Go Away With … Benjamin Taylor

By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
November 25, 2008

Having music legends as parents can be daunting. But Benjamin Taylor takes it all in stride.

The son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter has his own successful career.

Currently promoting his latest album “The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1,” Taylor’s eclectic musical style actually pays homage to David Bowie and the Roots than to his own lineage.

Laidback onstage and off, the witty, sarcastic and funny artist enjoys spending time at home in Martha’s Vineyard with his girlfriend and dog. But when he wants to get away from it all and spend a little time snowboarding, Taylor heads to Park City, Utah.

FAVORITE DESTINATION: I like going to places where you can slide down mountains, and one of the places I like to go snowboarding is in Park City, Utah.

WHY UTAH: The snow is the lightest and fluffiest there, at least in the United States. You’re about an hour’s drive from five or six wonderful mountains. The people there are great. There’s a big Mormon community so everyone tends to be nice and healthy. And the people have fun going a little nuts every now and then. It’s a lot of fun.

RECOGNIZABLE: No one goes nuts, for sure. I’m not that recognizable. My uncle used to always tell me that what you don’t want is to be poor and famous, you want to be rich and anonymous. I’m shooting for somewhere in-between.

WORKING OUT ON THE ROAD: I really don’t go to gyms very much so it’s not important to me that a hotel has a gym. I like to do exercises on my own. I like to practice chi kung, which is similar to tai chi and involves a lot of internal energy work. I got involved in martial arts when I was about eight years old and have been doing internal martial arts since I was 16.

PACK MULE: I don’t like bringing a lot of stuff on airplanes and am capable of traveling with almost nothing and being perfectly happy. But if I have a lot of room, I tend to bring a lot of stuff. I don’t bring a lot of clothes, but Rollerblades and Snow Blade boots — things like that. When I was little, I was told that I could bring whatever I could carry. From an early age, I could carry a lot of stuff. I’m a good pack rat.

PACKING REALIZATION: You can find ways to pack lighter without a lot of sacrifice. For instance, I don’t bring a lot of shoes ’cause no matter where I am, I only seem to wear my Crocs anyway. I have always found that the more I bring, the less I use.

WRITING ON THE ROAD: I find that if a song needs to be written, it can be written whether I’m at home or on an airplane. It doesn’t really matter, though there might be more distractions on the road.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT UTAH:

CAPITAL: Salt Lake City, which is also the state’s largest city.

SIGHTS TO SEE: Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park. Utah also claims the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

THINGS PARK CITY IS FAMOUS FOR: Utah Olympic Park, the Sundance Film Festival and Mirror Lake Byway.

FAMOUS UTAHNS: Butch Cassidy, Loretta Young, James Woods, Roseanne Barr and the Osmonds.

FACTOIDS: The Mormon Temple took 40 years to complete. The average snowfall near Salt Lake City is 500 inches. Utah also is the site of the country’s first department store: Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution, which opened in 1868.

To learn more about Utah, check out www.utah.com. To read more about Benjamin Taylor, check out www.ben-taylor.com.