Tyler what inspired you to get involved with designing the May Banner for us?
Twitter, altruism, photoshop addiction, and a couple of free hours. Plus, we’d chatted before about gigging in Leeds and you seemed like Good People. Gratitude is severely underrated these days, I find. Anyway, I often and sit around a design stuff just because I love doing it so much… so it wasn’t a stretch for me to concentrate on a brief for once. I think most artists work better if there are limitations to push against.
So, Tyler, that’s not a typically English name is it? Where are you from and what brought you here?
I’m a refugee from the Bush adminstration. I came over from the states in 2005, but I’d been coming over with my (British) wife almost annually since 1994. I think some of the things about America that I had previously been happy to overlook started to gang up on me. It’s not like the movies… let’s just say that I’m much happier to raise my kids here.
Other than answer calls from vultures in distress what do you fill your time doing?
I am currently a professional musician. I mean: I don’t have a straight job anymore. That might have to change, but for the moment, I am as happy as a pig in shit that I don’t have to sit in an office every day, not playing music or designing anything.
Anything you’d like to plug shamelessly?
My album, ‘The Ocean Within’ which I finally finished this winter when I was properly snowed in (I work better when there are no distractions at all). It’s best to find it on http://tylermassey.bandcamp.com but you can get it from CDBaby, iTunes or Amazon as well. I’m pretty proud of my posters, too, which are at http://tylermassey.com/
What’s you secret super power?
My ability to write things in my sleep and then leap out of bed and write them down, word for word. I’m Hypnagogic Man. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have any decent songs at all.
Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this lovely site. I quite enjoyed making the banner and that.