Interview: The Tisburys
A Conversation With Tyler Asay About 'The Anniversaries' + Philly Playlist
Philadelphia is a hotbed of guitar pop activity these days and The Tisburys are one of the bands leading the charge.
Their latest single, “The Anniversaries,” almost feels like an outtake from their excellent 2022 album, Exile On Main Street, with a sound rooted as much in ‘90s Americana rock as it is in new Millennium indie pop. The Tisburys’ frontman Tyler Asay describes the track as “Jackson Brown fronting The Cure.”
“I started writing ‘The Anniversaries’ around the time we were getting ready to release Exile On Main Street. It was the first song I wrote for this new album and I always knew it would be the first single to kick off the next era of the band,” Asay told me for the interview below.
“It’s probably the most ‘classic Tisburys’ of the new songs (upbeat, jangly, big catchy chorus). Thematically, it made sense to release in the fall since the lyrics have to do with the passing of time and the leaves changing colors.”
“The Anniversaries” is the first taste of a new album coming next year and it immediately leaves you wanting more.
“I consider the new album an evolution of what we developed on Exile, which felt like the first album of ours that tapped into our ‘sound.’ The first three Tisburys records were recorded very DIY in basements and living rooms, this was the first one recorded in a proper studio. It feels like the first ‘adult’ Tisburys record,” Asay said.
“It's definitely more polished, and we leaned into the ‘pop’ in terms of production, with all the pieces of the songs in the right place to make sure the arrangements really sang for maximum catharsis.”
I caught up with Asay by email on the heels of the single release, and as the band prepares to play Philly Music Fest on Oct. 26.
Tyler Asay Interview
Congrats on the great new single and video. Can you tell me a little about how "The Anniversaries" came together?
Tyler Asay: Thanks Steve! We shot the music video at The Doff & Tulip, a studio our friend/guru James works out of in northeast Philly (he's the one doing the countdown in the beginning). Bob Sweeney directed it, our goal was to capture the vibe of us as a band performing/recording together and capturing a moment, similar to The Beatles in "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" from Help!
This is one of your most collaborative tracks yet. How did that additional involvement from your bandmates help shape this track?
Tyler Asay: This song went through a lot of versions. One of the goals with our new album was to make sure every instrument was playing a clearly defined "part" and not just strumming along. John (Domenico, lead guitarist) and Jason (McGovern, keyboardist/producer) were more involved in the demo process, helping to build the arrangement before we even hit the studio.
There were a couple different versions of this song, which we might release at some point to show the evolution of how the song was written. One of which was a “half-time version” that John and Dan (Nazario, drummer) were really pushing for, we performed it live a couple times. There were also times to experiment, such as Dan recommending that the bass be cut out in the 2nd verse and Ben (Cardine, bass) adding that great fill to bring it back in.
"The Anniversaries" was mixed and mastered by some indie rock pros. Is this track indicative of a new sonic direction for The Tisburys?
Tyler Asay: We recorded this song (and about half of the new record) at Dr. Dog’s studio in the Philly suburbs with our longtime producer/engineer Justin Nazario (our drummer Dan’s brother). For mixing, we enlisted Phil Joly who was the in-house engineer at Electric Lady in NYC for a decade (he recorded Nile Rodgers' guitar part on "Get Lucky"!). We went up to his place in Allentown to finalize the mixes and it was super fun to make everything sound as big as we could. We wanted this record to sound at home in both tiny dive bars but also big open rooms. Sonically, there are a couple new tricks we are trying out (especially with drum sounds) but the songwriting and instrumentation is classic Tisburys, just dialed up.
From the sneak peek I got at the new album, I was really struck by the opener "By A Landslide," as well as "Painted Eyes" and "Wildfire." Are any of those contenders to be the second single?
Tyler Asay: So glad those songs stuck out to you! It must have been the horns.
Nope. The 2nd single is decided and will be released in January when we announce the album. Our goal with “The Anniversaries” was a primer for our return since this song sounds most like it could have been on Exile On Main Street. "Wildfire" is more of a disco/dance jam and "Painted Eyes" is our yacht rock song (arranged by John, of course). The whole album fits together like a puzzle, I'm really excited for people to hear the whole thing.
You wrote an excellent essay (“Popadelphia Popnation”) about the Philadelphia guitar pop scene for Remember The Lightning: A Guitar Pop Journal, Volume 3, but I still have to ask—why is there so much great pop rock coming out of Philadelphia these days?
Tyler Asay: Like I said in the essay, Philly is an underdog, blue-collar town and guitar pop is an underdog, blue-collar music genre. We’re in the shadow of NYC but our history and culture is close-knit because of that. I was just listening to the new 2nd Grade singles this morning, I can't wait for their new record. Pete is a brilliant dude. It’s also been really cool to see a newer crop of Philly guitar pop bands pop up in the past few years (like Log Flume, The Jette Planes, and Benny P) to see that tradition continue.
I recently started another project with the Ben and the Nazario brothers called Ketch Up that doubles down on the capital P "power pop" in a lo-fi/garage sense. I write so many songs, it's nice to be able to share them in different capacities. We've recorded a bunch of songs that I hope to release soon!
Outside of fellow Philly bands, what are you listening to these days?
Tyler Asay: New records by Wild Pink, Bad Moves, and Quivers are among my favorites of the year. We just played with Quivers (jangle pop band from Australia) over the weekend and they were such a tight live band and very kind people as well. Check out their new album Oyster Cuts on Merge!
I know The Tisburys are playing Philly Music Fest on Oct. 26. I assume "The Anniversaries" will be on the setlist. Will you be showcasing any of the other new songs?
Yes! We’ve been playing “Forever” and the album closer “Here Comes The Lonesome Dove” on the road the past couple months. It’s been fun to figure out the live arrangements for the new songs in real time because they were mostly developed in the studio. We hope to hit the road next year and the setlist will be most of the new record. Tickets for Philly Music Fest at Underground Arts with Devon Gilfillian, Mondo Cosmo, and Emily Drinker on sale now.
Remember The Lightning—A Guitar Pop Journal, Vol. 4—> Print/eBook
This rules. I’m really excited to hear the rest of the upcoming record!
So happy to have The Tisburys back and can't wait to hear the new album next year.