Out of famed folks' shadow, Ben Taylor strums new style

Organic gardening and independent cultural study around the world just distracted him from the music pulsing in his blood. Finally, after years of resistance, Ben Taylor gave in.

For nearly a decade, the son of pop-folk legends Carly Simon and James Taylor has garnered international acclaim for his nuanced "kung folk" style, releasing four strong albums through his label, Iris Musique.

"I tried to do other things, but there's nothing that I love even close to the way I love music," says Taylor, 33. "At the end of the day, all of my heroes are musicians."

The artist is the star attraction of the third annual Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival in Ghent. His concert at the Naro Expanded Cinema tonight kicks off the festival, which runs through Saturday. Local singer-songwriter Julie Clark opens the show.

The fact that Taylor is headlining says much about how the festival has grown in the past three years. Proceeds support Tidewater Arts Outreach, a Norfolk-based nonprofit that uses live music and arts as a means of communal assistance. This year TAO, which produces the festival, secured Wal-Mart as a major sponsor.

"That helps tremendously," says Kelly Murphy, chairperson of the Sea Level festival and board member of TAO. "Everybody helping with the festival, a staff of about 20-something people, is volunteering."

With Wal-Mart underwriting production, promotional and theater costs, Murphy says the festival is expected to bring in about $20,000 in profits, almost three times the $7,500 the festival took in last year. Sea Level has also been expanded a bit to include buskers, or street musicians, who will perform throughout Ghent.

"Previous years, it was, 'What's that? What is it?' " Murphy says. "People didn't seem to know that there was a festival going on, but social media tools like Facebook have been great about getting the word out and helping the festival grow."

The Emerging Artist Showcase, which will spotlight 10 local artists picked as semifinalists from 40 submissions, is another draw this year. The Saturday showcase will be at 37th & Zen, and the winner will be invited to be interviewed by Hunter Hughes on "Hunter at Sunrise" (WHRV HD3) or Paul Shugrue on "Out of the Box" (WHRV-FM 89.5).

Taylor says festivals such as Sea Level and the well-regarded South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, are paramount for independent singer-songwriters looking for a platform in an age of irrelevant major labels, dwindling CD sales and increasing audience fragmentation.

Unlike his parents, Taylor never received strong support at a major label. In the late '90s, not long before his 20th birthday, Taylor signed with The Work Group, a division of Epic/Sony. He recorded an album, but the imprint folded soon afterward, and the CD was never released.

"I wiggled my way out (of the contract), because I realized that corporate label sponsorship was not something I was looking forward to having," Taylor says.

But his parents had already told him that the business wouldn't be kind, especially to the son of two industry heavyweights.

"They said you got ridiculous examples of success set for you that, within reason, you can never hope to live up to," Taylor says. "Any measure of success short of that is gonna seem like a disappointment."

Musically, Taylor couldn't escape the inevitable comparisons to his famous folks. He looks and sounds a lot like his father, but the young Taylor's voice is a bit thinner, his phrasing kissed with a touch of jazz. His lyrical style - pointed, conversational, a little left-of-center - is reminiscent of his mother's early work.

But seven years and four albums later, the singer-songwriter says he has distanced himself from his parents' musical legacy with a sound that weaves pastel shades of jazz, R&B and even hip-hop into a folk tapestry, a style Taylor calls "kung folk."

"It's folk with kick," the Manhattan native says.

As the current infrastructure of major labels continues to crumble, Taylor says the independent route and supportive festivals such as Sea Level are more beneficial to emerging singer-songwriters.

"I keep laughing at artists who think they need to sign a major deal to get paid," he says. "This can be a time when singer-songwriters can stop worrying about matters that don't concern their art. We can stop worrying about being signed to a label and being cool. It's about the song and what you want to say. That's what matters at the end of the day."

Rashod Ollison, (757) 446-2732, rashod.ollison@pilotonline.com