Exposed Vocals Interviews Tubby Myers

Tubby Myers is an independent Producer/Songwriter/Musician living near  Seattle Washington. After playing bass in various styles with numerous  bands and more than a decade away from music, Tubby decided to work on his own projects, write/produce songs of various styles and  find the right musicians to collaborate with. Tubby Released his first singles – Forget You, featuring Ike Catrett in Jan 2015, Sunshine, featuring Fysah in March 2015, the instrumental-  Love One Another (featuring bay area sensation, Andrew Ferren on Sax and Flute) April 2015 and followed up in Sept 2015, releasing a collaboration with Andrew Ferren – Resolve – Stay tuned – Lots more more music in the works!

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Tubby: I grew up in Seattle. Saw a friend play guitar when I was a kid. He was playing Iron man and from then on, I was just hooked. We started a band and had three guitar players so I decided to play bass. I didn’t even know how to play guitar and I was already switching instruments to help the band. From there I played in Rock bands, Pop bands and eventually jazz(upright bass). Around 2001, after playing roughly 100  gigs in a year, while working fulltime at a job, got burned out and stopped playing for about 12 years. Started playing again, then a couple of years later, I started writing and recording, which was in mid to late 2014.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Tubby: My brother gave me the nickname Tubby when we were kids after Tubby, from Little Rascals. Myers is my last name. It stuck, a lot people call me Tubby. Probably because my brother said it so much, lol.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Tubby: It takes a lot of time to write, record, practice as well as expenses!! We do it for the art but its nice to get paid as well!! I do give some music away for free as a promotion or if someone likes it but can’t afford a download etc..

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Tubby: Booking gigs, getting airplay etc… takes some leg work unless you have an agent. Get online, make connections thru sites like reverbnation, meet people, network, go see other bands play and meet them, submit to online radio stations etc… Be active and keep learning the business/promotion end of it.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Tubby: Everyone makes mistakes, just get back on track and don’t apologize or roll your eye’s because you messed up. The best musicians in the world have had bad nights, mistakes etc… If it happens to them, it will happen to you. The best thing you can do is be prepared and really know your material as a band and individual. Have a good time and don’t let one mistake ruin the rest of the set!!

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

 

Tubby: Not on tour right now. Just working on producing more music. Lots of projects in the works with some amazing people. Playing out and touring is on the radar but no specific plans yet!!

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Tubby: Lots of different things can inspire me to write. My wife and kids, inspire me!! Something, good or bad happens, maybe I feel a certain way or heard a story that moved me. Sometimes I’m not inspired and start working on ideas anyway. I always have music in my head. I usually write a lyric down or grab an instrument and play what I’m hearing in my head. It evolves from there. Sometimes I just need to experiment until a new idea sounds good.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Tubby: I don’t have a website. I just use Tubby Myers Productions page on facebook and reverbnation.com/tubbymyers. I post music on soundcloud, reverbnation, YouTube and bandcamp. I also use Tunecore to release to Spotify, Rhapsody, Shazam, Amazon, Itunes, Rdio etc…

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Tubby: None. Really, I’m not embarrassed by anything I listen to or have on my mp3 player!!

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Tubby: Do what I am currently doing musically and bank as much of that money as possible. I would spend money on studio upgrades and session musicians to get material done faster. A few vacations as well for inspiration and relaxation

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Tubby: I currently do a lot of my work in a small separate studio in the back of my house. I have software, a focusrite audio interface, a laptop, basses, guitars, keyboards and microphones. Looking at upgrades for long term but no timeline. Short term, I like to keep expenses low and work with what I have.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Tubby: I use social media and word of mouth. I am always looking on the web for new places to post music, like reverbnation, soundcloud, Facebook band page etc… I am always looking to meet new people and find new places to promote. I have some musician friends that share ideas as well.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Tubby: Stevie wonder, anywhere, anytime. He’s one of my favorite singers, songwriters and musicians of all time. There are other people I’d like to work with as well but he seems like he’d be easy and fun to work with. So if I can only choose one, its Stevie!!

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Tubby: Working on more cuts with Bay area Sax and Flute player, Andrew Ferren as well as a couple of pop songs and an acoustic guitar vocal song.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Tubby: Thinking about making music, lol

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Tubby: I don’t remember what the first album I bought was. I do remember listening to James brown and the Beatles on our stereo when I was a kid. My mom had lots of music. I loved singing along with the Beatles and was really moved by the James Brown funky sound as well.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Tubby: Watch less tv for starters. Give up things that just aren’t as important as family, friends, music etc… Someone thought I was crazy because I told them I’ve only seen a few Seahawk games in the last few years.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?

Tubby: A couple of new songs coming very soon. Can’t tell you much more than that I am very excited about what’s coming up next. I am lucky to get to work with some amazing people!!