In the early hours of May 23rd, 1997, the Dayton music community, as well as the entire world of modern music, lost one of it's most gifted and respected members. TIM TAYLOR, founder and a leading creative member of the much-accomplished band BRAINIAC, was killed in a one-car accident near his home in North Dayton. The tragedy of this event cannot be overstated, as Tim and his band were on the verge of breaking out into the forefront of the world of modern music, a position they had worked and sacrificed significantly for over many years to be in. Their talent and preparation certainly placed them in a position to profoundly affect the future course of original music, surely propelling it light years ahead in it's development (as anyone who has ever heard a Brainiac album can attest to).

Immediately upon receiving the news of Tim's death, fellow Daytonian musician KATTIE DOUGHERTY of REAL LULU established a memorial fund in Tim's name, to be managed by Tim's mother Linda Taylor and the Taylor family. The purpose of this fund was to raise money to help Tim's family and the surviving band members to deal with the burdensome debts and expenses left in the wake of this sudden tragedy. Original monies were raised to build a permanant memorial site in Dayton's Woodland Cemetary, where Tim's remains will be placed. The site will be dedicated to not only Tim's brief but enriching life and work, but also to his family, friends and fans for whose lives he was such a part, and who were such an appreciated part of his.

The work is not stopping there, however. Monies are also being raised to support music-related scholarship and grant programs to help support Dayton's vibrant musical and arts communities, for which Tim was such an important part and supporter of. This includes support of the Dayton LINKS program, which is designed to provide renovated used instruments for musically-inclined children who would otherwise not be able to afford acquiring an instrument of their own, thus leaving a world of musical expression untapped. A scholarship fund in Tim's name for gifted music students has already been established in the Oakwood, Ohio school system.

Of course, the success of these future endeavors depends upon the success of promoting and supporting the fund itself. And to this end, many of Tim's friends and compatriots in the Dayton music community have participated in efforts to help promote and raise monies for this goal through special performances to celebrate the life and music of their greatly missed friend Tim Taylor, for which proceeds raised go to The Tim Taylor Memorial Fund.

The first of these special events was held August 10th at Gilly's in Dayton, which featured such notable acts as MINK, GUIDED BY VOICES, SWEARING AT MOTORISTS, LAZY and THE BREEDERS (which featured newly added drummer Tyler Trent, formerly of BRAINIAC).

The second of these shows took place September 12th at CANAL STREET TAVERN in Dayton. A highly appropriate location, as it was here in 1992 where Brainiac first launched itself into the fore of the rich Dayton music scene by coming away with top honors in that year's annual renowned Dayton Band Playoff competition (which Real Lulu won themselves two years later).
Appearing were singer/songwriter STEVE JOHNSON (who was the original drummer for Brainiac, but departed due to his other musical commitments with the great PURE PLASTIC TREE). Also there was JOHNNY SMOKE, featuring frontman Dorsie Fyffe, supporter of Brainiac and friend and housemate of Tim's at the time of his death.; THE MULCHMEN, with Nick Kizirnis, Gregg Spence and Brian Hogarth, who were long-time musical friends and compatriots of Tim's, often playing gigs together in their various musical incarnations over the span of many years.
Closing the show were REAL LULU, whom Tim holds a special place in the hearts of. It was Tim who saved the day a couple years back when he volunteered to fill in on drums for their appearance at the 1995 Mississippi River Music Festival in St. Louis (when the aforementioned drummer Steve Johnson, originally scheduled to play with the band, had to cancel suddenly). Tim eventually went on to participate in the recording of material for their Big Beef Records CD release "We Love Nick", and would often try to come out to their shows whenever he could in between his many numerous road trips with Brainiac. (Real Lulu even closed the benefit show with a charged and inspired rendition of Brainiac's "Vincent Come On Down"). Real Lulu drummer Jim Macpherson also was a friend of Tim's, spending much time together during their joint AMPS/BRAINIAC European tour in 1995. Jim would often offer his hotel room to the underfunded Brainiac during this time. The tribute benefit show was coordinated by BIG BEEF RECORD'S Andy Valeri, of whom Tim was a valued friend and supporter. (A limited number of t-shirts commemorating these events are still available here from Big Beef, with all proceeds raised going to THE TIM TAYLOR MEMORIAL FUND. Please see or Catalog and Ordering pages for more information).

One gets sick when realizing the lost potential to the development of music this tragedy represents, as Tim was so full of positive, creative energy, it would have taken ten full lifetimes to have exhausted most of it. The work he was doing with Brainiac was only a crude introduction to what he was on track to accomplish over the course of a 30 or 40 year career. Much like the tragic what-ifs people often bring up when speaking of Jimi Hendrix or Buddy Holly, Tim's potential will always be a sad subject of speculation rather than a body of realized dreams for everyone to share in. And this doesn't even begin to reflect the personal loss this represents to myself, as well as so many of his friends and associates. I always welcomed the time we could spend together between our very busy schedules, times which were ALWAYS relaxing, enjoyable and enlightening. I was excited by the rewarding potential my personal friendship with him promised over the course of a lifetime, as his inspiration and encouragement was always a shot in the arm to us all and will always be valued. And, of course, all of this pales to the loss and grief being experienced by his bandmates and his very loving family.

Contributions should be made payable to...

The Tim Taylor Memorial Fund
#388-88930

Payments can be deposited at any Citizens Federal bank, (please list the account # above on your check), or mailed to...

Citizens Federal
1 Citizens Federal Centre
Dayton, OH 45402

-Andy Valeri