As you know, on their first ever tour as a band, Jon and Sean didn't just hit the road as a duo... they brought a long some very talented musicians, including bass player Tyler Chester. Tyler really brought a great dynamic to the stage and the band, so I thought it'd be really interesting to interview him. Tyler graciously agreed to chat with LOBH, so read on for Tyler's thoughts on Fiction Family, touring, broken vans, playing bass and music!
Land of Broken Hearts (LOBH): Hey Tyler, thanks for doing this interview with us! To start, I'd like to ask you some questions about touring/working with Fiction Family, then go into some questions about your own music/career. Sound good?
Tyler Chester: Yeah, sounds great.
LOBH: I guess a good place to start would be the beginning! How did you get connected with Jon/Fiction Family?
Tyler: Well, I've done a bunch of stuff with Aaron Redfield, who plays drums with Jon, and Fiction Family. We played with some local Southern Cali artists, and we did some shows together with a soul singer named Nikka Costa.
So, Fiction Family was talking about doing a tour, and they needed a bass player- so Fiction Family was talking about doing a tour, and they needed a bass player - so Aaron thought of me. I didn't actually meet Jon or Sean until 3 days before we flew out to Detroit. We met at Sean's house in Hollywood on a Friday, rehearsed for a few hours in his living room, then met up again in Ann Arbor, Michigan Monday to rehearse for the show on Tuesday.
LOBH: Really? Wow, I would have thought you guys had known each other for longer than that. What was that first meeting like? Did everyone connect right away?
Tyler: It was great. Aaron and I have played together a bunch, so the drums and bass were pretty together from the beginning, but what really impressed me about Jon and Sean was how easygoing they were about their songs. No pressure at all- we'd play through a song or two, and if it seemed like it could use some piano or organ, I'd switch over and do that.
Everyone came into the whole Fiction Fam Tour just hoping to have a good time and make some good music, so it was more relaxed almost anything I've ever done before.
And for two guys who have had so much success in music, it was amazing that they could be so open to new ideas, etc.
LOBH: I think that came through in the shows. I remember thinking that it felt like we were all just a big family.
Tyler: Totally - and often, we wouldn't write up the set list until a few minutes before the show, and it would almost always include 1 or 2 songs that we hadn't even rehearsed, let alone played before. We had to rely on each other musically, and I suppose that probably came across onstage. I guess that might sound lazy- we weren't being lazy, but we did all feel comfortable enough to experiment and try new things.
LOBH: That leads in perfectly to my next question… what was your favorite Fiction Family song to play?
Tyler: My favorite songs to play? Well - I loved playing Not Sure - such a delicate song, and War In My Blood was another great one. Later on in the tour (after the Indy show you saw) we started doing a 3 part-vocal cover of Radiohead's Idioteque, and that was awesome.
LOBH: I watched the videos of that on YouTube! Amazing! I loved how you all gathered around the mic and how you got to sing too.
Tyler: Honestly, there weren't any week points in the show from my perspective. Versus a Switchfoot show, which is rocking and aggressive and huge, most of the Fiction Family stuff was pretty delicate and quiet. Including that Radiohead cover- we sang it we sang it around one mic because it was so much easier to sing together on key when we could hear each other directly- no monitors, just like we'd rehearse it in the dressing room. I love seeing Switchfoot live, but Fiction Family came from such a different place - I think it would be interesting for fans to see Jon in particular in both extremes.
LOBH: I think it introduced a lot of people to a different side of Jon's musical personality for sure. There was a great dynamic between you guys on stage. What was it like behind-the-scenes? Any good stories to share? (the crazier the better!)
Tyler: Ha- well, we had this amazing Sprinter Van... broke down every single day. And this was during the coldest winter in the midwest in ten years or something. After the Chicago show, at the Abbey Pub, the van of course wouldn't start. It was -15 (-40 with windchill), and we were sort of stranded there until about 2 in the morning, trying to get the van to start. It made it as far as Boston, then it became too much of a liability, and we got another van.
One of my favorite moments of the whole tour was when we were driving through Kentucky en route from Nashville to Canton, Ohio. There had just been an ice storm, and all of the trees were covered in ice, so they looked like lit up Christmas trees in the sunlight. We pulled over on the side of the highway (which might have been a bit dangerous), and took pictures. It was quite a beautiful moment. The great thing about being in a van (versus a bus, which is much more luxurious) is that you are all together all the time, so you really get to know one another, and share life together. We'd spend drives listening to music, having Wurdle tournaments, talking about life - those were the best moments, and the type of experiences that don't happen the same way in the comfort of a bus with two lounges and your own bunk (not that bus tours aren't great).
LOBH: Exactly, but there is something about everyone being crammed into a van that just brings people together... you kind of have no choice in the matter!
Tyler: Yeah- especially the broken sprinter with a broken heater and windows that didn't seal. Then you need each other for warmth, for survival!
LOBH: The heater didn't work either?? I didn't know that! And we were having CRAZY cold weather here too.
Tyler: Well, it kinda worked - but if you put your feet on the ground, they'd get really cold. It was kinda funny - the whole van wearing as many layers of clothes as possible, sitting cross-legged 3 to a bench. It was awesome! I mean, it wouldn't have been awesome for much longer then we had to do it though.
LOBH: Body heat! Best way to go
Tyler: Ha, yeah
LOBH: So are there any particular Fiction Family shows/concerts that stand out to you? Be it because of the crowd, the venue, the way the performance went... etc
Tyler: It was amazing how good all of the shows went, and because we were a bit under-rehearsed, and excited to try out new songs/new arrangements, etc., every show had it's own thing. Indy was definitely cool - that was the 2nd show with Sara Watkins (who is awesome), and it was our biggest turnout up to that point of the tour. I really enjoyed the radio show we did in West Virginia - saw some old High School friends in Boston. Charlottesville was at this great little book store. Atlanta was crazy and crowded. Nashville was pretty intense. The last 9 or 10 shows were at or near capacity - shows to packed houses are always special.
Maybe my favorite show was the Los Angeles one at Largo - lots of friends and family there, and Benmont Tench played piano on a few songs (he's the piano player from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - and a personal musical hero of mine). Oh - Nashville- You'll appreciate this. There were a lot of industry people there, as there usually are at LA/Nashville/NY shows. In those conditions, the atmosphere can get stuffy, and it can be hard to connect with the crowd - the true fans.
So at the Nashville show, Jon (whose really, really good with crowds, and breaking down the barrier between the stage and the seats), Jon invited all the kids in the front to come sit onstage. So about 30 kids sat in a semi circle around all the instruments and amps. Total 60's/woodstock vibe. I thought that was pretty brilliant.
LOBH: Oh yeah! A few of my friends went to that show and the mentioned that to me. I just LOVE that you guys did that. It just completely strips away that awkward band/fan barricade.
Tyler: Yeah, that was really fun. We did that at quite a few shows after that.
LOBH: In an interview, Sean mentioned that they wanted you to play on the next Fiction Family record. Are you going to becoming an official member of Fiction Family?
Tyler: Well, I don't know what official would mean exactly, but I do think I'll be involved with whatever happens in the future. There talk of us playing Bonnarroo festival in June, and then doing a week of shows before or after that. Jon's quite busy with the new Switchfoot album, and Sean has a band called WPA that he's starting up, so it might be a little while before we find time to record - but I think we'll get to it eventually. I'm sure it would be awesome - I felt quite proud of how the songs started to sound with Aaron and I playing them.
LOBH: I have to agree. I like the live version of "Throw It Away" better than the one on the album. It was so dynamic
Tyler: Oh yeah - some of the songs really took on a new personality with a full band.
LOBH: And I'm a big fan of Aaron's drumming, so I'd be all for you guys joining the band officially.
Tyler: Ha - well, if we can be there, we'll be there. Both Aaron and I had a great time on that tour.
LOBH: We'll hold you to that. HA! So when did you start playing bass and what made you pick it up?
Tyler: I started playing piano when I was 8 or so, and picked up bass when I was... 12 maybe? Took guitar around that time too. It came pretty naturally to me, so I stuck with it.
LOBH: So how many different instruments can you play?
Tyler: Pretty much just bass, piano, and guitar. I played upright bass in college, but I haven't touched that in a while. I love playing drums too, but I'm not that great.
LOBH: Wow. Multi-talented. I THINK I can play the triangle.
Tyler: Triangle is an instrument too!
LOBH: Exactly! Thank you. I feel better about musical skills now. So do you play your own music/have any plans for your own career?
Tyler: I've been doing a lot more recording/producing over the last year or so. Hopefully the next few years of my life will consist of making records and going on cool tours - I'd be quite happy if that were the case, at least!
LOBH: It sounds great! Can you fill us in on some of your current projects?
Tyler: I've been recording an album with my roommate, a SoCal guy named Ryan Baxley, which is going to be quite awesome if anybody ever hears it. Actually - everybody I record with is local - so maybe no names you'd recognize, at this point at least. But someday! I'm doing a tour in April with Phil Wickham and Charlie Hall (playing bass with Phil), which will be 3 weeks or so. That should be fun. Bus this time- no broken down sprinters!
LOBH: Or broken heaters! Luxury!
Tyler: Ha - yes.
LOBH: Who is your biggest musical influence?
Tyler: Hmm - I'd have to say some mixture of 60's/70's rock and soul. Love that old Motown and Stax stuff- Beatles, Stones, Dylan. I go through phases in life where I only listen to records that came out before I was born - not on purpose - there's just something about older music that resonates with me more then newer stuff. There were 6 months of my life (a few years ago) where I only listened to Dylan. Some people can't listen to Dylan for 6 minutes!
LOBH: When I was a kid, my dad would play Dylan all the time and my siblings and I would BEG him to turn it off. Ah so young and foolish back then!
Tyler: Haha - it's an acquired taste. We covered a few Dylan songs on the tour.
LOBH: The Man In Me - LOVED your cover of that. Okay, I had some fans submit questions for you, and here is one from Sare: "What hobbies do you have besides playing bass?"
Tyler: Hobbies besides bass? Well, first of all... bass isn't a hobby! It's an addiction! But other then that - I'm quite a voracious reader. Sean and I were talking about this on the tour - the older we get, the more time we spend playing music. When I'm not playing music, I'm playing music, know what I mean? And reading books And reading books about music.
LOBH: Oh yeah. Here is another one: "What are your three favorite albums?"
Tyler: Three favorite!? Tough question... I'd have to say Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones, Donny Hathaway Live at the Troubador, and Dylan's Blonde on Blonde.
But I could go on forever about favorite records. That's my other 'hobby', buying records.
LOBH: Records as in CDs or as in vinyl?
Tyler: Vinyl, of course! It sounds better, I promise.
LOBH: Maybe it's time to invest in a player. I have some vinyl but nothing to play it on. Cart before the horse type thing.
Tyler: In 5 years, they won't sell CD's anymore, but I think there will always be vinyl. Just a guess. Vinyl lasts much longer then CDs.
LOBH: It's all going digital.. so to wrap it up, we have three questions that we ask to everyone we interview: 1) What's the best advice you've ever been given?
Tyler: My favorite piece of advice/inspirational phrase might be when Winston Churchill said 'Never Give Up. Never Give Up. Never Give Up.' I've said that to myself a few times. And my friend Kim Hutchcroft has some awesome saying about practicing your instrument, but I can't remember it at the moment.
LOBH: 2) One song you wish you had written and why.
Tyler: Every Grain of Sand by Bob Dylan. It's one of those songs that's about all of the big stuff in life, but written so simply and beautifully. If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen would be a close second, for the same reason. We talked about doing a FF cover of that one.
LOBH: Oh man, that would have been awesome! Any reason that never came about?
Tyler: Just didn't have time to work it up. The original Leonard Cohen version is, well, it's pretty terrible. So 80's, but not even good 80's. Next time around we might try it.
LOBH: I hope we get to hear it! Lastly, what's one question you've never been asked and the answer?
Tyler: Um… one question I’ve never been asked? This one – and I guess I don’t know the answer!
LOBH: HA! Only one other person has given that answer. So thank you
Tyler: No problem!
LOBH: Oh and to end on a completely random note... here is another question that was submitted by our friend Claire: What hair color do they put on bald people's drivers licenses?
Tyler: I'd assume the color of their eyebrows or something, but who knows?
LOBH: Good answer.
Tyler: Your new website looks really nice, by the way.
LOBH: Hey thanks! It was a heck of a lot of work to get it over there, but worth it. Honored that you check it out. How'd you find out about it by the way?
Tyler: Yeah, Andy told me about it on the tour. Said your site was usually more up to date then the Switchfoot site! And he was right. We were looking to see if there were any pictures from one of the nights. Found a couple, I think.
LOBH: Thanks, we try! Well I think that about does it. Tyler, thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it and really enjoyed this interview
Tyler: Thanks Jeanna- my pleasure. See you next time around!
LOBH: Definitely! Stay classy!
Tyler: Ha - you too!
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