Wild Child — A Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown Music Education
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If you pay attention to the rock scene, you probably know these guys in some way. At this point, it’s almost impossible to avoid them. They’ve opened for Guns N’ Roses, B. B. King, Aerosmith, Heart, the late great Tom Petty, ZZ Top, and countless other legends.
Since his young age, Tyler Bryant, the lead guitarist and singer of The Shakedown, has been on the rock radar. When he was 15, Eric Clapton recruited him to play in his Crossroads Festival, which is impressive enough. Later he was heavily featured in the Rock Documentary “Rock Prophecies” in 2010 and had his track “Who I Am” playable on Guitar Hero 5.
At the age of 17, Tyler moved to Nashville from Texas, and soon after formed The Shakedown along with Caleb Crosby on the drums, and later on picked up Graham Whitford on rhythm guitar and Noah Denney on the bass and backup vocals. With this mix of talent, the neo-classical rock band Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown was born.
Downtown Tonight, Wild Child (2013)
At the bottom of the well my wish is waiting its turn,
Like a pack of cigarettes, I’m just waiting to burn”
This song has become a staple in the band’s live shows, and it’s easy to see why. It’s an easy-going song. The slide riff plays throughout most of the song, but the changing harmony behind it, and the addition of layers throughout the song makes it fresh and interesting.
Presumably written about a person who, after being so hard at work, goes downtown to live a more luxurious life…or about something completely different. Maybe you’ll learn about that when you’re older.
This song shows off Tyler’s blues roots, as does most of this debut album. It’s easy to hear the country blues in the slide and lead playing. The production of this song, and the entire album, amplify the blues-rock feeling as the vocals feel like they’re coming from an older microphone, and everything feels like it easily could’ve been recorded in the late 70s or early 80s.
House on Fire, Wild Child (2013)
“Once in a while there comes a new kind of style
A freaky natural child who was born to be wild”
Right from the get-go, this song shows their harder rock influences. Often played at festivals and in high energy parts of the set, it’s easy to see why this song is a fan and band favourite.
The lyrics are self-explanatory: the band were in their early twenties when they wrote this anarchic anthem designed to incite moshpits at their gigs. The entire song shows off their reckless attitude, amplified by the Tritone interval riffs. They’re not afraid of sounding ugly.
The guitar tone and guitar parts are simple, but perfectly simple. They fit the song, and they allow the lyrics to shine while still adding harmonic content. The guitar solo is simply Tyler Bryant doing his thing, and would we want it any other way?
Criminal Imagination, The Wayside (2015)
“I got a criminal imagination
Just waiting on an invitation”
Opening this song is arguably my favourite bass riff of all time. Add in a touch of reverse guitar, and you can feel that their sound has evolved comparative to their previous record. This sound combines hard rock with grunge and blues rock and it’s a wonder to listen to.
The vocal harmonies, supporting the main melody and not getting in the way, some lead lines during their instrumental breaks, and beautiful guitar fills add to the sound. Your speakers feel like they are blowing up. And how could I possibly forget the duel guitar solo? It’s a sonic delight, a highlight at their live shows.
The Wayside, The Wayside (2015)
“Creep, creep through the dead of the night,
The hardest of times bring the strangest delight.”
Yes, it’s a ballad with the extremely used i — bVII — bVI chord progression, how exciting! However overused that chord progression may be, this song feels fresh. Showing their more vulnerable side, Tyler talks about his mental struggles, something he’s often very vocal about.
The song builds up steadily, starting with just a guitar, some more guitar, drums and bass, and eventually adding some strings. The song feels full and interesting on every listen: it is not undermined by the simplistic chord progression.
Likely Tyler Bryant’s best guitar work, the solos really show his abilities to convey emotion through the guitar. Make sure you watch the Live From The Beast version if you want to really hear Tyler’s incredible guitar work during the amazing solos.
Ramblin’ Bones, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown (2017)
“This song is about being on the road. We love touring and playing Rock and Roll.” — Tyler Bryant
Another song towards the calm side, it’s one of the group’s most popular songs. Tyler shows off, yet again, that he’s got blues chops. This entire song is a homage towards country blues, using a resonator guitar with a slide as the main carrier of the harmony. The track is often played unplugged with a few, simple drums.
A song written about touring but abandoning the rock cliché of it all is what makes this song refreshing. It’s not a hard rocker, like ‘‘Immigrant Song’’, and it doesn’t mention touring at all, unlike “It’s a Long Way to the Top”.
That’s the detail that I think makes this song so good. Anyone that travels can relate to the song. But also, it’s just such a good song. Easy to sing along with, and great fun. Try pulling out this song next time you’re sitting next to a campfire.
Weak and Weepin’, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown (2017)
“Graham had the riff for this song for so long. He drove us all crazy with it during countless rehearsals and sound checks. Eventually, we just wrote the damn song! I’m glad we did because it’s so much fun to play.” — Tyler Bryant
Wow. This is the song that made me fall in love with this band. Nothing compares to hearing this song as you’ve been waiting for Guns N’ Roses to come out — it makes such a band evermore valuable, given that their audience probably isn’t there to see the opening act. Yet, what an amazing opening song this is.
This song is infused with the essence of Rock and Roll. A powerful rockin’ intro riff, an energetic chorus, an amazing guitar solo, dynamic range in the bridge, a powerful ending, and great backing vocals, all topped off with great drums, production and guitar and bass tones.
I’m not sure if you can tell, but this is by far my favourite studio release by Shakedown. It might not be one of their most popular songs, but if you go to a Shakedown show, either headlining or opening, you won’t see a single person standing still during this tune.
Aftershock, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown (2017)
“When it comes to news, I’ll be the last to know
When it comes to your swings, you always aim so low”
This song is the best example of how much this band changes between releases. In between The Wayside and Self-Titled, Tyler Bryant immersed himself in the early 90’s grunge scene, and you can really tell by listening to most of the songs on the album. Songs like this, “Easy Target” and “Manipulate Me” are so much darker and groovier than usual.
The intro is something that I would play over and over on my guitar. The first 10 or so seconds is incredible. However, I think an overlooked part of this song is the bassline, that acts more as a counterpoint melody, which propels the song forward.
The chorus is so simple and intricate at the same time. The vocal parts fit so well, with the more complex guitar part underneath. Every second of this song is unique and original.
Ride, Truth and Lies (2019)
“I wanted the guitar to sound like you took a bunch of Mississippi dirt and put it in a jar with a bunch of Texas dirt and shook it all up” — Tyler Bryant
“Ride” is about enjoying life and all its steps. This song is groovy. You can hear the Mississippi blues influence in the main riff mixed with their main sound, which sounds fresh and fantastic.
This album’s overall sound appeals to a more radio / modern rock sound, but thankfully, the band’s core sound is still there. This song is the perfect example of this in my opinion, as it’s clearly more radio oriented with its 3:26 time, but doesn’t compromise, keeping a guitar solo in the track, and not changing their signature flare.
Eye to Eye, Truth and Lies (2019)
“It just happened really quickly, but it took a lot of fighting to make sure that we weren’t straight ripping off Soundgarden and doing something original” — Tyler Bryant
The song kicks you in the face with its gorgeous riff. The entire song hinges on it, holding out and building a superstructure of a song. Every single rhythm guitar part in this song is wonderful to listen to.
The solo is maybe one of the weakest in the album, but the weakest for Tyler Bryant is still a great solo. The ending is so powerful and perfectly ends the song and gets you ready for the next song.
Out There, Truth and Lies (2019)
“If you love somebody, don’t let them slip through your hands
And float away like sand”
This song is likely one of the strongest in this album, which might have to do with how old, and therefore refined it is. This song has been around since 2013, when Tyler Bryant posted a video of himself singing and playing this song, shortly after writing it.
It’s such a simple song, just a resonator and a voice, and little more. But it’s so powerful. It’s written about something that most people have thought about. The consistent high emotion, low energy throughout the track is incredibly moving and is definitely a good choice of music to cry to.
The production of the track simply amplifies the closeness, as neither the voice nor instrument feel far away, so it’s very intimate. The slide solo is emotional and is perfectly placed within the song.
I really hope you enjoyed these ten tracks. If you find yourself caught up in the Shakedown, take some time and, I cannot stress this enough, listen to every official release. It’s only around two hours and a half of your time. If you enjoy that, there’s also a couple of releases that can no longer be found on streaming sites, but you can find them on YouTube. My personal favourite is the live version of “Wash Me Holy”. With that, I hope you enjoy Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown as much as I do!
‘Wild Child — A Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown Music Education’ is the second in a series of articles on underappreciated artists we love. Find out more on articles like this one, and others, on our twitter!
