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Tyler Wagler-Local Musician Profile

July 12, 2007

Tyler WaglerTyler Wagler is a versatile bassist/guitarist/composer, raised in Owen Sound and currently living and working in Toronto. Wagler started playing guitar (obsessively) at the age of seven studying The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and most of the classic rock repertoire. At the age of thirteen he had the opportunity to attend the Kincardine Summer Music Festival, a week long camp where he jammed and took lessons from legendary blues guitarist Mel Brown. The experience was life-changing and he left the camp with a newfound passion for the blues to go with the newfound confidence he had gained from Mel Brown’s encouragement. After seeing Brown throw down an incendiary live show Tyler decided that his life would henceforth be devoted to music. Wagler spent most of his adolescence exclusively listening to and playing blues music, forming the blues band Jive On Rye with class mates Nick Barkley, Marty Sinclair and Joel Morelli.

Near the end of high school, Wagler discovered singer/songwriter Tom Waits and promptly abandoned his devotion to pure blues music. Realizing that the appeal of Tom Waits’ music was the attitude that one could incorporate any style of music and make something beautiful out of it, Wagler began to diversify his playing and composing, taking up bass and mandolin. Following the break-up of Jive On Rye he focused on being a singer/songwriter as well as being a sideman to Joel Morelli and others. Wagler can be heard playing bass, mandolin and guitar on Morelli’s second album, Live At The Roxy. Wagler also performed as a sideman to Morelli at the Summerfolk festival, where in later years he would also accompany Lars Jensen and David Sereda.

After completing high school, Tyler moved to Toronto and enrolled in the Jazz Bass Performance program at Humber College where he continued to diversify his playing and writing. During this time he almost completely abandoned the guitar, while focusing primarily on the upright bass and jazz composition. Wagler had the opportunity to study with bass virtuosos Mike Downes, Pat Kilbraide and most importantly multi-instrumentalist/composer Don Thompson. Equally important was the chance to meet and jam with classmates, some of the most talented, diverse and inspiring young musicians in the city.

Tyler WaglerAfter receiving a three-year diploma in Jazz Performance from Humber, Wagler continued to live in Toronto, teaching privately, playing jazz and forming the art-rock trio Backwoods Justice with Tim Carson and Rob Blank. Songwriting is shared equally within the band and Tyler plays upright and electric bass, acoustic and electric guitar live with the band as well as keyboards and percussion in the studio. After playing together for nearly two years they have added Christian Inglevics on drums and are about to release their second self-released EP Earthquake Feet. During this time, Wagler also joined the jazz quintet Sploink with Don Buchanan, Jason Hunter, Rob Gasidlo and Bruce Campbell. Their debut album is being released in summer 2007 and features all original music including five of Tyler’s compositions.

Wagler is currently living in Toronto, teaching privately, playing gigs with a wide variety of bands, composing and rededicating himself to the guitar after five years being exclusively a bass player. He has just joined the band Dan Fournier and The Pill as a guitar player after playing bass on their second album. Wagler will spend the summer of 2007 running rock and jazz camps in Toronto, releasing albums by Sploink and Backwoods Justice as well spending time in Owen Sound performing in David Sereda and Joan Chandler’s production of “Tom”, a musical based on the life of iconic painter Tom Thomson. Music from this production will be performed at the owen Sound art gallery at 8 p.m. on July 25th.

Listen to Music Composed by Tyler

Track 1: A Mid-Summer Night’s waltz (performed by Sploink)

Tyler’s Discography

Jive On Rye – Arbitrary Name – guitar, co-writer
Joel Morelli – Live At The Roxy – sideman – guitar, bass, mandolin
Backwoods Justice – Flowers Grow ‘Round The Stones – guitar, bass, co-writer
Backwoods Justice - Earthquake Feet – guitar, bass, organ, percussion, co-writer
Sploink – self-titled - upright bass, composer
Dan Fournier & The Pill – self-titled – upright and electric basses

Tyler’s Collaborators

Lars Jensen, Joel Morelli, David Sereda, Trevor McKenzie, Friendly Rich &The Lollipop People, Dan Fournier & The Pill, The Legendary Platters, Don Buchanan, Kara Harun, Yvonne Moore.

Tyler’s Influences

Radiohead, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Charles Mingus, Tom Waits, John Coltrane, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Miles Davis, Don Thompson, Burning Spear, Broken Social Scene, Fela Kuti, Radiohead, James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorius, The Beatles, Kenny Wheeler, Hawksley Workman, Beck, The Roots, Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Thanks to Tyler for sharing his music and bio with us for this profile. If you would like to see other local musicians, or if you would like to have a profile created for you, just visit our Find Local Musicians page.

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Written by adam · Filed Under Local Musician Profile, Music, Audio, theOwen 

Comments

2 Responses to “Tyler Wagler-Local Musician Profile”

  2. Catherine Howell Says:
    September 7th, 2007 at 9:52 am

    Congrats young man…………….
    met you once a long time ago through Marty and Connie Sinclair at a Summerfolk where you were doing demonstrations.
    Glad to know you are persuing your gift!
    You are very talented and it showed then.
    Keep on truckin’!!!!!!!!
    Catherine Howell

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