Getting to Know…The Scared Crows | Interview

For the 15^th ‘Getting to Know’ Interview, frontman Tyler Forrest gives us the lowdown on his rising Los Angeles rock band, The Scared Crows.

Fresh blood is always welcome on The Musical Hype… wait, that totally didn’t sound right.  By ‘fresh blood,’ we’re not talking about vampires and creepy stuff, but rather up-and-coming artists and bands.  For our latest ‘Getting to Know’ interview, we welcome rising Los Angeles rock band The Scared Crows. Who better to provide The Musical Hype with the ‘lowdown’ than the frontman of this up-and-coming collective, Tyler Forrest? Without further ado, Interview #15 with Tyler Forrest of The Scared Crows!

Interviews & Artist Interactions

Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype (BF): Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with The Scared Crows, what would you say makes you/your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off? 

Tyler Forrest, The Scared Crows (TF): Our uniqueness starts with the blend of voices that have come together to form the sound of The Scared Crows. Each member has such a distinct taste in music, melody and rhythm. When combined with quirky lyrics and song themes, it creates something fresh that you have never heard before. We don’t really follow any “rules” or trends in making music. We just like to be ourselves. You can expect an honest, emotive vocal accompanied by tasty guitar solos and slammin’ bass lines. Guaranteed to rock your socks off.

BF: Awesome. Let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did The Scared Crows form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on? 

TF: The band had been a dream of mine for a long time. I came up with the project idea while writing a screenplay. I have been writing songs my whole life and after a few years off, I had collected a large repertoire of originals. The band started from jamming around North Hollywood, bouncing around apartments and venues. I was always on the lookout for the right talent. When the other guys appeared, we knew it right away. So, we started jamming exclusively and The Scared Crows was officially born. But, the lineup is always evolving. While the core remains the same, we like to bring in others to join us for some fun on stage and recordings. That’s the vision. The Scared Crows as a collective. We want to share the experience of music with everyone.

BF: Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now? 

TF: We’re all pretty experienced in band life, so our goals are much different from our younger selves. Before, I would aspire to be a famous musician or become the biggest band in the world. I was really competitive. But, since starting this project, my perspective has completely shifted. There are so many talented people around us and I want to work with those people and learn from them. I want to share my own wisdom. My main goal today is to be able to inspire others through honest music. The money, fame, and glory are just noise.

BF: Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential? 

TF: I get inspiration from other songwriters. The ones with lots of experience and big world views like Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson. CCR is great. Throw Dr. Dre in there, too. Influence comes and goes and there’s always something new to discover that will move me or teach me something new about songwriting. A lot inspiration comes from my peers. In NoHo there are so many unique musicians. I love that.

BF: Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative. 

TF: So many good stories. Here’s one that comes to mind. I was playing a show somewhere in Georgia. I noticed blood smeared around the stage. I mean lots of it. I had been stepping in it without noticing. I had no idea where it was coming from until my band mate motioned to me. I had somehow cut the side of my head mid performance. I couldn’t feel it at all, but there was enough blood to make someone gag. It was flowing down the side of my face and arm. There was a guy side stage with a roll of paper towels already waiting. Of course, we finished the song, but after I had to take a minute to clean up and investigate. Turns out I somehow cut my head with my guitar’s headstock. I knew it from the little patch of blood on the tuning key. It was gnarly.

BF: That’s wild! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special? 

TF: It changes depending on the setting and atmosphere. Sometimes it’s “Mercy”, a heavy rock tune where I belt the vocal and whale on my guitar. In more intimate settings I really enjoy playing “Sippin’ On Sunshine”. It’s a slower, vibey tune all about feeling good and sharing experiences with your friends. It was born from apartment jams. We sit in a circle and everyone sings a verse. In a full band setting, we like to jam around and improvise. It’s a simple two-chord song that is really fun to let go and flow with the momentum and energy of the music. I have one video of us performing and it went for fourteen minutes. Love that.

BF: Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits? 

TF: We’re really into photography, which really helps with branding and delivering a consistent experience associated with the band. Adrian Hires, our bass player, always comes equipped with his 35mm film camera and I bring a digital camera everywhere I go, whether it’s for stills or video. If you come to one our shows, expect to be included in a few shots. I am just as passionate about photography as I am music.

BF: Closing this thing out, what is you/your band currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.  

TF: We’re a new band, so we’re still building our audience. Right now, we are focused on playing locally around North Hollywood and the rest of Los Angeles. We have regular shows coming up at this sick place in NoHo called The Alley, a historic little music shack where every music legend from The Eagles to Michael Jackson wrote, rehearsed, and recorded in the 70’s. We’ve been volunteering over there, helping renovate the space to be a live music venue. It’s been extremely rewarding. We are also preparing to record our debut full length album, Electric Suicide. That process begins at the top of 2019.

BF: Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.  

TF: No problem. Looking forward to the next one.

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