King Taylor Project features Sandi King and Joshua Taylor, both heavily influenced by soul, jazz, and blues music. "I like to say I'm a native, since my parents brought my brother and I to San Diego from Texas when I was three," King told the Reader.
King spent some time in northern California before settling back in San Diego. "I was a lead chef in San Francisco at Greens Restaurant and still cook everyday, we throw parties and do BBQs often where I get to flex my culinary muscles as well. While working in the kitchen more than full time, I also made time to play a major role in an indie rock opera in San Francisco called Abigail. It was a really cool Tim Burton-esque rock opera about the Salem witch trials."
Joshua Taylor grew up in Oklahoma City and first picked up the guitar at the age of 13. "I'm a Naval Academy grad and served on active duty for five years, deployed on ships and did a tour in Afghanistan on the 101st Airborne joint staff. I've traveled to about twenty countries." Taylor released his debut album About Time in 2015 and toured nationally with King, opening for her former project, 22 Kings. King appeared on Taylor's album, and they founded King Taylor Project together the following year.
Their band covers a lot of stylistic ground, from soul to funk, blues, and jazz rock. “We’re heavy on the improvisation and have a blast playing off of each other,” says King. “Every member is a songwriter, and we all have a big part in writing new music for the band.”
The duo's backing musicians have included David Ryan “DavyRockett” Norgren (stand up and electric bass), Justin Joyce (drums), Jay Chu (violin), Ron King (trumpet), Shane Fitzgibbon (drums), Bobbi King (saxophone), Josh Weinstein (keys, vocals), Eric Strickler (drums), and Jay Chu (electric violin).
Weinstein, who also appeared on Taylor's About Time album, has taught UCSD classes concerning subjects like blues, jazz, and the Beatles, with a solo album called Love & Alcohol. David Ryan “DavyRockett” Norgren grew up in Colorado Springs and earned a degree in music education from SDSU, releasing solo albums like Love & Lonely and Untandem.
Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jay Chu, a Rutger’s-educated DoD engineer by day, hails from New Jersey and released a solo EP, Change (produced by Alex Wong), in 2014. San Diego native Eric Strickler began his musical endeavors at eight years of age, a multi-instrumentalist who has worked as a live and studio session player, teacher of music theory and percussion, and coach and writer for SoCal drum lines. They toured through June 2018 for a national tour that took them through 23 states, with over 40 gigs in 12 weeks.
Their 2023 single "Devil in the White City" received twin San Diego Music Award nominations for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song and Song of the Year.