Interview: Tim Brantley Scales New Heights

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Tim Brantley – Damage (Live)

SB: What was the first part of the process?

TB: The songs – for the most part – had been written in the time leading up to recording them. I spent way too much time working on these songs. I’m not one of these guys who can go into the studio for a weekend and bang out an album like Ryan Adams. I’m very deliberate and do a lot of second guessing myself. That’s one of the reason I produced it myself, because I knew I couldn’t really monopolize a producer’s time the way I wanted to. I don’t think I could’ve found anyone willing to work on this for a year with me. I never really had any deadlines.

SB: Did you know going into this project that you wanted to self-produce the album?

TB: I didn’t know if I’d be able to talk anybody into letting me produce the album as a new artist. I also didn’t want somebody breathing down my neck every day saying “send me the latest,” and I got that from Blackledge. They trusted me. They gave me creative control which not a lot of artists truly have. They went out on a limb and that in turn made my relationship with them more personal. When somebody says “hey, I trust you. Do you want you need to do.”

SB: You want to do right by them…

TB: Exactly. I told them this is an important record for me and I needed to do it the way I needed to do it. I’m very demanding as an artist and I didn’t want to put that on anybody. Not right now.

[Photo by Kevin Dowling]

SB: Are you going on the road with a full band or by yourself?

TB: I’m going out by myself. It’s more of an intimate show. We are going to play some band dates sprinkled throughout the year. I really think my solo set acts as a good introduction. It’s a little more personal, just them and I. Hopefully after people have time to digest the album and get to know the songs I’ll bring out the band for a tour.

SB: Do you play covers?

TB: Sometimes we do. Personally, I don’t love when people play covers. If I’m going to go out and play seven songs a night I’d rather play my stuff than anybody else’s.

SB: A radio station in Birmingham, Live 100.5, seemed to pick up on the single immediately. How do you get your foot in the door at that station and others?

TB: Dave Rossi who works at a number of stations in the southeast has a good relationship with some of the people at my label. They gave Dave my music and he loved it.

SB: We’ve gotten to their point where the business side of things seeps more and more into your job as a musician. Are you finding it increasingly difficult to deal with that side of it as we get closer to the release date?

TB: I find it distracting, very distracting honestly. You definitely can get caught up in it. All of the sudden there’s all of this business you tend to every day when I used to spend my time writing music, rehearsing and recording. You get to a point where it’s a lot to handle. I think there will come a time that I’ll be able to push all of it to the side and get back to exactly what it is I want to be doing. I did a lot of writing and recorded a record and now I’m touring and really focused on that right now. When it’s time to go back into my writing mode, I’ll do it and I’ll turn my phone off.

SB: Has music always been a part of your life?

TB: When I was a child, maybe 4-6 years old, records were a big part of my life. I was into artists such as  Huey Lewis, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Dolly Parton and growing up in Georgia – Ronnie Milsap. When I got a little older, music wasn’t as important to me. I listened to lots of different types of music in high school and had a wide taste in music, but I was more into playing baseball than music. When I got to the middle of college I came back around. I had learned how to play the piano as a child and put it away for 10-12 years and picked it up again. I don’t know what sparked it. Maybe watching a David Gray video and thinking “wow, I’d love to do that.”

It all happened really fast for me. Within a year I taught myself guitar from scratch and learned to play piano again. It’s been so natural for me. I have to work at it, but I know what I want to do with my life, it feels right.

Thanks to Tim for taking the time to talk to us about his throwback of an album that sounds straight out of the mid ’70s.

Here’s a list of Tim’s upcoming tour dates…

Mar-12-09         Boston, MA               Cafe 939 Berklee
Mar-13-09         New York, NY             Joe’s Pub
Mar-14-09         New York, NY             Joe’s Pub
Mar-15-09         Philadelphia, PA             Tin Angel
Mar-17-09         Pittsburgh, PA           Club Cafe
Mar-18-09         Cleveland, OH            HOB – Cambridge Room
Mar-19-09         Ann Arbor, MI             The Ark
Mar-21-09         Chicago, IL                Schuba’s – early & late shows
Mar-24-09         Knoxville, TN              Preservation Pub
Mar-25-09         Chattanooga, TN         Rhythm & Brews
Mar-26-09         Nashville, TN              Douglas Corner
Mar-27-09         Decatur, GA               Eddie’s Attic
Mar-28-09         Charlotte, NC             Evening Muse

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