolution in my songwriting in which I am expressing shared experiences, shared history, and expressing to my community that I am proud of where we’ve come from, I’m proud of where we are, and I am proud to be a part of this community as it continues to grow and become more connected to ourselves and the world around us. 

Like many artists, doubt likes to creep in. There are a few moments that stand out to me that not only make it worth it, but I feel like these moments express the connection my music makes with others: 

I remember performing at a pride event with a band I was in, (the)fundamentalists. We were performing upbeat music with depressing themes. It was totally our thing. This person at the corner of the stage was LIVING! They were dancing, having a gay ol’ time (pun intended). Then we took it down a notch to perform “When She’s Gone”. They sat down at their corner of the stage, listened, and cried. (I tried very hard not to look at them often or I would break. It’s a very emotional song.) Then the song ended, we went back to upbeat music with depressing themes, and they went back to dancing. I had witnessed the power of music, and I remember that moment often. 

There was also a night when I was performing to a crowd of… I don’t know… 8? Including the bartender. It was a cabaret-style show (aka a drag show). I was singing “Just Stay Home”, a song I re-recorded for my “hi / jt” series. I looked out at the bar, pouring my heart out to whoever was there. There was this woman: a woman I had never met, who had never heard any of my music. She was singing every word I sang as I sang it. She came up to me afterward and said she KNEW that song, in her soul. She just understood that song so much, that every word came to her as if it was happening to her at that moment. I think about that moment a lot, too. 

I feel like these two moments sort of define what I believe my music can do: touch hearts, touch lives, MEAN SOMETHING. 

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to support any artist is to buy their music, go to their shows, become a patron (Patreon, Ampled, or any other artist support platform), and if they have merchandise, BUY SOMETHING! If you can’t do that, stream their music, watch their videos, like and follow, and share their content with others. 

If anyone wants to work with me or collaborate, they can go to my website (jamestaylorjrmusic.com) and hit the contact form. They can also email me directly ([email protected]) or email [email protected] (Martha Swartz, Swartz Management). 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jamestaylorjrmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jtjrmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylorjrmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtjrmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorjrmusic
• Other: https://www.ampled.com/artist/jtjrmusic

Image Credits
Martha Swartz
Debbie Lim