Taylor Cromer: The Struggle Is Real, But The Payoff Is Great

There is an old saying that “The Struggle Is Real”, but for Taylor Cromer, he has lived it. Deciding to chase his dreams and taking the plunge to move to Nashville, Taylor spent time living out of his car and grinding away to make it.  After the struggles and sacrifices, Taylor has become a staple in the Nashville music scene. The road wasn’t easy, but chasing his dreams were worth it.

At 18 years old, Taylor became interested in music after seeing a friend learning to play the guitar.  After his friend learned to play, Taylor asked him to teach him a few chords.  Taylor practiced the guitar, learned some songs, and found himself at a bonfire a few weeks later.  A few friends and Taylor played a few songs and then convinced him to go to an open mic.  Taylor found acceptance from those in attendance and the passion grew from there.  Taylor would go to every open mic he could and began honing his craft.

Taylor has a strong belief in working hard and learning your craft.  With acceptance comes failures, but his drive and determination fueled his passion for music.  Each performance became better than the last as Taylor’s confidence grew.

After his band dispersed and working a day job, Taylor found that his music was at a standstill in Georgia and he was running out of fumes.  He decided that it was time to leave town, take a chance, and go somewhere else.  Taylor headed to Nashville with the attitude that “no matter what happened, he wouldn’t stop and come home”.

He got his first gig about 3 days after moving, but Taylor found himself with no place to live and his money was running out.  Taylor said that at his first gig, he made $12 after singing for 3 hours.  He played a continued playing, but would only make a few dollars each time.

Now broke, sleeping in his car in a recording studio parking lot, he gets up one morning and went to downtown Nashville.  Taylor starts walking around, hungry, broke, and walks into Tootsie’s.  He saw a friend playing and his friend takes him to meet Scott Collier.  After his friend told Scott that Taylor needed work, he got an audition.  Taylor plays a song and Scott asks him to come outside to talk.  Scott asked Taylor to be back the next morning.  John Taylor, who runs Tootsie’s, not only asked Taylor to play, he told Taylor that he wanted him to go to all the stages and sit in with everyone.

Now with a place to play, Taylor began living inside the studio on a couch.  After staying there for a month, Taylor found a place to live and was able to focus on getting his feet planted in Nashville.  He truly lived the life of the starving musician.  Taylor is grateful for all the help he had to keep his dreams alive.

Taylor still plays in Nashville, but now he has started to get back out on the road to expand his fanbase.  Taylor is now writing more and has enough material for a new CD.  Taylor is trying to find the money to self fund the project.

Taylor talked about his song writing process.  He is not a fan of co-writing because he has his own process. Some songs starts from humming or an emotion, others start from a guitar riff.  Taylor finds that constant reading and increasing his vocabulary is very beneficial to writing.  Taylor only wants to put out quality songs, still using a pen and paper, and only writing songs that are songs worth keeping.

Taylor is a big believer in promoting himself, working hard, and trying to make things happen.  Technology is allowing more artists to self record, self promote, and being able to do things their own way.  If Taylor makes it big in the industry, he is good with that, but he is more concerned in putting out quality music and making a living doing what he loves to do.  Taylor is influenced by bands like Them Dirty Roses, Bennie Gray and The Trailer Park Cowboys, Jason Isbell, and many others in the Texas Red Dirt Scene.  He also highlights that Bennie Grey really showed him how to write songs.  He credits Brad Wolf to helping him learn how to be a better stage performer.

Taylor is an amazing artist, with a powerful voice.  One of the biggest things I love about Taylor’s music, is that is doesn’t have to be polished.  Taylor desire to put out great quality music is more impressive than produced, polished records. Taylor says that he is going to play music until he dies and if commercial success follows, he is good with it.

I can’t give enough praise to Taylor Cromer.  He is a true fan of music and that shows each time he takes the stage.  He cares so much about the craft, the quality, and always learning.  If you are visiting Nashville, be sure to find where Taylor is playing.  I can promise you that you will be so impressed.  You can follow Taylor and learn more about where to find him and upcoming projects on his Facebook page.