How to go
What: Morgan Taylor presents “Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom”
Where: Southminster Presbyterian Church, 7001 Far Hills Ave., Centerville
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 29
Cost: Free with food drive donation
More information: 937-433-1810 or www.sminster.com
Artist info: www.gustaferyellowgold.com
It’s been nearly 10 years since former Daytonian Morgan Taylor unveiled his animated children’s series “Gustafer Yellowgold.” Since then the DVD/CD sets featuring cartoon vignettes about a friendly little dude from the sun have become household favorites of kids and parents alike, thanks to Taylor’s eye-popping illustrations and addictively catchy bubblegum pop songs.
Taylor is presenting his multimedia concert “Gustafer Yellowgold’s Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom” at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Centerville on Saturday.
Taylor recently discussed his unexpected career.
Q: Did you ever imagine Gustafer would become a full-time gig?
A: “I was just riding the wave at first and now I’m in the groove of this creative cycle. We put out the DVDs and then I return to certain cities every nine months or so. It’s great because I feel like I live in so many different places. When I go to Seattle, I’m there for 10 days at a stretch, or I’ll spend two weeks in San Francisco doing libraries and performing arts centers. I have places in every town where I like to eat or get my ice coffee. Doing this for 10 years definitely makes things seem smaller.”
Q: What’s it like playing for the hometown crowd?
A: “It’s special. I didn’t see it until I started coming back but the Dayton crowds know me even if they don’t actually know me. They get it in a different way than other people. It’s great too because the past several times I’ve played there it’s not just friends. Dayton is definitely one of the better crowds I get. It makes me feel good.”
Q: You had success this year with the digital singles, “Cakenstein” and “Rock Melon.” How did those come about?
A: “I’m trying to evolve my release model because at some point DVDs aren’t going to be relevant anymore. Getting a little traction with a YouTube video almost serves me better than making 10 videos and selling them on a disc. I put up these two singles because it was taking so long to make ‘Wisdom Tooth’ and they both went number one on SiriusXM kids’ channel. It was nice to have that kind of control over it and then to have it actually work felt great.”
Q: What’s next?
A: “I’m doing a big anniversary thing next year with the first DVD and, of course, more live shows. I won’t have a new DVD ready until the end of next year, but I’m already working on it. I’m in a great spot now. It’s crazy, really. I’ve invented my own job. It feels pretty amazing whenever I see there’s any kind of demand for the exact thing I can offer the world.”
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