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Hi Tyler, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hi, thank you for having me. Life has been pretty wild… so far this year I got married, finished recording a record, and moved from Seattle to Tennessee. I have also made that drive twice in less than 3 months haha. But life is great.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Highway Dust”?
Yeah, that’s the opening track and lead single from the record. I’m really happy with how that one turned out. Fun fact, in the opening, you can hear crickets, frogs, and other southern night singing bugs. I recorded that in my parents background on my phone. That chorus of night is something I love about the South. It’s familiar to me.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
I think I wanted to write a song about moving on and travelling but from a different perspective than I normally do. I romanticized the “on the road” Kerouac lifestyle for so long… you know, moving on and leaving everything and everyone behind. But I wanted a change, and I wrote this before I even met my wife. So it’s really cool that we get to share this song and moment in time together.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
Nothing too special haha. I wish I could just release music, but we live in a video era. So I just found a vinyl record player background and added lyrics. I love vinyl though. I’m excited to get my pressings for this new record.
The single comes off your new album A Fallen Sky – what’s the story behind the title?
That’s actually a line in another song on the record called “Sugar Hill.” The line goes, “don’t be afraid, I know the evening takes a turn. If the stars ignite a falling sky, just let it burn.” It felt like the perfect fit for the record.
How was the recording and writing process?
It was tough and took a lot of time. But I’m so thankful that I had a great team and the time needed to really dig in. We didn’t start the recording process until the lyrics were completely done and the songs lived well on acoustic guitar. My producer and I wanted to make sure the songs were strong enough to stand alone. Some of them took years to finish. Of course when we started recording was around the time Covid-19 hit. So that really made things weird and difficult. But I think that ended up making all of us better. I had to learn how to record and produce things on my own. Which also means learning to trust yourself and even learning to live with some mistakes. I think I even started to relish certain imperfections.
What role does Seattle play in your music?
It was huge. I mean you can hear a big difference and progression in my records since moving there. I remember moving to Seattle and hoping to find out how to write sad songs that moved people. I think everyone in Seattle carries a little sadness with them. Maybe it’s the weather, but I’m not sure that’s the only reason. But it really is a beautiful place with a hardness and delicacy to the city and culture. People really care about some really big and important issues and fight for the underdog. But you gotta be scrapy to survive because it’s so expensive. I feel fortunate to have lived there as a musician for 7 years. I’m forever grateful to that city and what friends there have taught me. My perspective on songwriting also changed. I stopped falsely believing that sad songs are the only way to “feel real.” I think I learned to just be real with myself and write in a way that I enjoy and feel inspired.
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Anything really: conversations, books, movies, poetry, podcasts, other songs… life. Heartbreak usually leads to some good songs eventually, but don’t go looking for trouble. It will find you in due time. But I still believe that the best lyrics come unexpectedly when you aren’t trying to write songs. Oh, I also love reading biographies of other songwritingers… maybe because it helps my obsessiveness find a little company.
What else is happening next in Tyler Edwards’ world?
Well I’ll be releasing singles up to the record release. And then I hope I’ll get to tour more and keep writing more songs and releasing more records.
