Tyrone Wells is a singer/songwriter who has had music featured on television shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “One Tree Hill”. Tyrone recently released his 8th studio album titled “Where We Meet”. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Tyrone about his new album.
Adam Lawton: Can you give us an overview of the new album?
Tyrone Wells: “Where We Meet” is my first full length release since being on Universal Records. This is an independent release which allowed for a lot of freedom. I wasn’t forced to write something that the label thought was suitable for their purposes. It was more about what I felt like releasing. The whole thing was very freeing. I took about 2 years to make the album as I wanted the songs to be something I could stand behind. I initially wrote about 80 songs over the last two years to be considered for the album. I actually recorded 23 or 24. The songs that weren’t used for the album will most likely be released on and EP sometime this year. I have loved being indie again. It’s like coming back home as it is similar to what I was doing prior to signing with Universal.
AL: How did you go about narrowing down the 12 songs that appear on the album from the initial 80 you had written?
TW: I work real closely with my manager. When I write a song I will often do a simple vocal/guitar demo. I will then send it to him and a few other people I trust to have them weigh the song. If I really feel like fighting for a song I just stick to my guns and record the song. I do like having ears to bounce ideas off of because I could think a song is really great while others may not think the same. It’s good for me to have the process that I do.
AL: How do the new songs compare to some of your previous works?
TW: You kind of never know. You have to release it and see just how it does. I am a good finisher in that if I start something I make sure it’s completed. It’s good to be disciplined like that. It makes it a lot easier to critique when you are hearing something in its finished state. As far as a difference from my previous work I am not sure as the new songs are basically acoustic guitar and vocals. If they were fully produced I am unsure what type of life the songs would take on.
AL: What can you tell us about your YouTube channel?
TW: I actually have been a little bit slow to use YouTube. When I started doing music it wasn’t even around yet. We are really starting to see how important it is. It’s fun to be able to throw some stuff up on there. I recorded 4 or 5 of the songs live on the album and we have video of that on the channel. I think it’s a good tool to get your music out there.
AL: Are you planning on touring off of the new album?
TW: We have a big tour planned. We start at the South by South West festival in March. From there we are doing a 2 week long west coast run. After a week or so break we will be heading back out to tour the rest of the country. I think we are playing somewhere around 42 dates. We should be visiting just about every major market.
