Artist Interview: Q&A with Tyler Edwards
On the eve of his album release, Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Edwards gives us an inside look at the inspiration behind and recording of A Falling Sky.
Tyler Edwards. Photo credit: Julia Joy Beck.
Tennessee-based Tyler Edwards has made some dramatic changes in his life both geographically and musically, like when he changed coasts in 2015, leaving South Carolina and his band I Anthem behind for Washington state (and later Tennessee) and a solo singer-songwriter career. Since then he’s released three EPs and a full-length album, and his next album, A Falling Sky, drops tomorrow.
Even over his solo albums he’s shown significant growth and exploration, from a country-flavored folk sound to more alt/indie rock to a new feel he debuted on his lockdown-created EP, which carries through to A Falling Sky. Gentle and contemplative, his new music brings his thoughtful lyrics and fine, clear voice front and center.
We asked Edwards to share his thoughts about his musical progression, his songwriting process and his new album.
Carol Roth: Can you talk about what drives or inspires you to explore so many different sounds?
Tyler Edwards: Many factors play into what I personally enjoy and what I end up creating or releasing. My parents had a big influence on my early appreciation of music; we always had a radio on, that’s not an exaggeration. My dad still keeps the radio in his shop and on the front porch rocking. (One time he told me it helps scare off bugs and intruders.) He loves classic rock: The Eagles, CCR, Boston, Queen, Mountain. My mom really liked James Taylor, Neil Young and Tom Petty.
I love and value both of those styles, which gave me some work to do in figuring out what I want to do musically. I tried the rock band for a while, but my interest in lyrics grew to a point of wanting to make sure everything musically supports and points to the songwriting. Performing solo with acoustic guitar is also a way to ensure I have a job and future no matter what happens around me. I love knowing that I can play a show without a band, lights or even a sound system.
Currently I’m loving exploring new music and sounds because I want to keep getting better as a songwriter. Learning and enjoying different styles helps inform what I can do myself. I’m really happy with how honest and “like me” this latest album sounds. I want to continue sounding like me, regardless of genre.
CR: To me, your lockdown EP and this new album have the most classic folk feel of all your records, though still with some rock and a little country mixed in. Who are some of your influences? What inspired this direction?
TE: When moving to Seattle, I started listening to a lot of artists like The Head and The Heart, Ryan Adams, Gregory Alan Isakov, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Jason Isbell, and artists in the folk vein. That made me more comfortable with letting my natural twang and Southern roots come out more. I don’t think much on what style I sound like; I’m looking to serve the song best. I still felt tempted to make a rock record, but the most successful and genuine-sounding songs on my previous record had the folk sound, so I wanted to keep exploring that realm and trying to master it.
The hardest thing for me was finding my voice as a singer-songwriter, and growing more comfortable with my lower register, because in rock music you’re trying to sing in that range between the electric guitars and cymbals. Finding my voice was a big inspiration for this record.
CR: What’s songwriting like as a solo artist? How is it different from writing songs for a band?
TE: The freedom is amazing. I’m able to do exactly what I want to do, which is to write the best lyrics and arrangements I can. There’s an ironic humility that comes with it: Because it’s just me, the only real ego to fight is my own. So I have to have the hard conversations with myself and decide if something is working or could be better.
In a band setting, you have to worry about other instruments and members and how to fit them into the song. As a solo artist, I can feature or subtract what I want; whatever serves the song best. Also, I like having songs lyrically finished before recording. Sometimes in a band, you have to write lyrics after the music is done, and that can be very stressful.
Tyler Edwards. Photo credit: Julia Joy Beck.
CR: Let’s talk about the recording of A Falling Sky. Is creating the sound a collaborative process that happens in the studio, or did you have a pretty defined idea of how you wanted the songs to turn out?
TE: I think the unknown is one of the best parts. For instance, with my song “Chaos and Curls,” I had a second chorus and a completely different guitar part with more finger picking. I decided I didn’t like the second chorus and suggested we have the strings play the melody and not sing the chorus until the end. It also had different lyrics. The changes worked out really well for the overall story of the song and created a unique moment on the album from a song structure perspective.
Then when we recorded the drums, they were so cool but felt off with my guitar part, so I suggested we change the guitar. My producer was kind enough to humor the idea, and that made the song come alive. That unknown element of collaboration is so fun and can lead to really cool results.
CR: The opening track “Highway Dust” plays on the classic theme (in Americana and plenty of other genres) of literally leaving troubles behind by driving away from them. Can you share your thoughts about this song?
TE: I’ve written many times about traveling or moving, almost to where it’s like, “Oh great, another song about traveling.” I think what made this one special is for the first time, my “character” was inviting someone with them. That helped me want to keep fighting to finish this one. The bridge and melody is what hooked my producer into wanting to finish it too. Another thing that’s cool is the song ends after the bridge. I felt like I said everything I wanted to say, so singing the chorus again would feel forced or cheesy.
CR: One song that stood out to me was “Heroes.” I took it to be about how it feels when people we admire really disappoint us—that feeling of disillusionment. I love how the instrumentation gets kind of cacophonous toward the end, like the song itself is in danger of breaking apart. What was the inspiration for the lyrics of that song? How did it come together musically?
TE: I actually just did an hour-long podcast with my producer talking about this song and the history and various versions! It’s quite the story and journey, but to summarize, we had to work really hard to make it fit the record. I had a rock version of it first. We slowed it down and reworked everything but the lyrics, melody and chord progressions.
Lyrically, the song is about the struggle of chasing your passion and being let down by yourself, your friends and your heroes, so we wanted everything to feel that way musically as well. We hired my friend Jesse Proctor to play drums and write a chaotic drum part that sits on top of the drums in the bridge. When I heard that, I felt like it had to tag onto the end as well, so you could hear it all kind of falling apart and giving up. My mix engineer Neil Hampton had the idea of putting some delays and things on the vocal and drums to really make it get tangled at the last second, which also sets up the next song on the album, “Long Line.” I think the vibe, lyrics and transition fit really well between those songs. And “Heroes” really helps serve the record as a palate cleanser too.
CR: What tracks do you especially like on this album?
TE: I think the closing track “Wishing Well” is one of my favorites, because it’s really clean and concise with the words and images. Another track that was a pleasant shock was “Long Line.” I didn’t realize until I finished writing the lyrics that I was digging into some of my family history. It was unintentionally very insightful.
CR: I see you’ve got a Seattle release show in October. Any other concrete plans lined up yet to play out or tour on this album?
TE: It felt right to finish the album release cycle where it all started. I’m very excited to return and celebrate. I’m trying to tour as much as I can, but the past few years have really changed touring and booking; a lot of venues and bookers have closed or moved on. I have a few shows booked but hope to keep adding more. I’ll play anywhere, so if someone reads this and even wants to host a house show, let’s do it! Feel free to email me or reach out through socials
Tyler Edwards. Photo credit: Julia Joy Beck.
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
