Page 27 - the Noise October 2016

INTERVIEW
DINERS’ TYLER BRODERICK
BY BEVERLEY NAPALM
From Phoenix, Diners shimmer with good vibes and perfect summer poptunes. Front- man Tyler Broderick has a taste for a tune that is as bold and bright as the unfaltering smile he appears to wear 24/7. At only 24, he already has amassed a back catalogue brim- ming with confidence and élan that contradicts his youthful frame.
Diners have just released their poptastic 3rd full length, appropriately titled Three, beauti- fully presented on striking dual-colored vinyl. This writer caught up with Tyler in amongst the excitement and flurry of non-stop touring.
You don’t sound like a typical AZ bar-band. Your sound at times reminds me of classic Ameri- can crafted ’70s songwriting. There are a few Brian Wilson vibes in there. But I also hear some ‘80s UK indie also, which I suspect you are too young for it to be of influence. I wonder where your inspiration and influences are flowing from?
Well, I was born in ‘92, but inspiration comes from all over the place! But it’s mostly cre- ative energy that I draw from. Katy Davidson (Dear Nora, Key Losers) is probably my fa- vorite songwriter, but I wouldn’t say that Diners sounds like her music necessarily. With writ- ing Diners songs, a lot of times I hear a song or a melody or part in my head before I get to an instrument. Because of that, I like to believe that a song is going to come out of me and I have no control over what it’s going to sound like.
Hearing a song I like, no matter what style or genre, gets me excited to write my own songs. More than anything, seeing a friend’s band write or record or perform gives me creative excitement to work on music. I love my friends and their bands; iji, Cesar Ruiz, Remembran, Mega Bog, Cave Babies, and Cereal Milk, to name a few. But beyond my friends, I like The Beach Boys, The Microphones/Mount Eerie, Billy Joel, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Roches, Paul McCartney, Billy Bragg, Tony Molina, and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. Hmm, I’m not a scholar on ‘80s UK indie, but I like XTC, New Order, Robyn Hitchcock, and Sparks a lot.
You’re currently on tour. It seems you have been touring a lot recently. Is Diners a full time concern at this point?
Diners is most definitely a full time concern. There’s sort of been a shift in my life that’s allowed for me to spend more time on my band and I love it. Music has always been my top priority since I was in sixth grade, so now that I’m able to tour and work on it as much as I’d like to, I feel I can finally do what I’ve always wanted to do. Hopefully I can keep myself busy enough to maintain it.
I like the fact you appear to have a revolving door band line up. I have seen you twice now. Once as a solo act, and once also as a 3-piece band. Yet I understand often Diners perform as a 5-piece band. You seem to adapt to live situations with remarkable ease. How are decisions made in terms of how you present yourself as Diners?
Well, thank you! I look at Diners as an extension of myself. I love the flexibility of the band and I think it works well within the spaces that I perform in. I’m lucky to have talented friends who will perform with me and at the same time I love being able to record and per- form alone. I play a lot of local shows, sometimes too many. With that, I hope having a fluid line-up breaks up the monotony and keep things fresh.
Your songs are positive, personable, and lyrically easy to connect with for the listener. A song like “Fifteen On A Skateboard” has a simple emotional sentiment that many recognize in themselves and respond to instantly. Is this from your subconscious, or intentional when writing lyrics to songs?
It’s subconscious for sure. Chance too. A lot of times I feel like it’s a leap of faith, although lately I’ve been trying to get better at trusting my instincts. I try not to try too hard with lyrics and music. I think my best lyrics come in waves that hit me in one sitting. I have to be patient and not force anything. If I find myself struggling to write, I back off and go with my initial instincts, even if they act as a place holder until something better comes along.
PHOTO BY ELMER MARTINEZ
When you are recording, do you have a specific idea of how the song needs to sound? Or is it fleshed out in a group situation? How much do other Diners shape the outcome of your songs?
Mostly I try to have a detailed idea of what I want. I’ve written songs in a group setting and I don’t really care for it as much. Recording is my favorite thing to do and I love thinking about all the different possibilities. In my head, I’ll paint a picture of how a song might sound. I’ll think of the arrangement, the drum tones, the panning, the effects, and how to go about achieving those things. Sometimes it sounds exactly how I pictured it, sometimes it doesn’t.
With some songs, I’ll start recording and I’ll immediately realize that my big vision for the song isn’t possible. Though, rather than start from scratch, I’m much more interested in rolling with what’s there and ending up in a place I wouldn’t have expected. When a recording isn’t sounding like the idea in my head, I’ll usually have to take a drastic turn, sort of re-evaluate what the strongest part of the song is and find an arrangement to accompany and cradle it. It’s like letting the recordings and performances dictate how the songs need to be presented.
It’s because of those kinds of situations that I think it’s best for me to record alone. I love having my friend Tristan play drums on my tracks, though. He’s a great drummer and brings a lot of good energy and ideas with him. My friend Cesar also comes up with some great bass parts too.
How did the connection with Asian Man records come about? It seems that many of the bands on the label have a much heavier sound than you. You are currently on tour with Dowsing, for example. It makes for a great show, I believe, by not having 3 bands that all sound similar on the same bill. But I wondered, do you see yourself fitting in with any particular music scene, either locally in the Phoenix area, or nationally by associating with the bands you tour with?
Asian Man Records came about because Diners had played a show with The Albert Square in San Jose in July of 2013. Bob Vielma, who at the time was an employee at Asian Man Records, happened to be at the show and he got in touch about the possibility of AMR putting out our album Always Room. The label didn’t end up releasing the album, but Bob ended up joint-releasing the LP on his own label, Phat ’n’ Phunky, along with Diet Pop Re- cords. A month after that album came out, Mike Park (owner of Asian Man Records) posted about the album saying that he should’ve put it out. Once I started recording Three, I asked Mike if he’d be down to put out the LP and he was!
As far as playing shows with eclectic lineups, I think it’s what everybody should be doing. That’s what makes for the best artistic communities. Seeing a show of four bands that all sound similar is so boring! Especially when it’s all straight white dudes, haha! Diverse styles and di- verse groups of people coming together, supporting and empowering each other is huge!
I’m not sure if there’s a specific group that Diners fits in with now days. I like floating around. The DIY pop scene is gigantic, spans coast to coast and around the world. I’m sure Diners probably sounds pretty similar to a lot of what’s going on in those communities. But yeah, for now I just like jumping around and playing shows with kind, supportive, like-minded people.
Diners are frequent visitors to the Northern Arizona live circuit; more at DinersMusic.com
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