Morgan Taylor first created his alien friend from the sun, Gustafer Yellowgold, in 2005. With many accolades and a Grammy nomination in 2015, Gustafer Yellowfold is an intergalactic phenomenon that appeals to kids (and parents) of all ages. The music of Gustafer Yellowgold is rocking and relazing, silly and sentimental, curious and crazy, and thoroughly enjoyable. In 2015, he released his Grammy-nominated Dark Pie Concerns, which is one of our favorite Gustafer Yellowgold albums, featuring fun tunes like Cakenstein, Rock Melon, and Gravy Insane. His newest tune, Hey, Eyeball was just released in March and can be found on iTunes, Amazon, etc.
For this #8isEnoughQuestions interview, each of the following questions was written by one of our Full Van Fun family members and answered directly by Morgan Taylor aka Gustafer Yellowgold. Enjoy!
1. When did you first start writing music and was Gustafer Yellowgold, the character, always part of that process?
Well, I began writing songs when I was 16 years old in my first band and always contributed to the writing in every band that followed until I ventured out of Ohio on my own to seek “fame and fortune and everything that goes with it” in New York City. It was then that I had a great creative outpouring that had me writing more songs than I could use for my Morgan Taylor band. Those extra songs were more humorous and strange, so I used those for what began Gustafer’s world in late 2003. After I saw the landscape I had inadvertently created and the fun reaction I was getting from people, I began writing songs on purpose with Gustafer in mind. The rest is GUStory.
Morgan Taylor and Gustafer Yellowgold (Photo credit: Morgan Taylor)
2. Has anyone hit you with a pancake before?
I’ve “hit” myself several times with a packed belly full of pancakes. Hit myself right into a big nap!
3. If you were to make your own real life Cakenstein, what special features you would add?
Disco party ball night vision.
4. How did you come up with Gustafer Yellowgold’s appearance?
Back in Dayton, Ohio, I worked at Gem City Records. One day after I wrote the new releases board, I filled the extra space with this yellow guy.
This is the actual drawing from 1997.
Original Gustafer Yellowgold drawing (Photo credit: Morgan Taylor)
5. What type of food do you like gravy on the most?
Mom’s mashed potatoes.
6. Who was more excited about the Grammy nomination – you, Gustafer Yellowgold, or Slimothy C. Beache?
Maybe Slim wants to win so he can climb inside the golden Gramophone horn.
7. What is your favorite type of melon?
Water
8. How do you turn it?
I ask myself that all the time. Well, you need to look at all the hard work and take all the mistakes with just as much reverence as the breakthroughs. Like a giant iron sea vessel, the turning is barely perceivable and can take lots of patience and persistence before you realize you’ve been steering all along. Then you have to have a good captain to know what to do once it’s pointed in the right direction.
Thank you Gustafer Yellowgold for a mellowy marvelous #8isEnoughQuestions interview and don’t forget to check out his new album, Dark Pie Concerns! Don’t forget to take a look at some of our other #8isEnoughQuestions interviews with artists like Mista Cookie Jar, The Not Its, Mike Phirman, Danny Weinkauf of They Might Be Giants, Turkey Andersen, Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, Bryan Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, Play Date, Recess Monkey, Andrew and Polly, Greg Page (Original Yellow Wiggle), Rissi Palmer, Jim Cosgrove, and Tim Kubart.
