(INTERVIEW) Tyler Ramsey: 9 September 2013

Tyler Ramsey is perhaps most immediately recognizable as the tall, lean guitarist in Band Of Horses, having played with them since 2007, starting before the release of their breakthrough album, Cease To Begin. A well-established and praised guitar player and singer in the burgeoning music scene of Asheville, NC where he calls home, he first learned to play music on piano before moving to the guitar.

“I started playing [piano] pretty young, around ten years old; I got into it. Then I got a battery-powered Casio keyboard from my parents. From there they rented a piano and I just kept trying to get better.”

Tyler Ramsey grew up listening to and studying country-blues guitar players like Mance Lipscomb and Mississippi John Hurt, and American finger pickers like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, absorbing their sound and making it all his own. Although, some of Ramsey’s greatest musical influences were country-blues guitarists, he vaguely remembers some of the first gigs he attended were heavy metal and hardcore punk shows.

“The first show I went to in junior high was Bad Brains in Nashville. I also remember Danzig.”

After years of playing the piano, studying some of the most talented guitar players in the industry, and dabbling in singing and songwriting, Ramsey released his self-titled debut in 2004. He followed that album in 2008 with A Long Dream About Swimming Across The Sea (Echo Mountain Records), which was praised by NPR (World Café – “Heartwarming, delicate, and comforting”), Stereogum (‘Artist To Watch’), WNYC’s Soundcheck, and Popmatters, among others. Ramsey’s third album, The Valley Wind, was released in September 2011.

After years of touring the world with major artists and bands, it’s hard to imagine that Tyler Ramsey could find the time to write and record three albums of his own. It’s not hard, however, to believe him when he says that he gets inspired by everything he sees and experiences. When writing songs, Ramsey gets inspiration from his feelings and his recent surroundings.

“I write about myself, how I feel, and what I am going through in my life.”

Ramsey is now on tour showcasing his rich, plaintive vocals and expressive, intricate guitar playing with the help of four bandmates, Seth Kauffman, Brian Landrum, Josh Carpenter and Matt Smith. He enjoys touring and is suprised to see everyone who comes to his shows. Although Tyler Ramsey has accomplished many incredible things musically, he claims his biggest accomplishment is playing for people who want to listen.

“I’m thankful to have an audience and to be able to go to towns I’m not from and have people want to come see me play. I will never take that for granted.”

Tyler Ramsey sees himself writing, recording and playing for audiences around the globe for many years to come. He hopes to release a fourth album in the near future and continue to get better at playing guitar.