You've heard them on air. Maybe you've seen them post on facebook. But who are they really? Staff writer Leila Srouji sits down with INHAILER's best to find out what makes them tick. It's time to Meet the DJ!
It's early morning. You have to get to work! Hurry up, throw your coat on and get out the door! Maybe frost covers the grass, maybe the birds are chirping (what right do they have to be so chipper, so early?), maybe you have to scrape the ice off your car. But there's a silver lining: Taylor Fox is up early with you, spinning the best tunes in and coming to Cincinnati. He's like coffee for your ears (please don't put actual coffee in your ears).
INHAILER’s Music Director sat down with me to talk about his life. It’s a busy one: outside of his radio family, Taylor has three actual kids! Born in Chicago but raised in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati by his adoptive parents, Taylor graduated from Xavier University with a Communications degree (solidarity!).
Growing up he was, of course, listening to all the popular 80’s music, but his infatuation with it really took off with the freedom he found in college. When he was exposed to stuff like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Pixies, he couldn’t believe what he had been missing. He spent a lot of time jamming out to Night Waves with friends, but unfortunately that was relatively short-lived. When that program went off the air, he simply couldn't go without the music. He moved to a higher floor of his dorm so he could get access to 97X on his radio. That sounds like some serious dedication to music if you ask me.
When I asked Taylor about his hobbies, he had trouble thinking of anything other than music. Which makes sense, because if you're at a concert in Cincinnati, you have about a 75% chance of running into him. Oh, and of course his kids, because as he says, "that’s really all I’ve got time for."
As far as favorite artists go, Taylor proclaims that he gets chills every time he sees TV on the Radio. Concerts are like church to him, he says, and TV on the Radio always gives him a little slice of live music heaven. Although he also takes a liking to more of a classic rock sound, he finds that there just isn’t a lot of it out there right now for him. Last year, however, he managed to see some classic rock kings he has long enjoyed: ZZ Top!
Needless to say, Taylor has had his feet in the local music scene for a while and is practically steeped in the culture around it. In fact, he used to be an owner of Alchemize, a live music nightclub that occupied the space where you can now find Below Zero Lounge on Main Street. Last year, after running into each other at shows, Taylor and INHAILER's founder, Coran, sat down to talk about the station and future plans. Turns out he was a perfect fit! Now he's on the air easing listeners swimmingly into their workday and coordinating our music archive. Everything you hear on INHAILER has at some point passed through Taylor's ears. Find his thoughts on our top plays in his Top 20 list.
Without Taylor, I’m not sure how things would function as they do at INHAILER. Everyone needs a cool indie dad in their lives, or their radio startup. He's a huge piece of this big puzzle and we couldn’t feel luckier to have him on our team, and if you tune in and hear his musical taste, I'm sure you'll feel the same way. You surely won’t regret it!
Catch Taylor Fox, Music Director at INHAILER, every morning Monday through Friday from 7 to 11 AM on INHAILER Radio.