I could've chatted all day with singer-songwriter Tyler Braden - check out Part 1 of our conversation here, and read on as we chat about misdirection in song titles, shifting career from firefighting to country music, performing in Iceland and more.
Ciara's Country (CC): We spoke earlier about some of the songs on your upcoming EP - is there one more that you're really excited for people to hear?
Tyler Braden (TB): All of them in different ways! They all have their own emotional value and relatability. We've got a couple of songs on there that are happy songs and just relatable in ways that we all understand in relationships. There’s a song called Wrong Right Now that I think everyone will be able to relate to in the sense that work can get in the way of relationships and it can be hard to have personal time in the way that you should.
There’s another song called Choose Me, and that’s an appreciation song for your partner to say ‘thank you for picking me!’ Finally there’s one called Middle Man, and that’s about loss and how you battle with internal faith on whether or not you can still talk with someone that's not around while you’re mourning to update them on life. It gets kind of deep! But I think people will be able to relate so I can't wait to hear how they take to the songs and in what ways they will play out.
CC: I think even before hearing the songs, we can get a good indication of what they’re about based on the song titles. What goes into a good song title?
TB: I think there’s obviously that ‘clickbait’ thing that pulls people in, and the fact that a song title could go different directions so it makes you want to listen to it just to see which direction it takes. Anytime you hear a song title, you probably have an assumption of what the song is about, but I think a good title is a bit of a misdirection sometimes!
CC: That's true. I like having a bit of a surprise when I listen to music.
TB: Me too!
CC: Is there anything in particular that inspires you when you write your music?
TB: I think it's just a desire to be a storyteller and show empathy to be able to connect with people. People can interpret a song in so many different ways so it doesn't really matter what the goal itself is of the song, people are going to listen to it and hear it in a different way. It can be hard and you can write a lot of songs that don't quite make it, but when you get it right and you put out a song that feels right, it's the best feeling in the world.
CC: I can't wait to see what stories you have for us this year. Speaking of stories, some people might be surprised to know that your life hasn't always been as country music-focused as it is now. You previously worked as a first responder – how does someone go from firefighting to country music writing?
TB: Well, I loved both careers, and they’ve both been huge parts of my life, but the whole time I was in the fire service, music was my passion and that's what I did on my off time. That's what was able to get me closer to Nashville itself. I think firefighting made me who I am and gave me emotional stability that I may not have had beforehand to be able to handle a career like this.
CC: Firefighter, musician, so many different sides to Tyler Braden! Your Instagram bio also gives us a bit of an insight into the other sides of you - it says ‘I write songs, I travel, I sing songs, I play mediocre guitar’. Now I’m sure that last one isn’t true, but I’d love to hear a bit more about the travel side of Tyler Braden.
TB: Most of my travelling so far has been because of music, and it's shown me parts of the US that I'd never seen before. I've gotten to go to Canada and a couple other places, but it's amazing to be able to get out of the small town life that I've had for so long and discover new places. My wife and I got married in California, and I never would have guessed that would have happened. It seemed so far away and we took our close family and friends to discover what else there is and everything you can find. We're so excited to go overseas too!
CC: We’re excited to have you! And now that you’ve mentioned your wedding, I absolutely have to know what your first dance song was.
TB: It was called Tuesdays, by Jake Scott.
CC: Tuesdays? You’re talking to a massive Jake Scott fan here!
TB: Really? I love that.
CC: What else can we expect from you in 2023 after C2C and the release of your EP?
TB: We're doing a lot of touring this year and I have so many songs that I really want to put out. I never can tell exactly what’ll happen because things change by the day, but I'd love to do a full length album this year. Hopefully by the end of the year, but I don't know if that'll happen. We definitely have a lot of touring with Brooks and Dunn, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Chase Rice – we’ve got a lot of people that we're doing shows with this year and some big festivals here in the States, so that’ll be fun. And always working on new music.
CC: Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan - not bad names to be on the same lineup as!
TB: Indeed!
CC: Time for our last question: what is one question you've never been asked in an interview but would love to be?
TB: Oh, wow, that is so hard! We spoke a little earlier about travel, and I think it’d be great to share what my dream venue is. Here in the States, it’s probably Red Rocks, but I've never been asked what country I’d most like to perform in one day. It goes hand in hand with a country I would love to visit – Iceland. I think it'd be really cool to do an on-site music video there.
CC: You must be a big fan of dramatic landscapes.
TB: That’s it!
CC: I'll be booking my ticket to come and see you when you perform in Iceland but in the meantime, I can’t wait to see you at C2C. Thank you Tyler, and see you soon!
TB: Awesome, thank you so much!
What a wonderful guy to chat to! I had so much fun interviewing Tyler and can't wait to see him take to the stage at C2C in a few short weeks. Full review of that coming soon, as well as plenty more interviews - stay tuned @CiarasCountry!
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