Tyler Traband

Artist Information

Biography

We are on itunes, spotify, facebook, amazon, cd baby, and sonicbids. We have performed at Summerfest 8 of the last 10 years, showcased 3 times at Chicago's famous Elbo Room, and Midpoint twice, just to name a few. We get spun on 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, and WMSE and were included on WMSE's 8th LIVE comp CD, as well as ALL over the web.

With great songwriting and improvisation as well as genre bending imagination, Tyler Traband and his band provide an intimate, high-energy show that stretches the limits of stage performance. Featuring piano, guitar, some tasty bass, horns, full vocals, percussion, and a real Fender rhodes, this band can provide an intimate, polished performance of original material, then break down and jam at any moment.

Nominated for 17 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards (7 for best keyboardist), Tyler draws his skill from classical training, years of touring, playing National Showcases, the WAMIS, Summerfest (the county’s largest outdoor music festival), and opening for such acts as the Todd Rundgren, Weird Al , Slightly Stoopid, as well live TV and radio performances and regular and historical airplay on New Rock 102.1, WIIL, Radio Milwaukee 88.9, and 91.7 WMSE. A strong Web presence has helped the band gain new fans all over the country and the world. Just type “Tyler Traband” into any search engine and see for yourself.

Defying conformity and simple definitions of “style,” he describes his attitude as “whatever is best for the song.” This is not just another pop act. Centering around fat old-school grooves and an incredibly powerful vocal style, this group follows no fads or trends. They interpret songs on an individual basis, and in doing so touch on every genre of modern music; from motown grooves, jazz, and funk, right up to modern pop. Undeniable hooks are the key here, and we dare you to listen and not get sucked in. This act is a true original.

Tyler’s sixth cd "Love Songs Hate Songs" is available now on itunes, tylertraband.net, amazon, spotify, and at CDbaby.com. At the website, you can download some free mp3’s, view pictures, get club dates, purchase merchandise, and e-mail the band.
from our older press kit:
"leftovers from south 2nd street," Tyler's 4th studio release, was his 2nd CD produced by Grammy Award winning bassist Joe Puerta, from Ambrosia and Bruce Hornsby and the Range. This is a very strong effort, again showcasing Traband’s depth as both a writer and performer. These tracks are radio ready, and competitive on a national scale. In an era of regenerated loops and computerized electronica, these guys breathe life back into alternative pop, reminding us of a time when groups like the Guess Who, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Peter Gabriel were pushing the envelope of live recording. A day not so long ago when the players made all the difference.

A day Tyler would like to see come again.

Instrumentation

Tyler Traband- piano, rhodes, keys, trumpet and lead vocals
Geoff Howard- bass
Jon Anderson- saxes, woodwinds and backing vocals
John Simons- guitars and backing vocals
Tim Rush- drums, percussion and backing vocals
Char- sometimes on backing vocals

Discography

"Stuff" released 1997, "Snacks" released 1999, "Numbers" released 2001, "Leftovers from South 2nd Street" released 2005. EP "re-issue" released 2008, new cd "Love Songs Hate Songs" available right now. Check for us on Radio Milwaukee, spotify and itunes.

Official Website

http://tylertraband.net

Links

• Facebook

Audio

• Fallen
  Listen   Download
• Reunion
  Listen   Download
• Love in an 18th Century
  Listen   Download
• Takin Sides
  Listen   Download
• Sugar Mama
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• fallen
• Love in an 18th Century
• Takin' Sides
• Reunion

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• In Music Tyler Traband issues "Re-issue" EP [+ Show ]
  

  Musician Tyler Traband has been a mainstay on the scene for years now. And given that music is his f...Musician Tyler Traband has been a mainstay on the scene for years now. And given that music is his full-time, bills-paying gig, it's little surprise that when he releases a disc he considers no-frills, it's still slicker and better produced than most of what is released locally.
  
  Traband, a pianist, songwriter, singer and band leader, recently released "Re-issue," a five-song EP, recorded with his band of long-time cohorts and co-produced with Ambrosia's Joe Puerta at The Exchange.
  
  "We really tried to capture a live band vibe this time," says Traband. "'Re-issue' is not over-produced and slick; real instruments, and real musicians, doing what they do best ... playing. (There were) minimal overdubs -- just a few takes."
  
  The result is a melodic, traditional rock / pop disc that focuses on the songs instead of gimmicks and is build on solid musicianship. The vibe is airy and loose, but the tracks are tight and the production, while maybe not slick, is definitely professional and deftly arranged.
  
  The name, Traband says, derives from the fact that these songs may be familiar to fans.
  
  "It is called 'Re-issue' because the songs have all been recorded before, but these are all new recordings," he notes. "Our producer picked what he felt were the best of the best ... it just happened to be songs that had been recorded before. As you can guess, this whole thing turned out different than expected, but they all sounded great, so we decided to release it."
  
  For the project, Traband drew on the talents of bassist Geoff Howard, drummer Tim Rush, saxophonist Jon Anderson, singer Char Fiore and guitarists Kirk Tatnall and John Simons.
  
  Traband says the approach was satisfying.
  
  "We had a hell of a lot of fun, and I think we captured the feel we were after. This is how we actually play. Originally, we were going to have it mixed in L.A. with a big-name dude, but, sadly, that didn't work out. These songs have all been recorded before, and some were written years ago. 'Reunion' is kind of our signature tune live, and it was actually very cool to record it again. This time it was so easy!"
  
  One track, "She's A Woman," was recorded live on WMSE with the station's engineer Billy Cicerelli.
  
  Traband -- who has been nominated for 17 WAMI awards -- has released five discs across his long career. The most recent one was 2005's nine-track "Leftovers from South 2nd Street," which Puerta produced.
  
  In addition to his band, Traband makes a living writing, performing and recording music for commercials and films. His work has appeared in more than 350 commercials and six independent films.
  
  "My day job is writing music," he says. "That is how I pay the bills. I haven't had a day job for years. It is always a challenge, and always stretches my creative side. These days, it's not just coming up with the parts, but also dealing with the technology."
  
  The equipment required for that work also helps Traband fuel his original recordings and songwriting, he says.
  
  "It is so fantastic having a complete digital studio and keyboard museum at home, and I'm able to rock out ideas as soon as they come," he says.
  
  "Being 'under the gun' so to speak, having deadlines, really streamlines my approach to writing, and has helped me to focus in my own songwriting, as well."

• Revisiting Tyler Traband, Milwaukee’s Piano Man [+ Show ]
  

  Revisiting Tyler Traband, Milwaukee’s Piano Man By David Luhrssen Tyler Traband’s self-release...Revisiting Tyler Traband, Milwaukee’s Piano Man
  By David Luhrssen
  
  Tyler Traband’s self-released Re-issue EP is not a repackaged collection of five old tracks, but five songs rerecorded and issued for the first time in their new versions. For Traband, a pianist and prolific songwriter, the disc was an easy opportunity to showcase five old songs with his new band. “The hope was to catch the live vibe we’ve been getting,” he explains.
  The rippling piano, quirky hooks, rousing refrains and earnest lyrical delivery of Re-issue have long been hallmarks of Traband’s sound. The current ensemble, however, is well worth showcasing. At the core of the arrangements are guitarist John Simons, drummer Tim Rush and bassist Geoff Howard. Esteemed Milwaukee jazz guitarist Kirk Tatnall is heard on a few tracks, along with saxophonist Jon Anderson and vocalist Char Fiore.
  With four previous CDs of original material and more than a hundred other songs in his notebooks, how did Traband choose a handful of tunes for Re-issue? Answer: He didn’t. “It was too hard to make that decision. I love all my songs!” he says. “I left the decision up to everyone else.”
  Everyone else was Reissue’s co-producers Kevin Arndt and Joe Puerta. Puerta was once a member of The Range, the backing band for Bruce Hornsby, whose style of playing sometimes overlaps with Traband. Hornsby, however, doesn’t rank among the Milwaukee pianist’s influences.
  “It starts with Dave Brubeck,” Traband says. “My dad loved straight-ahead jazz. Further along came the terrible pop of the ’70s, though some of it, like Journey, sounds pretty good compared to some of today’s music. As a young adult, I loved The Beatles, Crowded House, Toad the Wet Sprocket.”
  Elton John and Billy Joel aren’t people he cares to be compared with. “For a long time piano wasn’t cool—it was the bane of my existence,” he says. “Thank god for Tori Amos and Ben Folds and Coldplay—piano is a big part of their sound. I like the modern pop thing.”
  These days Traband and band play one or two times a month, sometimes in outlying areas such as Pewaukee and Hartland. Traband and Simons also perform as an acoustic duo. A modest income streams in from downloads on iTunes but, like most contemporary musicians, it’s more about the joy of making music and finding a few fans than constructing a career.
  “I just want to keep writing and putting things out,” Traband says. “The people who find us love us. I can’t imagine not writing. It’s part of my soul at this point. It’s still lots of fun, putting everyone together as a band and seeing what happens when you flesh out a tune.”
  Tyler Traband performs May 17 at the Milwaukee Ale House

• Off the Cuff-Music from S. 2nd Street [+ Show ]
  

  Even Ben Folds can't entirely avoid it. In post-Jerry Lee Lewis rock, piano men will always be comp...Even Ben Folds can't entirely avoid it. In post-Jerry Lee Lewis rock, piano men will always be compared to Elton John, Billy Joel or Bruce Hornsby. But on his fourth CD, Leftovers from South Second Street, Milwaukee's Tyler Traband weaves traces of prog rock into his reflective baladeering, making a sound distinctly his own. Traband began his career at 17, playing keys with the popular late 80's band In Black "n White and spending the early 90s with Big Bang, Naked Truth and Johnny on Washday. He seemed absent from the local scene in recent years, but it turns out it's been the busiest time of his life.
  
  Where have you been since your last CD (2001's numbers)?
  
  I've been at Lucille's for a year and a half, playing dueling pianos with a rotating cast of players three nights a week. Whatever the audience asks for, we play.
  
  What if someone stumps you?
  
  If you can make up lyrics close enough, or mumble them close enough, you'll be OK. But most of the requests seem to be the same 30 or 40 tunes. Everyone wants to hear "piano man," Bohemian Rhapsody," and "Brown Eyed Girl." Not that they aren't great tunes, but after you lay them week after week...What WAS great was putting on a show for 250 people every night-clapping hands, singing along, jumping on tables. I could make the entire house bark like a dog anytime I wanted!
  
  Did it whet your appetite to get back to your own music?
  
  Well, we started work on the latest CD before I got the gig. That's the reason it took so long. I was pretty busy, but we NEVER stopped gigging together.
  
  How do you think you've developed as a songwriter in the 90's?
  
  Ideas come easier. After writing regulaly for fifteen years, there's more of a mental flow and I feel much more confident. I can take an idea, put it away and get back to it later. Of course, now I have 60 unfinished tunes! I've also gotten more comfotable with crossing genres. I don't feel constricted. Pop music for me means jazz and rock and alternative and funk. I write across all those styles.
  
  You've broadened as a writer?
  
  Absolutely! It was never a chore, but it's even more fun now. I have a more mature take on life, looking back on experiences of mine and my friends. I'm able to pluck little ideas from all these experiences and take them to places even I didn't know they could go.
  

• Vic Thomas Summerfest [+ Show ]
  

  Hey Tyler.  Loved the latest project. Where do I start? The Production is superb. Your songwriting /...Hey Tyler.  Loved the latest project. Where do I start? The Production is superb. Your songwriting / arrangements show depth well beyond your age.  As always, it was a pleasure to discover the latest Tyler Traband offering. Keep on doing what you do and ALWAYS KEEP ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST!!!!
   
  Vic Thomas
  Associate Entertainment Director
  Summerfest

• After 15 years, 'all play' is still his job [+ Show ]
  

  ON WISCONSIN : LIVE : MUSIC & NIGHT LIFE : By NICK CARTER of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...ON WISCONSIN : LIVE : MUSIC & NIGHT LIFE :
  
  By NICK CARTER
  of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff
  
  Tyler Traband is a local-music survivor.
  
  A guy in his early 30s who has been playing out in bands since his mid-teens.
  
  A guy who has been in more than a dozen bands since he began playing high school dances in 1985.
  
  A guy, who, by his own reckoning, has played thousands of dates in area bars and clubs.
  
  "Why?" you may reasonably ask.
  
  "Because it's what I love, what I do, and come to think of it, it's about the only thing I really know how to do well at this point," says Traband.
  
  A moment later, he adds: "I have to admit, I've often asked myself that very same question: Why? It seems to be getting crazier and crazier, this playing out business. But I guess it just makes those good moments - when the crowd and you manage to connect and soar, even if it is only a moment - all the more precious."
  
  Known in the last 10 years for his stints in the bands Big Bang, Naked Truth and In Black and White, Traband also fronted his own bands: first under the title Bonk, which was a familiar presence on the east-side club scene during the early to mid-'90s, and later as a self-titled solo act with an ever-changing lineup of veteran local musicians.
  
  Traband's current cast of musical backers includes drummer Jeno Somlai, saxophonist Jon Anderson, guitarist Joey Carini and bassist Chris Hanoway.
  
  In his solo projects, Traband played mainly original songs in the style of the artists he'd covered in his earlier bands: "old-school R&B and later-era Miles Davis."
  
  "But I eventually wound up listening to a vast range of classic-pop material - INXS, U2, Crowded House, Stevie Wonder and Peter Gabriel, a lot of the usual suspects of the past 15 years."
  
  That range will inform the nearly all-original set Traband and company will perform Saturday at Thai Joe's Lounge. The show marks the release of Traband's new album, "Numbers," featuring 11 original tracks running the gamut from pop to funk, old-school blues to R&B.
  
  Within those fairly conventional boundaries are a few standouts. "Tomes" is a plush, highly produced bit of contemporary pop, filled with multiple keyboard phrasings and elaborate guitar parts. Another song, "Reunion," is more sparsely produced but still manages to stand out. The album was produced by Joe Puerta, co-owner of Firefly Records and former bass player for Ambrosia and Bruce Hornsby - both acts that Traband considers influences.
  
  How would Traband sum up the album?
  
  "I know this sounds stupid. But it's sort of a Dave Matthews thing crossed with a bit of Pearl Jam with a slight Tori Amos touch. There, I said it. That's what you'll get if you come to see us. I promise."

• Tyler Traband with Alpha Transit [+ Show ]
  

  Tyler Traband's name should be familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Milwaukee's music ...Tyler Traband's name should be familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Milwaukee's music scene, even if his music isn't. For the past 11 years, Traband has been a regular presence in local clubs, moving from bands like Big Bang and In Black "n White to solo land. Traband jaunty piano led pop isn't excessively innovative, but it's not supposed to be: It's genuine, unadorned melodicism could fit easily into mainstream playlists, as Traband's new Leftovers from South 2nd Street( produced by ex-ambrosia bassist Joe Puerta) demonstrates. Live, Traband's casually professional attitude fits well with his unaffected style.

• The Piano Man [+ Show ]
  

  A List Volume 20, Issue 49 Spotlight: The Piano Man "There are very few bands out there doi...A List Volume 20, Issue 49
  Spotlight:
  
  The Piano Man
  
  "There are very few bands out there doing what we're doing," says pianist and band leader Tyler Traband.
  
  That's true in Milwaukee, anyway. While the piano stood at center stage in popular music as recently as the 1970s (when pianists from Neil Sedaka to Billy Joel and Elton John scored hit after hit), the venerable instrument fell quiet during the '80s. In the '90s it enjoyed something of a comeback in the popular arena, with Tori Amos literally filling arenas and Ben Folds wheeling the piano into alternative rock. Milwaukee is more of a guitar town; even the popular Mrs. Fun and Janet Planet evoke jazz more than rock.
  
  Traband continues: "We're doing intelligent, original music and we want to entice people to listen to it. It's interesting. It's toe-tapping. It's simple enough that people can relate to it."
  
  On his second CD Snacks, Traband's earnest vocals deliver rueful introspections and hopeful musings over his piano-powered melodies and the unobtrusive arrangements of his band. A largely moody effort, the mandolin wind of Bruce Hornsby's inspiration gently ripple in the background of some tracks, coupled with an awareness of R&B.
  
  "The songs are more streamlined," says the Tyler Traband Band's saxophonist John Anderson, contrasting Snacks with the pianist's 1997 debut, Stuff. Anderson has performed with Traband for nine years, since they met in the popular band Johnny on Washday. "Tyler has come to the point where instead of 12-chord songs, he can do it with six and make more sense. He's more focused."
  
  Guitarist Barb Washburn and bassist Geoff Howard round out the band. "We haven't crossed the 'let's write as a band bridge' yet," Traband said. "But everybody plays what's best for the songs. Each member brings their talent to the mix. I'd rather have a band than do it alone. Without a band, I'm just a guy playing the piano."
  
  Although Snacks was released just last September, Traband and company are returning to the studio this month courtesy of Milwaukee's Firefly Records. Joe Puerta, the one-time bassist for Bruce Hornsby and Ambrosia who produced Les Lokey's CD, will be at the controls.
  
  Anderson comments on the band's eclecticism. "Growing up in these times there are so many influences," he says. "My record collection goes from classical music to Zappa. My influences range from Swedish folk music-I was a folk dancer as a kid-to jazz-I played with Phil Woods and Dizzy Gillespie when I was in college. It all influences you."
  
  The Tyler Traband Band and Porcine perform Saturday, Dec. 4 at Filter Inn.
  
  -Dave Luhrssen
  
  

• Who's Spinning What: Tyler Traband [+ Show ]
  

  Who's Spinning What: Tyler Traband Posted: Oct. 10, 2003 Tyler Traband likes piano pop. Latel...Who's Spinning What: Tyler Traband
  Posted: Oct. 10, 2003
  Tyler Traband likes piano pop.
  
  
  Lately, the local keyboardist has been holding down Thursday night gigs at the piano lounge Mosaic, 2624 N. Downer Ave.
  Traband's set list encompasses chestnuts from the past and current piano-pop kings, from Elton John and Stevie Wonder to Tori Amos and Ben Folds, interspersed with Traband's originals.
  The variety continues at home. Lately, Traband's CD exchanger has been spinning:
  Coldplay, "Parachutes": "I love the production - so phat, so clean, yet so simple."
  Stevie Wonder, "Talking Book": "Everything's recorded live; classic '70s soul-R&B recording."
  Miles Davis, "Bitches Brew": "He put 10 of the best musicians in the world in one room and let them play songs over 20 minutes long. And that's a music scenario that I can love."
  Mosaic opened earlier this month and plans to regularly feature local music and arts. For information, call (414) 961-9560.
  

• Come to our website for more!!
  

  Come to our website for more.

Setlist

We do ALL originals whenever possible, but we know hundreds of covers as well. Tyler was a "dueling Pianist" for 2 years, playing all requests every night. We can play almost ANYTHING. Beatles, Stones, Weezer, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Elvis, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, James, Ben Folds, Lots of 80's and 90's, and modern stuff too. We even know a few Asia songs.

Basic Requirements

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