Tyler Boone – Hallelujah

By starrymag | January 2, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) If I had to categorize myself, I would place myself in the Americana songwriter genre but also majority of my current music is bluesy rock.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Mainly guitar players first and foremost. Gary Clark Jr., Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, etc. But when it comes to songwriters I’m a huge fan of Ryan Adams, Donovan Woods, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, etc…

 

Q) What was it about the classically beautiful song “Hallelujah” that made you want to cover it?

 

A) We decided to cover this song after myself and Finnegan Bell covered the song at a performance for the AME Church in Charleston, SC to honor the victims of the horrible Church shooting in 2015. We released a live video later on, but this is our studio version.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I believe everyone has a certain personal connection to this song and no matter what that may be, you will be able to connect to it faster than a song you haven’t heard before. You can go anywhere, and everyone has pretty much heard this song.

 

Q) How did you come to feature Finnegan Bell on the song?

 

A) We have released previous singles together and the first time I ever covered and performed this song in public was with these two, so it only made sense to have us both on it.

 

Q) Your previous song “Moving On” has been climbing the Triple A charts. How does that make you feel?

 

A) It’s a pretty incredible feeling. My last single “Short Skirt, Bare Knees” did really well at radio in 2017, so to have another one get any radio play after that one it’s all good to me.

 

Q) For original tracks, what is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) I always write the music first, the melody and then the lyrics. I usually always write it on an acoustic first even if I’m going to move it over to electric. That’s always been process.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

 

A) I’m always there in the studio and have a pretty strong idea on what I’m looking for, but I am a pretty easy guy to please. If it’s coming right back at me as it’s being tracked and it sounds even cooler then what I expected, I just go with it. If it’s meant to come out like that, then that takes my direction in a spot I wasn’t even expecting.

 

Q) We recently saw you on tour with David Cook. What can fans expect from a live Tyler Boone performance?

 

A) It was a great tour in the Midwest. I was booked on as a solo performer all over and it was pretty incredible. I did the same thing in 2016 and the amount of response you get from his fans are just incredible and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. I don’t do a lot of solo original shows, so it was a blast to have that one-on-one interaction with the audience and to better perfect that by the end of the tour. Other than songwriting, being able to interact with your crowd is a talent in its own and David really has that.

 

Q) Will there be a full EP or album coming in the near future?

 

A) The five singles I released this year I’ll be releasing altogether on an EP and I’m already working on a more Americana type single to release later this summer.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

 

A) Los Angeles, San Diego, Nashville, Charlotte, Greenville, Columbia and Charleston are my usual markets, but I’ve had the chance to perform in Milwaukee earlier this summer apart of the Summerfest music festival and it was incredible (once before in Dover, Delaware on the Firefly Music Festival). I’ll never forget those moments.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Donovan Woods would be pretty cool to collab on.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) Ruston Kelly. I love the way that guy writes and makes Americana/Country his own. Go check him out.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) It’s the most annoying thing sometimes…but it’s a vital part of being an artist these days and always trying to find or stay ahead of the curve. It is pretty incredible when you can see your song shifting and shaping out there on social media. It’s a pretty surreal world these days.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I’ve been doing this for ten, almost eleven years (I’m about to be twenty-nine years old), and for me now to still not have to clock in somewhere 9-5 and I can make a good living doing what I do, it means the world. Might not be the biggest artist, but I’m definitely still here working.