The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business presents filmmaker/writer/producer/recording artist Steve Taylor in the September 28th Insider’s View at 6:30pm in MPAC. Steve will speak about his experience in diverse aspects of the entertainment industry and his recent work on the film adapdation of Donald Miller’s book Blue Like Jazz.
Steve Taylor earned his “Renaissance Man” stripes (Prism Magazine) from a body of work that’s garnered him multiple Grammy, Billboard, Telly, Addy and Dove awards and nominations. A Southern California native, Steve was raised in Denver, Colorado and studied music and film at Colorado University. As a film student Steve wrote and directed the comedy shorts Joe’s Distributing (1980) and Baby Talk (1982),then hit the road for a year as director and co-writer for the musical comedy troupe Jeremiah People. In 1983, Steve began a career as a recording artist that spanned twelve years, selling over one million albums worldwide and garnering him two Grammy nominations for Meltdown (1984) and Squint (1993). In the process, he made history as the only artist to twice win Billboard Music Video Awards for self-directed music videos. As a concert artist, Steve and his band headlined four international tours, including acclaimed appearances at L.A.’s Universal Amphitheater and London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Steve was also lead singer/co-writer in the MCA-signed modern rock band Chagall Guevara (1991).
Steve’s work as a music video director and filmmaker has earned him two Billboard Music Video Awards, as well as Dove, Telly, and Addy Awards. His many credits as a director include music videos for Sixpence None the Richer, Fleming & John, Rich Mullins, Guardian; a documentary on England’s Greenbelt Festival (1989); the long-form Newsboys comedy Down Under The Big Top (1996); and the highly-acclaimed Squint: Movies From The Soundtrack (shot in ten countries around the globe including Vietnam, Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Turkey). Steve’s work has received recurring airplay on major music networks, including VH1 and MTV, and his Sixpence video for “Kiss Me” (filmed in Paris) was featured by VH1 as a “Pop Up Video.”
Meanwhile, as a record producer Steve’s resume includes the Platinum-certified Sixpence None The Richer and three Gold-certified albums for the Newsboys: Going Public, Take Me To Your Leader and Adoration. All four albums earned Grammy nominations. (Steve also contributed to most of the Newboys tracks as a songwriter.) His production efforts have appeared in numerous television programs and motion pictures, including Pump Up The Volume (1991), She’s All That (1999), Snow Day (2000) and Here On Earth (2000). Steve’s greatest success as a producer came with 1999’s #1 international smash hit “Kiss Me,” performed by Sixpence None the Richer. He also produced the band’s follow-up hit, “There She Goes.” In 2002 he produced and co-wrote the Newsboys album Thrive, which yielded two number one singles. He also produced and co-wrote the end title track for the hitanimated feature film Jonah – A VeggieTales Movie. In 2003 he produced and co-wrote the hit Newsboys album Adoration, which again yielded two number one singles, including ASCAP Song of the Year recipient “He Reigns.”
In late 1997 Steve launched Squint Entertainment, a record label and film production company. Squint’s worldwide success in the pop music arena was a first for a Nashville-based label, and Squint was subsequently nominated in 2000 by R&R Magazine for Independent Label Of The Year alongside industry stalwarts DreamWorks and Hollywood Records. In addition to Sixpence, Squint’s roster included Chevelle, Burlap To Cashmere, The Insyderz, Waterdeep and hip-hop collective L. A. Symphony. Steve led the company until 2001, when it was sold to AOL/Time Warner.
In 2005 Steve wrapped production on The Second Chance, marking his debut as a feature film director/co-writer/producer. The movie was subsequently picked up for a 2006 theatrical release by Sony Pictures Releasing. He’s currently in post-production on his next feature – an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller Blue Like Jazz.
Steve lives in Nashville with his wife, the artist D.L. Taylor, and their twelve-year-old daughter.
STEVE TAYLOR FILMOGRAPHY
“The Second Chance” (movie) – Director/Writer/Producer
*San Francisco WYSIWYG Film Festival – Best Feature Length Film *Official Selection – Pan African Film Festival
*Official Selection – Sabaoth International Film Festival (Milan, Italy)
“Squint: Movies from the Soundtrack” (long form music video/documentary) – Director/Producer
*Billboard Music Video Award Winner *Telly Award Winner *Addy Award Certificate of Merit
*Sinking Creek Film Festival Award Winner *multiple Dove Award nominee * Syndicate Readers Poll Award
“See Spot Rock” (long form tour documentary/comedy) – Director/Writer/Producer w/ PFC
“Down Under the Big Top” (hour-long comedy/drama) – Director/Writer/Producer
Rich Mullins “Pursuit of a Legacy” (long form music video/documentary) – Director/Producer
“Greenbelt: ’88 on Super Eight” (documentary) – Director/Writer/Producer
Newsboys “Million Pieces” (music video) – Director/Producer w/ PFC
Sixpence None The Richer “Kiss Me” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Billboard Music Video Award Nominee *VH1 “Pop-Up Video”
Steve Taylor “On the Fritz” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Billboard Music Video Award Winner *Dove Award nominee
Fleming & John “I’m Not Afraid” (music video) – Director/Producer
Out of the Grey “Gravity” (music video) – Director/Producer
Guardian “Lead The Way” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Dove Award nominee *Nammie Award nominee
Margaret Becker “Deep Calling Deep” (music video) – Director/Producer
Dakota Motor Co. “Trip to Pain” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Syndicate Readers Poll Award
Out of the Grey “All We Need” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Nammie Award nominee
Twila Paris “What Am I Without You” (music video) – Director/Producer
Newsboys “Shine” (music video) – Director/Producer
*Dove Award nominee *CCM Readers Poll Video of the Year *Release Magazine Video of the Year
Eric Champion “Save The World” (music video) – Director/Producer
Eric Champion “Resolution Time” (music video) – Director/Producer
Steve Taylor “Jim Morrison’s Grave” (music video) – Director/Producer
Steve Taylor “Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud’s)” (music video) – Director/Producer
“Baby Talk” (comedy short) – Director/Writer
*Official Selection: American International Film Festival
“Joe’s Distributing” (comedy short) – Director/Writer
“Homeless Man: The Restless Heart of Rich Mullins” (documentary) – Producer
Chevelle “Mia” (music video) – Executive Producer
*multiple Billboard Music Video Award nominee
Insyderz “He Has Made Me Glad” (music video) – Executive Producer
*Dove Award nominee