In this interview feature, we chat with Tyler Shamy about music, influences, the new project, and more.

Full Q&A, links and streams can be found below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

I’m just attracted to really “authentic” lyrically driven songs.  Being a songwriter for other artists and for TV and Film, I write many genres and styles, but as an artist I wanted to be honest, vulernable, raw, relateable, and approachable while still maintaining catchy pop melodies that I personally love. I feel like a lot of artists care about looking cool and sexy, which I get, but I just wanna say the stuff that’s real to me, without concern for how it makes me look or seem. I’m a singer/songwriter at the core, so I love organic songs, and really dig orchestral elements like cello, violins, and viola.

What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?

I’ve been singing since I was a kid, being around my Dad who was a singer/songwriter/pianist turned lawyer.  I also grew up doing musical theater, so I was training in vocal lessons and constantly in a show.  I took it very seriously from a young age.  I knew I wanted to be in entertainment and the arts since I was about 4 years old.  At age 12, I wrote my first song.  At age 16, I got featured on Radio Disney and did some shows with them.  After that I had a pop/rock band called Midnight Mirage, and then I decided to focus on songwriting for other artists, commercials, tv shows, film trailers, etc. because the band wasn’t working out and I realized my biggest passion in music is the songwriting and recording process.  While I love performing, nothing is more fulfilling to me than creating something out of nothing, especially when it turns out to be something you’re really proud of.  I have about 500 songs written and recorded that are used for pitching but most people never hear them unless they get cut by an artist and released or placed in tv or film , so I wanted to just release this EP of songs that I feel personally connected to, so people can hear what I’ve been up to.

Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?

Many major songwriters influence my creativity, but artist wise I’m really influenced by Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, and One Republic.  Real life experienced probably influence my creativity even more…sometimes an idea just kind of flows out of me out of nowhere, even at inconvenient times haha.  I always have a recorder on me because I usually won’t remember it if it’s like a stream of consciousness like that.  Creativity is like therapy to me. You get a natural high from songwriting and it’s a way to express yourself and kind of release your emotions.  My tastes have changed slightly, but not a ton.  I still appreciate most of the music I used to listen to, even the pop/punk I’d listen to growing up is still something I love and makes me crazy nostalgic haha.  I am constantly listening to new music and evolving artistically, or try to, so I’m definitely influenced by a lot of different modern music.  Listening to other music usually motivates me to take more risks creatively, because there’s so much good stuff out there.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

Not specifically.  I was in a serious relationship for a long time, and went through a lot of ups and downs the last few years in my life in general, so I just wanted to write something emotional that made people feel something.  My next couple singles or EP will most likely show my more fun, uptempo side, but this is what came out of a more sensitive and trying time in my life.

What was the last song you listened to?

My own (hahaha) because it’s a new song I recently got the mix back for from a producer, so I was seeing how it turned out.  I promise I’m not THAT egotistical-it’s just part of my job to listen and give notes haha.  But then again, what’s the point of making music if you don’t enjoy listening to it right?

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

MP3s. CDs will always have a place in my heart since I grew up in the era of albums and physical CDs, and making awesome mixed CDs haha, but MP3s are so convenient.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why? 

Spotify.  Honestly I haven’t experienced much else besides it except for Pandora and iTunes.  I just think Spotify’s layout is the best and they make it easy to browse through and find what you want, and I usually like their playlists.  It’s a great way to discover new music.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans? 

Hmm…that really is the biggest issue-it’s just so oversaturated and accessible now.  But that’s also a really cool aspect of how the music industry has evolved.  It’s an exciting time.   I think standing out just becomes really difficult when there’s so much talent out there.  I’ve always had confident people would like my stuff, but it’s just a matter of people hearing it that’s the challenge.  I’m “competing” against people with huge budgets or machines behind them with a lot of money, which helps you to be heard.  I hate to say competing because it’s art and I think there’s space for all art, but you know what I mean.  People can only digest so much new content and be true fans of so much, so you are kind of competing for that slot of time that they listen to music, hoping they want to listen to you.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?

Facebook, instragram, or twitter.  I pretty much use all of those equally and I try to respond to everyone.  I do upload my new music to soundcloud, spotify, itunes, and youtube as well, and I’ll be releasing two music videos for the songs “Over” and “Kids in Love” in the next couple months.  So look out for that at youtube.com/tylershamy! 🙂

Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?

That’s it!  Thank you so much for featuring me! 🙂

http://play.spotify.com/album/3QnJilFR0YhTv0ihjRGDpM