Three Questions with Tyler Nail

Yes, the Red House is really red...

Welcome to Devices’ first installment of “Three Questions With…,” a series where I interview musicians, artists, creatives, and others about the intersections of creativity and spirituality. My first guest is my friend Tyler Nail. Tyler is a singer/songwriter, writer, producer, and podcast host—and that’s just scratching the surface. Like me, Tyler, grew up in independent Baptist churches and schools. I went one way with it (all the way through); he went another (all the way out). These days, though, we find ourselves to be good conversation partners. Religion comes up often in his Red House Podcast where he invites musicians, filmmakers, writers, and “weird people” to have far-ranging, curious conversations about life and meaning and art. His show models a kind of grace that is too often lacking in most media spaces.

On a personal note: when I was in a really tough spot during the pandemic, my brother recommended I record some songs at Tyler Nail’s studio, the Red House (yes, it’s really red). I think we’ve laid down bare tracks of 15 or so songs, none of which have (yet) seen the light of day. However, in a real way these sessions with Tyler set me on a path toward healing and finding my own voice. I hope you find this little interview as inspiring as I do. -Kyle

Tyler Nail looking Whitmanian, as a true bard should

KC: I’ve been thinking about time a lot recently and how we craft a life and find time for creativity. Annie Dillard writes “how we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.” How do you spend your days?

TN: I've become someone who enjoys a very tight schedule, but I find that this type of lifestyle doesn't always create the spontaneous bursts of creativity that I need. Routine is alluring but it is almost like a trap. It will ruin an artist's glow. These days are different from the days when I had a clear routine for work and a set schedule. I start many of my days just staring into the remaining features of my garden, still amazed at how it all works together. Some days I sit at my computer for hours editing videos and audio projects. Some days I design 20 different tee shirts. Some days I sit with my grandmother. I feel lucky when I write a song. I am fortunate to have work to do that allows me to live quietly. But I can admit that I want to do more and I need to do more. Some days my life is far too easy for a man my age. When I start to feel like I'm retired, that's when I know I have given myself too much time to enjoy the ease.

KC: Creativity is a very broad concept. How would you describe creativity, and, what is your relationship to creativity?

TN: Creativity takes different forms for me but it is often about fixating on a new potential path. This is a strange example but when I was working at my previous job, I remember I wanted to come up with a new layout idea for a lobby. So I stood there staring at the room imagining the different ways that the lobby could be arranged, and then imagining the flow of people based on where certain things were placed. And one of those potential flows felt the best to me, as it seemed likely to bring about the result I wanted. I then pursued that layout and perfected it as we implemented it. I'm sure it's the same process most people go through when rearranging their living room. This is truly the same as writing songs for me. Some "answer" (or phrase) will become so obvious to me that it feels like the phrase is insisting on being used. The last one might have been "I want to know who you are." After that, I just play with different potential paths. If I go here, this will happen. If I go here this will happen. And when one of those feels right, I keep feeding it. 

"I believe that it is individual creativity that keeps the world from sinking every single day." Tyler Nail

I love thinking of myself as a creative person, but sometimes my own creativity can cause difficulties in the way I perceive the world or myself. It comes with hardships. But regardless, I think what I admire most in a person is the indication that he is striving to use his mind to think like an individual, to come to a new place, or genuinely and truthfully express himself. I believe that it is individual creativity that keeps the world from sinking every single day.

KC: That concept of creativity seems life-giving. Do you find playing and creating music to be a spiritual practice? How so?

TN: I just pulled up the dictionary definition of spiritual, which reads: relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. And based on this definition, I would have to say yes. It's easy to say that the soul is an ambiguous idea or that spirit is too vague a word, but truthfully, music is meaningful to me in a non-material way. It does something to me in what I can only call my soul. It serves my sense of meaning, purpose, and most of all, the celebration of my life and experiences. I've always said that music is a method of stopping time and taking snapshots of certain special moments through words and melodies. This process is about cherishing the present moment, honoring those that came before it, and dreaming of those that have yet to come. It's about hoping (or perhaps knowing) that my experience on earth matters. This belief that life is worth celebrating despite the struggle seems to be related to the motivation within all spiritual (and even religious) practices.

KC: Lastly, tell me about the Red House and how place factors into your art.

TN: The first time I visited the Red House as a potential renter, I was in love. I stood on the big porch and looked out at a cornfield. I saw a deer run into the cornfield and then disappear like magic. I knew right then that I wanted to be here. I think the flavor of the life we live feeds the art we might make; at least with art that is about our life. When I was building cabins, it almost put me into a certain identity with obstacles and goals. When I live my life back in the woods as a hermit, it puts me into a certain identity. And if I were to set sail across the ocean, I bet I would start writing songs about the identity of a sailor. Our surroundings and our relationship with our surroundings seem to take our vocabulary beyond the realm of emotional desire and into visual observation. I suppose almost all of us want to take a walk with someone we love. Some of us want to walk by the cornfield, some by the old log cabin, and some on the old streets of some town in Mexico after their boat comes into port. 

Thanks Tyler! To learn more about Tyler Nail, visit his website, youtube channel, or the streaming platform of your choice.