By: Rick Landers
Alec Lytle – Credit Scott McKissen
Out of the West, comes Alec Lytle with an eclectic mix of melodic vocals and acoustic guitar with subtle references to both traditional and contemporary country-folk. Whether Alec’s running solo, in a quiet duet, or with a herd of bandmates called Them Rounders, he hits the marks laid out by Dylan, Lovett, Van Zandt, and the The Byrds in their rodeo days.
As often, his music gifts us with the sensitivity of some of today’s singer-songwriters that strive for a tonality that moves along like a gentle breeze through a field of flowers.
His first album, The End of Ours (2015), was an impressive debut with tracks that showed promise, with legs. Alec hit the marks with such tracks as, “Train Long Gone”, “Ordinary Day” and a Talking Heads cover, “This Must Be the Place” (1983), nailing it with what sounds more like a signature song, “North, CA”. It’s a fine album, but there’s a feeling that there’s more talent to punch out than “meets the eye”.
And there is, as his new album, The Remains of Sunday, has Alec center stage, planting his spear in the ground, counting coup on a funky, swampy, “Young”, and offering songs that stand alone on their own, like his tender love ballad, “Landslide”, and a number of tracks, including a foot stomping, “Mountain” and a slow paced track by Paul Simon and Joseph Shabalala, “Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes” (1986).
Both albums have enough songs that grab you, that it’s easy to imagine how much fun they must be performing live. But, that will need to wait until we all return to a day where audiences and performers collide again in song. Alec and crew, along with producer, Tony Berg, and legendary engineer-mixer, Bob Clearmountain (The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, etc.), roll out the carpet with mandolin, guitar, slide guitar, banjo, fiddle, drums, upright bass and a cool blend of three part harmony.
The Remains of Sunday is a more intimate album for Lytle, where his lyrics render him more singular, alone with his thoughts, written during a time when he could have succumbed to the depths with the passing of his mother and oldest sister, or wavered facing the joy and responsibilities of the births of his children. The album reflects a man of substance, with confidence, as if he’s found a newer road map and is heading in a more focused, more defined direction.
Guitar International magazine is pleased to have caught up with Alec, as he navigates the abrupt changes musicians face today, socially isolating themselves and their families, while seeking new and creative ways to move their music to their fans through videos and live streaming. At a time when even local gigs have dried up, surviving let alone thriving will take creativity and tenacity.
Alex and Them Rounders certainly have the goods, with their exceptional array of musical talent, strong songwriting and a front man who has the genuine character strengths, the stage presence, the business acumen, and a cool trad-modern musical style to succeed.
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Rick Landers: I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out your “Young” video and immediately got hooked on the funk-rhythm. Later, I listened to some others and got a fix on what I’d call an old hoe down style, almost from the backwoods, then I listened to “Landslide” thinking I was going to hear a well-known cover song. You rolled out a lovely plaintive ballad that was touching and it felt genuine, personal. Given all that, what are you channeling when you write your songs and do you just noodle around or do you have some method?
Alec Lytle: Funny you mentioned “Landslide,” that song was originally titled “You’re Not Enough,” but the band kept calling it “Landslide.” The ironic part is that the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name didn’t cross my mind until we were recording at Sound City, where Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumors is then I made the connection.
I really try to stick with the idea of “write what you know.” I am writing about true and honest subjects that are close and personal to me. My method often starts with noodling on guitar and humming melodies with a few place-holder lyrics. I am mostly attracted to the feel of the guitar part and the melody… how does it move me, what does it make me feel. When something strikes me as touching in some way, that’s when I record it to voice memos on my phone and start iterating.
Alec Lytle – Photo credit: Credit Scott McKissen
Rick: When you play back an early raw recording of a song, have you found any that move you more than you expected, finding “keeper” moments and others where the lyrics don’t quite feel right, too maudlin, too safe, maybe, then dig in a bit more for more emotional precision?
Alec Lytle: Totally. I have a massive library of little recordings of ideas. Every month or so I’ll just start hunting through them, listening back. I’ll often find something musical or emotional that strikes me very differently, than when I recorded it.
As for lyrics, that is a separate process for me, once I have a few hook words and ideas, and a knowledge of what I am writing about, I need to really sit down and focus. For me, the final lyrics for a song requires a two to three hours sitting to finalize.
I really try to avoid cliché words and lines in my lyrics, I am always searching for a very honest expression of what I am trying to say, trying not to fall back on an easy line. I also find so much connection with people when they tell me what my lyrics mean to them, it’s often very different than my original intent, which I really appreciate. I want to write songs that help me connect with people, leaving enough room in my lyrics for people to apply their own meaning is exactly what I hope for.
Rick: I recently sold an old ’33 Martin 0-17 to get another vintage acoustic. I see you’ve got something similar. Are you drawn to mahogany as a sound or tone wood that feels right, it fits your voice?
Alec Lytle: Next time you have a 0-17 to sell, please call me! I think for the most part I appreciate the intimate personal sound of an acoustic guitar. My ’57 Martin 00-17 was the first guitar I found that felt really intimate. The guitar I was playing before that was a Gibson J-200… so worlds different. That little 00-17 was the guitar I wrote my entire first album on. It almost forced me into a close and personal space which really set the tone for where I have landed with my songwriting.
Alec Lytle: I have formal training as an upright bass player, when I started playing guitar, it was really to move away from the more complex music I was being asked to play on upright as a sideman.
So, trying to focus on a simple feel, something that feels good is what I gravitated towards. And I am sure my discipline of being a supportive rhythm player on upright bass gave me a perspective to just keep things feeling right, don’t be flashy, just play a groove that makes your head nod a bit and provide support to the song.
Alec Lytle: I was getting very disillusioned about music when I was playing upright bass. I was playing in jazz trios, symphonic music, you name it. I started to feel like the music I was playing didn’t mean much to me, and the people that were listening were engaged in an academic way rather than an emotional way.
So, I essentially quit playing. I came to guitar in a very pure way with no intent. I have never taken a guitar lesson, I just learned piecemeal with support from my structured education in music theory from bass. There are so many great and impressive guitar players out there and I don’t feel like I have it in me to be one of them.
There is a lot of bluegrass jam sessions that go on up here in the Santa Cruz Mountains where I live, I am never the guy that can rip out a burning solo or play a fiddle tune at a super-fast tempo, and I have learned to be okay with that. That being said, Jack Tuttle’s fiddle tunes for guitar book is sitting right here on my desk, it’s always good to practice.
Rick: What guitars do you have at the moment and what guitar do you tend to grab to noodle around with at home, the guitar that inspires you most to write a phrase that’s the beginning of a new song?
Alec on stage in Philadelphia, PA – photo credit: Laura Wright
Alec Lytle: I have the ’57 00-17 and a modern 00-15 that I use on the road. I consider those my main guitars that are my noodlers. I also have two modern Gibson J-45’s that I use for bigger songs on stage, or when I need a bit more space between strings for finger picking.
I have two vintage tenor guitars, one is a 1930’s Kalamazoo, that I played on two tracks for the new record, The Remains of Sunday and the song, “Trees.” I just got a 1960’s Gibson tenor that has an L body.
Another notable guitar that I am finding really inspiring these days is a dime store cowboy guitar from the ’50s that a guy named Ruben Cox modified with a rubber bridge, funky pickup, and flat wound strings. I play that on the song “Young” from the new record. Then I have a few basses sitting here collecting dust.
Rick: What challenges or learning curves did you experience with your first album, The End of Ours (2015)?
Alec Lytle: Primarily, just being confident enough to make the record in the first place. Like most songwriters, I am not terribly sure that what I have written is good enough for anyone to hear, and overcoming that hesitation was hard.
My wife Priscilla, and my producer Tony Berg were instrumental in convincing me that the songs were worth documenting. I didn’t have a label for that record, so the process of releasing the record was a huge learning experience. Self-promotion is really hard and it’s not my thing. Fortunately, I have a team of people now helping me with this new release.
Rick: Between The End of Ours and your 2020 release, The Remains of Sunday, in what ways have you grown as a songwriter and a performer?
Alec Lytle: It’s hard to have that perspective about myself. I will say that I am much more confident walking on stage solo, or with my band. That just comes from the 150 odd shows we have played since the last record, and nothing compares to that experience.
People tell me my songwriting has evolved, and unfortunately, I can’t really see that. I’m sure I’ve thrown in a few more half-diminished chords on this crop of songs, but honestly, my writing is so focused on the song at hand, that it’s hard for me to have perspective on what came before.
Rick: We all have music legends to draw from, but what about contemporaries that you find appealing, and do you see them as competition or do you feel there’s plenty of “air space” for all songwriters and performers to have their say?
Alec Lytle: There are a few contemporaries that I think are doing incredibly interesting and compelling music. Blake Mills is a hero of mine, his sound is so unique and effortless, and I think his songwriting is incredible. I’ve been friends with him for a while and he still continues to amaze me.
Ethan Gruska is another songwriter that I love right now, a real unique take on telling stories with sound and texture. Maddison Cunningham blows my mind. Jesca Hoop still inspires.
Maybe I’m lucky, or maybe it’s the genre that I gravitate towards, but I’ve found the music community that is around me to be incredibly inclusive and supportive. I think that the more musicians bringing a unique and personal perspective to their art, the better. This world needs more music.
Alex Lytle – Photo credit: Pricilla Camelo
Rick: Tell us about the making of The Remains of Sunday, and your feelings about it now that it’s been released.
Alec Lytle: This record came together a lot easier than my first record. I had been writing these songs and performing them with my band for a couple of years before we took them into the studio, so things went pretty smooth.
Tony Berg (producer) really helped challenge us to find a unique sound for this record that was different than my first album.
We recorded it at Sound City in Los Angeles, where Tony and Blake Mills are now the resident producers. That room has so much history and vibe. I am sure that seeped into the recording in some way. I’m proud of this record.
All I can hope for is to do the best job I can communicating through my music, and I am happy with how it all fit together in the end. It’s so inspiring to have the people that worked on this record with me to share in the vision. That makes it all so much richer.
Rick: Love the musicians performing with you, who’s been your road band?
Alec Lytle: My road band is always a little bit in flux, but a few of the players are the core. Some of them are on the record as well. Dan Newitt on mandolin and harmony vocals, and Ben Estes on banjo, piano, percussion, harmony vocals. Those two guys have been rocks and really make up a lot of our sound. Especially when it comes to our three-part harmony singing.
Bryan Wegman plays drums with me, he’s an incredibly nuanced and tasteful player. We have several upright bass players we work with, but our primary guy is Jamie King.
Then we get the opportunity to have a few people join us when the situation works, Dylan Day on electric guitar, Ben Peeler on pedal and lap steel, and a host of other players that join in when their life and schedules allow it.
Rick: We’ve lost some great songwriters recently, and most recently the masterful John Prine. We’re you a fan and did you listen closely to his lyrics and his melodies for inspiration?
Alec Lytle: Huge fan. We cover a number of his songs live. I was really sad when he got sick. I knew he would have a tough go after his previous health problems. I grew up with his songs in my house as a kid. Some of those melodies and lyrics have been a part of my entire life. I never got to see him play live. That’s a huge regret. His passing hit me pretty hard.
Rick: Touring for 2020 has come to a standstill, even getting local gigs has dried up. And it’s been a pretty abrupt stoppage. Have you gotten up to speed on live streaming?
Alec Lytle: I am getting there. I did a live stream for the Tucson Folk Festival a few weeks ago, and we are going overboard for our record release, trying to pull in performances from my band at their respective homes. It’s hard to do it well.
Bandwidth limitations, new software to learn, cameras, latency compensation, mics, chatting in real time. I prefer the stage, but this is what we have for now, so I am trying to make the best of it.
I’ll be trying to do streaming shows in a unique way throughout this sheltering, so hope you can try to check some out. I think YouTube is working the best for me these days.
Alec Lytle: I had thought that this time was going to end up being great for creative work, but to be honest, I haven’t been inspired to write any music. I’m trying not to think too deeply about that. Something this big is really too much for my songwriting to approach. I haven’t had my normal outlet to process my thoughts.
I have two little kids (4 and 6), we live in a rural area up in the redwoods on four acres of land with nobody around us, and we have plenty of things that occupy our day. I built a house here about five years ago, and It’s not done, so I am gradually making headway on that.
Essentially, we are just existing day-to-day. I’m trying to focus on my family, make sure my kids are okay, and do some live streams when I am feeling up for it. It’s also a great time for me to practice rudimentary stuff on guitar.
Currently I am running through major scales stepwise, by thirds, and by fourths. By the time this is all over, I’ll hopefully be all the way up to running them with 7th intervals.
Check out more about Alex Lytle and Them Rounders here!
