Tuesday, July 7, 2009

RIP - David Taylor - Lead Singer of the band Drive



David Taylor was the lead vocalist for ’80s hard rock band, Drive. Formed in Houston, Texas by Rick Chavez and Mercy Valdez, Drive soon found their voice in a young David Taylor, just barely out of his teens. In the mid ’80s, the band moved to Los Angeles, which was quickly becoming the epicenter of the ’80s metal scene. Winning a radio contest with their song “I Need The Nights,” Drive landed on the Best Of The West compilation that was released on Rampage Records. Rampage soon signed to band, and in July of 1988, released their debut, Characters In Time. The album received tremendous reviews from the industry’s top hard rock press, including the coveted 5 “K” rating from Kerrang magazine. The album also received solid airplay from hard rock stations around the country, including Los Angeles powerhouse, KNAC. What separated Drive from the “hair” bands of the Sunset Strip, was their intelligent lyrics, intricate musicianship, and of course, Taylor’s suburb voice that fell somewhere between Ronnie James Dio and Queensryche’s Geoff Tate. And what endeared them to true metal critics and fans alike was that they were more Iron Maiden than Poison, more Judas Priest than Winger. Characters In Time was followed by the more mature and sonically advanced, Diablero on Zoo Records. Unfortunately, a shake-up at the label along with the dawn of the metal-killing “grunge” scene, left the album without much of a push, so the band’s recording career was put on hold as the band members moved back to Texas, where Taylor was living in recent years. While driving along a San Antonio interstate on June 25, 2009, Taylor apparently lost control of his vehicle after a tire came off, causing him to crash. He was airlifted to an area hospital where he died of his injuries five days later. He was 44.

5 comments:

  1. David was an amazing singer..and a sweet and caring person. The world will miss his energy.
    But he will live on in the songs.
    Rosie G

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  2. Drive kept popoping up on my IPOD over the last few days. I decided to google them and just found out the sad news about David. I am shocked and sad. He holds a special place in my heart.
    Kelly Conner May

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  3. David, you were a special part of our family for a long time. We are shocked and saddened by your early departure from our earth. Sing on my friend, make heaven more lovely for all of us when we arrive.
    xxTracyxx

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  4. after the band broke up we all went our separate ways,when i found out what happened my heart fell into my stomach.ill always remember the good times we had and our daily trip to get our azteca burrito.you will always hold a special place in my heart.
    love ya man
    mike

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  5. Innocent Words posted a review of Drive's “Characters In Time” today (recently re-issued and on iTunes) ironically this comes on the 5 year anniversary of losing our friend David Taylor. We miss you DT… you are not forgotten. “Led by Taylor’s ballsy vocals with powerful screams and Chavez’ killer fret work on the guitar” –

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