Maria Taylor

All Music Guide:

Maria Taylor brought her warm, casual vocals to several projects -- most notably Azure Ray, a dreamy pop duo that featured Taylor and longtime partner Orenda Fink -- before launching her own career as a solo singer/songwriter. Born in 1976 in Birmingham, Alabama, she got her start at age 15 as part of the Birmingham duo Little Red Rocket, a pop/rock group that garnered comparisons to Belly and Veruca Salt. After releasing 1997's Who Did You Pay and 2000's It's in the Sound as part of the Geffen Records roster, Little Red Rocket found themselves lost in the shuffle of Geffen's corporate merger with Universal Music Group. The group disbanded as a result, and Taylor relocated to Athens, Georgia alongside her bandmate Orenda Fink. Once established in their new home, the two regrouped as Azure Ray.

With help from Conor Oberst's well-trained ear, the Saddle Creek band Now It's Overhead caught wind of Azure Ray's plaintive pop sound and asked the girls to join their band as well. As half of that group, Taylor and Fink signed to the Saddle Creek label while continuing to issue their Azure Ray projects via the independent Warm Recordings. In 2001, both Azure Ray and Now It's Overhead released scantly received self-titled debuts; a year later, Taylor and Fink took up full-time residence in Omaha and released Burn and Shiver, their second full-length project under the Azure Ray moniker. The pair's third effort, 2003's Hold on Love, found a warm reception from the indie scene on the merits of the singles "The Drinks We Drank Last Night" and "New Resolution." Fall Back Open, a Now It's Overhead set, was released in 2004 amid heavy touring, and Azure Ray disbanded that same year, with both members continuing to work together on various projects.

Having paid her dues by singing backup for various albums by Moby, Bright Eyes, and Crooked Fingers, Taylor struck out on her own with 2005's 11:11. The solo debut found her mixing melancholy songs ("Birmingham 1982") with more upbeat material ("One for the Shareholder"), a combination that also owed a small debt to the carefully crafted music of Carole King and Laura Nyro. Two years later, Taylor's second solo record, Lynn Teeter Flower, featured more exploration of the 1970s singer/songwriter sound, while 2008's Savannah Drive featured her acoustic collaborations with Andy LeMaster. Maintaining her prolific pace, Taylor returned the following year with LadyLuck and began working on another Azure Ray album, Drawing Down the Moon, which appeared in 2010. Despite Azure Ray's reunion, both members continued working on their own material, too, and Taylor released her fourth album, Overlook, the following year.

Wikipedia:

Maria Diane Taylor (born May 21, 1976) is an American singer/songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray with Orenda Fink, also signed with Saddle Creek Records and has played in Bright Eyes and Now It's Overhead. She plays several instruments, including the piano, guitar, and drums, and has collaborated with such artists as Bright Eyes, Moby, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., David Barbe, and Crooked Fingers.

She released her first solo album 11:11 on Saddle Creek Records on May 24, 2005. Her second solo album, Lynn Teeter Flower, was released on March 6, 2007, also on Saddle Creek. "A Good Start," the first track off Lynn Teeter Flower, was subsequently named one of NPR's 10 best songs of the year for 2007. She released an acoustic album titled Savannah Drive with Andy LeMaster in fall of 2008. On March 31, 2009 she released her third full length, LadyLuck via Nettwerk Music Group. Saddle Creek Records released her 4th solo album, Overlook August 16th, 2011. Paste called Overlook "her best, most animated collection in years."

Taylor announced her new record, Something About Knowing, would be coming out on October 29th, 2013 on Saddle Creek Records.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Biography[edit]

Maria Taylor started her musical career at the age of fifteen in the band Little Red Rocket with Orenda Fink which released two CDs on Geffen—Who Did You Pay (1997) and It's in the Sound (2000). The group disbanded during the merging of Geffen with Universal Music Group. Afterwards, Taylor moved to Athens, Georgia along with her musical collaborator, Fink. There, they formed the band Azure Ray. The pair signed to WARM and released their self titled debut as well as their second album, Burn and Shiver. The duo then relocated to Omaha, NE and released two additional records on Saddle Creek, the November EP and Hold on Love. Following the release of Hold on Love, Taylor and Fink began a 6 year hiatus, releasing their own solo records. They reformed in 2010 releasing Drawing Down the Moon and As Above So Below in 2012.

They were also involved in another Saddle Creek band, Now It's Overhead.

Taylor has contributed her vocals to Bright Eyes, Joshua Radin, Moby, Crooked Fingers, Whispertown and Abra Moore.

Her song "Time Lapse Lifeline" was featured in the "The Beaver In The Otter" episode of "Bones". Her music has also been featured frequently on the popular TV series, Grey's Anatomy—"Song Beneath The Song" from her first solo album 11:11 was on the Grey's Anatomy Season 1 Soundtrack. Maria Taylor's also had a song featured on the hit ABC Family series Greek. "No Stars" from Taylor's album Lynn Teeter Flower was also featured on the prom episode of the CW's One Tree Hill; she also has had a song featured on the series Scrubs. Taylor always removes the high E-string on her guitar before playing, even in concert.

Taylor is the mother of Miles Taylor Dwyer, born in spring 2012.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Music videos[edit]

Maria's film clips include "Song Beneath The Song" from 11:11, "A Good Start" from Lynn Teeter Flower, and "Time Lapse Lifeline" and "Cartoons and Forever Plans" from LadyLuck. The song "Cartoons and Forever Plans" was co-written with and also features R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. The video features actor/singer Soko and was directed by SKINNY (Directing Team).

Maria is also featured in the video for "Four Winds" by Bright Eyes.