The Tony Tyler Trance

(Article and picture appeared on the front page of the entertainment section)

Put You in a Trance
Tony Tyler Trance returns to Remerton

Tony Tyler Trance
Teen rocker talks about manufactured bands, playing music with his dad, and playing original songs as two Remerton gigs are scheduled for this weekend

By Dean Poling
dean.poling@gaflnews.com

The offers sounded like good things at the time but, from the sound of Tony Tyler's voice as he's recently traveling down to Macon for a weekend gig with his band Tony Tyler Trance, he's glad things worked out differently.
Tyler had been offered two sweet gigs that had promised to make him the vocalist-guitarist of teen-age supergroups.
One band was being created by a Nickelodeon executive and would have featured Tyler as guitarist/lead singer. That was 2000.
In 2001, he was invited to be the lead guitarist/vocalist for a band called Hippiegrabber, in a job that took him briefly to Hollywood.
In both cases, the band's teen-aged members didn't really mesh. They were coming from places all over the country with Tyler representing the South and a Southern-rock sound. There were corporate shake-ups, etc., etc. Needless to say, Tyler considers them to have been great offers, but he's glad they didn't pan out.
Those things happened so fast, it was exciting, Tony Tyler says. But as they say, all that glitters is not gold.
The 19-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist has got a much sweeter gig now.
With his Tony Tyler Trance, a North Georgia-based band, he is writing, playing, recording and developing the music he loves. They are traveling regularly. During this phone interview, Tyler and the Trance were pulling into an Arby's drive-thru on their way to the Georgia Allman Brothers Band Association (GABBA) Fest. This interview is being conducted for a series of shows this weekend which brings TTT to Remerton for two nights: Bungalow's tonight and Charley O'Corley's, Saturday night.
And he's doing all of this with a group of guys who are committed to the Trance project: Michael Hurwitz, bass; Darren Barwick, rhythm guitar; Stan Killingsworth, drums.
Stan Killingsworth is especially committed to the project considering Tony Tyler is also a Killingsworth. Stan is Tony's dad, and he is the reason Tony is a musician in the first place.
Tony grew up in a household where Stan was drummer for the rock band Crossfire, and Stan encouraged Tony to play. At first, at about the age of 3, Tony endeavored to follow in dad's footsteps by playing drums. On drums, Tony occasionally joined dad and Crossfire on stage starting at the age of 7.
I wanted to be like my dad. Or he wanted me to be like him, Tony says. So, I played drums.
Somewhere during the age of 11 or 12, though, Tony picked up the guitar and found his true calling. Soon, Stan was stunned by his son's progress on guitar and formed a band backing Tony's talents.
At the age of 13, Tony was frontman for T.K. Blues, which eventually became Tony Tyler Trance.
I really learned how to play guitar while on stage, Tyler says. That's how it really all came together.
Given his young age on stage, there were some comparisons to Derek Trucks who was playing clubs across the nation, including a few visits to the stage of Valdosta's JP's, during his formative teen-age years. Given his young age, Stan kept a close eye on Tony's progress. The band adopted a strict no-alcohol, no-drugs policy which they continue following at Tony's insistence.
Working with his father has been a wonderful experience, too, Tyler says. We look at it as he's the senior partner, Tony says, and I'm the junior partner. Stan makes the business decisions and Tony kind of feels out the direction of the band.
But Tony says the music direction of TTT is a group effort. Tony and Stan write the majority of the band's preferred playlist of original rock with Hurwitz and Barwick adding many touches to the songs.
We all write, Tony says. Sometimes, it is a very collaborative thing.
At a TTT show, the band prefers playing its original songs, but is prepared to feel the audience's mood and play some covers if necessary.
We do some covers but we try playing covers you might not normally hear from another band, Tony says. We play one Lynyrd Skynyrd song and it is not ŒSweet Home Alabama. If we're playing covers, we play the Atlanta Rhythm Section, or The Band, or The Beatles, something you probably won't hear other bands playing.
He mentions a recent show at The Georgia Bar in Athens. Tony says the audience dug the show, but the real kick came after the show ended.
The employees started clapping for us as we were packing up, he says. They said, ŒThank God, you didn't play the same stuff that every other band is playing.
That's the aim of TTT: Play music that other bands aren't playing and to become a group where the band isn¹t background music but the main event.
We want to play good music and good songs, Tony Tyler say - Valdosta Daily Times

The Tony Tyler Trance
The Tony Tyler Trance
Atlas Records
by Bill Ector

At 19 years old, Tony Tyler is already a seasoned veteran. His first and self-titled CD, The Tony Tyler Trance, exhibits both an energy and a prolific songwriting ability that certainly belies his tender age. With Michael Hurwitz on bass, Stan “the D-Man” Killingsworth on drums, and Tony on guitars, vocals, keyboards and more, the Tony Tyler Trance is ready to take the world by storm.
Tony grew up listening to the Allman Brothers Band and other musicians who once lived near his middle-Georgia home, but this is not just another Southern rock band. All 15 songs on the CD are written by Tony or Stan (who happens to double as Tony’s father), and these guys take on a wide range of styles, with smooth vocal harmonies that really make this more than an ordinary three-piece ensemble.
The opening “Rock Steady” shows that the band can truly do that, and the Latin-tinged “Angelina” takes the listener to another place with its island feel. With special guests David Hood, Clayton Ivey and George Perilli, this one is way cool. Of particular note are the beautiful “Where Are the Angels” and the Beatles-like “The Way (That I Love You),” which lets you know that young Mr. Tyler listened to some pretty fair songwriters growing up.
Remember the name Tony Tyler. You’ll be hearing some amazing music from this very talented man for a long, long time.
- Hittin the Note