About: Tyler James
Tyler James' debut full-length record It
Took the Fire was
released in 2010 on his own Son of Geert Records. For the 27-year-old Nashville songsmith,
it's a coming of age album. "I'm part of a restless generation known more
for its apathy than for its voice," he says. "My songs are about the
struggle to find my own truth." With his heartfelt approach and raspy
croon, James sounds like an old soul. Citing influences from Paul Simon to Rainer
Maria Rilke, he has a reverence for past masters that does him good. With
meticulously crafted arrangements disguised as simple pop tunes, It
Took the Fire is one
part classic 70s, another part Memphis soul.
Co-produced with
acclaimed producer Neilson Hubbard (Glen Phillips, Garrison Starr), It
Took the Fire was
tracked in four days at Nashville's legendary House of David Studios.
"Like a lot of studios on Music Row, you often feel like you're standing
on hallowed ground," James says. "I used Elvis' piano on the record
and the studio still has a trap door entrance from when he tracked there."
Highlights on the record include the title track, which rings out like an old
spiritual when he sings: "It took the fire to save my soul/ It took the
fire to change me/ Glory shown in the ashes blowin' away." Other songs
range from heartbreak on the slow jam "All I Got," to coping with the
death of a friend on the Randy Newman-esque "A Sailor's Tune.”
Born in the
Pacific Northwest, but raised in small-town Iowa, James has often been an
outsider. "It was pretty much a few street lights and baseball diamonds
surrounded by cornfields," he says. "I'm a Midwest kid at heart, but
when you're young you don't see the value in it. Luckily I found a Dylan tape
in my sister's pick-up truck one day and it changed everything." Once out
of high school, James moved to Nashville and quickly found a home in the music
community. "The talent here is overwhelming," he laughs. "I had
the green knocked out of me pretty quick." James honed his craft while earning
a college degree and eventually debuted in 2005 with the aptly titled An
EP. Produced by
Jason Lehning (Alison Krause, Guster), the release was met with critical
acclaim, with Paste Magazine saying, "His vulnerable lyrics,
uncontrived vocals and memorable piano and guitar arrangements make for a sound
as accessible as it is meaningful.”
James' songs have
found their way onto television shows like ABC's "Brothers and
Sisters" and MTV's "The Hills." Additionally, his song
"Call My Name" (a collaborative effort with DJ Morgan Page) reached
number 5 on Billboard's worldwide dance charts last year. James has spent
the last four years traveling the country in his old VW, playing with the likes
of Ben Lee, Mat Kearney, Diane Birch, Bobby Bare Jr., Denison Witmer and The
Autumn Defense. "I can't tell you how many strange couches I slept
on," says James. "I don't do much planning ahead in the hope of
finding the back alleys." That approach would sometimes backfire on him.
"I'd end up freezing my butt off in the back seat at some dark truck stop
in the middle of nowhere," he says. More recently James was one of the
founding members of Ten Out of Tennessee, an acclaimed Nashville artist collective
whose tours aim to prove there's more to Music City than rhinestones and cowboy
boots.
With the release
of It Took the Fire, James seeks beauty in the mystic and purpose in
the disillusion that has defined his generation. "I wanted my record to
reflect the community we have in Nashville," he says. "I still have
hope that there are people out there who get together with friends, open up a
bottle of wine and listen to records.”
Tyler James – Official Website
http://tylerjames.com/
Tyler James - Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/#sonofgeert
Tyler James - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/tylerjames
Tyler James - Reverbnation
http://www.reverbnation.com/tylerjames
Tyler James - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyler-James/7182157226
Tyler James – Twitter
https://twitter.com/tylerjames
Tyler James – World United Music
http://worldunitedmusic.blogspot.com/2012/02/tyler-james.html
Videos!
Tyler James - Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/sonofgeert
Buy Music!
Tyler James – Official Store
http://tylerjames.com/store
Tyler James - iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/it-took-the-fire/id355387890
Tyler James - Rhapsody
http://www.rhapsody.com/#artist/tyler-james
