Zoneboy
02-09-2010, 08:52 PM
Link (http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/feb/09/Tony-Taylor-Twisted-Tower-Dire-motorcycle-crash/)
NAPLES — Tony Taylor left this world rockin’.
The former lead singer of the internationally-known heavy metal band Twisted Tower Dire, Taylor, 42, played the Everglades Seafood Festival on Saturday afternoon with his new band, the Down South Rockers.
“We were all there,” said Taylor’s wife, Charry Taylor. “His friends were there. His family was there. He had a great last day. He did what he loved most. He was singing. He was with his family and friends. And he loved riding (his motorcycle).”
Around 11 p.m., while on his way home from the festival, Tony Taylor wrecked his 1996 Harley Davidson on Nighthawk Drive in North Naples, not more than a few blocks from the home he shared with his wife and two children — son Tanis, 14, and daughter Tasmin, 12.
According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, Taylor lost control of the bike, causing it to overturn, slide about 45 feet, strike a curb and hit a palm tree. Taylor, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he was pronounced dead.
Tests to determine if the crash was alcohol-related are pending, according to reports.
“He was an unbelievable person. Happy. Always nice,” said Jörn Rüter, 44, the owner of Remedy Records in Germany, the former label of Twisted Tower Dire. “He was like a brother to me.”
Tony Taylor was born and raised in West Virginia, and played football in high school and for West Virginia State University, Charry Taylor said. He always loved music, and started writing bluegrass tunes when he was in junior high school.
When he discovered heavy metal as a kid, his wife said he fell in love and has been a “metal head” ever since. His favorite saying was “Cheers and MetaLLLLLL!” his wife said.
“He would always sing in the bathtub,” Taylor’s brother, Shawn Taylor, 41, said. “My dad would get mad because he would be in the bathtub so long. You’d go to the door, and he’d be singing.”
After he left college, Tony Taylor joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Spain, his family said. When he moved back to the United States, he worked in the pre-cabling business in Washington, D.C., and became part of the metal scene as a lead singer in local bands.
In the mid-1990s he answered an ad, and became the lead singer of Twisted Tower Dire for nine years.
With Twisted Tower Dire, Taylor toured Europe and Asia, and released three albums. More of an underground band in the United States, Twisted Tower Dire remains popular in Europe, Rüter said.
After leaving Twisted Tower Dire in 2006, Tony Taylor moved his family to Naples, where he continued playing music with the Down South Rockers, and in an acoustic outfit called Sickwicked, his wife said.
“He wanted a slower lifestyle, to be closer to the beach and sunset,” Charry Taylor said. “We fell in love with Naples and that’s why we’re here.”
More than anything, friends said they will remember Taylor as a family man — a hard-rockin’ family man.
“He was just very loving, devoted,” Charry Taylor said. “He’s just always thinking about you. He likes to surprise me with things. He treated me like a queen.”
NAPLES — Tony Taylor left this world rockin’.
The former lead singer of the internationally-known heavy metal band Twisted Tower Dire, Taylor, 42, played the Everglades Seafood Festival on Saturday afternoon with his new band, the Down South Rockers.
“We were all there,” said Taylor’s wife, Charry Taylor. “His friends were there. His family was there. He had a great last day. He did what he loved most. He was singing. He was with his family and friends. And he loved riding (his motorcycle).”
Around 11 p.m., while on his way home from the festival, Tony Taylor wrecked his 1996 Harley Davidson on Nighthawk Drive in North Naples, not more than a few blocks from the home he shared with his wife and two children — son Tanis, 14, and daughter Tasmin, 12.
According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, Taylor lost control of the bike, causing it to overturn, slide about 45 feet, strike a curb and hit a palm tree. Taylor, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he was pronounced dead.
Tests to determine if the crash was alcohol-related are pending, according to reports.
“He was an unbelievable person. Happy. Always nice,” said Jörn Rüter, 44, the owner of Remedy Records in Germany, the former label of Twisted Tower Dire. “He was like a brother to me.”
Tony Taylor was born and raised in West Virginia, and played football in high school and for West Virginia State University, Charry Taylor said. He always loved music, and started writing bluegrass tunes when he was in junior high school.
When he discovered heavy metal as a kid, his wife said he fell in love and has been a “metal head” ever since. His favorite saying was “Cheers and MetaLLLLLL!” his wife said.
“He would always sing in the bathtub,” Taylor’s brother, Shawn Taylor, 41, said. “My dad would get mad because he would be in the bathtub so long. You’d go to the door, and he’d be singing.”
After he left college, Tony Taylor joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Spain, his family said. When he moved back to the United States, he worked in the pre-cabling business in Washington, D.C., and became part of the metal scene as a lead singer in local bands.
In the mid-1990s he answered an ad, and became the lead singer of Twisted Tower Dire for nine years.
With Twisted Tower Dire, Taylor toured Europe and Asia, and released three albums. More of an underground band in the United States, Twisted Tower Dire remains popular in Europe, Rüter said.
After leaving Twisted Tower Dire in 2006, Tony Taylor moved his family to Naples, where he continued playing music with the Down South Rockers, and in an acoustic outfit called Sickwicked, his wife said.
“He wanted a slower lifestyle, to be closer to the beach and sunset,” Charry Taylor said. “We fell in love with Naples and that’s why we’re here.”
More than anything, friends said they will remember Taylor as a family man — a hard-rockin’ family man.
“He was just very loving, devoted,” Charry Taylor said. “He’s just always thinking about you. He likes to surprise me with things. He treated me like a queen.”