TYLER MAHARD

Bio

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I began my musical journey as a drummer. Actually, before that, I used to tinker around on a piano at my grandparent's house and listen to George Thorogood on a cassette walkman, and classic rock that my dad would play in the car. Anyhow, I was a drummer in school ensembles (concert, jazz, and marching bands) from elementary through high school. As a teenager, I really had a liking for guitar solos. I was a huge fan of Aerosmith and Jimi Hendrix (still am) while most of my friends were more into modern bands like System of a Down or Linkin' Park (nothing against them).

     One day, during my high school days, I pulled my dad's acoustic guitar out of the attic and started looking up tabs for Purple Haze, House of the Rising Sun, Stairway to Heaven, and other rock tunes. I really enjoyed learning and playing guitar and pretty much any instrument I could get my hands on. I also started writing and recording my own music around this time. I also became the drummer for the hard rock band Tempest Edge, and we've played probably hundreds of shows over the past decade and a half or so.

     When I went to college, my taste in music expanded to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. I kept playing guitar and writing songs. I also joined a cool band called Kingfisher as their lead guitarist and occasional singer. I performed my songs at a few coffee houses and open mics around this time. During my senior year I won second place in the University of Connecticut's Woodsongs Songwriting Contest with the tune Burns My Eyes.

     After college I worked as a wildlife technician during the week and gigged with both Tempest Edge and Kingfisher. When I was 24, I discovered Neil Young's album Harvest, which he wrote when he was around that age. That album really resonated with me and I've been a huge Neil Young fan ever since. I left Connecticut and went to grad school in New Hampshire to study Wildlife Biology. Kingfisher disbanded, but I drove back for occasional Tempest Edge gigs and was still writing songs. I began performing regularly in Boston in an acoustic duo with Tempest Edge singer Jon Hollywood, and after that gigged regularly in New Hampshire and Maine with another acoustic duo. I made a few noteworthy recordings while in New Hampshire, including Donald and the instrumental album Tyler Mahard & The Mystery Band.

     At the end of 2017, I moved back to Connecticut after some serious health struggles with chronic Lyme Disease. As I was gradually recovering, I wanted to start playing more solo gigs, but felt my singing needed improvement. A voice teacher was recommended to me, and she really helped me improve my singing (her name was Noelle-- we fell in love and eventually would go on to perform together in an acoustic duo; check out Norfolk Sessions). During the pandemic I wrote and recorded Songs From the Living Room Closet. At the end of 2021 I released the single Bluff. I am currently planning and gearing up to record and release a full-length acoustic album of my original songs. Head to my Patreon Page if you'd like to help me move that project along. I'm working on new material all of the time and look forward to sharing more tunes soon!