The Sweet Sounds of Local Talent

Oct. 7, 2016

MARCIA TAYLOR’S MARSH-MELLOW DREAM

Growing up in Marietta, Ga., Marcia Taylor sang her way through her school days and beyond. Now, she’s moved on to help the next generation of musicians do the same — and more — by way of her boutique talent management and booking agency Marsh-Mellow Entertainment.

Taylor made music her focus throughout school. “I did it all — I was in choir, musical theater, everything. I gigged all through school and competed in singing competitions. Music was a big part of education back then, too, so I got a vocal coach because I wanted to be in the best choral groups. I made all-state choir every single year.” She learned to read music and could ‘pick her way’ through both guitar and piano. She even led a music trio of her own, called The Goldtones, as a young adult. But in spite of her training and her passion, Taylor doesn’t sing in public anymore; her route after school quickly turned practical.

“I went to Shorter University in Georgia to get a degree in business management, and I also acquired a real estate license,” she said. “I then had a long career working in Atlanta with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, doing finances and fundraising for them. And then I went on to have my own real estate business — I’m good at those things, but the missing piece was always my love for music.”

The message Taylor got growing up was that you need skills to support and take care of yourself, and she was told that music wasn’t going to provide that. “So I took the safe way,” she said. “But in doing that, there was a piece of my soul not nurtured. When I walked away from performing, I left part of me right there on stage. If I could redo my life, I would’ve followed another life road and would have pursued my own music.”

While working in Atlanta, she met the man who would become her husband — John Taylor, from Waters, Mich. “He moved to Georgia when he got out of high school to look for business opportunities,” Taylor said. “We met in 1987, and we’ve been together ever since. We’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary this October.” With no kids, the Taylors traveled frequently, more and more often to their property on Heart Lake near Gaylord.

“Eventually, Georgia started feeling too busy, with too much traffic,” Taylor said. “We kept escaping to Michigan so often, we decided to just move there.” Once Up North, the question became what to do next. John Taylor established a painting business while Marcia acquired her Michigan real estate license. “But I just wasn’t super excited about real estate,” she said. “When you get to your late 40s, you start to reevaluate your life. You say, do I enjoy this? Yes. Then do that more. Do I not enjoy that? No? Then stop doing that!” While still trying to decide what she did want to do next, Taylor met Farmfest organizer Stacy Jo Schiller at a local Rotary meeting.

“The second half of our meetings is always an entertainment program, and Stacy Jo would bring in musicians and bands that she thought had promise,” Taylor said. One night, Schiller brought in a brand new, half-baked band called The Cookies. “Even without their whole lineup — they had a member who didn’t show up that night — I thought, wow, these kids have so much potential,” Taylor said. When The Cookies were brought in to Rotary a second time months later, even Taylor’s husband was impressed. The couple booked the band for John’s annual lakeside birthday party, even though the bandmates weren’t sure if they had that date available.

“I was talking to Jakey Thomas of The Cookies, and I finally just asked, “Why are you guys so disorganized?’” Taylor laughed. “Jakey said, ‘Well, I want to put all I’ve got into this band, but I keep stepping back because my parents said I should get a real job.’ I said, ‘If you love being a musician, it makes sense to pursue what you love, because life is short.’” The Cookies started getting more gigs with referrals from the Taylors’ party, but they still couldn’t keep their schedule under control. So Taylor offered to manage the band. “I’d never done that before, but I just kind of knew I could do it. I took my music background, my managerial skills, and my sales skills, and rolled them all together, and it just clicked. I’d seen the talent thes kids had, and I knew they could make a living at it. And suddenly, I’d found what I wanted to do. So as corny as it sounds, I thought, we need each other. And that was that.”

The Cookies, newly focused and supported by Taylor and her promotional savvy, started moving forward rapidly, getting new band photos and more and more gigs. The group’s most recent show was opening for the Steve Miller Band in Napa Valley, Calif., and it’s played pretty much every major event in northern Michigan.

When other musicians started approaching Taylor for booking and management opportunities, she dubbed her new agency Marsh-Mellow Entertainment and turned enthusiastically down her new road.

Today, Taylor’s agency, still headquartered near Gaylord, manages seven artists full-time, including The Cookies, and she books gigs for another two dozen. On Marsh- Mellow’s roster are a number of names that will already be familiar to many who enjoy live music in northern Michigan, as well as some quickly-rising newbies: Olivia Mainville, Sleeping Gypsies, indie-pop folk duo A Brighter Bloom, Dede and the Dreamers, Philadelphia singer Rachel B, roots-pop outfit Jack and the Bear, punkers ThE DroogS, bluegrass outfit Medicine Bell, jazz/Latin combo Swingtooth, country singer Lance Boughner, and acoustic rocker Adam Hoppe. Marsh-Mellow Entertainment’s sleek, professional website already looks like it’s got reach well beyond northern Michigan, and for Taylor, that’s the whole idea.

“I’d like to expand this to at least be a major player in the Great Lakes region,” she said.

“There’s so much talent up here — and I think people like Joshua Davis and Laith Al-Saadi have helped bring more attention to our area. Joshua, especially, has helped raise the profile of Michigan musicians; America’s Got Talent has even called me to scout potential contestants. I think the rest of the country is finally starting to realize that there’s something good going on up here.”

In the meantime, Taylor will keep doing what she’s found she does best — in lieu of singing her own songs, helping others sing theirs. “I have such a strong belief in my artists. I want them to feel appreciated, and that they can do anything they want,” she said. “Most of them haven’t experienced that belief, because society tells them that only a small percentage make it. But if you’ve got the talent, all you really need is a firm foundation and focus, and you need to work hard. What you put out there is what you’re going to get back.”

To find out more, visit marshmellowentertainment.com or call 989-619-1396.