Stan Taylor brings new sounds from his latest studio album to Visalia Fox after performing for fundraiser there on April 26
VISALIA – Imagine you are sitting in the small loft of a local bar, the walls lined with worn cushioned seats where a small cocktail table and oversized ottoman dot the floor space. The lighting is dim and the air is warm and humid as people shoehorn in for the show including standing two-deep on each step down the staircase…or imagine being in a tunnel cut beneath California’s Pacific Coast Highway. An archway of hard corrugated metal above your head with concrete walls and damp, gritty asphalt beneath your feet…or imagine yourself in the stairwell of your multi-story housing project. Grey cinder block walls, round steel railings and a maze of exposed ducting. These are among the many inconspicuous places that Stan Taylor has found inspiration to create and perform music. The natural acoustics generate feelings, sounds and vibrations that are unique and Stan Taylor has a gift for finding the extraordinary, within what most others would see as ordinary.
Stan will return home for the second time this year with a concert on Saturday, June 8 at the Visalia Fox Theatre, to perform songs off his latest album “Riffraff & Chivalry” featuring Raquel Rodriguez.
“It has been a struggle, a joy, and a learning experience to write and produce this record as an independent artist,” Stan says on his website. “I could not have done it without my team and the support of my family, friends, and fans. These songs capture and chronicle the highs and lows of my life over the past five years and each one exudes something different and meaningful.”
The soulful performer was on the Visalia Fox stage just one month ago as a fundraiser for the Spotlight Visalia scholarship fund and to support the historic theater. Opening for Stan were the music scholarship recipients representing each Visalia’s high schools.
It wasn’t that long ago that Stan himself attended school in Visalia. While attending El Diamante High School in 2008, Taylor, then known by his given name Stan Carrizosa, Jr., won the ABC reality series, “High School Musical: Get in the Picture,” got a record contract with Disney, and was featured in the third installment of the “High School Musical” film trilogy. This opportunity opened a number of doors for Stan, and he has been developing a successful music career ever since.
In 2013, he performed alongside MC Lyte on the Arsenio Hall show. Four years later, he was featured on “The Steve Harvey Show”, where he brought the house down with his performance of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”. Since then, he has continued to develop a successful career as a Soul and R&B musician in Los Angeles, with a new studio album scheduled to be released later this year.
As a music major at the University of Southern California, Stan is in a love affair with Soul and R&B classics. One of his most successful endeavors thus far is a string vintage hits he pushes through his social media platforms entitled “The Classic Series.” Stan delivers seemingly effortless, soulful, and smooth acoustic renditions of covers he has selected to pay homage to industry icons like Al Green, Billy Paul, Frankie Valli, Bill Withers, and Stevie Wonder. In his own journey as a musician, it’s clear that Stan sees himself as a student of these great idols. Stan’s genuine, raw and authentic talent will make you stop what you are doing and listen to the magic being made.
Tickets for Stan’s performance range in price from $17 to $23 and can be purchased online at foxvisalia.org or at the box office, located at 300 Main St. in Visalia. Doors open at 7 p.m. with showtime at 8 p.m.
