The Soulcialista: ‘Confessional’ Soul for Ear Candy Lovers…

Last night Ear Candy was SHUT DOWN by arguably two of the finest men to ever hit the Teavolve stage, Jaiden the Cure and Russell Taylor. Rt! as he is known , brought a sultry and exciting acoustic experience to Ear Candy that should prove to be a tough act to follow. In promotion of his July 14, 2009 release, Confessional, Russell filled the place with smooth but powerful vocals about love and life to close out the show. The Philadelphia native sung with all the swag of a true East Coaster, but spoke to the audience in between songs with a warm and inviting down-south twang.

“This song is for all the artists in the room,” Taylor explained during the introduction to the title track of his first release, Somewhere In Between. The song shares the feelings of Russell as a young artist, struggling with the plight of being who he is, a musician, despite the urge to go find a “corporate gig” and “make the most money, as soon as possible.”

And had it not been for his following his own advice and for the encouragement of friend and fellow Indie Soulster Eric Roberson, his first EP may never have happened. The loss of a P&D deal for his first album proved daunting for the young artist, but not defeating.

“What? You’re good!” He described Roberson’s reaction to hearing tracks that would later make up Somewhere In Between. “Just throw that thing together and put them out! Don’t worry about it.”

Taylor followed that advice, bringing “the hardest working man in Indie soul today” to the Teavolve stage last night.

A leader on the Indie Soul scene, some seem baffled as to how Russell Taylor has resisted the urge to sell out, or in this case, make hits for a more pop audience in order to propel his career forward. His answer to that question seems simple:

“People have villianized Pop…” he began. “If you make songs that appeal to a broad audience that don’t distort the artistry of your music, that’s called good business.” He finished simply but profoundly with, “If you do stuff that you don’t want to do in order to sell records, that’s selling out.”

Singing all over the place, from London to New York, Taylor is no stranger to live shows. Engaging and charming on stage, it’s no surprise that the self-proclaimed introvert prefers live shows over recording in the studio. “I love live shows because I can control everything,” he described with a Cheshire cat grin on his face before he slapped his temples in distress and lowered his head to meet the table. “Now in the booth,” he continued with a sigh, “I feel like someone has put a chain link over me…I feel so oppressed when I’m in the studio singing into that microphone.”

Taylor kept it “all the way real” the whole night, belting songs that showcased his theater background and his broad range of influences, reaching all the way from Chaka Khan and Patti LaBelle to Foreigner and The Indigo Girls. In his last song, he stopped half way through, leaving us drooling for more in an attempt to “compel you to go get Confessional, and bring me back here soon so I can sing those songs for you”.

And he couldn’t have been more right!