Meet Paragraph Taylor | Performer & Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paragraph Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paragraph, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Working on everything in succession all of the time, and not waiting for one long stretch of time to work on one thing, is the best habit for us that we’ve found gets things done. When the pandemic began, we were able to knock out “The Torturer” score (a short horror Little Spark Film made in 2020) in just a few days in a row. That sort of opportunity is rare however, so being sure one thing doesn’t get neglected, especially when spinning multiple projects. Instead, we spend just a few minutes at a time on things. Surprisingly, this makes it feel like things get done way quicker than waiting for a block of uninterrupted consecutive time to “knock something out real fast”. Both the new records for ManifestiV AND Secret Of Boris came together, and shaped arguably our proudest works, throughout the past couple years. To distill this mantra, we cite a riddle often: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The biggest challenge in ascending creatively and professionally is one’s self. Doubt comes from many directions, but it can only be executed from within. The inner voice that agrees with that doubt & keeps from trying something because it might or could or even should fail keeps the attempt from something greatly imperfect (and thus imperfectly great) from being created. The stranger & more quirky something feels, the more you should go for it. It’s foreign & you’re unsure it won’t work because it’s new, more often than not. Sheer will and persistence in radical individualism will get your truest self & creations out there way sooner than trying to fit them into any sort of prerequisite, requirement or expectation. ManifestiV is about just that: being your most self, following your most happy heart, and doing the most good.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If someone was in Dallas for a week, we’d hope it was when a good show swung through Deep Ellum, Oak Cliff, or even a bit west in Fort Worth, was happening. If no shows went down, some excellent Korean cuisine up in North Carrollton, Thai delicacies in Richardson, or Indian gourmet in North Irving would slap a bit. We’d of course also have to hit the Reserve Starbucks on Olive in Downtown. They’re always too sweet to us. Of course, if the week landed right, none would be complete without a Sunday night at The ChurcH taking place at It’ll Do Club. Any other night, Will Call or Ruins are a couple still bangin’ Deep Ellum spots even when there aren’t shows on there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Lillith Taylor, our ManifestiV bandmate, spouse, and best friend, is responsible for nurturing so much of our development. We’d always wanted to tour perpetually but never had the opportunity to prior to facing homelessness together after earthquake damage rendered us without a roof in early 2015 in Vallejo, California, where we’d formed ManifestiV then married the previous year. She took the risk with us to jump onto the road with our new band, and it shaped us more strongly than anything could have, both personally and musically. We’ll always have her to thank for taking that (& many more) huge risks with us that have successfully elevated us towards our fullest potentials quickest.

Website: http://ManifestiV.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ParagraphTaylor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ParagraphTaylor

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ParagraphTaylor

Youtube: http://youtube.com/@ParagraphTaylor

Other: http://linktr.ee/ParagraphTaylor

Image Credits
Bane Cook