my friend Carol Welch, aka: Carol Taylor
FM99 WNOR studios ~ early 80's
Carol used to shoot me this expression all the time; appalled / amused / reluctant to say what she's really thinking
To make a long story long:
Carol was my dear friend. We took these photos one night @ the old FM99 studios in downtown Norfolk while we were waiting for her to finish her show so we could go out night clubbing. She needed some publicity photos, but, as I remember, all we did was yuk-it-up and laugh ~ as usual. And this was before we got drunk! I shot about 100 frames that night ,but only like, six were usable. Sadly, I don't remember the year ~ we partied hard in those days ~ the 80's are pretty much a blur.
But, I do remember how much I valued our times together. Carol grew up in the Chicago area, and moved here while she was in the 9th grade, which was when we met ~ by the 10th grade, we were good friends. Armed with our learner's permits, we used to bum our mom's cars and go wandering around downtown Norfolk. We'd usually end up hanging out at Tracks Records (Wards Corner). Matthew Fussel used to rock the weird shit and that's where he worked. Carol was on a never-ending quest to find the latest Chipmonk's album (thought it was a punk band) (but, no, it was the little singing squirrels; Alvin, Simon, etc.) Her mom had an AMC Pacer and my mom had a Renault LeCar. We were pretty ballsy for a cpl of teenage chicks ~ I mean, to be seen in those rides! We started hanging out at the Naro for the late shows ~ as an excuse to stay out after curfew. Rocky Horror was our fav! Yep, we were pervert sick-o's before it was hip. Carol was brilliant; she was urbane, smart & had a biting wit ~ something no one was in high school, so naturally, I was drawn to her. Whenever we were together, I felt vibrant, alive and relevant. We would look at each other & bust out laughing (for no reason in particular). We could finish each other's sentences. I know now how rare those friends are. Running around town, being a couple of smart-asses ~ we couldn't have known life's rich pageant was half over for her.
Her dad was military, so they moved around a bit. They moved again during our senior year. I was away @ Heidelberg, so I missed her forwarding address. Luckily, her dad decided to retire here shortly after high-school. It was the summer of 1980 and I'd come home with a new perspective (punk) ~ I missed my smart friend and needed someone to show-off to. Within a few weeks, Carol, being alarmingly resourceful, found me once again through a close family friend (& mutual acquaintance) Jackie Lane. Carol was intensely private so it was difficult for many to see she was über-hip. But, I knew her well enough to know, together, we could do a lot of damage within this new sub-culture (damage is a good thing). We could rule.
When we hooked up for the first time after she moved back, I could see she was, at once; appalled and impressed. By the end of the evening she was wearing one of my tiger striped t-shirts; a star was born! In retrospect, its all so funny. We were born to live the lifestyle, but as repressed Catholic girls, we were ... cautious! She revealed her secret passion for Elvis Costello and I, for the Clash & U2... yatta-yatta-yatta... And so, sisters-in-arms, we went on an alternative music/lifestyle bender that lasted years. She had hung around the Loop studios while she was in Chicago enough to know the ropes and eventually managed to land an intern position at FM99. A natural at the sound-board and with a keen-ear for mod-pop, it wasn't long before she had the midnight - 6am shift. She had talked about being a DJ back in junior high. She knew where she was headed even then. I had a job as a display asst at Miller & Rhoads ~ suitably artsy-fartsy for me as well.
Carol worked her way into the best time-slots @ FM99. In spite of terrible formatting at the station, she became known as a regional alternative music scene celeb! But, it was turning into a joke because they were only allowed to play certain songs (redneck-rock & crap hair bands). Jokingly, I started call'n her Carol 'hell-yea' Taylor. Which she liked, so eventually that became her air-name. Perks: we could break in to Ron Reger's office and help ourselves to all the coolest records for free (he wouldnt allow them to get played on the air). The best job perk was: she would get us backstage to all the best alternative shows. It was a blast hanging out w/ ppl like Billy Idol, REM & Rod Stewart (sorry ~ he is charming). But rather quickly, the local music scene became boring ~ that's the biggest drawback to being a hipster (everything's such a bore). So we started driving up to DC to hang at the 9:30 Club ~ we saw the best of the best up there... the Cramps, Black Flag, the DK's, Pylon, etc. ...supper @ the House of Hunan, drink/dance @ 9:30 until 2am~ then drive home (blind-drunk). I remember one night I fell asleep right after asking her if she was OK to drive (she insisted she was) and I awoke to us doing a phat grinder off a guardrail somewhere on I-95!!! Her crappy Tercel handled it well.
As the relationships with our men became more serious, our relationship with each other grew sparse. We still talked on the phone and went to the best shows together, but nature took its course. By the time Carol took on the Waxing Poetics, we weren't hanging around as much. I remember I was surprised she left FM99 for that, but corporate radio was fucked, and things looked promising for the band with Mike Mills/Mitch Easter down in Chapel Hill. After Carol moved to NYC, I think she pretty much hit rock-bottom. She wasn't making enough money to survive up there so it became a major-drag ~ so, she headed back to greener pastures (in Hampton Roads). Unfortunately, FM99 still sucked. I know she really enjoyed the freedom at WHRV, even though the pay was not as good as corporate radio. Her bosses there loved her, so she was home. She told me she could never return to commercial radio, though. Lucky for her, the job with NPR was a pretty smooth ride. So, she thrived there for a few years.
Then Carol became sick. She had been (mis) diagnosed with asthma about 10 years before ~ sadly, it was a pre-curser to cancer. In the end, she was diagnosed with throat cancer. Unfortunately, her cancer was aggressive and it spread quickly, especially to her brain. She only lived about a year after she found out how sick she really was. It took everyone by surprise ~ Carol, being really private at times, didn't tell anyone. She was so full of life, she was like a comet with only a limited time to burn brightly. I loved Carol; to this day I deeply regret not being there at the end. But it was as she wanted. Thank God her parents were around to care for her in her final days. Carol died in 1996 ~ she was 32.
I learned so much from my gorgeous friend; I loved her dearly and cherish the time we had together.
For what its worth, these are some of my memories of Carol "Taylor" Welch
Luv,
filth ☠
honor Carol Taylor's memory at her Myspace page
The Last Time I Talked to Carol; Morrissey, 2009
The Moz must have been a fly on the wall; this song is like a musical rendition of events in my life!