Interview: Singer-Songwriter Tyler Meacham Discusses Her New Singles, "Nothing is Easy" and "Unknowing"
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“I wrote “Nothing Is Easy” as a companion piece to “Unknowing” and I wanted it to capture the feelings I had while waiting for the tide to turn.”
Congratulations on the release of your two new singles "Nothing is Easy" and "Unknowing"; what specifically inspired you to write the songs?
These two songs sum up all of the emotion, grief, hope, and precarity of the last year. I wanted to put a release together that sort of bookended life as an artist during the pandemic before moving on. "Unknowing" was written a few years ago and re-emerged as somehow way more meaningful to me now that it ever was before. It's an ode to ambiguity, which is a necessary, although sometimes painful part of life.
I wrote "Nothing Is Easy" as a companion piece to "Unknowing" and I wanted it to capture the feelings I had while waiting for the tide to turn. I was feeling all of the weight and finitude of the last year while waiting, somewhat impatiently, for things to change.
Tell us about your collaboration with Chip Hale; how did you two initially meet and decide to work together?
Chip and I began playing music together 3 years ago. He joined my band as the bassist and ended up becoming my partner in love, life, and music. He has a great ear for production and is a creative force in every project he's part of.
During the pandemic, we moved out of the city to a small house and began building a home studio, which now allows us to make music without limits. We challenge each other in many ways, but he wants the music to sound as good as it possibly can and that's all I can really ask for.
Can we expect music videos for these two songs, and will they be appearing on an upcoming EP or album this year?
I've released a one-take acoustic video of "Unknowing" and you can look out for "Nothing Is Easy" at the end of the month.
As for a full length record, stay tuned. All of my live shows were cancelled, so I spent the last year writing and recording quite a bit. The music is very different from these two acoustic tracks, but a song like "Unknowing" is very malleable, so there may be another version of the track on the way.
Being based in Richmond, VA, how would you describe the music scene there for emerging artists? Are there a lot of venues to perform at and opportunities to showcase new music?
Richmond has an incredible live music scene. I've heard it described as underground, but I can guarantee you, it's very much above-ground, alive and thriving. There are so many talented artists here across many genres.
We're a city that loves art and music, and I'm pretty sure we have the most craft breweries per capita, so there's a lot of space for performing artists, and there's something out there for everyone. The pandemic certainly put a strain on our local venues but as things begin to reopen, just about all of those venues have made it through and are starting to host shows again. We've also got a handful of places that offer outdoor, socially distanced shows which I'm sure will be popular over the summer.
With "Nothing is Easy" and "Unknowing" now released, what are some of your goals musically for the rest of 2021?
I have so much more on the way and I'm very excited for all of it. If all goes well, we're looking forward to playing lots of shows and touring, and introducing people to some new indie music they didn't know they needed.
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