RWR: Meet Tyler (drummer, runner & cool cat)

"Today, I’m just so purely happy to be living, period.  I’m also totally ready for
the next curveball that life has in store for me.  Bring it on, world!"

~ Tyler Silva

Earlier this year, my husband began to forward me emails from one of his co-workers entitled Song pick of the week.  Naturally, my interest was piqued.  In each one he would introduce the band, often and up and comer, describe their sound, and discuss any other relevant pieces of info that he felt were worth sharing.  After receiving a couple of these gems, I asked my husband to let this guy, Tyler, know that I was really digging his picks and to please keep them coming my way.  So, Jeff relayed my message and then told him a little bit about me, my love for running and music and this blog.  Well, wouldn't you know it.  Tyler is a runner, too.  Of course he is.  Over the months, the songs kept coming and my funk band knowledge continued to rapidly expand.  Awesome.  Then, in June, Jeff send me this one:

Song pick of the week 
----> show this to your wife.  EXCELLENT music to run to.
EMEFE is from Brooklyn.  One of the only afro-beat horn bands in the world right now.  All kids in their mid-20s with unbelievable musical skills.   I haven't been able to stop listening to them.  This has been my running/ workout song of the week.  Bad ass music video too.

Well, that was it.  I needed to know more about this kid, hear what else he had to say, and then to share it with you.  Fortunately, he was fired up to oblige.  Clearly, he is a runner who rocks.  Here's his story.

RWR: TYLER SILVA

Name: Tyler Silva
Where you're from: Springfield, MA
Where you reside now: Ludlow, MA
Age: 23
Occupation: Business Analyst During the day.  Studio/Live Drummer at night.  
Blog/website: facebook.com/fatbradley  (my original funk band, Fat Bradley. AKA: my pride and joy)

RUNNING & MUSIC
What do you love most about running?  
My answer to this might be more obscure than most. I mean It’s exercise, it’s a way to kill time, it’s a way to challenge one’s self with new goals every day, and of course, there are endless therapeutic values.   My main reason however is simply…  I like to get lost!  Nothing excites me more than traveling to a new city on a vacation or for a gig with a band, not knowing what the hell is around me, and just going out to discover the world.  I’ve found some of my favorite places on Earth this way, along with some not-so-great (or safe) areas.  It’s a way for me to get in touch with not only myself, but also my surroundings.  I find that in the daily grind of work, deadlines, and responsibilities… it’s way too easy to forget about the beautiful world that surrounds us.  Being out of touch with my surroundings as a human is really a (sort-of) fear that lingers in the back of my mind.  Luckily, I’m constantly a victim of severe Wanderlust, and I love it!  Running is kind of my tool to discovery.

What do you love most about music?  
Almost everyone in the world is born with a sense of sound.  Mom’s heartbeat is where it all starts, for all of us.  The first sound that we hear is that of “life”.  As Frank Zappa said in one of his last-ever living interviews, all that music really is is the organization of sounds. I like that fact that music is a type of phenomenon that ALL people can familiarize with and interpret in their own unique way.  For us musicians, I love the fact that we are the “organizers of sound” in the world.  We are responsible for shaping and tailoring the sounds around us to interpret an idea, a belief, or how we feel on the deepest of levels.  Whether you’re a musician or just a listener, music is almost like an “ultimate network” that keeps all of us intertwined as one being.   Am I getting to “hippie” for you?

THE SIMPLE ANSWER: What I love most about music is that more than anything… its one of the few truly organic things in life that keep people truly human. It’s hard to find that kind of phenomena in today’s world of “artificial sweeteners”.

Tyler on drums

TYLER'S FAVORITES
Band (current, all time or both): 
I think its safe to say that my all-time favorite is Nine Inch Nails.  However, don’t let that be the describer of my taste.  Currently I’m obsessed with Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads, and more recently, a funk orchestra from Brooklyn called Snarky Puppy… just to name a few.

Album (current, all time or both):
My current favorite has got to be Like Clockwork, the newest release by Queens of the Stone Age.  Favorite album of all time is tied between The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails  &  Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd.

Northfield Mountain

(fun fact: this is where my XC team ran for their state meet in 2012)

Race venue: Northfield Mountain, Northfield, MA (extremely intense 5k course. see photo)
Music venue: Royale in Boston (new favorite), and The Roxy in Los Angeles
Race distance: 5k
Show you've seen live? Another honest tie between the Lights in the Sky Tour by Nine Inch Nails, and The Wall by Roger Waters
Ice cream flavor?  Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food



THIS OR THAT:
Sweet or salty?  Sweet. No, Salty… Wait, How do you classify salted pretzels?
Live or recorded? LIVE! My main musical moral is: It’s all about how a band presents themselves to other humans in a room.
Coffee or tea?  Java!
Summer or winter? Summer (minus the mosquitos)




MORE MUSIC INFO:
Which band or artist would you go see tonight if you could? 
Definitely Rush! As a drummer, I am embarrassed to say I’ve never seen them live.  I also heard that Mastodon is kicking some serious A$$ on the road right now, Id love to see them again. 

The one and only, Freddy Mercury

Which band or artist (wait...but no longer alive or playing together) would you go see tonight if you could? 
Queen, or any living form of Freddie Mercury on a stage.


Which band or artist would you like to have dinner with tonight if you could? 
James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.  

Which band or artist would you like to be playing alongside you during your next race (or long run)? 
For some reason, when I think about this question, the first image that pops into my mind is Weezer, on a flatbed truck, performing the Blue Album in its entirety along side me.  I’ll stick to that.

Top 5 Songs for running, dancing or both?
Stutter - EMEFE
Us v. Them – LCD Soundsystem
Running – Nine Inch Nails
Bent Nails – Snarky Puppy
High Road - Mastodon

Last 5 Songs you listened to today?
Paris (Aeroplane Remix) – Friendly Fires
Deesh – Mogwai
Warm Ways – Fleetwood Mac
Out of the Black – Royal Blood
Strings and Attractors – How to Destroy Angels