Written By: Jayme Face
Hudson Taylor is an Irish Americana-Pop-Rock band who had two sold out UK tours, opened for Hozier’s North American tour, and now they’re back playing the City Winery February 5th and 6th at here in New York! Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. We caught up with one half of the brother duo, Alfie Hudson Taylor!
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your sound?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: We’re basically a duo made up of myself and my brother, Harry. We sing in close harmony together and we’ve been singing together for the last ten years. We started off doing more acoustic based music, more recently a little bit more electric guitar kind of Rocky/Americana sort of sound; yeah that’s a loose description.
upfrontNY: How did you guys get started?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Well we were away on family holiday. We had tried to get it together before at family things like weddings and birthdays; we’d sing happy birthday to the family on the phone to our auntie or our uncle or grandparent abroad. So, it wasn’t anything serious. Then we went on family holiday Harry brought along his guitar with him. We just walked down the beach one night with guitar in hand and these German people who were having a little fire asked us over, asked if we could play a few songs. We only knew about two songs; I think it was an Oasis song and a Beatles song. We played for them and they loved it. They said “Oh you have to come back tomorrow night to play more.” They had a few friends coming down the next night, so we did, there was maybe eight or nine people. We learned a few mores songs and that’s kind of how it got started in a weird way. We got home at the end of the holiday and they asked if we could some songs on YouTube. They liked the version of songs we did, so we did that. We were also like sixteen-year-old kids with no money so we our mom said “Why don’t you go out and try busking, try street performing”. There’s a big culture of that in Dublin so that’s kind of how we started off. We did that a lot in our teens and then started writing our own music and posting up on YouTube. Then we moved to London when we were seventeen and nineteen and we started releasing our own music.
upfrontNY: What are the challenges and rewards when working with your brother?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: The positives are there are two of us making decisions. I can’t imagine having to be a solo artist and having to be 100 percent confident in everything, in all the ideas that you have. If I have an idea I can bounce it off Harry and he can tell me it’s a bad idea or it’s a great idea or add to it. We have that sort of collaborating that helps make things much easier. We play by our strengths. Harry is great at things I’m terrible at and I’m great at things that Harry can’t do so well. We just play to those strengths and that seems to work really well. Now the challenges are just the time you spend with each person. Like my own personal experience, you’re traveling around in a van with each other everyday, staying in the same hotel, it’s a lot. It’s really tricky. If you have a brother or sister yourself you most likely know what I mean. It’s a hard balance, but we kind of have it down. We’re very honest with each other. We’re close to our brothers and sisters to keep it all in check. So there’s many pros than cons, but more pros.
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about your latest release Bear Creek to Dame Street?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Yeah! We look at the album like it’s a vinyl so, it has two sides to it. The first side is called Bear Creek.We recorded that in Bear Creek Studios in Seattle and it has the big studio sound. We’re really happy with the sound. The second half was all recorded live at a hometown show in Dublin and that’s called Dame Street.That was at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Dame Street. So, that’s where the name comes from. We put them both together as an album. It came out a few months ago and it’s a nice mix because we always like to say to people if they want to know what we sound like come and see us at a gig. We just think that represents how we sound. It’s the first time we’ve released our recorded live music. That was really exciting to have that out. As a band we have seven people on stage, our younger sister Holly is in the band with us and another pair of brothers who are on drums and bass. We were just really happy with our performance that night. It’s nice because you get see what we sound like in the studio and you get see what we sound like on stage as well with our band.
upfrontNY: You have some upcoming shows here in New York can you tell us more details about that and what we can expect?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Oh, Absolutely! We are playing at the City Winery for two nights which I’m really thrilled about! It’s a lovely venue. We were there the last time we were in America. We were touring with Hozier late last year on his American tour. Yeah, can’t wait! We’re coming out with a lovely bunch of musicians and we have a few tricks up our sleeve. We like to kind of jump out and play some songs in the audience and bring people nice and close. We like to have a party as well.
upfrontNY: Is there anything you are looking to do while you’re in New York?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: There’s plenty actually. I’m starting to do all that planning now. We had a week there with Hozier last year so, there’s a lot of things on my list. We stayed in Brooklyn, my first time spending time in Brooklyn. I met some nice people there. I’d like to meet up with them. I’d probably go up into a tall skyscraper. You know when in Rome and all that! And then just enjoy the shows and take lots of photos and meet some nice people as well!
upfrontNY: What are your tour must haves?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Good coffee! I always have to have that with me. You wouldn’t want to see me without it. I have loads of little things like I’ve got this box that I’ve got to bring that has absolutely everything, all the pens I ever need, notepads, cameras. I like to take a lot of photos so I’ll be bringing two cameras with me. And nice smells. You end up in a lot of really bad-smelling rooms on tour so, if you have the space bring something that smells good or a scented candle or something. It sounds crazy, but honestly you need it sometimes.
upfrontNY: What do you love to do when you go home?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Have a cup of tea and have shower and just be in my own bed. That’s my favorite thing when I get back especially when it’s a long-haul journey. I see my friends, see my partner, see my dog. But it doesn’t often happen you come back from somewhere and its straight away to somewhere else.
upfrontNY: What would you say was the biggest milestone in your career?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: It just seems like everything we do is another milestone. We’re just grateful to be doing this for a living. The last tour we did in North America was just incredible. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and opportunity. That was just amazing! And that hometown show that we recorded on that album; that was a special moment as well. They just keep coming. It’s really hard to pick a favorite.
upfrontNY: Is there anything you’d like to let our readers know?
Alfie Hudson Taylor: Come see us! We’re playing at the City Winery for two nights and it won’t be the last of us in North America this year. We‘re coming back later in the year!
Get your tickets to see Hudson Taylor on February 5th and 6th at City Winery!
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