Tyler Rich Talks Tours and Tattoos With GotCountryOnline

New comer Tyler Rich has created quite a buzz on social medial lately, and it’s easy to see why! From performing with Sam Hunt and Dan + Shay, to his entertaining snapchats.. GotCountryOnline was eager to get to know this talented, multi faceted singer/songwriter/musician/actor a little bit better! And it’s safe to say, if you don’t already know of him… you will soon!

GCO: How did you get started in music/country music?



TR: I really didn’t have much choice haha music runs in my family on my dad’s side. Every year we have this Christmas cocktail party, the Saturday before Christmas. My Uncle and all his friends always bring the guitars and the party ends with us singing hours worth of music. From Garth, to George, to the Beatles, Tom Petty, CCR etc. When I was about 13 I knew I needed to be apart of the group and not just a party goer singing along. I got a guitar that Christmas and have been playing ever since.

As far as the industry: Right out of high school I jumped into a pop/rock band, we got picked up by Rise/Victory records when I was 18 or 19 and we toured for a few years. We also had an internationally released debut album, and a bit of success. After that band split, I made my way into another group with some closer friends and we also got picked up by a label and toured for quite a while until eventually splitting as well. Followin’ that I decided to go back to school and start my career as a solo artist. Once I graduated from Sacramento State, I moved back down to LA to pursue music again full time.

I had been writing country music for years, but being a singer from California it was hard to have a producer agree with me that it was the route I should take, so I stuck more in the acoustic/adult contemporary genre. I was finally given the opportunity to pursue my country career when I met Mike Mac and Jordan Baum out of Los Angeles (Giant Lion/1916 mgmt) last year. They fell in love with my songs and ideas and we immediately started working on my album. Now that the writing on our end is done, I am moving back out to Nashville to do a lot more co-writes in order to get the best songs for my first album, and hopefully get some cuts with some other successful artists.

GCO: As a songwriter what is one song that you wish you had written?

TR: Well I mean… of all time? 2 songs that immediately come to mind are John Lennon “Imagine” or Michael Jackson “Man in the Mirror”.
More currently I would have a few. Dierks Bentley “Leavin’ Left to Do”, Brantley Gilbert “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”, those are two songs that have really hit home to me recently; different aspects of my life that just make perfect sense on paper and in melody, they leave me thinking “why the HELL didn’t I write those?”

GCO: Who are the first 5 stations on your Pandora?

TR: Well, I think the last time I used Pandora is when I also used an AOL email, so I can’t say my answer would be too relevant haha (*I forgot to mention he is also apparently a comedian, because I in fact still use AOL and love it!) But do the 5 albums I likely play the most on my phone right now count?
1) Brett Eldredge “Bring You Back”
2) Chris Young “A.M.”
3) Beartooth “Disgusting” (Best Gym playlist ever.)
4) Andy Grammer “Magazines Or Novels”
5) Alabama Shakes “Boys & Girls“

GCO: What is something on your personal and professional bucket lists?

TR: Your questions are loaded.. actually making me think.. ok haha hmm… professional: To play Madison Square Garden and the Opry, to have a co-write with Garth Brooks and Keith Urban, to be on the Bobby Bones Show, and hell.. I want to win a Grammy! Personal.. I want to see every continent. Preferably many countries within each, and yes even Antarctica… why not right?

GCO: If you could do a CMT Crossroads with any artist who would it be?

TR: Hmmm… either John Mayer or Justin Timberlake!

GCO: What is the best piece advice you’ve been given?

TR: It wasn’t advice, it was criticism, and it inspired me more than ever. When an old friend of mine from High School had just gotten back from College in New York, he asked what I had been doing, I said “touring, writing, and getting to play music while seeing the country!” He criticized me saying he just got his college degree and that I needed to get my priorities in line and think about my future. NOTHING, has ever inspired me more to make music my career. And, as of today I haven’t had to work a day job in almost two years.

GCO: What is one thing you are most excited about in the next week? Month? Year?

TR: Well, April is going to be an insanely busy month for me, from fun to work. I get to see all my friends from NY, LA, SF, and Germany the 2nd week, we all get together and camp for 4 days at Coachella music festival in the desert of California. It’s an annual thing, and I can’t wait! Shortly after that I get to go to Vegas and play a show with Sam Hunt, Dan + Shay, and Canaan Smith (April 22nd), then head back to the same festival grounds for Stagecoach Country Festival. I have a day off and then 2 shows in the bay area of CA, and the next night a show with Cole Swindell in Sacramento (April 30th.) Then the next morning I am grabbing my best friend and my dog, driving to LA, packing up my haul trailer, jumping in the truck and driving across the country moving back to Nashville! My little sister is visiting me in LA as well, So yeah.. Hoping to sleep at one point.

GCO: How many tattoos do you have? Which one means the most to you, and Why?

TR: I actually have an entire 3/4 sleeve on my left arm, it’s about 8 tattoos tied together, one on my right bicep, and one stretching across my shoulder blades. I have two on my chest, and well and an extremely faded tattoo inside my bottom lip ha! All of my tattoos have a specific meaning to me; I’d have to say either my mom’s name “Monique” on my shoulder or my piece on my forearm is my favorite: it’s a lighthouse in the middle of a thunderstorm, standing tall, completely perfect within the storm and it says “Unbreakable.” I got that in the middle of an early 20’s “quarter life crisis” I guess you could say. My mom helped me through it all, and her favorite thing is lighthouses, so I pieced the idea together from that.

GCO: Do you have a personal motto?

TR: I wrote a song in my early twenties called “Live Forever in a Day” and ever since then I have tried to live with that mentality. Much like the story  I mentioned above about an old friend from high school giving me “advice” after college. I believe too many people focus all of their energy on the safe route, preparing for tomorrow, and the next ten years, rather than chasing their passion and doing what will make them happiest in the long run. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so I do whatever I can to make each day worth it! The best way that I can.

GCO: What can we expect next from you?

TR: An album this year, some tours, likely too many selfies on Instagram, and way too many car karaoke sessions on snapchat

Quick Fire Picks: Read, Set,
Pepsi or Coke: Coke!
Whiskey or Beer: Whiskey!
Boxers or Briefs: Boxer Briefs!
Cats or Dogs: Dogs!
Coffee or Tea: Coffee!
Pizza or Wings: Pizza!
Blondes or Brunettes: Brunettes!
George Strait or Garth Brooks: Garth!
Football Saturdays or Football Sundays: Sundays!
Cowboy boots or Chuck Taylors: Boots!

Catch Tyler Rich play at the new Tin Roof in Orlando, FL March 31, 2015! Or stay up to date with Tyler Rich for other upcoming shows:

IG: @TylerRich
Twitter: @TylerRichMusic
And watch his promo video for his single “Radio” HERE.

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