Most novice guitarists are introduced to the blues via superstar practitioners of the genre like Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan, but for 26-year-old Texas native Tyler Bryant, frontman of classic-rock revivalists Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown, the indoctrination was more unusual.
Bryant experienced a second musical awakening at 16. “I went to a Black Crowes show and realized, This is just blues, but with more distortion, long hair and a little more attitude! This is what I wanna do!” Duly inspired, the guitarist headed to Nashville at 17 and assembled the Shakedown, which includes fleet-fingered Graham Whitford, son of Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford, on second guitar. “I was first introduced to Tyler as the guy who was going to put him out of a job, which didn’t go over so well,” chuckles Whitford. “But we ended up hitting it off!”
Word of the Shakedown’s electrifying performances spread quickly, and along with releasing two high-energy albums, the group soon found itself in arenas supporting ZZ Top and Aerosmith.
When a 2016 label restructuring left the Shakedown without a deal, the group, hot off a stint opening for AC/DC, repaired to Bryant’s basement to start recording. “We didn’t want to spend thousands making a record,” Bryant says. “So we decided to see what we could do in the Bombay Palace, which is what I call my studio. I was like an alcoholic living in a bar! I could do 70 solos, and there was no one there to go, ‘Dude, maybe you got it 50 takes ago!’ ”
Bryant’s time underground was well spent, as the Shakedown’s new self-titled release (via Snakefarm Records) showcases not only his and Whitford’s blues-rock chops, but also songwriting depth that spans the booty-shaking riffery of “Weak and Waepin’ ” to the atmospheric balladry of “Into the Black.”
“I wanted to make a record that takes you on a journey,” says Bryant. “It’s like watching a good movie. It’s not action the whole time, and it’s not romance the whole time.”
AXOLOGY
• GUITARS (Bryant) Fender Custom Shop 1960 Strat, Fender Custom Shop “The Judge” Strat with EVH bridge pickup and Fender Twisted Tele neck pickup, 1931 National Duolian, Fender baritone Telecaster; (Whitford) Gibson Custom 1958 Les Paul Standard and 1958 Les Paul Junior reissues
• AMPS (Bryant) Marshall 1959 SLP; (Whitford) 3 Monkeys 100-watt Kitchen Monkey
• EFFECTS (Bryant) Strymon Timeline, Origin Effects Cali76 Compressor, Dunlop Cry Baby Wah 535q, Electro-Harmonix POG, ZVEX Mastotron and Fuzz Factory, Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh, Rodenberg Custom Amplification 828 dual overdrive; (Whitford) Klon Centaur, Klon KTR, Strymon Flint, Timeline and Lex, Xotic EP Booster
