From booking festivals to playing drums, there’s much more to While She Sleeps vocalist Loz Taylor than meets the eye…
As well as fronting While She Sleeps, did you know that Loz Taylor is also pretty great at cutting hair and performing the music of ’90s boybands…
“I swept up in a barbers when I left school, and all the money from that went towards my love of skateboarding. My parents wanted me to get a job, so I decided I’d stay at the hairdressers and study it at college, which is how I started cutting hair. But to be honest, I never really connected with it – especially because I was playing in a band at the time.”
“It’s never been good – sitting still isn’t my thing! I found school frustrating because I wanted to be outside doing stuff, rather than being sat there. I always looked forward to P.E. and playing sport, whereas I couldn’t hack being in a classroom and having to write things down.”
“I had my first throat surgery a while ago, and it meant I couldn’t speak for several weeks. To pass the time I started to put together a festival line-up, and it evolved into something I’d do in my spare time. Now, I run Festivile in Sheffield every couple of years, and it feels really great to be able to give back to the community in that way.“
“I was 14 when I picked up the drums and got into a local band. I managed to persuade my grandparents to let us practise in their garage, which I’m sure they enjoyed (laughs), but I wasn’t very good and decided I wanted to try vocals. I ended up singing a Backstreet Boys song as an audition, which looking back is quite embarrassing!”
“It’s called Knight & Dellaway, and it’s something me and our drummer [Adam Savage] work on. We produce practical wear and touring gear, like really sturdy backpacks and stuff like that. It keeps me busy when I’m not doing stuff with While She Sleeps, but it doesn’t detract from my ability to be hands-on with the band.”
“I’m into everything, really – it doesn’t have to be heavy, and I think a lot of people in our scene are realising that. I’m always getting great new artists suggested to me on Spotify; I’ve recently discovered this solo artist called Fractures and I’ve been playing loads of his music, which is pretty chilled-out, ambient stuff. People are more open to liking different styles nowadays.”
“In the past, I’d drink loads, smoke weed, take drugs and generally put my body under lots of stress. It’s got to the point where I recently had to have throat surgery for the third time, and I think the younger Loz should’ve been more aware of the dangers of his lifestyle. Your voice is an instrument, and if I were to lose that, I’d lose my role in While She Sleeps. This band is all I’ve ever wanted.”
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