Though most people associate Maria Taylor with Omaha and its close-knit music scene, she’s actually a bit of a nomad.
“Usually after about five years, I get the itch to try out a new city,” says the 32-year-old singer-songwriter, who recently moved to L.A. She also has lived in Athens, Ga., and Birmingham, Ala., where she grew up.
Despite her restless lifestyle, Taylor’s music and lyrics stay close to home. Her new EP, “Savannah Drive,” even features a track called “Birmingham 1982,” on which Taylor reminisces about family singalongs and reading under the covers with a flashlight. Maybe it’s this tinge of nostalgia that suffuses so much of Taylor’s music with melancholy — or maybe, as Taylor says, it’s just her voice, which recalls other hushed, languid singers such as Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins.
We caught up with Taylor between gigs to talk about her mad drumming skills, her latest move and to try to find out why even her light-hearted material still makes her mom shed a tear.
You’re a pretty badass drummer. Are you getting behind the kit on this tour?
Yeah. Actually, I’m gonna play drums for Johnathan Rice [the opening act]. [Laughs] I’m gonna be so tired by the end of this tour.
How’d the first show of the tour go?
It was good. We were a little disorganized. We decided at the last minute that we were gonna do half of the set acoustic and half electric. So it was a lot of just figuring things out for the first day — lots of time between songs. [Laughs]
One of my favorite songs on the EP is “Birmingham 1982,” which evokes some memories from your childhood. Do you get a lot of inspiration from things that happened when you were growing up?
I guess so. I draw from everything, from what happened yesterday or what I dream might happen tomorrow. But I do oftentimes just sit and reminisce about my childhood. I think I had a pretty great one. I still get freaked out sometimes when I wake up and I’m like, “Oh, my God, I’m gonna have to do this alone. I can’t go back and live with my mom and dad.” I kind of wish that I’m just doing this for awhile and then you can go back to your little bedroom in the house. You all watch “The Cosby Show” at 7 p.m. …
“The Cosby Show” was family TV time when I was a kid too.
Totally! We had “Alf” and we had “The Cosby Show.”
You’ve moved around quite a bit. Any particular reason for this latest move to L.A.?
I just woke up one day and felt like I needed a big-time change. So I packed up all my things and I drove out to Los Angeles.
How’s that working out for you so far?
I absolutely love it. I needed a break from the cold weather. And just the extremes — Nebraska is extremely hot in the summer and then ridiculously cold in the winter. And I hate being cold.
You’ve described your forthcoming album as having a “less somber” tone. Is all that California sunshine having an effect on you?
Well, you know, I think that — but then my mom listens to my new songs and she’s like, “I can’t listen to them; they make me want to cry.” So to me they seem way less somber and more hopeful, but maybe other people won’t get that.
To me your music is more wistful or bittersweet than really dark.
I think my voice just must sound kind of sad when I sing. If I sing something really happy or funny, even, it just sounds sort of sad.
[ ANDY HERMANN IS A METROMIX PRODUCER. ]———-
ahermann@metromix.com
