Tyler Ramsey Interview: SXSW 2010

When Asheville native singer-songwriter and guitar whiz Tyler Ramsey isn't composing and playing his own music, he moonlights on tour with indie rockers Band of Horses. The artist put out his first record in 2004 and joined the band not much later, acting as both opening act and second guest guitarist. Spinner spoke with Ramsey about his various inspirations, being recognized at an airport in Japan and bringing his sometimes melancholy sound to SXSW for the third time.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I play guitar-- I don't know, there is a bit of melancholy in the songs – I don't know if I would call it indie per se, it's really just guitar and lyrics.

How did the band form? How did you start out?

I don't necessarily have my own band, I mostly do solo shows, it is me and the guitar. But I do have friends that I play with so when I get a tour together I usually take them with me. I'm from North Carolina and I lived in the mountains so I was inspired by a lot of things and I've just been playing forever.

I put my first solo record out in 2004, and that's right around the time when I started touring with Band of Horses, it was right when I finished up my studio record – we met and pretty quickly it all happened. I got asked to play guitar. So I was doing both – opening the shows, and then playing with the band.

What are your musical influences?

I've always admired like singer style guitar players, various different kinds, like old country blues stuff like Mississippi John Hurt and Mance Lipscomb, he was a Texas guy. There were those guys and there were a lot of people that turned it into more of a composition thing and made the style into more a broad Americana stroke of guitar playing and I would consider those people like John Fahey and Leo Kottke. And then there are a lot of new people carrying on that tradition but making it instrumental– so I'm into all that stuff.

What's in your festival survival kit?

This will be my third time going, the first time I played solo, and then the second time I played with my friend Seth Kaufman. I tend to avoid the mayhem, its so crazy just getting to your show and trying to get where you are supposed to play, so it eats up your day anyway. Last time I played and didn't really go out that much, so I guess I'd say my survival kit would involve being at the hotel at some point– to recuperate.

What's your biggest vice?

I guess I'd say sleep. I'm not painting myself out to be the most exciting guy right now.

Who was your first celeb crush?

My brother used to have a Farrah Fawcett t-shirt and I thought she was pretty.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Hmm nothing really that I feel guilty about. I tend to go all over the place, I couldn't really pin one down that I should be guilty about. I do spend a lot of time listening to public radio, classic rock. But it's not so much a guilty pleasure.

Beatles or Stones?

I would say both. I always hear that argument, like oh, which do you prefer, but they are just so different and I can't really make that comparison. They are so different in their approach, so I say both.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

I guess in Japan – having a bunch of people come up to us in the airport. We played there last year, it was crazy having that weird kind of like fan moment. It was pretty wild. It wasn't a mob scene or anything but it was adorable.

Who are you excited to see play at South by Southwest this year?

I haven't really checked out who all is going to be there, I tend to not pay attention to stuff, I am excited, I've seen Spoon down there before and they are Austin natives and they are a great live band. I know when I get there I'll look at a calendar I'll want to run around. And I'm really excited about the guitar stores in Austin, they are always really cool.


Summar Ghias is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.