Tyler's Riot formed in Australia in 2004 out of the ashes of Three Point Tilt, a Sydney metal band. Adding influences from the 90s Seattle grunge scene to their metal repetoire, the band released a few singles and Eps as well as building a formidable live reputation in their native Sydney. Now Tyler's Riot have set their sites on the United States and are set to release their debut full-length album Wasted By Design on Lethal Dose Records.

"Hello, gentlemen. First off thank you for taking the time to do this interview- can you please introduce yourselves?"   Dan Freeman here (Bass Player) and Mark Spinks (Vocals/Guitar)

“Tell us a little bit about the band- when was Tyler's Riot formed,what's the story behind the name?”   Dan: As you mention, Tyler's Riot formed out of the ashes of Three Point Tilt back in 2004. I had just joined the band actually and we were working on Three Point Tilt’s second album. Somehow we got reminiscing about our teen years listening to more old school music like, Janes Addiction, STP, Foo Fighters, Sound Garden etc. and it started steering us into more of a rock direction. After writing a few solid rock tracks we realised Three Point Tilt was dead and we had to name this new direction we had created.
Mark: Yeah, we were recording in my home studio and always being at home having all the crew over my daughter would hang with us in the studio and basically show off and mess with us, you know take the piss out of the boys and boss everyone around so we sort of named the band after her I guess.

“Coming from Sydney, Australia, how different is the rock scene therecompared to the United States?"   Dan: The rock scene in Sydney is dead. So many great rock venues are gone now. The Hopetoun and The Excelsior in Surry Hills where I live. These were institutions. The Annandale is struggling, the Marquee is gone. Sydney is all about indie hipsters now. I shouldn't bitch, I also play in an indie pop band and a few folk and country bands and those scenes are alive but if you want rock... You have to travel west to the suburbs or to Sydney’s south.
Mark: The States has things happening no poker machines in the venues and the acts are celebrated well on radio and bill boards etc. We got the feeling that the venues and punters were all on the same page, no confusion about what your in the venue for and no addictive distractions such as poker machines, and lets face it venues such as the Viper Room , the whiskey and the house of blues are just legendary.

“You play a very dynamic form of modern rock akin to Tool, FooFighters and Jane's Addiction that manages to simultaneously beradio-friendly and “poppy” while staying unique. What are some of your influences- lyrically and/or musically?”   Dan: I hear a lot of my old fave bands in this band, Faith No More, Alice In Chains, Jane’s Addiction. I think we always just aim to write strong rock songs. Naturally our influences will show in the music, but we’re always conscious not to complicate things.
Mark: Yeah I mean when a group of people decide right lets write music we like to listen to your style is noticeable, but when you have worked together and played together and basicly been through hell with each other you definitely develop your own sound and formula, and through all our music its our own frustrations, highs, lows, experiences and vibe come out in the songs.


“There is definitely a nod to the early 90s Seattle scene in yourmusic- what was it about this era of music that made it such a sourceof inspiration?”   Dan: I think it’s just the era we grew up in. You're always going to have a bond the the music you grow up with.
Mark: Yeah its surely in there as one of our influences and lets face it The 90’s was sort of the last time I remember seeing and hearing a real diverse mix of really big bands doing massive stadium shows with out having to be on the bill with 20 other bands at say a festival, I mean you had Tool, Sound Garden, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Janes Addiction, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana... I could go on for ever, and I thinks it has influenced so many bands today.

“What is your typical songwriting process?”   Dan: Often Spinksy will come up with a strong core idea... A simple catchy chorus and a verse idea... Then we will just nut it out together in the rehearsal room but a lot of the time we will just jam hard until we have something or someone will provide a riff. Nothing Child which is on the album was written by Spinksy and I whilst we were paving tiles at this job site. We just kept humming ideas until we pretty much had a song.
Mark: Songs come out in the weirdest places and situations, I would even wake up in the middle of the night just to go to the toilet and hum some little tune then the sun is rising and I have been on the guitar for 3 or 4 hours banging out a new track.

“You signed with Lethal Dose Records and are about o release your debut full-length Wasted By Design- how did this deal come about?”   Dan: I’ll let Spinksy field this one.
Mark: Yeah, we were over in LA with the album, sort of feeling out producers with a Rep Mike Diamond, and Lethal called up Mike one morning and said to mike come and hang out, lets catch up and Mike said ok but I'm in LA with this Australian guy shopping a demo album around and Lethal said ok then bring him with you then, so we went over to Lethals and he was cranking tunes and chilling out and after about 30 mins Mike gave him the cd and he had a listen... At first Lethal sort of put shit on me you know gave me a hard time and said what makes you think you got what it takes and can we write a killer song so I played him "Static" and a few others then he basically said ok lets get you guys in the studio and make this album really happen.

“Wasted By Design has quite a story behind it- from Sydney to the meanstreets of North Hollywood- can you give us some insights into theexperiences that went into the songs and recording of the album?”   Dan: In a nutshell it was INTENSE. The highest highs... the lowest lows... one day we would find our selves at some exclusive club with $500 bottles of vodka surrounded by famous people, musicians, actors etc. Then the next day we would have nothing but stale toast and cheese. We shared a one bedroom apartment for the entire band. It was a pressure cooker, we found ourselves ripping each other apart at times, there was extreme boredom also. But there were also amazing times and we made some great friends also. In hindsight I loved the whole experience, i miss it... I can still remember the smell of the studio... Which smelled mostly like Weed...
Mark: Everyone down at the studio have never seen people drink as much beer as us before in there lives they all called us pirates, we even performed on Stu Stones show live from the studio and the VP from Warner Bros was there. We had no idea and as we walked past her she said to me that I had an amazing voice live and had not heard vocals like that since Kurt Cobain and being quit drunk I just muttered yeah thanks and kept walking... I look back on it and thought I was so rude and really thought I don’t deserve that compliment at all... in later months we were being escorted by her into Warner Brothers and I felt like a total fucking dick for being so blind... And another real hi light was the studio Lethal had just off Sunset Blvd and the history of that place is insane, Hendrix recorded there, the Doors and Velvet Revolver, we shat on the same shitter as SLASH!!!!!! Rock.. Lethal was unreal to work with and same for Jamie Rise the engineer, tons of cool old school out board gear amps, keys etc...



“What can fans expect upon listening to Wasted By Design? What do youhope to achieve with it?”   Dan: They can expect to hear a solid rock album. We’re just stoked to be finally in a position to release the damn thing. We completed recording back in 2007 so this has been a long time coming.

“Your first single and video, The Static, is a driving, anthemictrack- where was it shot?”   Dan: We shot it just down the road from where I live in Chippendale in Sydney. It’s a co-op run art space called Queen Street Studios and we just hired an empty studio. I think it’s normally a dance rehearsal hall. We just hired a good camera and shot it all ourselves about two weeks ago. Spinky had the whole thing edited in a couple of days. He’s good like that.

“You've developed quite the reputation as a powerful live act in yournative Sydney- how important is the live experience to you?”   We had a massive live rep, especially down in Sydney's south... there was this one venue Caringbah Bizzos... that we would sell out all the time without any promo. They loved us down there. We haven't played in the live scene for a while now. We're just focused on getting the album out, then we will get our live act up and in fighting form again.

“Over the past decade, social networking such as facebook, reverbnation, & twitter has dramatically changed the way bands and fans interact- what role has it played in Tyler's Riot's growth as aband and how has it aided in helping build a fanbase? What are some of your thoughts on social networking and its necessity in this age?”   Dan: I am stating the obvious but the music scene has changed dramatically in the 21st Century. I think it is great and is very empowering for a lot more people to get their music out there or to discover new music by visiting blogs or forums or whatever. I think Tylers Riots progression was hindered in the past because we found ourselves working with a lot of old Industry dinosaurs who just didn’t get the new music scene. People who had worked with old greats like ACDC and INXS.. at the time we were stoked and thought we were in good hands but we learned the hard way that just because you managed one of Australias biggest rock bands back in the day.. doesn’t mean you have any clue how things work now. It used to be that bands would just play the shit out of pubs everywhere. All around the country over and over until suddenly everyone knows you and you’re massive. That’s how they used to do it but now it’s all about online. That’s the main way to reach people and convince ‘em to come to your shows or check out your new clip. However I still find myself at gigs discovering new bands the old fashion way.. 13) “Future plans?” We just want to release this album and take it from there.