Tyler Halverson

Full episode transcript, auto-generated from the audio and lightly formatted (verbatim, not edited).

Shang's [music] barely. He's only like this big. It's not like he's going to do too much damage. Whatever he's doing.

No, but they can be little turds. They can, but he's had to be like uh like the first day I got him, he was on the merch table just chilling there with me. So, he's been like he loves a crowd. Yeah.

He's kind of a little attention [expletive] Yeah. Yeah. But he's got to be. He's a show dog.

He's a show dog. Yeah, dude. Blue ribbon wiener. That's right.

That's [laughter] right. Mini wiener. That's so when uh out in Nashville like when did when did you uh Did you end up getting a pub deal out there? Yeah, that's kind of why I moved back from Turkey was to come back and ride a little more.

Oh, yep. So, I got a pub deal from there and then just been riding uh with Concord the last couple years. Oh, you've been on them ever since. Yep.

Yep. Yeah. Like what do you Yeah. It's an interesting like I don't know.

You go you have like your little crew of people that you write with and then uh trying to also work within like a company and who they think would pair nice with you and that. I don't know. It's interesting just like I kept a pretty small circle and then you're trying to grow it a little bit as you're going. But there's still something about the OG crew and the circle you came in with.

Were you always focusing on doing an artist thing? So, is that mostly what you were writing for? I think so. Um, yeah, I think so.

Like, like I said, kind of selfish, kind of a song hog in a writing room. So, it's always been that kind of way. And uh I think too like we'll write songs and we'll pitch to people, but like the number one thing my publisher always hears back from like a pitch meeting is that like people can't follow my phrasing necessarily. Like it's not like right on me, you know what I mean?

Like so it's just a little different from that world. Probably why I like it. Maybe like 100%. But I think also too it's like to be like I still love songwriting more than anything.

like coming out of a writing room with a badass demo and popping it in your on your car on your way home like beats any crowd, stage, anything ever. Like I love that's my favorite high is that. Um but I think it's going to take like me getting one song to really get going and then hopefully we can pitch some more and make some mailbox money. Yeah.

Yeah. That's what I like. I like the songwriting more than anything more than uh the studio. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean I mean I love the studio just putting everything together and just like taking this voice memo from your phone and coming out with a full production track and yeah that's always fun too and like the guys that I've been working with uh Gary Stanton from Musky Bloodline and Ryan Newman's one of their producers. I just feel like we got a good thing going there with uh I don't know just the collaboration on it's nice. I gotta say that new freaking I don't for losing dude. Yeah, I freaking love that song.

That was that's one of my favorites. Yeah, that thing's got a It's got a little bit of a turn from uh what we've been putting at I feel like but also it stays I think lyrically it stays in the right lane but it's a little harder hitting I feel like on the guitars. I mean yeah I mean there's those like cool little that baritone guitar is just going crazy in it. No, but yeah, it fits your thing totally.

Yeah, I think I think it's not. I mean, that's the thing that's funny about like this record like you have something like that's a little harder hitting and then we got one like called Cowboy Babies that's just uh it's just two acoustic guitars and a vocal. Like I mean it's just sonically it's a little all over the place. I know you've always done such I've been always been so envious of it.

You've always done such a freaking good job of like keeping stuff. You got to strip it back a little bit every now and then. You do such a good job of it. Well, thank you.

It's hard to do though. Yeah, I think I don't know. It is and it isn't, I guess. Like I think you can kind of tell like what serves a song.

Like it doesn't always have to be dressed up, you know? I mean, [expletive] put the voice memo on the record. Who cares? Like if that's the delivery and it gets the message across, but that type of like where did you get that kind of confidence?

Cuz like when you first start recording and stuff, people tell you a lot of things like this is the way it should be. This is the way we do it. This is the way it's supposed to sound. And it's hard when you don't know.

It's hard to tell people like no, I don't. I mean, maybe that's part of it, too. Like, musically, I am not I don't really know a whole lot on the music side of stuff. Like, I only know so many chords and so many melodies and what, you know, but like the whole laying down the production.

I think uh you can tell on your own face and just using your own ears like if this is if this feels like you're pushing too far or if this is the wrong way or the right way. Like, I think the whole listening back like there's songs like um we did uh one of what the album's called In Defensive Drinking. We had recorded it one way and then I had sat on it for a while and then we went back in and recut it a whole different way. Like I think like there's something too about like trying giving in to like somebody's idea, you know, cuz I'm not saying I'm right all the time.

Um so it's nice to just live with something for a second, I guess. Yeah. And it's no harm, no foul to go in and recut something. Well, when did you learn to do that kind of to live with it?

Yeah. will go back. I think that's like that's probably a lesson you learned from writing and co-writing with people all the time. Just the collab the constant collaboration is like you know your idea might win that day but somebody else's might too.

So you got to trust that for a second and whether it's you're writing the song or producing the song whatever it is you can go back and do it again. There ain't no uh expiration date on that thing. Do you think you always had like a knack for uh or I guess a willingness to and an openness to not like something that you did? Maybe.

Maybe. I mean, I think I don't know. It's like uh cuz that seems like the important part of it. Like some like I've noticed some people if they make something or create something they immediately like it's great.

Just because just because you did it doesn't make it great, you know? No. It could be trash. Yeah.

Like being able to sit there and objectively listen back to something that you made or whatever it is and just be like, "Oh, yeah, that's stupid." Well, I think you have to keep an open mind with the sense that people are trying to make it better if they're if there's I mean, obviously someone could just talk [expletive] and that's criticism, but there is constructive criticism and sitting with that and knowing that somebody else also wants his product to be better than it is. So, why not listen? If you're if you're not listening, you're pretty ignorant.

I feel like you got to have a little uh open mind on some of the stuff. I mean, also obviously like, you know, guard your heart and that's your art and all this stuff, but somebody else wants it to be better. Yeah. So, just listen.

Well, so where do you think you developed that? Not always being right, maybe. I don't know. Or just knowing that you need some help with something.

I don't know. I don't know where that came from, I guess. Cuz even I mean small town USA, especially like in like an A type community. Yeah.

Uh I don't find oftentimes well especially like creativity and art is not wouldn't say it's not like discouraged but um you know obviously if you're in a small town it's like you stand out like a sore thumb if you're doing anything different so it's easier in some ways to just kind of blend in. Totally. Uh and sometimes if you're doing something a little bit different like going out on a limb people can become a little bit more judgmental about it. Oh yeah.

So it's like and so some of those same people if you were to tell them like hey you're doing that wrong they get like at least that's been my experience. Yeah. I think everyone so I'm always curious when people like develop that like skill of being able to like objectively look at something they made. Yeah.

I don't like I don't like it. Yeah. Yeah. Let's do it different.

Let's try it again. I think that's the best thing too. Like there was a guy that I wrote songs with a little bit um growing up that he had lived in Nashville for a number of years. him and his wife moved back when they started having kids.

But that's what he was always saying. He was always talking about like, you know, not every song is going to be the hit. And uh all you can do is just write another one. That's I mean, it's pretty simple, you know, like if somebody else wrote something and uh you want something like that, well, go write something like that then.

You know, it's just constantly create. This isn't your like last body of work or the last thing you'll ever do. Just make another one. Yeah.

So that actually kind of goes back to like what we were talking about initially where if you just it's almost don't take it too serious. Yeah. No. Hell no.

You could write another one. Exactly. Exactly. It's just music.

It's just like the amount of times that you can take like a chorus from this and stick it with this other song. Oh, I mean the amount of times that's happened. Yeah. You probably do.

Yeah. You just get humbled over time. I think so. Well, I mean, there's plenty of times, too, where like if I'll have an idea in a room and we bring that in and I didn't like how it come out, I'm not afraid to take my line that I brought in or my hook and write it again.

Yeah. Like that is mine. Yeah. I'll use it how I'd like to.

It doesn't have to be stuck with the song that I'm never going to sing or no one's ever going to hear. And there's plenty of those, too. I think that's probably what it is, too. Knowing that there's a whole lot of uh [expletive] in my notes and Dropbox that probably won't ever see the light of day, but it's making what is going to come out better.

Oh, it's almost like preparation. Oh, yeah. It's just the repetition. Just I mean working that muscle and keeping your mind busy.

It's a lot of that. Yeah. So, is your is your note section in your phone just Oh, it's chaotic as hell. Yeah.

Oh, do you do you actually prefer it to stay chaotic? Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. purposefully or does that just happen?

I think a little bit of both. Yeah, just let it all be out there. You'll scroll through it again and find it when you need it. Yeah.

What about recording ideas? Do you do you try to trust if it's good enough, you'll remember it? I think so. I mean, yeah, but there'll be times where we're driving down the road and I'm sitting there whistling into my phone for a voice memo on a melody that I'm got in my head, you know, and then stick that next to some words and a note and yeah, it's just tons of stuff like that.

Like just always thinking. That's also why I love running so damn much. I feel like I do a lot of uh Oh, I didn't know you were a big runner. No, no, no, not running.

Not physically. Unless the cops are chasing, I'm I'm be walking my ass. I did not know that. Yeah.

No. Hell no. [laughter] These lungs don't like running. I'm going to tell everybody though.

Big runner, dude. Dude, Tyler freaking [laughter] God. He wears me out, man. All he wants to do is run.

Marathon, man. [laughter] He's smoking while he's running. Yeah, dude. Hell yeah.

Yeah. Like old school army [expletive] right there. Yeah. [laughter] 40minute mile and five cigarettes.

They smoke in the army. I don't know. Lucky strikes or something hard. Oh, they were.

Yeah, [laughter] I think they were. Right. Wasn't that big like Marine Corps thing? I feel like I learned that from Mad Men.

Shout out Donald Draper. I've never watched it. Are you kidding? Isn't that the one where they're like a marketing Yeah, they're like the uh Yeah, they're the marketing firm like in Manhattan.

Like all Yeah. Never watched it, dude. It's awesome. Really?

It's terrible, but it's great. Yeah. He's Aren't they like He's like a sociopath or something, right? Yeah, absolutely.

He is. But a creative genius. It's give and take. Oh.

Have you Have you been [laughter] Have you been around any like sociopathic types in the music thing? [expletive] I don't know. I don't know. Or are Hope they don't say that about me.

Yeah. [laughter] I was like, I don't know. When you go on a run, you freaking I'll tell you that. I guess.

Yeah, dude. Always running. Guy just doesn't stop. [laughter] Do you do you skateboard?

I did growing up. You did? Yeah. I liked that [expletive] I don't know why.

I feel like we're always like I don't know busting into like the football field and skating the awayside bleachers trying to see who can ollie the six stair or something, you know, something stupid. What was the biggest thing you did? Oh, dude. The I don't know.

The biggest and the worst was probably like busting my tailbone one time. You broke it? Yeah. I did like I was like doing like a heel flip riding out and the board just went straight up just right up my ass credit card of myself.

Yeah, that was the worst. just felt like my [expletive] was bleeding for like two weeks. And like you're sitting on this little doughnut hole like that. Oh dude.

Going to school sitting on your little donut like Yeah. Was that off a stair? Like a [laughter] I think so. Oh yeah.

It was great. Oh no. Trying to tell all the little girls, you know, that like, yeah, I crashed my skateboard and hopefully they didn't ask too many questions. Well, how old were you?

I was probably like 12 or 13. I was in middle school. Yeah. We would have gotten a But you're younger than me.

So that's actually interesting that you still were because when I was growing up, dude, extreme sports was like Oh, yeah. the thing. Yeah, that was it. Yeah.

Did you race motocross at all? No. I wrecked a dirt bike pretty good though. Yeah.

Yeah. My buddy had this like nice like this old like 250 two-stroke. The thing you just hit that gas and it was going and my dumb ass it was like up to my chin and I was probably like a whole 85 90 lbs at the time and decided that I was going to ride that and was riding around good. And then I go to lay it down and the clutch like slipped out of my hand and it takes me across the road like doing a Superman holding on to this thing and I smack a car.

You just whiskey throttled it. Oh yeah, dude. I like smack a car. Come down on the tailpipe like my knees busted open.

Got a big old bubble burn on my arm. Like it was great. Called my mom from the emergency room. Oh, did your arm hit the exhaust?

Oh yeah. Yeah, [laughter] dude. You got to I was like, "Hey, can you stop by the pharmacy and uh get my prescription? Uh, I'm kind of at the hospital right now.

Uh, [laughter] yeah. My poor mother. Yeah, dude. Yeah, this game it I think it's going to all come back.

Maybe. That's what I'm hoping for. I hope so. We need like a They disappeared.

Yeah. I don't know why. I heard the X Games went bankrupt. Did it really?

Yeah. Like they got sold or something. Makes sense. And that was like the biggest thing growing up.

It was. Yeah. X Games like every everything like that. It was like I feel like X Games and Warp 2 were finally It kind of happened with the PBR uh in the early 2000s when like Rockstar and Monster started the PBR and there started to be that like the western cowboy thing and then the extreme sports world they felt like they were kind of coming together.

Yeah. But [clears throat] I'm hoping that like it can happen more and especially with the music. Nobody's done it with the music. No, that's true.

Cow punk. But I feel Yeah, Cow Punk. But I feel like everyone's like that adrenaline junkie. the same people sitting at a rodeo would love to go to like, you know, watch some halfpipe snowboarding.

No question. Like it's the same thing. Yeah. Yeah.

And a lot of them like Smith Pro Rodeo, that dude that owns that, like he raced motocross growing up. I just met him for the first time last night. He was showing me videos of like racing out at Lorettas and stuff like he was like way into it. Yeah, they were into it.

So it always like overlaps. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's uh it's the same crowd.

Yeah, really is. Yeah. Well, so you're playing Westgate tonight. Mhm.

That should be fun at the theater. Yeah. Little cabaret. Yeah, that'll be good.

It's always fun in there. Watch people kind of fan out and you're singing to the slot machines. Well, no, they that right after I talked to you, they changed it. Did they?

Well, not right after I talked to you. I Wait, what? I noticed they changed it right after I think like it was shut or whatever. Yeah, it was shut, but they're opening all that.

They open all that. Oh, it opens up. Yeah, all of it opens up. See, that's I wish they would just keep it shut.

No, it's cooler having it open, I think. You think so? Yeah. And then you get everybody hanging out on the sides, too.

Yeah. But if it's shut, they get in there and then they can't But it's all seated. A lot of people are sitting down. It's like a It's like a It's like a mini Billy Bobs.

Everyone's sitting down in front of you, then on the sides, everyone's hanging out. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's going to rip.

And then Carson's playing after you. Yeah. Hell yeah. Dude, it's a heck of a night.

It'll be good. That'll be badass. Garden Babies and Ranch Girl Dreams, dude. That's what tonight is.

Yeah. [laughter] How did I clearly didn't get the memo. I needed one. [laughter] You know, I just didn't do it.

Will you write me one? I'll work on it. [laughter] Next van ride. Yeah, there you go.

Totally. You'll just get an a capella voice memo. I'm cool with that. Yeah.

A Tyler Hverson a capella voice memo. Yeah, dude. It's pretty hot. Throw it on soon or something.

You have to do it like in a selfie, though. Okay. FaceTime. Well, like a FaceTime message.

No. Easy. [laughter] It's just a video, dude. I'm trying to crew.

All right. Don't get crazy with it. [laughter] I can't do this thing live. Live eye contact, dude.

Can you imagine? [laughter] Hold on. Yeah, weird. Pretty weird.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty weird. So, wear them shades.

Bust those back out. What time do y'all go on? 9. I think we're on right after last bow ride.

So, would that be like 8:30 or something? Probably somewhere in there. 8:39. Yeah.

Depends on how the how the run that goes. Okay, cool. Well, uh I could freaking hang with you all the time, but I know you need to go on a run. You know it.

You know it. Maybe a little slot machine run. See how much money I can lose before play. Dude, I'm a terrible gambler.

I feel I thought I'm more of like a like we're like Everybody is six, seven course lights in and I found 20 bucks in my pocket and I'm just going to go max bet this thing away on a slot. Yeah. Hell. Yeah.

You're pretty bad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[laughter] It's bad. And like I walk I like cash out if like if I'm winning a lot more than I put in there. Like if I'm like double and triple my money, cool. But if not, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna keep going.

Keep hitting max bet. Good. That's all I'm gonna say. Yeah.

[laughter] I You don't play craps or nothing or blackjack? No, not really. Again, math not my thing. Meth.

Ma meth. Neither meth or math are my thing. Yeah. Yeah.

I look, dude, getting on a craft table with like a bunch of buddies is about as fun as it gets. Well, maybe we need to do that tonight. I Dude, maybe we should. I highly encourage you.

It does get expensive. That's the only problem. And I'm broke. See, that's Yeah, I get it.

I get it. I'm not trying to go to the ATM more than like once. Yeah, that's the trouble. I've been there.

Yeah. Then you get a call the next day saying, "Hey, what are these charges? Uh, what's going on out there?" Yeah.

We still got rent to pay, dude. I'm down to play crabs. Let's do it. Yeah.

So, yeah. Well, Parker's a freaking G and he tries to help everybody out when he doesn't have to. No, he doesn't have to do a damn thing for nobody, but he's always doing it, dude. He always is.

Yeah. He's like started careers for some people. Absolutely. It's insane.

Yeah. He gets some uh he gets some eyes look different ways and it's uh it's awesome. Yeah. People just checking out different And I heard I'm surprised he didn't cut it cuz I was actually I was hanging out with him and he showed me a song that it was a demo that you had.

It was like it in the chorus it had some about Jesus. It was funny though. It was like tongue and cheek kind of. Which one was that?

I'm trying to remember it, dude. Uh, is it that some brother believer song? I'm It's not like It's not like It's like a It's a fun song. Yeah.

It's not like super serious or something. It's one I did. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You had sent it to him. [expletive] It was just like an acoustic version. I'm trying to think.

He was thinking about cutting it and I did my best to, you know, I was like, "Dude, you need to do that. You need to do that." Hey, come on. Yeah.

Yeah. [laughter] I thought he was going to do it. I figured it was going to be on the record. Yeah.

Well, maybe he'll maybe we'll get around to it one of these days. But then you guys ended up doing uh Beer Garden Baby together. Yeah. Well, and that was cool, too.

I felt like that was like a little bit of a full circle there cuz he had shout out like Mac Miller and Beer Garden when they first came out and then he had us come up and play Dosekis with him in Dallas and then uh it was like last summer I'd hit him up saying that um I was going to recut that song and uh I kind of gave him the choice of Mac Miller or Beer Garden and he chose Beer Garden. So that was fun. Kind of hop up there and do that. And then uh we got that cut and then we went out to California and uh hopped up on stage and did it with him there live for the first time.

And it was cool. Where in Cali? Where was it? Like Northern California.

I forget the little town. Was it pretty big? It was awesome. Yeah, it was awesome.

Thousands of people out there. I listen to a trashy rodeo song. It's my favorite. They probably loved it.

Yeah. Well, dude, California is pretty rural outside them cities. Like it's all a bunch of ranching punchy people out there. I mean, it's all vineyards and orchards and cows.

Well, and I would I would bet money on your on your style. It's just uh people just don't Western Marijuana should just be the home that California should be home to Western Marijuana music. It's one of the best like tag branded genre things I've ever heard. It's the best, but it's also the worst at the same time.

I feel like it might scare some people away every now and then, but I don't think they should. We're just hippies playing music. Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Like that's all it is. Like Yeah. Like like we were talking, don't take it too serious.

Yeah. No. Like Willie didn't already. Yeah.

Yeah. Exactly. That's the thing. I think about meth.

It's weed. Maybe. [laughter] Well, we will we will shoot craps on meth. Yes.

[laughter] Cuz Las Vegas. Cuz Las Vegas. It's the only time Tyler and I do math is here. It was It was one time.

Yeah. [laughter] Well, yeah, dude. I'm happy to know you. We need to write some songs, too.

Absolutely. Trying to get out to Nashville more. Yeah. Well, hell, I'll just come to Texas.

It's cooler. We'll go to Turkey. That sounds like a deal. I got to play in Turkey in January.

Yeah. Get a wild hair. All right. Check that out.

We can do an acoustic show out there. That would be bad at all. I've always wanted to do something out there. They got Bob Wheels days, but I want to make you Wait, what?

Well, I mean, I've played the hotel, but like actually like make like like a bill. Like go to the Bob Will Center and have a couple three, four bands and just make it a big old bash. But I want to call it Bob Thrills. [laughter] Bob Thrills days.

That's what it's got to be. The old people got Bob wheels. They can have the western swing, all that fun stuff. But we're going to have Bob Thrills.

Be an awesome reason to get like a cease and desist. [laughter] Because you did Bob Thrills, dude. I can't imagine the posters. The artwork's going to be great.

It would be the cease and desist. Yeah, [laughter] just holding it. That would be the poster. You're gonna want to see it because we might not be able to have it next year.

So, you're gonna want to come this year. Getting sued because of this stupid name. [laughter] All right. Sick.

Well, tonight Westgate be your time. Thanks, bro. Appreciate you, bro. [music] Yeah, it's another jackpot.

Living life like a heathen. Everybody [music] knows ain't no rest for the wicked. She's keeping all her high turquoise. It's an easy [music] choice.

Kick rocks cowboy. Kick rocks cowboy. I hopes I know every time they're [music] popping G. Oh Lord.