Review Fix Exclusive: Taylor McCluskey Talks ‘Stay With Me’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Taylor McCluskey, who discusses his origin in music, creative process, new single, “Stay With Me” and so much more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Taylor McCluskey: I started listening to music when I was 4. Records of The Rolling Stone’s and Michael Jackson we’re always playing in the house. Never looked back.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

McCluskey: My lyrics come from my personal life, what I see and experience through and with the relationships I have formed to this point. They come from dreams; the good, the bad and the ugly. My producer Glen Robinson (Keith Richards, George Martin) and I have similar tastes and we have formed a strong work ethic and songwriting collaboration. We have a good knowledge base of what hits and falls short when it comes to songwriting.

I would consider myself a beacon for the songs that I want to create. After all these years I have found a great balance with my band of brothers and sisters. It starts with me sending a rough video of me playing with a new idea. Then I talk to Glen, which is like my therapy in a way, we workshop the material and then we go off and write more before heading to the studio. 

Once we have tracked all our parts and when we have a strong mix. We sent the stems to our bandmates Zak St. John (Drums) and Andrew James (Bass) in Los Angeles. We have MFICs (West) and MFICs (East). When it comes back, we mix and master here at my home studio in Montreal.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

McCluskey: I’m inspired by storytelling. My curiosity gets me into songwriting mode. I dream about it and then I start writing and playing. Playing and writing. Repetition. Until it takes whatever form I was in search of. Or was in search of me. Script, song and edit. I’m a sonic radio tower at times.

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

McCluskey: I love music and it means everything to me. I practice everyday to make sure my voice and fingers stay sharp. Plus, new ideas come about during a jam and or songwriting session.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

McCluskey: I’d say I’m what you would get if Queens of The Stone Age, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, U2, Coldplay and Black Sabbath had a baby.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

McCluskey: My live shows can only be described as very raw and intense. The audience is everything to me. I attack the live show production as we would in the studio, recording live. The sound is very important to me: I love the combination of sound, light and video to create a film/rock show live experience. I want to capture that moment forever and then move on to the next.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

McCluskey: I made 16 tracks in quarantine, and I’m releasing one each month moving forward. I’m planning to have both studio and live versions of all 16 tracks, for a total of 32.

My latest single “Stay With Me” was a song meant for all the people I love and who love me. This journey of life is incredible, especially when you can connect with them musically. 

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?

McCluskey: I want to continue releasing new music and videos. I want to keep connecting with fans and play/steam live events. I’d love to even tour when everything gets back to normal. I’m continuing to work on some film & TV projects as well.

Review Fix: What’s next?

McCluskey: My next single “Gladiator” will feature both a studio and live version which is due out July 4, 2021 on all platforms. It’s mastered in Dolby Atmos so it’s definitely going to be a song to play loud.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

McCluskey: Thank you very much and stay tuned! I hope to see you online and or at a show in the near future!

Photo by Teresa Ste-Marie

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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