Dudley Taft

The Speed Of Life

Big Woody Music

Cincinnati based singer-songwriter and guitarist Dudley Taft is dedicated to the art of the electric guitar. After playing in numerous bands “Sweet Water, “Second Coming” and “Omnivoid”, Taft started his own band in 2007. His first CD, entitled “Left For Dead” was released in March 2010, and it received a five star review. In 2011 it was re-issued with the addition of a bonus track. A DVD, “Dudley Taft live at Highway 99” was released the following year. In 2013 Taft released a second blues rock studio album “Deep Deep Blue” on his own label, and it won the “Best USA Blues Rock Album” on the Underground Blues Network. In the fall of 2013 Taft moved to Cincinnati with his wife Michele and their three daughters. “Screaming in The Wind”, produced by Tom Hambridge, was released the following year, and the album made the top ten on the 2014 Blues Rock Albums on the Blues Underground Network. Taft’s fourth studio album “Skin and Bones” was released in 2015, and “Live in Europe” in 2016. A fifth studio album “Summer Rain” followed in 2017, and later that same year Taft was nominated “Best Guitarist” by the European Blues Awards. Taft toured Europe in 2019 in support of the sixth studio album “Simple Life”. In November he returned to Europe in support of the next studio album “Cosmic Radio”. In 2023 Taft released his eighth studio album “Guitar Kingdom”. This new album “The Speed of Life” is Taft’s ninth studio album, and tenth overall. Taft writes all of his own music, and has also written music for 6 films and 14 Television shows.

The band includes Taft, all guitar and vocals; Bennet Holland, keyboards; Dave Marks, bass, percussion and keyboards; drummer Nick Owsianka; and backing vocalists his daughter Ashley Charmae, and Gina McCann. The album was co-produced by Taft and Dave Marks, and recorded at Studio Svarov in the Czech Republic, and Muchmore Studio in Cincinnati. The album is engineered by Dave Saxenmeyer, mixed by Taft, and mastered by Richard Dodd.

The lead-off track “Wanted” features the lyric “I come in cool, like the wind, I always find my way in, so baby open up your heart, it’s there for me to tear apart, I’ve got eyes in the back of my head, cuz I’m a wanted man”. On “Miles And Miles To Go” Taft chimes “and your eyes, they fill the sky, I’ll drive straight, through your soul, but miles and miles yet to go, turn up the radio, play the songs I know, play the ones I heard when I was young, let’s save my soul, with rock n’ roll…miles and miles and miles, yet to go”.

“Work It Out”, “Standing alone at the edge of the party, you know you’re better but you can’t get it started, you should be flying high but you won’t reach, I hate Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday, gotta be a better way to spend those days, paying me to do nothing new to get away, work it out”. On “Burn It Down”, “baby don’t leave I got a post script epilogue, you gotta hear this, sit your ass down…right here, we’ll make it happen, right now, we’re gonna do it! Burn it down! Yeah.

“Set Me On Fire”, “it was more than, more than a smile, it was the whole damn package I was loving the vibe, here are the facts, you make me relax, I needed that right then and there…I was falling in love…you set me on fire, I’m on fire, set me on fire, burn it baby”. On “Pretty Little Things”, you’re the wings on my aeroplane, you’re the wheels on my car, you’re the angel of my dreams, you’re the strings on my guitar…she’s a pretty little thing, I’ll sing lead, you sing the harmony, on the radio, she’s a pretty little thing”.

“Topaz Blue”, Taft chirps “another trip around the sun, good lord, I had some fun, but I earned it….on and on through the years…it never ends…on and on and on, around again”. On “Same Mistakes” Taft crys “I feel it running through my veins, a feeling I can’t explain, a full syringe of misery…I make the same mistakes I always do, I need to show you, I’m in love with you”.

“No Yesterdays”, “Set them all up baby, in rows of three, one for us, one for you, and one for me, and the fourth one we have to share, with the in-laws but travelog is game on, no yesterdays…think back years ago, things weren’t so easy, the good life was shown to us on the TV but in real life it would make our credit cards bleed, but no more yesterdays”. “The Traveler”, Darkness falls and the city lights turn blue at night as the rain falls, I walk with you in the streetlight near the mountain top, there’s a cave in the side of the hill…with so many things we can do, just me and you”.

“Into The Blue”, “I’ve got delicious on my mind, I’ll do the dishes a once in a while, put what you want on the TV, but I’ll drive the car, you can fly with me…I’ve got these visions in my head, you and me resting in the bed, you and me and my guitar…you and me into the blue”. On the closer “No Time Left (Long Live The King)”, “no time left, what songs do we sing? can you hear the clock tick, how much time left? no time left, what songs do we sing? long live the king!”.

Dudley Taft, is the great-great-grandnephew of U.S. President William Howard Taft. On “The Speed Of Life” he not only proves himself a singer and great guitar player, but he also proves himself a poignant and poetic songwriter. This is the best I have ever heard from Dudley Taft.

Buy Us a Cup of Coffee!

Join the movement in supporting Making a Scene, the premier independent resource for both emerging musicians and the dedicated fans who champion them.

We showcase this vibrant community that celebrates the raw talent and creative spirit driving the music industry forward. From insightful articles and in-depth interviews to exclusive content and insider tips, Making a Scene empowers artists to thrive and fans to discover their next favorite sound.

Together, let’s amplify the voices of independent musicians and forge unforgettable connections through the power of music

You can donate directly through Paypal!

Subscribe to Our Newsletter