P. S. Taylor

born 1967 Anaheim, Ca.

In brief, I was picked up in California at birth and taken to Mexico. The adopted son of Kiwi (the New Zealander) and Mary (the Virginian), I spent most of my days wondering where I was and packing for the next move. The youngest of three, I was the "baby" and took advantage of that privileged position as often as I could. In 1977, my parents reluctantly settled in South Carolina and we gradually adopted a nice southern lifestyle. When you bounce from school to school as much as I did, you welcome the pace of the South. And in school, you either learn to entertain yourself or learn to make fast friends. I learned to be entertaining...to myself. Despite my having been chained to a piano and force fed Beethoven, I eventually grew to appreciate many styles of music. I spent hours upon hours playing the piano, practicing the baritone, listening to music, and serenading the family pets. You can imagine with all this commotion that I was NOT the most popular kid in the house. As I continued this alienating behavior, I became very close to the other loner in the house, the family cat. That's when I realized that I had lost my mind. Ahhuummm. I mean, that is when I realized how COOL cats are. For instance, cats don't have to jump up and down screaming "I'm here, ....here I am, pet me before I have a seizure" every time they enter the room. A cat will walk in slowly, check out the ambiance, find a place to think quietly to themselves and sit down. Cats are polite. And they listen. If a cat doesn't like what its hearing it will leave. And, although "Cat" didn't care too much for my singing or practicing the baritone, he really loved the piano. So, as I played the piano , the cat would sit on the bench, sing loudly out of tune, practice HIS baritone, and turn the pages. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. As to where I got the idea for cats playing instruments and acting all cool and stuff, well, go figure. Cat and I now live outside Atlanta, Ga. Cat enjoys sunbathing, perusing the neighborhood, playing with Abby, my dog, and bird watching. Me, well, I just lead the band.