Taylor Davis is well known for her video game inspired violin videos on YouTube, and her brilliantly composed albums. As a fan of the Zelda community, we talked to Taylor about her beginnings, her inspirations, and upcoming projects.
1. How did you get started playing the violin? How long have you been playing for?
I originally got interested in the violin when I was really young and saw a girl playing Silent Night at an elementary school Christmas assembly. I had never thought about playing an instrument before that, but for whatever reason that performance really spoke to me and I remember having this incredibly strong desire to try out the violin! I ran home after the assembly and begged my parents if I could try violin lessons and thankfully they agreed :) I have been playing for about 19 years.
2. Have you always been a gamer? What got you into the Zelda series?
Yes, I’ve actually been playing video games longer than I’ve been playing the violin! I have an older brother and I credit him for getting me interested in video games because we would always play together when we were younger, or if it was a 1 player game only, in typical older sibling fashion he would have me sit there and read out of a tip book for him! I played a few of the older games in the Zelda series, but my absolute favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time. I loved everything about that game, especially the music!
3. I read that you struggled with being bullied while growing up. Did this impact you in any positive ways?
I went through a lot of years of pretty extreme bullying when I was younger, and I can honestly say that video games really helped me a lot through those times. My family moved to a different state halfway through the school year when I was in 4th grade, and it was a really tough transition. It was hard for me to make friends, and a lot of the nerdy things that my old friends liked about me became things that people in my new neighborhood made fun of me for. I used video games as a way to escape and it really helped me with the loneliness I felt. I’m actually really grateful for those years though because I became very empathetic towards others as a result and it also helped me gain a really strong sense of self and to follow the things that made me happy in life instead of caring about what other people thought of me.
4. Do you have any projects taking place right now?
Yes I’m currently working on another album that is a mixture of video game and anime music. I’m working on this album with my friend and producer Adam Gubman who also working on my last 2 albums with me. I’m really excited about this album and hope to release it in June.
5. What is your favorite Zelda game? Favorite overall game?
My favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time. My favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy VII.
6. What are some of your other interests?
Besides playing the violin and video games, I really love traveling, photography, weight lifting, tennis, cooking and lots of other random stuff.
7. I see you will be playing at E3 this year. Is this your first time playing at the conference? How did this show come to be?
This is actually my 2nd time playing at E3 and I’m really excited for it because it’s going to be a lot different from the last time I played there! This time I’m performing with my video game rock band Critical Hit at the Video Games Live concert. Last time I performed with 2 of my friends from YouTube during the actual convention at the NVIDIA exhibit. I really enjoyed that experience so I’m really looking forward to playing there again!
Taylor Davis’ albums can be purchased online through iTunes. You can also follow her at Facebook for the latest news on her upcoming projects.
