A Conversation With Tyler Booth
NSGs Billy Vitch caught up with Kentucky-born songsmith Tyler Booth as he shares his new track, “Different Kind of Blue” out now. The track mourns a lost love, and preludes more new music to come from the singer this year, who has been working on a project targeted to release this autumn. Earlier this year, Booth released “Bring On The Neon,” which MusicRow called “Superb. This instant-classic country weeper simmers in piano and steel while Booth’s always-awesome baritone delivers the emotional goods. Regret and heartache have seldom sounded better. I remain a fan.” Additionally, Booth added songs “Bring On The Neon” and “Real Real Country” to his repertoire this year. About the latter, Country Now shared that the singer is “taking his wicked twang and hard-hitting instrumentals to the next level,” and that the song “puts forth a stylish lick on his sundry capabilities,” while MusicRow deemed it “redneck rock, especially if you crank it up.”
Earlier this year Booth performed at C2C in the UK and returns to play at The Long Road Festival on the 26th of August, followed by his first UK Headline tour playing Manchester, London and Glasgow.
For tickets please visit HERE.
Billy: Good morning Tyler and how are you, what have you been doing today, and how’s that going?
Tyler: Good morning Billy nice to meet ya. I woke up early this morning and went into town to record some vocals on a project I’ve been working on up at Sony Music Nashville. Really feel good about that. It’s tough because I’m out so much on the road these days I got to grab any opportunities I can to keep new music in the cooker. We got some really good stuff this morning love these new songs. Mostly solo writes that I’m recording that my A&R team at Sony really loves and I do too. After that, I’m going over to Warner Chappell Music to write on a song. “She’s Hell On A Honkytonk” is the name of that one. Really good day so far.
Billy: You grew up In Kentucky, right? What was it like growing up there and how did it influence your style of music?
Tyler: Kentucky yeap, my family still has the farm there. I still consider myself a Kentuckian. They are proud of me back home and I’m sure proud of them too. People back home work hard, don’t bitch and complain much, and take care of their families the best they can. I love them. They got me where I’m at and I figure we’ll just keep going and the gang just keeps getting bigger and bigger. We really don’t have a lot to do where I’m from to entertain ourselves so that’s prolly why some of the best artists come from Kentucky. Keith Whitley, Loretta Lynn, The Judds, and Chris Stapleton to name a few. They were all just raised not far up or down the road from me. When people ask where I’m from I say right between Sturgel and Stapleton on the Mountian Parkway. You wouldn’t know the town only about 3 or 4 hundred of us. I’ve been playing music all my life. I can’t remember the first time I picked up a guitar. I just remember always having one in my hands.
Billy: How did your music journey begin and why did you choose Country music as your genre as opposed to say, rock or pop?
Tyler: I’ve always been around music. I can never remember music not being in my life. My dad, his brother, my cousins we all play music. One of my cousins was the mandolin player for Keith Whitley. I love all styles of music. I believe a true artist appreciates all music in all its different presentations. Some of my biggest inspirations were from other genres. My dad had a rock band, so growing up I used to jam out to a lot of the heavy stuff like Ozzy, Metallica and all that. He used to let me get up on stage and play guitar with the band when I was a kid every now and then. They were awesome and all over the stage so maybe that’s why some say I’m wild when I’m up there now. Prolly got that from them. I’d say Jamey Johnson is the reason why I love country music so much. His ‘That Lonesome Song‘ album changed my life. From there I got into Waylon, Cash, Willie and Merle.
(Tyler Booth)
Billy: Country seems to transcend time and space doesn’t it? I say this because I noticed that you have some big dates coming up here in the UK on your first headliner here. How do you think Country music translates here as opposed to America? Like how do you manage to gain a following when traditionally here, were not exposed to Country that much in the mainstream?
Tyler: When I was over here for C2C I absolutely loved it. It seemed like people there loved to hear what I had to sing about. Y’all listen to lyrics and appreciate a good story. My first trip over and this next one it’s just me and a guitar. My band will stay in the US. I really feel like just me and a guitar gives me a chance to really be more intimate with the folks there. It lets me have the chance to meet people and let them get to know me and me know them. You’d be surprised since C2C how many people have reached out to me on my Facebook and other socials. I can’t wait to see them again.
Billy: You have just released your new single “Different Kind of Blue“, wanna tell us all about it?
Tyler: I wrote that song when I felt so bad about a relationship I was in at the time. We’d been fussing and I just felt like I couldn’t explain how bad I felt at the time. It was like a “Different Kind of Blue” that I had never felt before. I’d try to keep busy, try to keep my mind off her, but no matter where or what I was doing I couldn’t shake it. The songs really doing well, glad people seem to be relating to it.
Billy: What made you want to be a musician as opposed to any other career? If you hadn’t become an artist, what other career path do you think you’d have followed?
Tyler: I knew I was going to be a musician from the time I can remember. It didn’t matter if I was playing bars for the rest of my life or on the Grand Ole Opry Stage. It’s just who I am and what I do. I write songs about life and sing them. I’m not much good at anything else. It’s all or nothing for me. I have no materialistic wants, I write and sing songs because that’s what I love. As long as I can provide for the players in my band and their families I’m good, I love them and am very thankful for them. If I hadn’t ever played music I’d prolly be working the farm. The grass would stay a lot shorter back in KY.
Billy: Country is such a big genre to break into, especially to become prolific and make a name for yourself isn’t it? What is the dream for you, like would you like to be recognised as one of the greats someday?
Tyler: Willie, Waylon, they became greats over time. I want to write and sing songs that have real substance not just trying to get on some social trend. The dream for me is to just keep going and making enough to pay my band and keep making music. Back when we first started it was all about just making enough money to record one more song. Sell enough t-shirts to buy a van so we could have some dependable transportation to gigs. I’m living the dream now and just trying to keep going to make that next record.
Billy: If you could sit down with three Country artists from history, past or present, who would they be and why?
Tyler: Jamey Johnson, Waylon Jennings, Hank Jr. I’ve been writing songs with Jamey Johnson. We wrote my song “Bring on the Neon” together with another friend Jeremy Popoff from the band Lit. Getting to know Jamey has been one of the biggest highlights of my life. People really don’t know how great of a songwriter that man is and how smart he is. We’ll be writing and Jamey will write an entire verse and hand it to me and ask, “What do you think?” I mean what are you going to say? You know you’re going to say, man, that’s amazing, because he is Jamey Johnson. Haha. No kidding, Jamey is a genius songwriter. I read a quote from him recently in reference to me. I got to tell ya reading that quote has got me through some rough times out on the road. Jamey is the man.
Another one would be Waylon Jennings. I’ve always loved his music. I grew up listening to Waylon, I can play just about any of his songs. At one time I think I had four or five Waylon songs in my set. It’d be cool to sit down and listen to Waylon talk about the old days. I’ve become friends with some of the Jennings family. Struggle Jennings, Whey Jennings, such good people. Struggle and I actually wrote a great song together not sure if or when it’ll ever come out but it’s awesome.
Hank Jr. prolly be the other one. He doesn’t get enough credit as a songwriter. In my opinion, he’s right up there with his daddy, Hank Sr. It’d be awesome to sit down and have a beer with him. I know prolly every song he ever put out. I’ve been through all of his records over and over. Hank Jr. is an ICON.
Billy: We’re a UK, Liverpool-based publication, have you ever been to Liverpool before and do you have any plans of performing here or close by anytime soon?
Tyler: I haven’t ever been to Liverpool, I would love it. Actually, I haven’t been outside of London. I’m coming to Manchester on Aug 28th if that’s close enough I hope y’all come to see me. I’m excited to be back in England. The Long Road Festival will be a blast and then to get to perform in Manchester, London, Glasgow and two shows in Ireland, crazy! So excited.
Billy: Did you ever think that you’d get to where you are in your career and what has been the hardest aspect of your journey to date? What are some of the pros and cons?
Tyler: I knew I would be playing music. As far as my career it’s doing good. I keep writing, singing songs and going out and meeting people that enjoy music. I’m having a blast. There’s really no downtime at this stage in my career. It takes a tribe to keep it going right now. The touring, writing, recording, and social media, it’s a lot. But, the gang keeps growing so all the hard work is worth it. I love this, love my people. We got it made in the shade.
(Tyler Booth)
Billy: Name three country artists you think we really should check out who we may not have heard of.
Tyler: Paul Cauthen, Elle King, Randall King.
Billy: How is the rest of 2023 looking for you?
Tyler: I have a ton of music coming out this year and I’m touring with Jake Owen throughout the fall. It’s going to be awesome!
Billy: Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Tyler: I’m very thankful y’all asked for this interview. I appreciate y’all taking the time to listen to my music. Give me a holler if ya make it out to a show while I’m over there.
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