IN THE SPOTLIGHT: TAYLOR MASON
by Martha Bolton
 Taylor Mason is one amazing talent. Well, actually, he's five amazing talents rolled into one. Maybe even more than five. If you've followed the Gaither Homecoming concerts, or have seen a Taylor Mason concert in person, or on television, you know that Taylor is no ordinary ventriloquist. He is clearly one of the best. He's the genius behind such beloved puppets as Paco, Romeo, Sumo, and the newest member of the Mason entourage, Timmy. He even has a Barack Obama puppet accompanying him now.
Taylor is a good friend, and I thought you might enjoy having him step into the Gospel Music Update spotlight so you can get to know him a little better.
Martha: Taylor, in your act you joke a lot about New Jersey. Is it true that you really do live there?
Taylor: Yes, I paved my way into heaven by moving my wife within 5 minutes of her mother. We were living in Los Angeles, and my career was going well. But my wife was raising two small children and struggling with my schedule and the foreign surroundings of Southern California. After the earthquake in 1995, she said, "Get me back to Jersey!" We moved a few months after that.
Martha: I believe that's about when my family and I suddenly felt the desire to leave California and move to Tennessee. So, did you grow up in California?
Taylor: No. I was born and raised in Illinois. I was born in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, and grew up in Clarendon Hills, Illinois. Later, I lived in the rural community of Ottawa until I turned eighteen (my family has a farm in Grand Ridge, which is next to Ottawa). After high school, I headed off to The University of Illinois.
Martha: Since we're talking about your growing up years, can you recall your funniest childhood memory?
Taylor: I played "Scrooge" in A Christmas Carol at my grade school, and got a couple of good laughs during the production (mostly by mugging or doing silly stuff like clearing my throat, loudly and obnoxiously). Another favorite memory is the Little League game where I hit a ball over the fence for a home run. But the umpire thought it hit the ground and bounced over the fence, so he told me to stop at second base (this is known as a "ground rule double"). My father went absolutely bonkers and raced out onto the field to confront the umpire, all the while shouting to me, "Run the rest of the bases and touch home plate right now!" I started to, but then, the umpire said, "You stay right there, son, or I'll call you out and you'll forfeit the game for your team!" So there I was, stuck between two authority figures (I believe I was 12 years old at the time) who argued for ten minutes as I sat on second base, and everyone on both teams and all the parents around the field watched these two men verbally go at it. After a while I began to mimic them, silently, getting a few good laughs. The umpire won, by the way, and my father always wished I had followed his orders. But the laughs felt good. Another favorite memory is when I'd make my mother laugh by going off on a rant about whatever the hot-button issues were at the time. I would imitate a news anchor reading a sort of "news-of-the-day" report. It was very absurd, because the stories were serious (Nixon's resignation, racism, the war in Viet Nam), but I pretended to be a brain-dead news anchor, making mistakes and mixing up the stories, and she would laugh uncontrollably.
Martha: Behind every good comic is a saint of a spouse. Your saint would be...?
Taylor: Marsia. Spelled just like that. She's half-Brazilian on her mother's side.
Martha: And tell us about your children.
Taylor: I have two sons, of whom I am very proud. Hank is 18 and finishing up a tour-of-duty with Americorps. He will start his freshman year at Rutgers University this fall. Rett is 16 and just finished touring Germany with Marsia and our church bell choir.
Martha: Taylor, why do you think it's important for Christians to have a sense of humor?
Taylor: So that we don't take ourselves too seriously (something Christians are constantly being accused of). And humor is a great way to "include" people. Our faith is inclusive - we welcome everyone to our church and our music and our faith. Humor is an international, inter-racial, inter-personal language.
Martha: What's the funniest thing that has happened to you while traveling with the Homecoming Friends?
Taylor: I used to ride the bus with the merchandise workers - the guys who do really heavy-duty legwork every minute of the tour. They were a great bunch and we got along wonderfully. They played lots of practical jokes on me (and I did the same thing to them, too). I can honestly say that we did something hysterically funny every single weekend. I miss them, and the fun we used to have. Here is just one example of their pranks: They took my pig, PACO, out of the puppet bag, then put him under the wheel of the tour bus, and got some ketchup (do I need to explain further?) Then, they called me out to the bus, and in a serious tone, said, "Taylor! Something has happened! I think one of your puppets has been damaged!" I panicked and raced to the bus as they all watched (gleefully). Of course, when I got to the scene of the swine, I found PACO 'dead' under the tire, "blood" everywhere, and a note next to him (I think it read something like, "Taylor, this wasn't a suicide... I was put here by..." and then there was a blank, as if poor Paco couldn't finish the note). They even took crime scene pictures. I still laugh about it. And I miss those guys!
Martha: So how did you first get into comedy.
Taylor: I played college football at The University of Illinois. I suffered a major knee injury at the beginning of my junior year, and found myself in a hip-to-ankle cast. So I had weekends free. I began "deejaying" at parties. I would tell jokes and spin records for my own fraternity parties, and within a couple of weeks I was getting "booked" to do my little routine at other fraternities and sororities. Soon I was performing at college functions. After graduating, I moved to Chicago, worked at a caterer, and was playing piano (in my catering uniform) at a party on the north side of the city. Arnie Morton, who owned the very successful "Morton's" restaurants was there, hired me on the spot, and I played his piano bar (the see-through glass piano!) at Morton's in Chicago until I was hired by The Second City Theater in Chicago as a musical director for the touring company. And that is how I started.
Martha: I understand you have a new puppet that you're working with now.
Taylor: "Timmy." He's my "personal assistant," and kind of a slacker. He majored, as he says, "Uh... you know... like... uh... I totally majored in communications, dude!" And he minored in philosophy. That's so he can be understanding when he doesn't get a job. Barack Obama (it's a puppet) has also joined my performance, and I often try and get a Republican out of the crowd to manipulate the president. It's my own personal "Comedy Stimulus Package."
Martha: For those who have never seen you perform, introduce us to some of your puppets.
Taylor: First, there's Paco. He is a pig and an attorney. He loves Jewish people and his mother is a bank. Next is Romeo. He was supposed to be like the friendly scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz," but he turned out to be a mean-spirited, sarcastic, arrogant slacker. Another favorite is Sumo. He's a life-sized Sumo wrestler from Japan, who laughs like this: "Yama-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."
Martha: You're one of the busiest comics in Christian comedy today. How many dates do you work a year?
Taylor: That all depends on what else is going on. Basically, if I'm not shooting a TV show, or working on a TV show, I'm touring. This year I'll do some 250 dates all over the world.
Martha: And didn't you do a children's show featuring you and your puppets?
Taylor: I filmed two seasons of "Taylor's Attic." Season II is available on DVD (you can get it on my web site, if not at your local bookstore). It was a career highlight. I am afraid there won't be any more episodes of "Taylor's Attic" because the production company is not in the business of making TV programs any more. My loss. I had a great time, and I'm proud of the work we did.
Martha: So where did you get your sense of humor from?
Taylor: My brothers are both very subtle and funny; my parents loved to laugh - and my dad used to do impressions of Jonathan Winters when I was a kid. I also used to watch "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" when I was a boy, and I spent a lot of time as a teen-ager driving around Ottawa, Illinois, trying to make my friends and family laugh.
Martha: I've enjoyed writing columns together for newchristianvoices.com Tell the folks about your column.
Taylor: Well, I write a couple of columns for New Christian Voices. "Here's A Thought" is my topical blog, where I take a story (whatever I choose, but usually something about current events) and I write a personal viewpoint about it.
"Jokes For The Folks" is where I write a page or two of one-liners about newsworthy topics, always with a punchline. It's kind of a monologue piece that a comedian-host might use at the top of a late-night talk show.
Martha: Besides your columns, what are your other current projects?
Taylor: I'm writing "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ventriloquism" for Penguin Books. I'm also doing a lot of work with my "Comedy Stimulus Tour", and I keep getting calls to perform in a wide variety of venues including churches, theaters, clubs, casinos, corporate events and so on. I filmed a TV special for TBS called Comedy Roadshow, and I'm hoping that comes out sometime this year. I also just filmed Thou Shalt Laugh IV with John Tesh, which comes out in late fall 2009. Thou Shalt Laugh is the single biggest-selling comedy DVD in the Christian comedy world, and I'm honored that I'm the only act to appear in all four installments!
Martha: Congratulations! So, what would you say is the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
Taylor: There was a gossip columnist at The Chicago Tribune, back when people still read newspapers, named Aaron Gold. I used to write one-liners for his daily column. He once told me, "Perseverance will get you farther than your talent will. Don't give up!"
Martha: Great advice. As a comedian, Taylor, what's the one thing that you wish people wouldn't take so seriously?
Taylor: Sports. I don't care what anyone tries to tell me, sports are not important. Not in the big picture. I know that will make some readers mad, but I don't care. Sports are not important, and you're outta line if you get mad about your favorite team losing, or obnoxious about your favorite team winning. Which is why I make fun of that. Sports are supposed to be fun.
Martha: And lastly, what do you wish people would take more seriously?
Taylor: Children, and everything that goes along with raising children. We, as a nation, and we as Christians need to focus on raising children the right way. I guess that means "family" as well, which is a politically incorrect word, but it's still a good way to raise children.
www.taylormason.com |
