From the barbecue grill to live stage performances, and songwriting, Tyler Reeve’s personality is bubbly and infectious like the music he produces.
Joining the Country Throwdown has earned the Mobile, Alabama personality exposure to a new group of fans.
Tyler is not signed to any major record company, but has gained the hearts of fans through his candid performances at various venues, delivering over 200 shows. He hit’s the grassroot fans hoping to establish a solid base.
Premier Guide Miami’s Daedrian McNaughton had a chat with Tyler Reeve on the Country Throwdown Tour West Palm Beach.
PGM: Tyler, why do they call you the ‘Barbecue Boy‘?
Tyler Reeve: They don’t really call me the Barbecue Boy. We are really a touring band. We are independent, we are not signed to any major label, and we have been out there doing it for a while. We jumped on the tour to play music and they kind of threw around, “Hey guys want to pull around a barbecue pit and cook some late night food for everyone, and hang out?” There is nothing we like more than barbecue, music, and drinking beer with our friends, so we were absolutely down to do it. We hooked up the pbr grill to the back of the bus, and we drag it along with us and cook it up late night.
PGM: How do you manage to do this with your family, and getting things going by yourself?
Tyler Reeve: There are good things and bad things to every job that you have. It is tough being on the road for a while; you miss your family and the ones you love. At the same time, we may go out for 5 or 6 weeks, and then we get to be home for 3 or 4 weeks. It might not be the same amount of time everyday, but we get the time. It’s worth it and I think everyone is supportive, so it’s cool.
PGM: When you are home what do you do?
Tyler Reeve: Cook some barbecue-mow the grass-same ol’ thing that everybody else does. We are the same as everyone else. Our job is playing music, and writing songs. Luckily, that’s what I like to do.
PGM: You are constantly on the road away from your family. How do they feel about your new lifestyle?
Tyler Reeve: They are as supportive as can be. I wouldn’t be able to do this without their support. If there was a net, they would let me jump and I know if I were ever to fall too far they would catch me.
PGM: How do you promote yourself, and how do you get your music to your fans?
Tyler Reeve: Like I said, we are independent; we have been pushing it by grassroots movements. I mean getting out on the road, and we play over 200 shows a year. It’s really the live venues; that’s really what has been what’s gotten us fans so far. We haven’t had any major promotions behind any certain song or anything on the record. Right now it’s really what we want to do. We really want to just keep building a grassroots base, and once that fan base gets where it needs to be, you know at some point we may need a label to help take it where it needs to be. For now we are happy doing what we are doing, and when that day comes, we will be happy doing that too.
PGM: You drag around a barbecue pit. Do you feed your fans after each performance?
Tyler Reeve: We would if we had enough food. We sure would. When I go out on a stage I draw all my energy off the fans. There could be a day when I am dog tired, and I’m driving through the night, and we show up to play not feeling too well, and people are there, and you get receptive faces, and people cheering you on-it gives you the energy and you keep going. These are the people you are writing songs for-it’s not something you are writing for yourself-you are writing for these fans to see them come back day after day. The fans have been awesome to this point, for sure.
PGM: So tell us, do you barbecue on stage while you are performing?
Tyler Reeve: No-it’s all about the music first and foremost. Everybody on this tour is an incredible line-up. They are awesome and we are just glad to be apart of it. We are luck we get to be host of the late night party, every night. For us, it’s an honor for sure.
PGM: What do you expect to achieve from the exposure and experience on this tour?
Tyler Reeve: Expectations are a bit different here and there, but we just want to be out here-we want to meet a lot of people-we are fans of a lot of these guys we are on tour with, and now we are luckily getting to meet them and hang out with them, hopefully spread our music across the country, and gain more fans out of it. Just have a good time. That’s really what it is about for us.
PGM: Who is your favorite artist on the tour?
Tyler Reeve: It’s tough to say-they are all favorites for different reasons. We have done the show before with Jack Ingram-great guy. I couldn’t pick one over the other for sure.
For more details on Tyler Reeve next stop with the Country Throwdown Tour, visit http://www.countrythrowdown.com/. Check out his website to purchase his album and to learn more about Tyler Reeve http://www.tylerreeve.com/index.html.