From garage band dreams to Austin’s music scene, explore Tyler Brunner’s adventurous musical path and how NYU shaped his journey.
I’m just a boy who grew up exploring the woods, kicking his skateboard in several directions, watching Disney movies in the basement with his big brother, and writing angsty songs with his garage band. The same spirit of adventure that permeated my veins years ago continues to fuel me today.
Through the years, as the world’s conforming hug became tighter and tighter, I realized that music-singing and performing—were vital parts of this world that kept my soul ripe and vibrant. After going through high school performing at every assembly, concert, and open mic I could get my hands on, I found myself graduated and halfway through undergrad before I said, Enough is enough. Either I was expanding my knowledge in the one area that had brought me peace over the years, or I was stepping out of the academic realm and exploring the outside world.
I finished strong with my college journey and received my BA in Music: Vocal Performance. I even picked up some wonderful gigs on the weekends with a few classmates and created a band with whom I shared unforgettable memories.
Now that college was over, it was time for DUN DUN DUN…brace yourselves…THE REAL WORLD. After completing an unforgettable internship at Flying Television and falling in love with the city, I was determined to return directly to New York. However, I decided to explore LA and Nashville before making a decision. This is around the time my big brother Nick told me to check out a place called Austin. My immediate reaction was “Texas!? Do you know me at all!?” Of course this was before everyone decided to film their next Netflix show there, and everyone across the country packed up their bags to head there. All that to say, I ended up moving to Austin almost immediately after visiting.
I’m in Austin, Texas, the “Live Music Capital of the World”… a place known for consistently showcasing unconventional music… I’m all in. For the next four years I sang song after song at weddings, corporate events, casinos, festivals, bars/clubs…and I still managed to sing in the shower every once in a while. I even took some acting gigs and stayed busy with acting/dancing classes on the weekdays. When I wasn’t singing, I was teaching voice and piano, which I’m still blessed to be doing today.
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BUT THEN…THE PANDEMIC. Live Music Who!?… All gigs have been canceled until further notice, so what are our next steps? Pack up the dog (Shimmer ♥️) and head home to Maryland to spend some quality “quarantined” time with the family. On that 24-hour drive down the road, I thought, Well, if there’s ever a time to further my knowledge in performing, while performing isn’t an option, it’s NOW! I said, I’ll apply to NYU (something I’ve always dreamed about doing), and if I get in, I’ll go. Two weeks after getting accepted, I moved back to NYC and started my master’s program in vocal performance: music theatre. I didn’t return to Austin to retrieve my belongings until after the first semester had ended. However, as Anna Delvey would say, “life is for living,” which I find amusing.
Going back to school to learn more about the craft was one of my best choices. Since moving to the city, I have had the opportunity to perform in multiple productions, such as Storm, The Good Trouble Mixtape, and In Pieces, which the composer himself, Joey Contreras, was able to attend. I’m also grateful to have performed as a selected vocalist for the NYU Commencement Ceremonies at Radio City Music Hall and Yankee Stadium.
Immediately after graduating, I had the honor of playing Claude in a production of Hair the Musical as a part of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, as well as performing in a production of Jersey Boys as Joe Pesci/Frankie Valli US.
My current projects include performing as guest entertainment with NYC3Live and Shades of Bublé aboard various cruise lines, recording demos for up-and-coming musicals, and performing as a soloist at venues such as The Green Room 42.
This is the story up until now. But hey, I’m just riding the wave God’s got for me, so hold tight!! I’m excited to continue my swim through the stream of the Audition Scene. I want to perform in shows that hold meaning and inspire. These are performances that leave you feeling alive. I am open to performing on stages, in front of cameras, or on any platform. I just want the work to come from a place of life, spirit, and transformation.
How would you describe your music style?
-My style has evolved parallel with the journey of my life. At a young age I was writing in garage bands with genres spanning from alternative, to screamo, to heavy metal and punk. As I went on in life I fell into the acoustic scene with a more John Mayer and David Gray inspired sound. When I was in college I started writing with a Rock band; and I have also been a part of projects ranging from Country to Pop and Hip-Hop.
Since venturing out on my own as a solo artist, my music has transitioned from pop acoustic to a more radio Pop sound. The tracks I have most recently been working on would generally fall under the Pop umbrella; but you can find indie rock, electronic dance, and (whatever we all want to classify Coldplay’s sound as) blended in where that specific sound was being summoned.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
-God has been and is my biggest influence as he shapes each moment I experience. I find influence from so many other artists in the industry and their form of expression. Every sound that passes through my ears has been influencing me throughout my life. Whether that be the oldies and classics before my time with various Motown artists, The Beatles, Queen, and so many more. Or the beginning of my journey here with boy bands of the 90’s like The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. To the grunge and metal of Nirvana and Escape The Fate. To all the ins and outs of early 2000s R&B/Hip Hop like Chris Brown and T-Pain. Even the Theatre I’ve been surrounded with has taken to my influence and sound. Some of my go to favorites for sound, talent and lyricism have to be Coldplay, Adele, and Sam Smith. Most recently I’ve been loving all the Indie takeover, as well as artists like Jake Wesley Rogers and Benson Boone.
Can you share a story behind one of your songs?
-My latest release, TRY, came to me while I was on a walk with my dog Shimmer on a day where one of life’s many challenges was very present and heavy to carry. This song at the core is truly an expression of hopelessness and despair at the cusp of my relationship with my partner of almost 8 years. In the moments of reflecting on the communication challenges we were facing, I became aware that I needed to accept that it takes the willingness of both people in a relationship to continue on together; and that the only thing one can do in these moments of uncertainty is to accept the decision of whether or not the other person is willing to continue to Try for the sake of continuing on together. The contrast in the musicality between the verses and the chorus is a reflection of those moments of despair and the forcefulness of accepting the hard truths of life while they are happening in the midsts of emotional turmoil.
What do you enjoy most about performing live?
What I enjoy MOST about performing live is the opportunity to connect with an audience from the stage, while sharing in the gift of music to collectively experience a feeling of joy together in the present moment of THE NOW. We are all one in God, and it’s all one big experience we get to share together. Music has a way of bringing awareness of that unity to each individual as we all share in the very moments that we are being blessed with to experience together.
How do you connect with your audience during a show?
-When you listen to a sound, where does it come from? If you close your eyes is the sound still there? The life of a sound is invisible yet truly alive and sent from the Divine. The vibrations from the strings of the guitar, the percussion of the drums, the vocal cords being amplified through the microphone; they travel through space into your ear and then into the inner reality of your being. It’s one of the most connected experiences we are blessed to enjoy. I may be on the stage, but I’m just another body in the room. I like to look out and see the people present there with me in that very moment and know that our unity is being experienced through this invisible, exciting, language of its own- that we call Music.
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