Tony Scott: 0:13

Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a behind-the-curtain look at the entertainment industry, with insights you can't pay for and stories you've never heard. Now here's your host, Jay Franze.

Jay Franze: 0:42

Well, hello, hello, hello and welcome to the show. I am Jay Franze and this is your Backstage Pass to the Music Industry. This week we get to talk with a country music recording artist. We get to talk with Blake Tyler. We'll talk to him about his cover of Pray All the Way Home, what it was like to sign with Bowen Stern, and we'll discuss how he got to start opening for some of the greats. Now, blake, he is not only an amazing talent, he is an amazing person and I can't wait to talk with him tonight.

Jay Franze: 1:18

So if you would like to join in, comment or fire off any questions, please head over to jfranzycom. Now let's get started, all right, buddy. Well, let's just jump in. I want to talk about a few things, but first I'd like to start with the song that drew me to you in the first place, and that's pray all the way home. I know it's a cover, but the reason I liked it is you took a different spin to it. The original version of the song has this kind of beat to it, has kind of more of a modern-day feel to it. You've taken it, you've slowed it down, you've made it your own. What can you tell me about that process?

Blake Tyler: 1:50

Yeah. So, first off, big Austin Snell fan, who was the original artist on that song and had been a fan of him for a while. And then I heard that song. When I first heard it, I heard it differently. Just listening to the words and the message behind it, I felt like there was going to be a way for me to slow it down and make the listener feel the words a little bit more. Not that there was anything wrong with Austin Snell's version I love his version as well but, yeah, the song had a message that I related with and it was a message where I felt like I was making some wrong decisions in my life and I remember nights where I would be laying in bed and talking to God and wondering why I can't quit this cycle of bad decisions that I was making.

Blake Tyler: 2:40

And, truth be told, about a year a little bit over a year now I decided that I was going to quit drinking and get completely sober, and part of it was because of that song and I realized that that was something that I needed to do and I needed to be a better example for my family. And also I felt like I wasn't going anywhere with this career. I felt like I was kind of at a standstill and that song kind of helped me get through those times and I decided to go ahead and put that cover out, being that it started doing very well on social media and was getting a really good response with it. So I decided to put it out on all platforms and really glad that I did Well.

Jay Franze: 3:20

you mentioned your family. I assume you're married. I don't know that for certain.

Blake Tyler: 3:24

I am engaged so long time girlfriend. We've been together for nine years. We have two kids together. We plan on getting married in the next couple months.

Jay Franze: 3:32

Nice Well, tell her. You know, I don't mind pushing that along for you Absolutely Appreciate you. She would appreciate that. So you, you have a family that you've been. It's a longtime family at this point, no, you know nine years with her. You've got children, you get a son who's what? Eight now. Yep, Just turned eight, so yesterday yesterday actually.

Blake Tyler: 3:52

So there you go. Happy birthday. I got a daughter that's three. Her name's noel. Nice, he's the uh, she's the tough one of the group. So dude.

Jay Franze: 4:00

I have a daughter who's just about to turn three and she's wearing me out. I'm telling you, way too old to be having kids.

Blake Tyler: 4:07

It is uh, it's uh. It's been an experience to have a daughter, for sure, but she's been a blessing. I have three. You have three daughters, three daughters. Oh my goodness, how few for you, brother.

Jay Franze: 4:18

A 14, a 10, and a 2. The 2 and 14 are about to go up one. They're both March babies. Very cool, but, yes, definitely a handful. But you, with your son specifically, you're trying to be a role model for him, so I can understand how a change like this would would be important to not just you but to him. So talk about your own personal background. Did you grow up in a home that experienced some of these things that you sing about?

Blake Tyler: 4:47

yeah.

Blake Tyler: 4:47

So, um, I wouldn't say like from an alcoholic standpoint, we had that much in our family, but, um, I wrote a song that I just put out recently called Blood Ain't Thick, and it's a little bit of a story of mine growing up and my parents split when I was really young about two and then I had a stepdad that came in pretty quickly after they had split and it was tough.

Blake Tyler: 5:14

I'm sure it was tough for him, being that I was his step kid. You know I don't have step kids, I'm not sure what that's like, but he was rough and that song really details some of the things that I went through growing up and I feel like we have a little bit of a better relationship now that I'm older and he's looked back and seen that he did some things that were wrong, but uh, it's it's things that I went through and that's kind of where my music comes from. Is is just from a personal place and uh, there's no hard feelings or anything like that. It's just more along the lines of that's how I get these emotions out.

Jay Franze: 5:52

I'll tell you, as father myself, that was a tough song to listen to.

Blake Tyler: 5:57

It's definitely triggered some people and gotten a response from people that have gone through similar things. So it's definitely a tough song, but it's a song that, like I said, a lot of people have gone through.

Jay Franze: 6:11

I grew up in Boston and people give Boston a rap of being a tough city to grow up in. I was in a suburb. It was just like any other suburb and I grew up in a normal household. I had two parents, two brothers and nothing out of the ordinary. My father was tough, but he wasn't out of control or wasn't anything too rough. But there was one or two times where I pushed the limits and I I felt the wrath of it. But that song, you know, brings that type of stuff back and I mean it. It was tough to listen to. It was really tough to think that somebody has to go through things like that. Yeah, man.

Blake Tyler: 6:45

Well, I mean, it's uh. It was tough growing up but I had siblings that that kind of went through some similar things. Uh as well, I was the oldest so I kind of got the brunt of it, but it's something that kind of sticks with you, you know from. I mean, I'm 30, 34, be 34 in May, you know. So it's still something that I deal with from time to time and that's why I wrote that song and put it out, and uh was kind of one of those things that I'm trying to let go of and move forward.

Jay Franze: 7:13

Is that the song, the video where you talk about picking up the guitar?

Blake Tyler: 7:17

Yeah.

Jay Franze: 7:18

So is that a true statement? Did you pick up the guitar like that?

Blake Tyler: 7:22

It is, yeah. So I mean, I started playing guitar when I was about 12 or 13. I'm still not a great guitarist, but I can do enough to get by, and it was just kind of one of those things that was a release for me, trying to learn as a young kid, and I was really shy when it came to singing. Growing up, I wouldn't even sing in front of my family and I definitely wouldn't sing in front of strangers back then. So, yeah, it was this.

Blake Tyler: 7:47

This last few years has been, uh has been wild, an experience that I never thought that I would try to pursue. Long story short, I was in sales for about 10 years and I realized that that wasn't the life that I wanted to live. At 30 years old, I was like what can I do? What do I love? I used to be an athlete. You can only be an athlete for so long, you know. And so I just got a job. You know, and that's what most people do after high school and college is they just go get a job and I thought that that's what I was supposed to do and I just stopped pursuing the things that I loved and kind of had a little bit of a midlife crisis at 30 and was like I got to do something different. And I went and got a couple gigs at a local bar and I decided to start posting TikToks and seeing what I could do. And it's all just happened really fast and I'm very blessed that I made this decision to pursue this career.

Jay Franze: 8:45

Well, let's talk about that for a minute, because you mentioned the guitar and being able to hold your own not being a guitarist but do you use that as a tool to write songs?

Blake Tyler: 8:54

I do, yes, and it's one of those things that the guitar is the first part of the songwriting process for me. Just trying to find something that's unique and something that's never been done is kind of impossible to do nowadays, you know, but that's really where the songwriting process for me starts. I also have some really good guitar player friends that I can get in the room with and we can come up with ideas that way as well. So, yeah, I think definitely learning the guitar has helped me become a better songwriter for sure Now we're not talking that long ago, so you started writing songs.

Jay Franze: 9:36

At what point did you start writing songs that you felt comfortable to share with others?

Blake Tyler: 9:41

Man. I don't know if I still am like 100% comfortable with with sharing everything that I write, you know, and. But I would say within that first year of pursuing music, I decided that I wasn't going to be a cover guy and I had been writing for a little bit, but obviously not to the level that I've been able to get to and I started writing with some buddies that had been writing for a long time. That really opened up my abilities to write was just being in rooms with guys like that and learning what their process was and just kind of feeding off of their vibes and how they write music.

Jay Franze: 10:22

Now are these people in the Cincinnati area.

Blake Tyler: 10:25

I do. I do have a buddy. His name is Joe Jordan, so if you have not heard of Joe Jordan yet, that guy is phenomenal and he's become a really good friend of mine Been friends for almost four years now and he's amazing. He's got about 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and he's written some of the best songs that I've ever heard. We've written some of these songs together that I've put out. We're actually going to Nashville the 17th through the 21st to write a bunch with my manager, Matt McClure, so hopefully we're going to get some pretty good songs out of that.

Jay Franze: 10:57

I don't know With a manager like Matt, I don't know how far he can get.

Blake Tyler: 11:01

Well, I know he's been on your show before. That guy's pretty daggone good he's special.

Jay Franze: 11:06

He's all right, he's special, all right, special in his own kind of way no his own kind of way. Matt's awesome. He's one of the best engineers and producers I know. I had an opportunity to work with him for a few years. He's just one of the best by far.

Blake Tyler: 11:19

He's amazing man. I've been very blessed to be put in the situation with Valdez Stern Group and Matt and Alex Kidd and his wife Renee, matt's wife Renee. They're just phenomenal people, man. I got to a point in this career, you know, where I felt like I was kind of at a standstill within the past year, that I felt like the growth was kind of at a standstill on social media. I don't have connections in Nashville too many connections and I just felt like it was time for me to to be represented by somebody that knows the business and the ins and outs, cause I'm still pretty green when it comes to to this business and it's been a great experience so far with them, so blessed to be a part of out of Stern.

Jay Franze: 12:05

Well, let's talk about that for a minute, because I know Matt, I know his business and his studio, I mean everything. He's just he's got it all going on, but he's down there in Nashville, You're up here in the Cincinnati area. How did you guys get connected in the first place?

Blake Tyler: 12:21

Yeah, so it's kind of a long story, but I was going down at the end of 2023 to record with a guy by the name of Chris Flick. He had a studio down there called 12 Three South Studios and he happens to be the drummer for Drew Baldrige, which just had a number one hit and has a top 20 right now. But yeah, chris is a great guy, great drummer, great engineer, does a really good job. And Alex Kidd, which is Matt and Renee's partner at Bow to Stern, he is the sound engineer on tour for Drew Baldrige. So Chris and Alex became pretty good friends and I asked Flick.

Blake Tyler: 13:03

I was like, hey, I'm kind of at a standstill right now. I'm looking for a manager to kind of show me the ropes and connect me with the people that I need to connect with. And Chris was like I got a guy for you and sent me Alex's number. And then we went and I went down and I had a meeting with them and it's funny, matt and Alex, they said they were going to come up and see a show here in Cincinnati and last minute Matt was thinking about canceling and he decided he was like no, I better go. And my guys and I we knew that they were coming up, so we were like we got to put on a show and we were playing at Lori's Roadhouse in Westchester, which is a big venue up here, and they loved us and we put on a great show and they decided that they wanted to bring me on board, and the rest is history. I've been with them since June of last year, 2024.

Jay Franze: 13:56

All right, so you got introduced to them. Matt came up to see you at Laurie's Roadhouse, which is a very large venue. It's probably my favorite venue in the area by far, and it used to be a Kroger, right.

Blake Tyler: 14:10

I think it was like a big Watts or a Baymark or something. Yeah, it's huge.

Jay Franze: 14:15

But yeah. So I mean he comes up and he sees you play and he likes you. Does he tell you that that night or do you have a meeting following the show?

Blake Tyler: 14:25

Yeah, I mean I could tell by his demeanor that he was excited, I could tell that he was happy that he came up, you know, and he didn't really say much that night. I mean they drove four and a half hours up here to see us and they got a hotel, and then we're just going to drive back down the next morning. So they left.

Jay Franze: 14:45

Did he come up with his wife? Who did he come up with?

Blake Tyler: 14:47

Yeah. So Alex, matt and Renee all three came up to see us and I believe it was the next day that we had a conversation and he was like, yeah, I mean I think this could be a good fit and that we should work together if you want to do that. And I was like, yeah, I'm on board. It was kind of one of those things that when I met them, it felt like they were the right fit. It was just like one of those things where I felt at home right away and just super nice down to earth people and that's what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for somebody that's got 50 artists on their list of people that they manage, you know. I'm looking for somebody that I feel like is going to go to work for me and get me to that next level that I'm looking to go to, and I felt like that was them.

Jay Franze: 15:39

So after the show, was it a phone call? Was it a meeting in person?

Blake Tyler: 15:45

Yeah, it was a phone call. I believe it's such a blur, it happened so fast. I believe it was a phone call, but they had sent me the contract via email and I went over it and had my lawyer look at it and everything looked great. I went down to Nashville that next week and we met at the bank and had a notary there and we both signed the contract and we made it official that. So that's awesome yeah man.

Jay Franze: 16:15

So how? How long after that did you guys set foot in the studio?

Blake Tyler: 16:20

Oh, it was pretty quick, man. It was pretty quick. I had sent Matt some of the songs that I had written and just kind of was trying to get his idea of what he thought was a good song and what was not a good song. And I just sent him like 15 or 20 songs that I had that I thought were the best that I have. And, um, and he, he picked one. He picked blood ain't thick out of the whole bunch and was like that one right there, I want to, I want to cut my studio. And I was like, all right, let's do it.

Blake Tyler: 16:48

And that was another thing too. It's like Matt, matt has his own business with the recording side. You know it's it's separate from Bow to Stern, which is this management company, and he wasn't 100% like trying to get me in the studio right away. But he heard that song and he was like, yeah, I want to, I want to cut that one with you. And I was like, say less, I'm in there, just tell me when, and I'll be there, you know.

Blake Tyler: 17:13

And I went down for the session and it's crazy how his sessions work. I'm sure you've seen it firsthand, but he's got everybody in there at once, like the whole band and these guys are legends, you know. I mean you got freaking Rob McNelly in there, I mean just a ton of guys that have been on some of the biggest songs that you've ever heard, and so it was a little overwhelming at first and we, we got in the studio and and, uh, I started singing and you could tell that the guys were were getting into it and it was just a really cool experience to to be a part of that.

Jay Franze: 17:48

Well, that's just it. I mean, you're not talking about just a manager by any stretch. You're talking about somebody who's also an engineer, also be able to produce your record for you, not only that, but owns his own studio.

Blake Tyler: 17:59

Which is amazing, by the way.

Jay Franze: 18:01

His studio is incredible. It's killer, and he built it himself too, which is even crazier. So you found somebody who's well, what we would call well-rounded, I guess, correct. So he's definitely a good one to hook up with and, matt, if you're listening, it's all lies tonight, just like you told me to say.

Blake Tyler: 18:20

I hope he's not listening.

Jay Franze: 18:24

So you went in, you recorded the one song. Was there more songs than that that you recorded that day?

Blake Tyler: 18:29

No. So we just cut the one that day and it took an hour for the band to have the the whole thing down, you know, and I was like this is insane, you know, because I'd been in the studio before and it was like one song all day, took us five, six hours, you know, and like they had that thing knocked out within an hour and then I came back down a couple weeks later and cut the vocals. So it was just a new experience for me. It was a great experience, something that really showed me what Nashville was all about when you're with the Top Dogs. It was a cool experience.

Jay Franze: 19:05

Did you save the chart?

Blake Tyler: 19:08

I did. Yes, I did First one. It was awesome, man. Once I did that I was like I don't know if I can cut a song with anybody else now.

Jay Franze: 19:18

It's a pretty impressive process, for sure. I mean it really is. So you meet Matt, you guys, you do your show. He comes up there, you go down to the studio and all that stuff, before you even go to Nashville and you sign the paperwork. You know you, you get the news that it's going to happen. What's going through your mind? What was the feeling at that time?

Blake Tyler: 19:39

Oh, I mean, I was pumped man, I, when I had met with him the first time, like I knew, you know, like that I wanted to work with these guys, you know, and I don't think that they were as sure about it. I mean, they'd never seen me perform live or anything, and I had decent social media numbers, which is great, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything either. Obviously, social media is a big part of this business. I'm not trying to downgrade social media, but yeah, he'd never. He'd never seen me perform live.

Blake Tyler: 20:07

He didn't know what, what kind of an artist I was and if I had the chops to, to really pursue this at a high level. So I was, I was nervous because I wasn't sure if, uh, if he wanted to to work with me right away. And when he came up to see us, when he came up to see us live, that solidified it and I was, I was really pumped to uh to get that call and him him be like, hey, yeah, let's do this. To uh to get that call and him him be like, hey, yeah, let's do this.

Jay Franze: 20:33

So the nerves I completely understand. You know it's a big, big step for you. It was.

Blake Tyler: 20:45

You go on stage, how long till those nerves go away? Man, it's, it's pretty quick. It's more so like right before you're going on stage that you feel those nerves and then, once you sing those first couple lines, I mean everything just kind of lifts off your shoulders and you're just in it. That's the beauty of the live shows for me is that it's my favorite part of of all of this. I mean, I love writing songs, I love, I love other aspects of this business, but there's nothing like being in front of a crowd and and performing and doing what you love. So it goes away pretty quick within within that first song, right, the first few lines. Well, that's cool.

Jay Franze: 21:19

But what about the band? Were they as nervous as you were?

Blake Tyler: 21:22

oh man, they were way more nervous than I was, for sure. Well, they had never met matt and renee or alex or anything before that, so they they didn't know what to expect expect or what kind of people they were. But I did a pretty good job of talking them off the ledge. Before we went up there I was like let's just go do what we do, have fun, and there's no way that they're not going to like us if we do what we do and we do it to the best of our ability.

Jay Franze: 21:50

Well, I know you're still fairly young and still fairly new to this. How long has the band been with you so?

Blake Tyler: 21:58

I've had a band for three years, but the only member that's left from the first gig I ever played is my bass player, andy, and everybody else has been with me within the past two years. I got Lincoln, which is my guitarist, and then I have another lead guitarist, zach Haney, who's out of Akron. I got guys from all over the place. I got two from Kentucky, one from Dayton, one from Akron. They're my best friends. It makes it easy to go up there and play some of these big shows because we all have each other's back and we all work equally hard at this and we put the time in individually and as a team to make sure that we're tight and that we have our sets down. It's a lot of fun with these guys.

Jay Franze: 22:45

One thing I've noticed since being in this area is that the music scene is, as far as musicians and the talent level of the musicians, it's not the same as Nashville, but it's definitely a big music scene of some extremely talented people it is. Before I forget, go ahead and rattle off the names of your band members, just so you don't leave anybody out.

Blake Tyler: 23:04

Yeah, yeah. So Andy is my bass player. He's from Tip City. Andy Uzzle, Mason Stamper, which is my drummer. He's been with me since February of last year, so just about a year. He's from Grant County, Kentucky. And then one of my lead guitarists, Lincoln Howe, he's also from Grant County, Kentucky. And then Zach Haney, lead guitarist, he's from Akron.

Jay Franze: 23:28

So, now that you're signed and now that you're going to be playing some of these bigger shows that are going to be coming your way, are you keeping that same lineup that are going to be coming your way.

Blake Tyler: 23:38

Are you keeping that same lineup? Yeah, I'm not changing nothing. Man, these guys are my brothers, they work extremely hard and, in my opinion, some of the best musicians in the state of Ohio and Kentucky. And that was another thing too, that Matt came up and was like dude, I don't need to touch your band. Your band is right on par with you and you guys are a unit. It's special what we built and the way we came together. It's a really special situation and there's nothing that I would do to change that. If you see us play, I don't think anybody would think any different than that either. I think we put on a really good show. It's very high energy. We get the crowds going, so it's a lot of fun.

Jay Franze: 24:26

It is definitely a rocking country feel to it and it's got some aggression to it. It definitely is so again, I hate to keep going back to this, but you're still fairly new at it. How do you land such big gigs?

Blake Tyler: 24:39

Man, I've been very blessed. I've been in the right places, sometimes to where it just has happened. So I played an acoustic show at a place called Manhattan Harbor Yacht Club it's on your side of the river Dayton, kentucky and I played just an acoustic show there and the bartender that night happened to be the lady that was going to be the booking agent for Lori's Roadhouse, and so she heard me perform and I went up to the bar after I was done and she was like take my number down. She was like I'm going to be booking at this new place called Lori's Roadhouse. It hadn't been open yet. I took her number down, I shot her a message and was like hey, let me know if there's any opportunity here.

Blake Tyler: 25:26

We went to Lori's Roadhouse for the artist opening, basically so the artists that were going to be playing there could see the venue. I was like, oh my gosh, this place is absolutely insane. It was pretty overwhelming seeing that place, and I was just playing little small bars at the time, you know so. So I got in there, I played a couple acoustic shows and we did very well. We opened for Diamond Rio one of the first gigs that we'd ever played there. It was.

Blake Tyler: 25:50

It was definitely an opportunity that took me to the, to the next level as far as venues go. So they were like, dude, if you want to play here, I mean you need to get a band. So I started searching for a band and finally found me a good enough band at the time you know to to be able to perform, and we just kept working at it and we had to lose some pieces here and there and and pick up new pieces and we finally got to where we are now and voices of America festival, which is this huge festival that they put on in Westchester Ohio. The owner of Lori's roadhouse is the one that puts that on, so I got that opportunity from Lori's roadhouse. So I owe I owe a lot to Lori's roadhouse. I truly do, and it's a blessing to get to play there like once every couple months, and this will be the third year running that we're playing Voices of America Festival. We're playing with Haley Zimmerman this year on Sunday. That's kind of how I've been able to get some of these bigger gigs.

Jay Franze: 26:56

So when you played the acoustic set, did you play on the side stage? I did yes.

Blake Tyler: 27:02

So I started from the bottom and now we're headlining Laurie's Road House and we played there last month and we had about 800 or 900 people there at our headlining show. So it's been awesome, man, I owe them a ton.

Jay Franze: 27:17

Well, that's just it. I think I don't know if people understand. We talk about Laurie's Roadhouse a lot because it's the big venue here in town. It's where the big acts that come through town play. But to me it's not a small venue. I mean it's not like your local honky-tonk. There's two stages but they're in the same room but there's still two stages. So I mean it's a nice venue to play at, but you start there as an acoustic. What was the first time you played as a full band? Was it as an opener?

Blake Tyler: 27:48

It was. I can't remember who we had opened for. It was another local band that we were opening for. I'm not sure I can't remember who it was off the top of my head, but we played the side stage and it was. It was a rough gig. It was definitely, uh, some growing pains in that first gig and what made it tough? Well, I mean, it was a three-hour set and getting for getting four other guys together in a short period of time, trying to put together a three-hour set was not easy and we ended up playing like I don't know 25 songs maybe and we had to repeat them, repeat some of them a couple times and you know which was embarrassing. But I mean it was good enough to where people could see our talent and that we were going to be a good band if we kept working at it. So it was just one of those things that you just had to figure it out. So you got to start somewhere and just keep getting better. So we did that.

Jay Franze: 28:51

I laugh because I remember a rock band I played in just out of high school. Between high school and the first few years of college I was playing in a rock band outside of Boston and we got a gig at this bar, this premier bar. It was kind of like a Laurie's Roadhouse. And we got a chance to headline, so we had our moments. But we got through the set and they started cheering and wanted us to play more and the bartender said oh yeah, you guys can go, continue on. We were out.

Jay Franze: 29:19

No more song, no more song it was either you want to hear them over again or Right. So I know that feeling. I know it well.

Blake Tyler: 29:28

Yeah, it was. It was tough, but it's part of the journey, man, it's you learn, you learn as you go. I mean, when you're getting thrown in the fire, you just gotta, you gotta roll with the punches and, and that's what I've been doing this whole time. You know I'm I don't know everything. I don't claim to know everything I'm. I'm learning every day about this business and it's it's definitely a cutthroat business, but I couldn't see myself doing anything else now. I absolutely love it.

Jay Franze: 29:54

So when you have an opportunity to open up for some of these other artists, like, say, brooks and Dunn, do you get a chance to meet them or are you just opening up for them?

Blake Tyler: 30:10

I mean, how's it? How's it working? Yeah, so it depends on the artist. I mean we've we've had the opportunity to open for some amazing artists. Bailey Zimmerman came to Lori's Roadhouse. We got to open on the main stage for him, which was incredible. I mean that kid is a sweetheart, become friends with his drummer, max, and I mean they're all just really nice guys.

Blake Tyler: 30:25

And we've opened for Chase Matthew, which was another one of those guys that's just super down to earth guy, you know, and he came, we were over on the side stage and he came over after a sound check to talk to us. I was like this is crazy, you know. But there's also situations where you're we opened for for hardy up in columbus a couple years ago and he's huge, you know, and and he stays on his bus and and kind of keeps to himself he's he's got a process down where he's either writing songs or doing stuff for social media, which completely understand, completely understand. He's just a busy guy. So it really just depends on the artist and what kind of time they have. But yeah, we have met some really good people and some of these guys that are as big as anybody in the business are some of the most down-to-earth people you'll meet.

Jay Franze: 31:16

Well, who's been the best experience you've had so far?

Blake Tyler: 31:20

That's a good question, man. Well, we've opened for Cooper Allen. That guy's just a super nice guy. Talked with him a couple times, uh, for extended periods of time, and I really like him as a person. I think he's. He's doing some really good things with his artistry and some of these songs he's been putting out of have resonated with a lot of people. So I would say him, bailey zimmerman and and chase matthew, the two that I named before. It's kind of a toss-up between those three.

Jay Franze: 31:52

Out of those I like Chase Matthew.

Blake Tyler: 31:55

Yeah, he's a great dude, and that guy puts on a heck of a show too.

Jay Franze: 31:58

Yeah, he's awesome. I mean great guy, great shows, great music, and he's still very young and new to this himself.

Blake Tyler: 32:08

Oh yeah, he's doing it right.

Jay Franze: 32:12

Yeah, I mean that's fantastic. So what has been the most embarrassing moment to you so far other than having to repeat a couple songs on stage?

Blake Tyler: 32:22

Oh man, uh well, my first voices of America experience. The first year I forgot the words to a song. Was it one of your own? No, it was not. It was a cover song we were singing and it's a song I've sang a thousand times. So I think it was just one of those nerves situations. But I Don't Want to Be by Gavin DeGraw. We played that one. We play it very driving and rock. It's one of my favorite songs that we play cover-wise. We play it very driving and rock. It's one of my favorite songs that we play cover-wise. The first couple lines I was just drawing a blank, could not think of them, so I went up to my guitar player and I was like what's the words, what's the words? And he finally got me back on track and we finished it out. Did anybody?

Jay Franze: 33:04

notice.

Blake Tyler: 33:06

I mean, I did you know. I mean, when you're an artist, you just pick yourself apart. Of course. So it was probably way worse to me than it was to anybody else, but that was definitely embarrassing, but I felt like we still put on a pretty good show. My guys killed it that night.

Jay Franze: 33:23

That's when you just take the mic, point it towards the crowd and let them sing along and get you through it.

Blake Tyler: 33:28

Yeah, I should have done that for sure. I wasn't thinking on my feet with that one. It's tough.

Jay Franze: 33:34

You mentioned the covers and I mentioned earlier, and you just mentioned it again, that you kind of give your own twist to these covers. Do you like giving songs your own twist?

Blake Tyler: 33:46

I do. Yeah, I listened to a lot of covers on YouTube growing up. I thought a lot of people put out really cool covers of different hits. I'll just give you an example of one. There was a band, it was like a duo. They were called the Civil Wars. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of them or not. They did a Billie Jean cover.

Blake Tyler: 34:11

I was like holy crap, you couldn't even tell that it was that song until they started singing the words, you know, and I was like this is genius. So I kind of, after I heard that song, I started hearing songs a little bit differently when I would hear them and trying to kind of put my own spin on them, just like they did. And we've really developed a rock sound as a group. My guys on the guitar, their tones are very much rock and I have a powerful voice and it's really just worked for us, you know. So we've been going with that and that's what Matt and Renee and Alex all loved about us. And we're trying to sing a lot more of our own songs now, obviously, being that I've put out about 10 songs now and we've got some more in the chamber. So we're really trying to focus more on inputting original material in there, but obviously the crowd wants to hear songs that they know too Sure.

Jay Franze: 35:07

You mentioned Billie Jean. There's been some amazing covers of that song. Yeah, Chris Cornell.

Blake Tyler: 35:13

Some of these guys have done a great job on that song yeah, I remember david cook covered it on american idol and that was incredible.

Jay Franze: 35:22

Yeah, I thought it was incredible. Everybody you know on the show and the audience thought it was incredible. And then everybody started picking apart saying, well, cornell did it, it like that. It's not new.

Blake Tyler: 35:31

It's like thank God give the guy a break. Yeah, I mean the guy crushed it. I mean it was incredible to be able to do that live.

Jay Franze: 35:39

He was awesome. I thought it was a great version of it. I heard that version before Chris Cornell's version. Yeah, there you go.

Blake Tyler: 35:47

Well, you probably didn't even hear about chris cornell's until people were picking his right.

Jay Franze: 35:51

I wouldn't I probably wouldn't have heard of it at all if it wasn't for david cook. So that's right. No, I mean it's, it's a great version and I I really love when bands do that and put a twist on cover tunes. I don't know if you ever heard any of the bands that cover cindy loppers time after time. I have not no, man, you gotta look into that, go down that rabbit hole. There's some amazing versions of time after time, you know rock versions metal versions.

Jay Franze: 36:16

I mean there's a lot of good versions of it. That's awesome. Speaking of that, shout out to Rocky Rose, previous guest on the show. She's on the road with Cyndi Lauper right now.

Blake Tyler: 36:25

No kidding, that's awesome.

Jay Franze: 36:26

Yeah, she's over in London right now. That's a bucket list right there. If you have not followed her, that's an Instagram page you need to follow Rocky Rose.

Blake Tyler: 36:36

Rocky Rose. That's a great name right off the bat. I mean goodness.

Jay Franze: 36:41

She is amazing. She went to school at Berkeley, graduated then she went to the London Conservatory and then she was in LA doing film scores and playing in all these rock bands and pop bands and punk bands and now she's on the road with cindy lopper. So I mean, this girl is amazingly talented. But her instagram, she shares it all on instagram, all the crazy stupid things she does out there. It's fun, it's a fun place to watch.

Blake Tyler: 37:07

That's one of the things too, man. It's like people want to see the authenticity of, of, uh, your personality and and what it's like to be a musician, you know. So that's kind of something that I'm I'm trying to to channel, as well as as trying to show a more personal side on social media, because it's yeah, it's not an easy thing to do, and so what are you doing?

Jay Franze: 37:28

what steps are you taking?

Blake Tyler: 37:30

yeah, I mean, I'm trying to do more stuff like this. I work with a videographer His name is David Nguyen, and we've really just been trying to figure out different ways to catch people's attention and I think, by doing some behind-the-scenes things showing people what we do for content, for social media, what it's like at shows in the green room and basically just going through our day on show days I feel like it's important for people to feel like they're a part of those kind of things and it really draws people in to feel like they're a bigger part of what you're doing.

Jay Franze: 38:06

Well, that's a good point. I mean, I think the behind the scenes of the shows like if you're in the green room at Laurie's Roadhouse just getting ready, that type of thing is very interesting. It's more interesting to me on social media than some of the other stuff. I don't want to see the canned posts all the time.

Blake Tyler: 38:21

Right, but did you record anything when you were in the studio with Matt, actually this past time I went down there last week actually and recorded some of the actual session and the song's not going to be out for a while, so I'm not going to release any of that just yet. But yeah, we have done that for a couple of these songs, just to kind of show that process and how it goes. So that'll be something I'm going to be putting out here soon as well.

Jay Franze: 38:52

Well, it's tough to record when you're in a studio. There's so many things going on like you mentioned, all the musicians, and there's gear everywhere. You don't even want to walk around and possibly trip over a cable. I mean, there's just so many things going on. But when you're with Matt, you're in his personal studio and it's more like you're with a group of friends and they understand what the expectation is on your part to be filming things and doing that type of stuff. So it's probably a good environment for you to be in to get that out there. Especially, he's also your manager. He knows what needs to be done.

Blake Tyler: 39:26

Yes, exactly, and I mean my videographer is very good about being what's the right word Unseen. I guess he's very much hidden when he's trying to make sure he gets this content, so he's not in your way and he's very, very good and he does a lot of like the live shows and he's been a great friend and a great colleague as far as what we've been able to do in this past year. He handles basically everything from the video standpoint. So all these videos of me singing in front of the camera to these new songs I'm putting out, he is responsible for filming, editing, punching the song, the actual song, into the video edit and he has been a huge help to everything I've been building.

Jay Franze: 40:20

That's very cool. Did he do the music videos as well? He did.

Blake Tyler: 40:24

Yeah, so that Blood Ain't Thick video. We sat down for about 45 minutes and we anchored the whole thing out and put it on paper of what we wanted and the vision that we had behind it, and we we made it happen. He's a.

Jay Franze: 40:39

He's extremely talented and has an extremely nice camera that he works with, and when I was working with Matt, social media was a thing, but it wasn't a big thing at the time, so it wasn't like we were posting things on Instagram 20 times a day, that type of thing. So I would be in there taking pictures though all the time all sorts of pictures and I'd be the one crawling under the cables and moving around things, and I understand the importance of having that stuff to document it, whether it be even if it's just going into an album somewhere or somebody's file. That stuff's important to have Documents.

Jay Franze: 41:13

Who played on your recording, what the setups were, what the microphone placement was, things that you wouldn't even think about. That might come up later down the road. So, if you're, you know well how did we get that guitar sound on that song? Well, you know, here's a picture I was taking of the guy and you can see the microphone. We had the guitar and for some reason, it was twisted around and pointed at the rock wall. I don't know what we were doing there, right, you know, and you get that type of thing going on.

Blake Tyler: 41:37

So, yeah, or you have a picture of somebody that you need to ask that question. You know you can give them a buzz because you remembered from that picture who was playing that part, you know. So yeah, it is very important to keep documentation of these things, you know, because I mean, it's a grueling business man. There's a lot of aspects of it. I don't think people realize how much actually goes into it, especially with the social media side of things, and I hate to say it but it's my least favorite part of everything and I feel like that's pretty common in this business. In this business, like nobody likes to do it, but I've realized how important it is over the past year and working directly with my videographer.

Jay Franze: 42:21

So how much time do you spend?

Blake Tyler: 42:23

on social. Oh man, I mean I, there was times that I was posting three times a day. That that's on every platform. So it's, it just depends. I mean, social media is like it. It comes in waves, like there's there's times where you can post one time a day and then there's other times where it wants you to post three times a day. It's just based on that algorithm and what what they want from you. So it's it's more along the lines of just reading what, what's working, what's not working, and and kind of making adjustments as you go. And that's really the hard part is is figuring out what works, because, uh, it definitely, it definitely doesn't work as much as it doesn't, if that makes sense.

Jay Franze: 43:08

Well, let's take it a step further, because you've got quite a following. We're talking, you know, 600,000 followers roughly. So I mean, you're talking about a large following per platform. You've got a large following, so that doesn't just happen. What are you doing to make it grow?

Blake Tyler: 43:27

Man. Truthfully, I think the most important thing is the song. I think that that is finding something that people can relate to and making sure that you show your emotion behind that song, and if you can do that, you are going to reach a large group of people, group of people. And the beauty in social media is that, especially with TikTok, every time you post it doesn't go to that same audience. So the algorithm is built to reach new people each time you post, and it doesn't always work out that way, but that is the beauty in it is that each post that you do post has the potential to reach millions of new followers, or millions of new viewers, I should say. But yeah, I do think that the key is finding something that people can relate to, making sure that they can feel your emotions in the song that you're trying to push to them.

Jay Franze: 44:27

Do you have any sort of strategy that goes along with it?

Blake Tyler: 44:31

Honestly, it's just consistency. That's one thing that I've noticed within the past year, and what me and my videographer have talked about is just being consistent posting every single day, and it's not fun, but it is what works. The more consistent that you get with it, the more the results will show and the algorithm will reward you for using their platform. I don't think there's any real method to going viral. You can look into hashtags and all that stuff, and there's certain hashtags that may help a certain video, but I think there's also people out there that don't even use hashtags, you know, and so, like I said, so, people out there that don't even use hashtags, you know, and so, like I said, I don't think there's really a method to it. I think it's just just working hard and and being consistent with it.

Jay Franze: 45:18

A lot of the things you've mentioned here are what you put out there in hopes that people find and share. Yes, so, and that's the best way to grow. But do you do any sort of outreach, like, do you go to people that you think could potentially be the type of person that enjoys your style of music and then start conversations or anything like that?

Blake Tyler: 45:40

I have not, and that may be something that we try to pursue at some point. I have not. It's mostly just been organic and being consistent and just trying to get my music out there. Um, do you push it at shows? Oh yeah, like, do you mention it from the stage? I do, yeah, um. So I mean, I'm sure that that that is that is a big help as well as making sure that that people know I'm on social media. I'm on all streaming platforms and every time I'll play a song that I I wrote or that I have out on streaming platforms, I'll make sure people know they can just stream that after the show well, we mentioned chase Matthews and that's the success he's got right now is by the stage and yeah everything else he's going on no doubt plus his photographer friend that falls him around.

Blake Tyler: 46:25

Yeah, she's huge yeah she's as big as he is. Yeah, I was gonna say she might be bigger than he is. That that girl is. She's doing it right, for sure, awesome.

Jay Franze: 46:34

Her work is amazing.

Blake Tyler: 46:36

She seems to have a great personality too. I mean, it seems like everybody can connect with her, yeah.

Jay Franze: 46:42

She's just what looks like a fun, lovable person have you had her on the show. No, you know what I thought about it. I was going to reach out to her and see if we can get her on here. Yeah, it might be cool. I think it would be fun to have her on here. That would be cool. People think, well, why don't you reach out to Chase? It's like, well, I want to talk to her.

Blake Tyler: 46:59

She knows what's really going on. Yeah, no kidding.

Jay Franze: 47:12

She gets all the behind-the-scenes stuff, watch the little videos she puts out where she finds somebody in the wild and then takes them, does a photo shoot, and then I always just wait till the end because I want to see the, the photo itself, and they're just amazing. Yeah, they are. She's. She's incredible, for sure. Yeah, I love the, not only the photo and but the, the eye that she has to take the photo and then the eye that she has to do the coloring of the photo and everything.

Blake Tyler: 47:30

It's just awesome all while she's being filmed, doing it too, you know it's like whatever she has no mercy.

Jay Franze: 47:39

I mean, she'll go up to anybody anywhere, she's not afraid of anything.

Blake Tyler: 47:43

The girl has got some gumption to her for sure, I'm telling you that's, that's, uh, I mean that she's.

Jay Franze: 47:48

All right, Kara, if you're listening, come on the show. There you go. We need to have you here. We have questions.

Blake Tyler: 47:55

Yep.

Jay Franze: 47:55

All right, buddy. Well, we do this thing here we call Unsung Heroes, where we take a moment to shine the light on somebody that's worked behind the scenes or somebody who may be supporting you along the way. Do you have anybody that you'd like to shine a little light on?

Blake Tyler: 48:07

Yeah, so my grandparents are a huge support system for me. My grandma was actually in the Country Music Hall of Fame. She was in the first all-female country music group in country music history. It's called Ann Jones and Her Western Sweethearts. I mean, they have a display in the Country Music Hall of Fame with all of their outfits and some of their old gear drum set, all that kind of stuff and she's been an inspiration for sure. She met my grandpa while she was touring, actually with the band and my grandpa was in the military, so they were hitting military bases and all that stuff back in the 60s and she left the band to be with my grandpa and, yeah, the rest is history. So but they they've been a huge support system for me. My grandpa was like my best friend and I couldn't be doing any of this without them, that's for sure that's awesome.

Jay Franze: 49:06

Do you go check out the exhibit every time you go to nashville?

Blake Tyler: 49:09

I wish I, I wish I did, but uh, there's not enough time in a day when I'm down there. But it was cool. The induction that they had into the Hall of Fame was actually my grandparents' 50th anniversary too, so we celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Country Music Hall of Fame as she was being inducted, so it was a really cool experience.

Jay Franze: 49:30

A big thanks to Blake for taking the time to share his stories with us and thank you for taking the time to hang with me here. I really do appreciate it. If you know anyone that would enjoy this episode, please be sure to share it. You can do that and find the links to everything mentioned over at jayfranze. com/episode120. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you next week.

Tony Scott: 49:55

Thanks for listening to The Jay Franze Show. Make sure you visit us at jayfranze. com. Follow, connect and say hello.