Mojave Nomads: Interview with lead vocalist Tyler Harris
Interview by: Cypress Bates
Band Members: Tyler Harris – Lead Vocals, Mason Hill – Synth, Colter Hill – Lead guitar, Bryton Bell – Bass, Cole Eisenhour – Drums
You have a different sound than most of the bands we interview. How did you guys develop your sound?
It was almost 4 years ago now and it’s all of our first band- all five of us. We never really played in bands before so it kind of started out wanting to be like a Black Keys cover band. We were super into like really blues-y rock n’ roll kind of stuff. As we got older and matured we started writing songs which is kind of lead us to where we are no. We all have a crazy range of influences like from hip-hop to disco.
Who would you say are your top 3 influences?
For me personally I’d say Prince, Tame and Paula, and Run the Jewels.
Are there any specific venues you prefer playing over others?
Yeah, I really like Kilby Court in Salt Lake. That’s been like our hometown, it’s a little garage down an alleyway but it’s really just intimate and really nice.
Have you guys been on any international tours?
International, no, hopefully soon. That’d be really cool. We’d love to go.
Is there something [international] in the works?
Hopefully soon, just not anything in the works. Our synth player, Mason, is still in highschool so he needs to graduate before we can really go overseas or anything. He just turned 18, he’s our guitarist’s little brother. (Laughing) I didn’t hang out at a high school to find a keyboard player or anything.
Were you expecting to get as big as you did?
It definitely started out as a hobby and then we kind of were like, “oh wow, this kind of beats anything else”, so we may as well try to take it as far as we can, especially while we’re still fairly young and stuff. It’s easy to go back to college or easy to get a day job. Right now it just seems like a good opportunity. No, we didn’t really expect it but I don’t really feel like we’ve blown up or anything, really.
Where are you looking to take the band, is there a specific direction that you’re looking to go in?
To be able to do music 100% of the time, [music] is our main source of income, our main lifestyle. We all still have day jobs and stuff. That’s kind of rough, but literally as far as we can take it. I don’t want to put a cap on anything yet. Never say never, so.
How do you guys manage to have day jobs?
Yeah, it sucks. I take tables, my drummer slings shoes, and we’ve got a banker, and our bassist installs marble countertops- it’s just rough.
Are your jobs understanding?
Ehh, sometimes. I feel like I’m going to get fired almost every time we go out of state and I’ve got to take time off or something but I don’t. It’s been good so they must just like me.
Is there anything new that we should look out for? Any tour announcements or new albums?
Yeah, the re-release of our EP “Phases” which came out at the end of April. Then we got right back into the studio in May to record another single. Then tour more and keep doing it.
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Website: www.mojavenomads.com
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