Michael Stuart Taylor, age 56, passed away at his home early Saturday morning, November 15, 2025. He was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, on August 6, 1969, to Janet and Jon Taylor. Surrounded by music in his childhood home on the bluff above Austin’s Lake Travis, Michael taught himself to play drums and spent many happy nights in Austin’s clubs listening to his favorite musicians. He traveled across the country with his own California bands Kiss the Clown and Shimmer 57 as their drummer, songwriter and promoter. A musician and dreamer at heart, he took his digeridoo and bongos on many trips to the forests, oceans and lakes of the West where he felt most at peace among nature. His beloved dogs and cats were his constant companions on the road, by the campfire or sitting with a book in the glow of a nighttime light. Always creative, there was not much he could not craft, build or fix, from the handmade digeridoos and scarves he gave as gifts to the shelves lined with mementos of all that he loved. He made his final home in Arizona. Michael is deeply missed by his mother and stepfather, Janet Beaty Watson and Sims Buddy Watson; sister Michelle Taylor and her husband and son, Tim and Tristan Monday; brother and sister-in-law, Travis and Jacki Taylor and their children Lauren, Kyle, Justin, Ryan and Bryce; 1 cousin, 4 grandnephews and 6 grandnieces. And no remembrance would be complete without a shout out to his pet family over the years, Daisy June, Truman, Kitsap, Rocket, Comet and Jupiter among those that stole his heart. Michael will be remembered as a kind, thoughtful, creative and funny companion. Rest in peace and love.