Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joel Taylor, a native of Sydney, Australia who now calls L.A. home, has a fan and a friend in actress Courteney Cox, who has directed the video for his song, “Two Sides” (watch below).
“A friend of mine introduced me to Joel during a musical night at my house where friends and visitors gather to play music,” Cox tells Variety. “That’s when I heard Joel sing and play and realized how talented he is.” Her vision, she adds, was to simply show Taylor at the piano. The location was new Hollywood magic-themed bar Black Rabbit Rose.
“I’ve directed a couple of music videos for Foy Vance and Kodaline, and thought it’d be nice to direct a video that showcased Joel,” she says of her decision to get behind the camera. “I wanted to create something simple and organic that would capture Joel as a player, without distracting from the song. I decided on ‘Two Sides’ because I thought it captured the many sides of the gifted artist that Joel is.”
Of the song “Two Sides,” adds Taylor: “On the one hand, I’m a very easy-going, gregarious Australian who likes to have a good time. But I can also be quiet, extremely introverted, brooding and stuck inside my own head.”
Being a piano player, Taylor is often compared to another Joel — with the first name Billy. According to the singer, he was pegged as a Joel prodigy from birth when his mom told her doctor his chosen name.
“Like Billy Joel? Is he going to be a piano player?” the doctor purportedly said.
In addition to the video, Taylor is releasing a two-song bundle of his songs — “Two Sides” and “What Good Is Love” — to digital retailers today. Both tracks were mixed by the Bob Clearmountain.
Taylor is set to embark on a west coast tour this summer while he continues to work on new music releasing this fall.
