New Episode w 3-6 song EP, and audio essay every month
Private Content like reading lists and blog recommendations
20% discount on physical Merch
All five of my previous studio releases instantly downloadable in whatever high quality audio format you like.
The Secret Lair is my landing page for an editorialized version of my creative process that you can subscribe to, post to, and use like a social network.
FAQ
1. Why "The Secret Lair"?
Because it's simple to say, and because that's where all the hidden interesting stuff goes on. I'd rather be at the password protected back room hangout a few blocks away than at the big party with everyone else
2. The music industry is fine.
It's not, but It can be on the small scale. Musicians will have to continually get more creative, more prolific, more intelligent about the tools at their disposal, and radically redefine what a successful career looks like in order to keep writing songs and putting out albums. That's one big reason this project exists.
3. What does EP mean in this context?
Extended Play is a musical recording that contains more than one song or less than a full album. For our purposes that's 3-6 songs a month here at The Secret Lair.
4. Tell me about the podcast.
I prefer to call it an audio essay. I pick a theme. Do a month long deep dive into that theme (usually 2-4 books), and come up with what I've learned. I sometimes have guest interviews, but this is mainly material to inspire songs, sometimes to inspire better choices (seeing a therapist/ making my own whiskey/ volunteering at an after school program) and sometimes just because I'm curious.
5. What are some examples of the themes you've done?
The South, The Digital Age, Doomsday Prepping, Repetition, The Artist vs. Society, The idea of home, Depression, Whiskey, The Trickster, A Survey of Creative Self Help books.
6. Are you releasing the EP and the audio essay all on the same day?
Yes. The Episode drops the 15th of every month. Or the following Monday if the 15th falls on a weekend.
7. How do I get it?
Subscribe and you'll receive an email when it releases. Bonus points for downloading the bandcamp app (you can listen to everything there too).
8. Why Bandcamp again?
I'm not asking for donations and I'm not crowd funding anything. It's not charity. You're paying me $3/month to hack into my 40 hour work week and get the fruits of my labor. I give you proof of my work in the form of a finished episode. It's a subscription. I wanted a new way to do "social" media that could support all the types of mediums that I want to host. Bandcamp charges a fair fee, and they are generally very friendly to work with.
9. Wait. Where am I?
I write and record 3-6 songs every month with an audio essay (and sometimes do a cover song). These things together I call an Episode. You pay for it. It allows me to write about three times the amount of music that I normally would in a given year, I get to learn to sharpen my music production skills, and you get to hear me try and write an EP every month.
10. I want to host you for a house show.
Cool. I want to play. This is my e-mail: j.tyler.lyle@gmail.com
11. I want to buy your [CD,book,vinyl,tshirt]
tylerlyle.bandcamp.com/merch
12. $3? That's pretty low/high.
Yep.
13. Tell me a joke
''I went to the zoo the other day, there was only one dog in it, it was a shitzu.''
14. Are you going to be putting the podcast on iTunes?
I'm tentatively releasing the audio essays to an RSS feed on a one month delay, but you can't hear any of the music that way.
15. Can't I just wait until December and then subscribe for one month and get everything you did that year for $3?
Oh no! You found the Achilles heel of my scheme! I only hope you are as kind as you are clever (and how clever you are!). Also, music is my only source of income so steal at your karmic peril. [See also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorical_imperative]
16. So, is this your new lifestyle blog?
NO! It's not my job to tell you that chorizo and creme fraiche are the secret ingredients of happiness, or that you should never leave your wallet in the green room, or that you must own a Glencarin glass to properly enjoy good bourbon. You're on your own for all that. This is an editorialized version of my creative process, not my life. Technology is like a raft. You use it to get across the river. You don't then strap it to you and carry it on your back after you've crossed. I don't do selfies or pictures of pancakes and I don't text over three lines. This is just a tool. All the good stuff is IRL. However, if you want to talk bourbon or travel or books, I've never turned anyone down for a drink who has asked.
17. So, you're done releasing studio albums then?
No way! In 2016 I wrote and demoed well over 50 songs. Hopefully that means that when I get to make my next studio album, I'll be able to pick the best ten out of 150 instead of the best ten songs out of 30. This project is for songwriting, transparency, and doing the work; it's against getting overly precious or overly thought out. The next studio album will be awesome.
What you get:
- All the new music I make streaming instantly on your mobile device via the free Bandcamp app, and also available as a high-quality download.*
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Exclusive access to the Tyler Lyle fan community.
- These back-catalog and supporter-only releases:
- A 20% discount on all my merchandise.
- The satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting me in a sustainable way.
![3. The [glorious, perhaps beautiful] End of The World cover art](https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3862476445_9.jpg)
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