Backstage writer Mikala Taylor hits Web

Some of us are merely casual music fans, while others have been writing record reviews since they were 12 years old. Local journalist Mikala Taylor falls into the latter category, and she’s just launched her new Web site, The Backstage Rider. Already, the exuberantly pink-tinged page has delivered everything from former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty’s new year’s resolutions to up-close-and-personal encounters with Dinosaur Jr.’s Lou Barlow and the Eagles of Death Metal.

“I’ve amassed some crazy and kooky stories, and I’ve been in hotel rooms and tour buses and backstage—as a writer, not a groupie, I should add,” Taylor told the Straight with a laugh. “It was time to gather all the information in one place. I’ve blogged in various forms about my experiences for years but wanted to get this out to more than just my friends.”

With upcoming artist-focused features like “11 Things We Like About Canada” by U.K. new wave revivalists White Lies, Taylor aspires to attract a worldwide readership. She’s written for Exclaim! and NME, but her day job is editing Tourism B.C.’s official Web site, which gets seven million unique visitors a year. “It’s B.C. by day, rock by night,” she quipped.

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