Vic Firth Artist Joel Taylor got his start on the drums watching his brother play as a kid. With two drummers in the house, it wasn't long before Joel's mother decided that a change had to be made. When Joel turned 10, his mom urged him to switch to the trumpet. Little did she know that the trumpet was at least as noisy as the drums!

Joel continued with the trumpet into his college years, always keeping his drumming skills in his back pocket. Joel had always dreamed of being a studio musician, but after his freshman year in college, he had developed some embouchure problems. After some self-reflection, Joel realized that his best chance of making a living in the studio was to take some time off to concentrate on, and really hone his skills on the drumset. And that's exactly what he did.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 1985, Joel Taylor has been in demand as one of the most versatile drummers currently in the L.A. studio and touring scene. He has performed and recorded with artists that span the whole stylistic spectrum of the music world, such as Stanley Clarke, Allan Holdsworth, Al Dimeola, Frank Gambale, Andy Summers, Robben Ford, Colin Hay(Men at Work), Brian Bromberg, Micky Thomas (Starship), Bobby Kimball (Toto), Michael Buble’, Vesta Williams, Phil Perry, Bobby Caldwell, Joe Sample, Jeff Lorber, Herb Alpert, Yanni and Freeflight. Joel is on the short list of drummers for legendary producers David Foster and Peter Wolf. He has performed on numerous Film, TV, and Video Game soundtracks including Gran Torino, Anchorman, Witches of Waverly Place( The Movie), Hannah Montana, and Jonas Brothers. He is also featured on over 100 of the drum tracks for the award winning, multi-platinum Guitar Hero II, III, Rock the 80’s and Rock Band video games.

All featured drum tracks were recorded in Joel’s Jackalope studios in Altadena, Ca. Joel has also recorded drums for hundreds of national jingles. He now records for musicians and producers from all over the world in his studio via the internet.

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