Born in the Inland Empire of Southern California, Sierra Eva Taylor is a Singer and Songwriter who has moved to Los Angeles to pursue her career as an actor and artist.
As a child, she quickly developed her passion for music after being exposed to a diverse set of artists from Christina Aguilera to Portishead. She then enrolled in theatre during school and ended up acting on the television shows Bernie Mac, Fraser, and Strong Medicine. From there, Sierra Eva Taylor continued to expand her resume as she attended the University of La Verne on a full theatre scholarship! She has recently transitioned from acting into music as she bombards her fans with multiple new singles in 2020.
Sierra Eva Taylor is not only a songwriter – she is a poet. Her music has formerly been described as haunting, twisty, and lively – and this accurately paints a picture of her whole persona as an artist. Refusing to allow cultural norms to hold her back, she enjoys “saying things that other people are afraid to say” by writing her songs about taboo topics.
When people are pushed out of their comfort zones listening to her music, she feels she has succeeded. Sierra Eva Taylor’s recent single “West Side” is the perfect combination of wild and romantic. She collaborated with rapper Badd Wolf, who’s hip hop talents allowed the song to become more musically diverse.
“West Side” was intended to create an image of an LA motorcycle ride at sunset as two riders attempt to escape reality for a moment.
Being born in Southern California, Sierra Eva Taylor knows exactly how to give her music that Los Angeles flavor. With an echoing, gut-wrenching soundscape and a slow-paced beat, Sierra’s vocals can take the front seat and create the ideal summer night vibe. The magnetic backtrack is maintained throughout Badd Wolf’s rapping verses, making “West Side” a go-to song for those who seek a feeling of freedom through music.
Hello Sierra and welcome back to BuzzMusic. Could you describe your inspiration for “West Side?” What is the meaning behind the lyrics? West Side is essentially about a guy and a girl goonin' on the West Side of Los Angeles. I love motorcycles and the easy accessibility they have to offer. You can go where you want whenever you want. It's the LA version of Him and I- Halsey and G-Easy.
Can you tell us about your collaboration with hip-hop artist Badd Wolf during the production of “West Side?”
My co-worker took me to one of his shows with Wild the Coyote and SuperDrew at a bike bar called House of Machines. She said, "you should ask him to collab, you guys would sound really good together." I was like shoot why not? So I sent a dm and he said he was down. We first wanted to hang out to see if vibes were right. If you don't like the person, you're not going to make good music together, no matter who the artist is. So we would go riding on his Rusty Butcher Dyna on the West Side of Los Angeles, getting tacos at 3 AM, cruising through K-town, going to suicide bridge, all kinds of cool stuff. We were like yo... why don't we write about this? So we did. He was about to leave for a national tour opening for Yelawolf, so we wrote this half in person and half sending a note back and forth to each other. We've got a couple more songs coming out soon too.
Your personal story up to this point has been quite the roller coaster – and could even make a movie! Could you tell us a bit about your story, and how it helped you become the person and artist you are today? Man, I keep thinking it can't get any crazier.. then when I do that, it does. My mom was a stripper and my dad was a DJ. So music was always prevalent in my life I guess, ha. I was a bit of a problem child after their separation. Like that kid that wouldn't let go of my dad's leg when he tried to drop me off at daycare. People would always tell him, "She needs to see a shrink." He was like nah, that's expensive, she's gonna do community theater instead. So my dad got me into acting, which lead to film and television. I landed a few co-star roles on shows like Bernie Mac and Strong Medicine. There was a bit of a back and forth with callbacks when I auditioned for Hannah Montana. I moved out to Los Angeles after college and after working at a few bars, I ended up at a cool speakeasy called The Red Door in Toluca Lake. My boss knew I sang for fun, but it's not like I wrote my own songs or anything at the time. He said I should sing as his opener. So I would get off my shift and head to the back bar to sing covers. It wasn't until I had to head to my dad's, which was far at the time, that I started to write my own music. I had an hour and a half long drive with no car radio. So I would hum some stuff into my phone, and eventually, that's how I wrote my first song. In either facet of singing or acting, I've always enjoyed telling the story. I think with music, that's the same thing as serving the song. I'm very comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and I like to talk about all of them. With such an extensive acting resume, what made you decide to focus more on creating your own music? It's just a totally different fulfillment than what acting brings. It's also a bit of a control thing, I have it all in my hands, I like that. What has been keeping you inspired while creating new music this year? The copious amounts of time help haha. Not being able to work, it was a bit of a blessing in disguise. I kinda went to "music school camp" haha I quarantined with my buddy who is the keyboard tech from Toto, so his house is basically a playground for musicians. I got to dive real deep into what I wanted to make and say. Getting more familiar with some instruments too. I have this cool one called an omnichord, shes' fun. On a real note, I think everything that has been happening this year had been eye-opening and only makes me wanna push the pedal harder with music, so that's driving my inspiration too.