Dudley S. Taft (born July 4, 1966, Washington, D.C.) is an American musician. Taft is a blues/rock musician who fronts the Dudley Taft Band and was a songwriting member of Seattle band Sweet Water and member and chief songwriter of Seattle, Washington-based rock band Second Coming. He is the great-great-grandnephew of United States President William Howard Taft.
Contents
Career
Sweet Water
Sweet Water was initially known as SGM in the 1980s. The band changed their name to Sweet Water in 1990 upon adding Taft to the lineup as second guitarist. The band's first album under the Sweet Water name, Ter, was released in 1992 on an independent label (New Rage Records). Sweet Water then signed to Atlantic Records, followed by the release of Sweet Water in 1993. The band toured behind the album opening up for Winger, Candlebox, and Alice in Chains. The accompanying music video for the "Head Down" single was played on MTV's 120 Minutes and was added to regular rotation on M2. After shifting to EastWest Records, Sweet Water released the album Superfriends in 1995. It was produced and mixed by Dave Jerden. Taft left the band during the album's recording sessions; however, the band was dropped later that year by EastWest Records. Overall, during Taft's time in Sweet Water, the band's music appeared in MTV's Daria, Amongst Friends, Road Rules, among others.
Second Coming
In 1995 Taft joined Travis Bracht, Johnny Bacolas and James Bergstrom to form Second Coming. Starting out as a cover band called “FTA”, they wrote songs throughout 1996 and played them live at their gigs. By 1997, they started playing the Seattle area under the name Second Coming. Later that year, the band signed a six record deal with Gary Gersch, then the president of Capitol Records. Their self-titled release resulted in two Rock Radio hits that both went to #16 and #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts in 1997 and 1998. In 1998 and 1999 the band toured with VAST, Fuel, Candlebox and Monster Magnet.
Omnivoid
After leaving Second Coming in the early 2000s, Taft formed the band Omnivoid with singer Patrick Napper, bassist Robot, and drummer Andy Gregg. They released two studio EPs titled Combustion and Ignition respectively in 2005 and 2006 before moving on to other projects.
Dudley Taft Band
Taft started a blues/rock band in 2007 under his own name, with Scott Vogel on drums and Evan Sheeley on Bass. Their first CD, entitled "Left For Dead" was released in March 2010, with a mixture of originals and traditional blues covers. The album was given five stars by John Vermilyea of Blues Underground Network. In 2011, Taft signed a two-record deal with the German-based label M.i.G. "Left For Dead" was released worldwide on August 26, 2011, with the addition of a bonus track "When The Levee Breaks".
Dudley Taft toured the Netherlands in January 2012. Reviews from bluesmagazine.nl, Keysandchords and more all rated ***** 5 stars for the "Left for Dead" CD. Taft then hired John Kessler to play bass and Chris Leighton to play drums for the next CD and live shows in Seattle and Europe.
A DVD was released on March 5, 2012 called "Dudley Taft live at Highway 99," performed August 6, 2011 in Seattle, Washington.
On May 7, 2013, Taft released "Deep Deep Blue," his second blues rock studio album on his own label, American Blues Artist Group, and in Europe on M.i.G. Deep Deep Blue won the Best USA Blues Rock Album on the Underground Blues Network.
Taft made three HD videos for Deep Deep Blue, "The Waiting" directed by Alex Hoelscher, starring Alyssa Lynn James; "God Forbid" directed by Matthew Kreig, and "Meet Me In The Morning" by Matt Minnotte and David Molinatto.
In the fall of 2013 Taft moved to Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Michelle and three daughters.
"Screaming In The Wind", produced by Tom Hambridge, was released in March 2014. The band toured the US and the EU May through September, playing the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland with John Kessler on Bass, Carl Martin on drums, and Eric Robert on Keyboards. Taft made three HD videos for Screaming In The Wind, "Screaming in The Wind," "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," and "Sleeping In The Sunlight" all directed by Alex Hoelscher. The album made the top 10 Blues Rock albums of 2014 on the Blues Underground Network, and the song "Red Line" was the #1 single on the Hit Tracks Top 100.
Personal life
Dudley Taft was born in Washington, DC on July 4, 1966. He has lived in Cincinnati, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Indianapolis, Indiana; Watertown, Connecticut; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and now has returned to his childhood home in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Taft is a pilot, holding Private Privileges, Multi-Engine Land, Instrument and Commercial Ratings.
He serves on the Board of Directors of four charitable organizations that include the Taft Museum, The Charles Phelps Taft Fund, and The Nellie Lehman Taft Fund.
Discography
Artist albums
1991: TER – CZ Records – Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals
1993: Sweet Water – Atlantic Records – Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals
1995: Superfriends – East West/Elektra Records – Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals
1998: Second Coming – Capitol Records – Producer, String Arrangement, Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals
2005: Combustion - Guitar
2006: Ignition - Guitar
2010: Left For Dead – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2013: Deep Deep Blue – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2014: Screaming In The Wind – Songwriter, Guitar, Vocals
2015: Skin and Bones – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2016: Live in Europe – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2017: Summer Rain – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2019: Simple Life – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2020: Cosmic Radio – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2023: Guitar Kingdom – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals
2025: The Speed of Life – Songwriter, Producer, Guitar, Vocals