Exclusive Marley Taylor Interview

AFM: So how did you guys get to Vegas?

Marley: Well a family that owns casinos in Las Vegas, had been supporting us for a while, and then they said “hey, we have this new property opening called Red Rocks, it’s going to be five-star, it’s going to be one our premium properties, and we’d love to have you guys come out.” So one of their cousins came into Barcelona and said “hey, I’m going to get you out to Vegas with my cousins.” We went up there and got a tour of the place to check it out, and they gave us an offer, and it was good offer but we weren’t sure if it’s what we wanted yet. It wasn’t enough, it wasn’t exactly what we wanted. And then they said, well, whatever you guys want, just write it down and you got it. We were just like “oh my gosh, we can’t even refuse,”  it was amazing. So all of us moved up there and we opened up Red Rocks and launched the whole new hotel, which was an amazing experience.

AFM: What was it like transitioning from the Scottsdale crowd to Vegas?

Marley: Well the Vegas crowds have seen everything, so they’re a little bit more judgmental, a little bit harder to please and so we were like “oh gosh, how are we going to do this again in a whole new area and start from scratch?” Basically you’re making one fan a night. You try to go out into the audience, see who’s there and meet them. You become friends with your fans because they come back night after night, it’s kind of a family energy. Everyone gets to know each other and it’s fun. It’s a bit scary at first, but ya know, Las Vegas really embraced us, me, and took us in. We had a bunch of media on billboards to kind of welcome us to the community and it just seemed to fall into place right away.

AFM: What did you miss about Scottsdale when you were there?

Marley: Well, I think Las Vegas is different. If you want to be a performer there it’s definitely the ultimate place to be as far as live shows. But for me I didn’t really want to leave Scottsdale. It’s so livable, it’s so cozy and it’s so beautiful and quiet, and has a nice energy here that I really like. So, I gave Vegas five years tops, before I went back to Scottsdale. It’s just home to me. My family is here, and there’s just something in the air here that doesn’t exist in Vegas. It’s just has that wilder, 24/7 vibe to it that was just driving me crazy. I’m thankful for my career, it’s going great, but I want to get back to what I really love and what’s important. At least when I’m done I can say I’ve headlined all over Las Vegas — we did Monte Carlo the Palms — I mean we did it all. I’m thankful for the opportunity but I’m definitely glad to back, sort of on the planet earth. I was there for almost eight years and was definitely past my expiration date. For me it was overdue but I’m glad I got to stay. I met my husband there in the last year and a half, so if it wasn’t for that opportunity I wouldn’t have met my husband.

AFM: Congrats with that.

Marley: Well thank you!

AFM: So is that why you decided to end things with Zowie Bowie? You were just over it?

Marley: Yea, and I really feel like it’s important musically to just keep things fresh, exciting and new. Once you’ve done something for 11 years, and like I said, we had a great run, it was just time to move on and find what else is out there and spread my wings a bit, and change things up a bit. I think that’s so important, to keep things new and fresh, for me it was time to branch out.