(Photo submitted) Eric Taylor has a new CD, "Hollywood Pocketknife" and he's coming to Spencer's Shaky Tree Coffee for a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.

Eric Taylor has a new CD, "Hollywood Pocketknife" and he's coming to Spencer's Shaky Tree Coffee for a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16.

"Hollywood Pocketknife" has been getting rave reviews from media and fans throughout Europe, the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand. In January Taylor and "Hollywood Pocketknife" were nominated for FolkWax Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

Recorded at Rock Romanoıs Red Shack in Houston, Texas from April to July 2007, and produced by Taylor, "Hollywood Pocketknife" is a stunning collection of seven new songs and three surprising covers from an artist hailed by critics as one of the worldıs greatest living songwriters and performers.

Contributing musicians include Eric Demmer (saxophone), David Webb (keyboard, Hammond organ), Mathias Schneider (lap steel), Rock Romano (bass), James Gilmer (percussion), Susan Lindfors (vocals), Vince Bell (vocals) and Steven Fromholz (vocals).

People have been talking about Taylor and his songs since the early 1970s, when he was an integral part of a Houston songwriting scene that included Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Taylor is one of the most influential songwriters to ever come out of Texas. Over the years, as his reputation and song catalogue have grown, he has had a profound effect on the evolution and development of such well-known Texas artists as Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, and others.

"Eric Taylor was one of my heroes and teachers when I started playing around Houston in the early 1970s," said Earle. "He's the real deal."

Taylor released his first album, the masterful "Shameless Love," in 1981 and shortly thereafter decided to take an extended sabbatical from the music business.

It wasn't until 1995's "Eric Taylor" release that he reentered the music business full-time. Hailed by fans and critics alike as one of the finest albums of that year (it was voted Texas Album Of The Year at the Kerrville Music Awards), "Eric Taylor" pushed Taylor back into the mainstream folk and singer-songwriter limelight.

He has released multiple albums since.

A mesmerizing performer, Taylor has been a featured artist at many festivals, including Kerrville, Newport Folk Festival, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival and the Take Root Festival in Holland. His U.S. tours have taken him to the Northeast (Caffe Lena, Club Passim, The Bottom Line), Northwest (Civic Auditorium, Walters Cultural Arts Center), Southeast (Bluebird Cafe, Eddieıs Attic, Ashland Coffee & Tea), California (Freight & Salvage, Trinity Backstage), Southwest (The Outpost) and Midwest (The Ark, CSPS, Cafe Carpe).

In addition to his appearances on Austin City Limits and NPRıs Morning Edition, Taylor has performed on Late Night With David Letterman (with Nanci Griffith), NPR's Mountain Stage, and BBC Radio.

He has taught at the Kerrville Folk Festival Songwriting School, and has conducted songwriting workshops at the Fulston Manor Performing Arts Centre (Kent, UK), CARAD (Rhayader, Wales), and the Plowshares Coffeehouse (Pennsylvania).