Butch Taylor
| Butch Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Clarence Francis Taylor |
| Also known as | "Mr. Chops" |
| Born |
April 13, 1961 Shawsville, Virginia |
| Genres | Rock, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, writer |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Associated acts |
Secrets Dave Matthews Band |
| Website | davematthewsband.com |
Butch Taylor (born Clarence Francis Taylor on April 13, 1961 in Shawsville, Virginia) is a composer, writer, keyboardist and long time guest musician with Dave Matthews Band.
Although not a formal member of the band he acted as a permanent sixth member of the group from 1998 until 2008, making contributions on both studio and live albums. Before teaming up with the band, Taylor played in the band Secrets with Dave Matthews Band drummer, Carter Beauford as well as longtime Dave Matthews Band friend and guest guitarist, Tim Reynolds. Over the years he has also composed many scores for television and film.
Taylor attended James Madison University, Virginia where he played trumpet in the JMU Jazz Ensemble. It was there he met Dave Matthews Band saxophonist, LeRoi Moore. He studied for a bachelor's degree in English and a Master's degree in music and also returned to the university some years later to teach.
He currently lives in Scottsville, VA. He is divorced and has three adult sons.
On May 27, 2008, Butch decided to leave the band. The Dave Matthews Band official fan club, the Warehouse Fan Association released this message:
"Keyboardist Butch Taylor has decided to leave Dave Matthews Band. We are saddened by this sudden news but he has our full support. He’s given so much to us and our audience through the years and he will be missed."
Current Music Life
Butch currently gigs with the Robert Jospe Trio around Virginia and can be seen weekly performing on Thursday nights at Millers on the Downtown Mall of Charlottesville (The place where the Dave Matthews Band began) with other virtuosos such as John D'earth, Charles Owens, and Devonne Harris. He also plays with the trio the last Saturday of the month at Fellini's, also on the downtown mall.