Nicholas Taylor
Nicholas Taylor was born in 1953 in Bellville, Illinois. Following his studies at Bellville Area College and Southern Illinois University, he traveled to Tokyo, Japan, accompanying fellow artist Rumio Sato, in 1975. Taylor remained in Japan for six months, absorbing the culture and acclimating easily to the fast-paced living style of a large urban center. Upon his return to the United States, he chose to relocate to New York City.
Taylor
first met fellow artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in January, 1979, at the famed
Mudd Club in lower Manhattan. The two quickly became close friends and,
together with Michael Holman, Wayne Clifford, and Vince Gallo (Buffalo 66)
formed the musical art band GRAY. GRAY's sound was experimental, an energizing
mix of ambient sounds and instrumental exploration. GRAY was a cool, band
that Glenn O'Brian of Andy Warhol's INTERVIEW magazine dubbed as "possibly
the best band on the planet." GRAY played at a myriad of locations
throughout New York City, including a birthday party for pop art guru Leo
Castelli.
After the band broke up in 1981, Basquiat left to pursue painting full time; Taylor concentrated on his true passion - music. Known as DJ High Priest, a true hip hop impresario, Taylor along with Michael Holman, were partially responsible for bringing the hip hop musical genre from the Bronx to lower Manhattan. Taylor has appeared on Ripley's Believe It Or Not! and PM Magazine. He has toured with Zulu Nation (African Bambatta), and opened for Grand Master Flash. Taylor also worked with Fab Five Freddy, Max Roach, and the New York City Breakers (a national break-dancing tour group). In 1985, Taylor performed at Radio City Music Hall's with the musical band, The Tubes.
In 1985, Nicholas Taylor produced SUICIDE HOTLINE MODE. At writer and director Julian Schnabel's request, Taylor collaborated with William Burroughs and Jeffery Wright (who played Basquiat) to recreate the voice-over for THE SUICIDE HOTLINE MODE that appears on both the Island Records BASQUIAT sound track and in the MIRIMAX motion picture BASQUIAT. Nicholas Taylor did a cameo appearance in the movie; it was he who Benicio del Toro's composite character "Benny" was loosely based on. In 1991 Taylor reunited with Michael Holman. Known as the WINDMILLS, they opened for Todd Rundgren at the Ritz in New York City, formerly known as Studio 54.
Today, Nicholas Taylor's album credits include GOMMA Records motion picture sound tracks ANTI- NEW YORK, DOWNTOWN '81, and a collaboration with Debbie Harry. He has also worked with artist Ashley Bickerton on the album "We Love New York," which also included music from Brian Eno and Gilbert & George. In the fall of 2003, Taylor performed at the knitting Factory opening for Old Dirty Bastard (baby Jesus of Wu Tang fame). Taylor is most recently represented by British Label APEMAN Records. Today, Nicholas Taylor is director and host of his own art television show, that airs Thursdays at midnight, in New York City, on AOL/Time Warner, channel 56.