 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Taylor Kuykendall")
 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Taylor Kuykendall")
Two Marshall University students created a way to showcase their talents along with the talents of local music enthusiasts.
Taylor Kuykendall, recent Marshall graduate and Cory Jackson, senior English major from Huntington, came up with a way to show others the musical side of Huntington.
In their book, “Sometimes You Find Yourself Over the Line,” Jackson and Kuykendall convey their appreciation for Huntington’s music scene, using Kuykendall’s photography and Jackson’s photographic diary.
“The reason I took these photos was so I could have a collection of photos of my time at Marshall,” Kuykendall said.
Kuykendall wrote a blog for the Huntington Herald-Dispatch in which he covered the Tri-state area’s music scene. He also gained experience while working with Graffiti Magazine.
Kuykendall said he has also done photography for the Herald-Dispatch, The Parthenon and on his own. He is currently a reporter-photographer in Mississippi.
Jackson was editor of his high school paper and yearbook. He said he also has experience in print journalism because of his time at Marshall’s journalism school.
“Taylor had always enjoyed my writing and he asked me to contribute my writing for the bands that I had seen with him,” Jackson said.
“I love music,” Jackson said. “I think it’s one of the most valid forms of expression.”
From an early age, Jackson said he enjoyed music and is currently in a three-piece rock band named “The Good Fight.” Kuykendall wrote a feature on Jackson’s band.
“For a while there, I actually gave up on playing music,” Jackson said. “So I decided that I could write about music and have much of the same benefit.”
Jackson said he was present when Kuykendall was taking photos of bands in the book, which made it easier for him to write about them.
“This book is a good magnifying glass on a great thing that’s been happening for a while,” said Jefferson, a featured artist in the book.
“I just hope that it’s an accurate record,” Jackson said. “It’s something that people can look back on fondly.
The book gives the Huntington music scene a more visible platform, and has a regional theme that people around the area can appreciate.
The book was a creative idea that Jefferson said he felt fortunate to be a part of. He said the arts of photography and writing were put together in a professional way.
Kuykendall said a few of the bands featured in the book include The Good Fight, Black Keys, Visiting Speed, Bud Carroll, Jeff Ellis, Attack Flamingo and Ian Thorton.
Jefferson said he hopes that the book will help the Huntington music scene continue to grow along with the fan base for the artists featured. He also said he is impressed the book could bring attention to the music scene and on who’s coming up in the music scene.
The book is self-published and can be found at secure.blurb.com/books/897442. It comes in hardcover that costs $54.95, or soft cover that costs $39.95, according to the Web site.
The book has 80 pages with nearly 200 photos and is an 8x10 book portrait.
“I’d like to get it in the local bookstores,” Kuykendall said.
“Right now it’s more of a sentimental project,” Jackson said. “It’s also just something that we can look back on and inspire fond memories of the time we spend listening to music here.”
“It was a record of a small time that was important to me,” Kuykendall said.
Meghann Ferguson can be contacted at ferguson121@marhsall.edu.
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