Taylor, Spider
Surge Studio Music
Spider Taylor crawls over to Dark Entries with Surge Studio Music, an album of archival gay pornographic soundtracks.
James Allan Taylor was born into a working-class family in Los Angeles in 1951. Nicknamed "Spider" by his father due to
his frantic energy, Taylor was a natural-born guitarist, gifted with perfect pitch and a voracious musical appetite.
Throughout the 70s, he expanded his musical repertoire, playing in bands ranging from country to post-punk, like his
outfit Red Wedding, while always looking for new sounds and styles to explore. During this period, Taylor also partnered
with his soulmate and musical collaborator, Michael Ely. They were part of a wave of bold, young, gay couples living
openly together in the years immediately following the Stonewall Riots. In the early 80s, while working at the West
Hollywood gay sex club Basic Plumbing, Taylor met Al Parker, the legendary pornographic actor and director, who
recruited Taylor to produce the soundtrack for a film he was working on. Parker's partnership with Steve Scott running
Surge Studios produced some of the most popular all-male films of the era. Spider's music was a natural fit for Surge,
and throughout 1985 and 1986, he composed the soundtracks for five films produced by the iconic studio. Assisted by
engineer Steve Conrad and armed with a drum machine and some synths, Spider's compositions for film veer from the
expansive, reverb-drenched "Rainforest" to the Miami Vice-esque chugger "Tech." While Spider thought of this work as
little more than a gig, tangential to his real craft, enthusiasts of VHS-era nostalgia and vintage erotica will be
brought to bliss. Surge Studio Music will be available on both LP and CD, the latter of which includes a 20-minute
version of "Strange PlacesStrange Things!" as a bonus track. The album's cover art was designed by Gwenael Rattke, and
features stylish images from Surge Studios releases. Also included is an insert featuring liner notes by Will Lewis, a
longtime friend of Spider. The music is released from Spider's estate by Michael Ely, Spider's partner of 43 years. The
shadow of AIDS lingered over Surge; Steve Scott passed from AIDS-related illness in 1987, and Al Parker succumbed in
1992. In 2014, when it became legal for same-sex couples to marry in Arizona, Spider and Michael finally became wedded.
Spider would pass away from liver cancer six months later.
Price
Genre
Format
LP - 1 disk
Release
09-01-2026
Label
Item-nr
986469
EAN
0794811515906
Availability
Not in stock