Bill Taft

Over the course of nearly twenty years, trumpeter, singer, guitarist, and banjo player Bill Taft has been a member of several groups pivotal to Atlanta music, including The Opal Foxx Quartet, The Jody Grind, and Smoke. He currently leads Hubcap City (From Belgium), which also features co-founder Will Fratesi, Matthew Proctor, and Terry Boling; in addition, Kat Hairston was in the band 2005-2007. Hubcap City prefers an improvisational approach, never playing a song the same way twice, and has a penchant for recording and performing outdoors at various unlikely spots across Atlanta, including Sylvester Cemetery, underneath a Berne Ave. bridge, and abandoned buildings. Visit their page at HIG Records or their Wikipedia entry for a brief history and discography.

Jill Carnes: Interview with Bill Taft, August 19, 2006, at Inman Park...

Bill Taft: Playground, 3:03.

JC: 3:03 PM... Bill, it's nice to see you again. Are you ready for the interview?

BT: Yes, Jill. It's lovely to be here today.

JC: Do you listen to much radio?

BT: Yes, I really like the radio. I love radio because I never know what's going to happen. It's not like a CD or an I-Pod; it's always spontaneous or something unusual.

JC: Do you listen to it in your car, or at home... ?

BT: Mostly in the car - I like driving in my car, listening to the radio.

JC: Okay, how about this question: would you rather listen to a bulldozer or a saxophone?

BT: I'm kind of in my wood-chipper phase actually. You know those wood-chippers the lumberjacks and the tree surgeons use? They shove the wood into the chipper and it goes... (makes loud, grating sound imitating a wood-chipper). I went out the other day and recorded it; I stood by the wood-chipper. And then I came home and I sang along with it. (Regarding bulldozers and saxophones) So that doesn't... but you need... I actually like them both. In fact, I would put them together. A basic bulldozer, shifting gears, and a saxophone... that'd be very cool together. In fact, I'm going to do that.

JC: (laughs).

BT: I am! Because it's the perfect combination. It is! They're both actually very good. The diesel engine and the raspy reed of the saxophone would be pretty awesome together. So my answer is: I like them both the same. And I'm not copping out! I know you want subjectivity and attitude, but I'm telling it like it is.

JC: But you like both of them together as much as you would separately, or more.

BT: Right, but lately I'm leaning more toward diesel equipment. To me, it's very meditative and contemplative, kind of like Indian drone music (makes droning sound imitating a diesel engine).

JC: Well, do you hear resonant household appliances that sometimes inspire you to write a song? And, maybe - what about roadside equipment? Same question.

BT: There's a coffee grinder, kind of... but I don't like, so... I like roadside equipment a lot. I think, go to "previous answer"; I think I answered that.

JC: I think so. How about kitchen appliances, or vacuum cleaners...?

BT: I went through a vacuum cleaner phase once. I took a harmonica and stuffed it in front of the vacuum cleaner nozzle; so when the vacuum cleaner sucked the air in, the air went through the reeds of the harmonica.

JC: Nice.

BT: And then I'd wave that around and sing along with it. But I've moved on from that. As of this point and time, I'm not...

JC: Did any of these experiments with these various musical contraptions - did any of them lead to a particular song that you've written?

BT: I used to have with the vacuum cleaner a song I'd sing with it, and then, with the wood-chipper... I don't have words for that yet. I'm sort of working on that.

JC: Oh, okay - a work in progress. Okay, what about 1920's music - how does it make you feel?

BT: Like I want to get drunk and dance in the fountain.

JC: (laughs) With Zelda Fitzgerald?

BT: Right.

JC: Okay, let's move on to the topic of art. Not that that wasn't art; that was definitely art. Have you ever painted?

BT: As a matter of fact, I have. This city is filled with some of my early minimalist works. There are several garage doors of which I am exceedingly proud. Also, there's some front doors and windows that I've painted. And I must say, not to brag... if you look at my windows, you'll notice, never does my paint go on to the glass, unless I want it to. I have such conrol of my brush that I don't have to put tape on the window pane.

JC: Very well-trained.

BT: Right, I'm classically trained. And I draw on that, but also I rebel against it, when I think it's important to tell the story.

JC: Okay, hmm... well, what about art paintings on canvas or paper, have you ever ventured into that?

BT: I've painted some shirts.

JC: Okay, that's cloth, for sure. What'd you paint on them?

BT: "1 Mic" - which is the name of my record company. A friend of mine is an oil painter... we used paper, but we smeared oil paint on the bottoms of my boots and then I smushed the boots into the paper. So that's not canvas. But she liked it; she thought it looked good.

JC: I'll admit that was a leading question on my part, but you can go past canvas and paper. Good answer.

BT: I'm not too much of a... I like painting, but I haven't done much on canvas. I like ceilings; I'm very good at painting a ceiling.

Bill Taft

JC: Have you ever made any sculptured art?

BT: I like ceramics, I like clay. I made a long-distance saxophone out of clay once.

JC: Right, I remember that "saxophone-telephone."

BT: I think I have it at home somewhere; I don't remember.

JC: Used to be on your front porch; it's no longer there.

BT: Maybe it is still there.

JC: Do you get good low phone bills on that?

BT: Well, it doesn't really work.

JC: Do you have any desire to make more ceramic work in the future?

BT: Yeah, that would be fun, sure, but it's not big on my list of priorities.

JC: I'm digging it, okay. Do you ride a bicycle?

BT: Yeah, I love my bicycle. It's a great anti-depressant. I ride my bike around, and I'm very happy. It always makes me feel better.

JC: Do you ride it to work?

BT: I will do that sometimes, yes. I'll ride it home too. And then somedays, I'll ride it in the middle of the day, because it makes me feel better.

JC: You ride it to work, but you ride it for fun too. Can you describe a fun bike journey you've been on recently?

BT: Yeah, I rode down to Georgia State University. I left my home at 2:00, and it was sunny. Then, at 2:30, I was down by Georgia State and I got rained on.

JC: While you were riding?

BT: Right, so I was totally soaked. And then I went into the Georgia State center, because I had to register for a class, and everyone looked at me funny because I was soaking wet. But I liked that because I got to be different; I thought that was hilarious. I probably looked like a homeless man. Then I rode home and it was sunny, so I got dried off. That was a fun day. I thought it was a fun bike ride.

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