Meet Tyler Burkum
So guys I'm starting this little thing that I'm gonna do every Monday for the next several weeks. I've interviewed a handful of my favorite guitar players and I'm gonna post the interviews here in the STORY section of my site. I've had the honor of sharing the stage with many of these people you'll get to meet over the coming weeks and can assure you that you've heard their playing either at a show or on a record. So first up is...
TYLER BURKUM. I can honestly say that Tyler is one of my favorite guitar players. Tyler's credits run so deep and some of my favorite of his work is the Leagues "You Belong Here" record. I remember seeing them open for the Fray at the Ryman and I could not believe how good of a player he was and how good his guitar sounded. I was a fan from that very moment. There's an effortless sense of melody that Tyler possesses that is SO fun to listen to. He's the kind of guitar player that write parts that last foreverrrr. I'm thankful to call you a friend, Tyler! Ya'll check it:
1. If you could play like one person - who would it be? why them? -SM
Mike Campbell. He always seems to humbly play the most perfect gut instinct part - both melodically and feel-wise. Mike and Tom (Petty) wrote some of the best feeling parts of all time. He always serves the song and leaves room for the vocals and melody... which is such a huge part of making the guitar fit frequency-wise and space-wise. I also love the fact that when he is playing an epic solo in a stadium he still comes off as a guy who plays music for the love of it. -TB
2. What makes you pick up the guitar? What makes you put it down? -SM
Well, I pick up the guitar all the time at home and obviously out on the road for the love of it. I just haven't gotten over it. I still feel like when I was a kid looking at guitars on the wall at the music store dreaming about all the possibilities, the songs, the melodies that could be unlocked. I have so much to learn and so many melodies left to find and that excites me. I work hard to respect it like a job when I'm out on the road, but I am still having a lot of fun. When I'm stressed out I pick up a guitar and noodle around or write and it just calms me down. I still love it and I always will. I only put it down when my hands hurt and I'm too tired to play...ha. -TB
3. What's one of the worst things that's ever happened to you on stage? What's the best show you've ever played? -SM
Ha. One time I tripped on a sweaty stage and slid across the stage on my face while I was laying on my guitar. That was kind of bad. The other time might be getting shocked so bad on my mic that a blue arc hit my face and instantly gave me a bloody nose. Good times. -TB
4. I'm trying to take my sound to the next level... help. -SM
Gear is really cool, but the best thing to do is learn to get as many sounds with your hands as possible and work on your ear. Good hands and ears are priceless. It's the tiny things that make a difference along the way. It's amazing how string gauge, pick thickness, pickup height, string attack, etc will change your sound dramatically. Sometimes you think you need to switch out a pickup on your guitar when all you needed to do was lower it and change your pick or technique - and that stuff is free. It's all objective as far as sounds go so it's different for everyone. The main thing is that you just need to play play play and find what works for you little step by little step. Try to play the parts that you hear in your head. A lot of the things I hear in my head are impossible to play, but I keep trying. Your imagination can be a great teacher. -TB
5. If you weren't a guitar player what would do? -SM
Oh man, I would probably be working in a hot kitchen somewhere. I have know idea. I have been on the road for 21 years and I don't know much else, except for washing dishes at a restaurant when I was in high school. By the way, I'm still really good at washing dishes. So if this whole music thing doesn't work out I have that to fall back on. -TB
6. You can take one pedal and one amp and one guitar to a gig - what are you taking? -SM
My Gibson Les Paul GoldTop with my weird pickup mods, a Bondi Effects Del Mar or a JHS Morning Glory (preferably both because they sound so good stacked), and a good 60's Fender Deluxe Reverb, a 65 or 68. Simple simple simple. -TB