Music Man

DESTIN - Local resident Chris Taylor is breathing life into the Christian music scene across the nation.
His latest single, "Take Me Anywhere", is being played on Christian and contemporary FM stations around the country as well as on XM and Sirius Radio stations.
"It's the coolest thing to sing in Wisconsin and have people know my words, even though I've never been there," said Taylor who recently returned from a 25-state tour with fellow Christian rockers Kutless.
His album, also titled "Take Me Anywhere," was released on April 15 and has received rave reviews from online music publications such as ChristianityToday.com and CMCentral.com.
A lifelong resident of the Emerald Coast, Taylor grew up just across the 331 bridge near Freeport. His parents, Tim and Becky Taylor, own Ocean Reef Resort Properties in Destin, where Taylor still works as a manager.
Although his faith is the driving force behind his music, the 26-year-old's life wasn't always centered around worship.
"As a kid, I was more concerned with sports and surfing," he said. "I learned to play guitar listening to bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam."
Around age 15, Taylor's focus turned to the spiritual. After talking with a family friend about God, the teenager had what he calls a "salvation experience in a car."
"From then on, thoughts about God and faith saturated everything I wrote," he said. "When it came to faith, or questions about faith, I never had to force the music. It came very naturally."
Faith may have gotten his creative juices flowing, but Taylor did not experience immediate success with his music.
"It took about 10 or 11 years from the time I started making music until the time I was discovered," he said. "But this is the right time for me, as opposed to when I was 18 or 19."
Taylor's time came when BEC Recordings discovered his music online and invited the singer/songwriter to Nashville to record in their studio. The company liked what they heard and offered Taylor a recording contract.
From there, "Take Me Anywhere" was recorded over a span of a couple weeks. Taylor set out on a two-month, tour with Kutless, another BEC Christian act that has a large national following.
"You're not going to hear my songs on your car radio around here just yet," he said. "But they're getting out there through other stations across the country."
Now back and living in Destin, Taylor is focusing on family. His wife, Gileah, is also a successful musician from the area and the couple has a two-year-old daughter named Clara.
During the day, Taylor works renting out properties with his parents. Although other musicians might not find the work glamorous, he's happy to still have his day job.
"I'm fortunate that my parents allow me to take time off to tour and then come back to work," he said. "Having a real home is important because music is a big part of me, but it's not all of me."
He and his wife are planning on touring together in the future, so that they can bring Clara along.
Though his music may take him far from the Gulf Coast, Taylor has no plans to move.
"I'd never want to live in Nashville or L.A.," he said. "I'll tour and continue to be all over the place, but home has got to be here."

CHECK IT OUT:
To hear tracks from "Take Me Anywhere" or learn more about Chris Taylor, go to www.myspace.com/christaylorband.