About Dudley Taft Band
Dudley Taft
grew up in the American Midwest, where he learned the values of friendship,
roots blues, rock 'n' roll and a good ear of corn. With a background that
includes Berklee College of Music as well as years touring with rock bands
Sweet Water and Second Coming, Dudley is a thinking man's blues rocker. There's
plenty of swagger here, but also the sensitivity of a thoughtful songwriter. In
his music you'll hear delta roots mingling with Seattle grunge, a southern
twang with a high-octane crunch. Dudley was nominated "Best Guitarist" by the
European Blues Awards in 2017.
Dudley's
music career began in high school when he founded the band Space Antelope with
friend Trey Anastasio (of Phish). In the 1990's he joined Seattle band Sweet
Water, touring the states with Monster Magnet, Candlebox and Alice in Chains.
After recording two albums for Atlantic, he left the band to join Second
Coming. More touring followed with an album on Capitol Records and a taste of
success thanks to the single "Vintage Eyes" which made it to #10 on the Rock
Radio charts. In 2006, Taft started playing blues rock in Seattle, and has
released six studio albums and one live record. Left for Dead in 2010, Deep
Deep Blue in 2012, Screaming In The Wind in 2014, and Skin and Bones in 2015,
Live In Europe in 2016, Summer Rain 2017 and Simple Life in 2019. Reese Wynans
of Stevie Ray Vaughan fame has played on three of these studio albums. Dudley
has had four #1 songs on the Hit Tracks Top 100 charts, a #2 Blues Rock single
(Give Me A Song) and Simple Life made it to #9 on the US Blues Rock Album
charts.
Taft has
been touring in Europe since 2012, and in 2017 Taft was nominated "best
guitarist" by the European Blues Awards. His music can be heard on BB King's
Bluesville on Satellite XM Radio, Pandora, Spotify, and other streaming
services. Dudley's music has been featured in movies and on television, most
notably The Sixth Sense, and on That Metal Show and Gene Simmon's Family
Jewels. Dudley now makes his home in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dudley Taft
has been playing blues rock since 2006, when he formed Dudley Taft Blues
Overkill with like-minded Seattle musicians. After playing clubs and
casinos in the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years, he released the album
Left For Dead. Since 2010, Taft has recorded and released a total of six
studio albums and one live CD, recorded on the European tours of 2014 and 2015.
His songs,
his rough-hewn voice, his stinging lead guitar, all recorded in his own
Cincinnati studio (that he bought from Peter Frampton in 2013), shows an artist
maturing into the kind of dire threat who will not back down. - Goldmine Magazine
Dudley Taft
sounds a lot smoother than he looks and his guitar work is a real discovery, he
manages to fit some blisteringly complex licks into short phrases that
compliment his pleasing vocal presentations. - Blues Matters Magazine
He is an
unabashed blues rocker and his music draws on the best of both its progenitors
and helps to define the genre. - Ben Vee Blues
I love rock
& roll and I love the blues, and the way Dudley Taft puts them together has
always done it for me. - Rock Doctor
Dudley has
built a fanatic fan base in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. - Rootstime Belgium
Dudley Taft
is an intriguing blend of blues influences like Elmore James, and Lightning
Hopkins... There is some southern country rock, Texas blues, Seattle grunge and
even some hard heavy rock all of which Dudley mashes together to deliver a
sound that is more than the sum of the individual components. - Blues Rock Review
Somewhere
along the musical spectrum resting firmly between the Texas Blues of ZZ Top and
the SouthernRock of Lynyrd Skynyrd you will find the musical stylings of Dudley
Taft. The guitar slinger is back with another batch of tunes that will rattle
your teeth and shake your bones. Built around classic blues riffs, driving rock
guitars and a hint of metal Dudley Taft continues to blend the past and present
to create one hell of a bad ass sound. - Examiner.com Atlanta
"Simple Life
has turned into one of those blues rock albums that will make it into many a
personal top ten at the end of the year. - ECLIPSED, Michael Lorant
The Dudley
Taft Band's latest release is one in a long line of albums rife with searing
solos and impressive instrumentation from every band member. Taft's impressive
resume, which features songs in movies such as The Sixth Sense and a
nomination for "Best Guitarist" by the European Blues Society, is evident
on Simple Life, an album which surely supports the nomination and proves
his ability as an open, honest, and skillful songwriter. - Blues Rock Review
This music
is a throwback to the heady guitar band days of the seventies. The powerful
rhythm sections hold everything down while Dudley's guitars cut a mighty swath
through the ether. The guitar tones are clear and crisp. Well crafted
production values are at work here. The joys of loud, wild guitar fueled rip
roaring rock are here to be relived. Dudley's music is sure to get your engine
revved up. - Blues Blast
Magazine