"I had blown out my voice because I used to sing like an asshole," Taylor Kingman tells as he prepares to release his debut solo record, his calmest, most sparse effort to date. Wannabe, due out November 17 via Mama Bird Recording Co., was recorded last year at Mike Coykendall's Blue Rooms Studios employing "a very simple and straightforward approach, which made the recording process a breeze," Kingman says. "Just me, a guitar and Mike on the knobs."
Best known as The Hill Dogs frontman, a pack of self-proclaimed "big-hearted, fire-breathing folk rockers" who developed a raucous reputation and a beloved following in PDX, that's where Kingman lost his voice. "The restrictions of his healing vocal chords gave way to a deluge of new writing," fellow singer-songwriter Anna Tivel writes in Kingman's bio.
Taylor Kingman's solo debut 'Wannabe' is out November 17 via Mama Bird Recording Co. and he'll celebrate its release at Mississippi Studios on November 29"I was desperately trying to recuperate, but the city wasn't helping," Kingman continues. "I went to stay at a friend's cabin to rest my voice and stay away from booze and cigarettes, but it didn't go as planned. And the cabin window had been left open, so it was full of all sorts of critters and creepy crawlies. It was a complete mess and so was I. And, though I didn't last long out there, I'm glad I came back with this tune," he recounts of the genesis of his new song "There Goes My Mind."
The eight-track Wannabe "is very much a song album and it feels liberating to release these songs at their barest," Kingman says. "Stark, raw and honest. Full of space, leaving no room for the song to hide. And being as this is my debut as a solo artist, I feel the simplicity is very fitting. Laying it all on the table."
And while The Hill Dogs may be "currently inactive, we have plans to play in the future," he says. In the meantime, there's Taylor Kingman baring it all by himself as well as playing with the supergroup TK & The Holy Know-Nothings, which you can catch at his record release show on Wednesday, November 29 at Mississippi Studios. Featuring Lewi Longmire, Josh Simon of Shook Twins, and Jay Cobb Anderson and Tyler Thompson of Fruition alongside Kingman, "The next day, The Holy Know-Nothings and I will be driving to Enterprise to record our first record at the OK Theatre" with Bart Budwig. And January will see Kingman hit the road with Willy Tea Taylor and Tommy Alexander, followed by February with Jeffrey Martin.
