William Tyler

Guitarist William Tyler. (Courtesy Will Holland)

The night before recording his 2014 EP "Lost Colony" guitarist William Tyler got sufficiently buzzed and listened to the 1977 Grateful Dead album "Terrapin Station" all the way through for the first time. "And I can actually say that was a life changing moment and it only happened a couple years ago," Tyler, now 35, says. "Which is pretty rad to think in your early 30s you can still have those kinds of moments."

The Dead's fingerprint had be heard in the combination of celestial and countryside sounds on Tyler's all-instrumental tracks like "Whole New Dude" and "We Can't Go Home Again." The Nashville musician will headline a 7 p.m. July 2 Von Braun Center Playhouse bill also featuring Promised Land Sound, a Music City country-rock act with releases including a single through Jack White's Third Man Records, "Yes You Can." Tyler also has a Jack White connection. White personally invited the guitarist to open a memorable Bridgestone Arena concert in January featuring White and Loretta Lynn.

Tyler/Promised Land Sound tickets are $10. They're available at outlets including the VBC Box Office (700 Monroe St.), ticketmaster.com, Yellowhammer Brewing (2406 Clinton Ave W.), Old Town Beer Exchange (301 Holmes Ave. E.) and Vertical House Records (Lowe Mill, 2211 Seminole Drive).

Tyler's resume is nothing if not diverse. He's worked with artists ranging from soul-singer Candi Staton to indie icon Stephen Malkmus' Silver Jews project. Lately, he's has been opening shows for Brooklyn indie rock group Real Estate. Tyler, who also co-owns Nashville bar/restaurant/music venue The Stone Fox, checks in for this phone interview while driving through New Hampshire to a gig. His Huntsville performance will be a solo set with him alternating between acoustic and electric guitars.

William, what are some well-known instrumentals that moved you early on and made you think this is something you could sink your teeth into?

Probably that song on "Eat a Peach" by the Allman Brothers, "Little Martha." And the other one that I remember early on hearing and being pretty moved by is called "Bron-Yr-Aur." It's the Jimmy Page solo on "Physical Graffiti." Those two I remember hearing really young and being captivated by.

Vocals are what draw many people into a song. For you what's the key to capturing listeners' attention without vocals in your music?

Live, I think it's easy to draw people in just because it's watching somebody perform and it's hard to do and people do respond to that. The melodies are strong - I think that's one thing I have a handle on that maybe not everybody does - and they sort of act in place of there being a singer.

In 2008, you released the album "Deseret Canyon" under the moniker The Paper Hats. In April, Merge Records reissued the LP under your name. Why did you choose to not originally release it under your name?

It's just a confidence issue. When I started making my own music I felt like I had to hide behind a fake band name or a moniker, and one of the most valuable pieces of advice I got early on is when I was shopping my second album, "Behold the Spirit," Josh (Rosenthal, label founder) at Tompkins Square who put it out, the first thing he said was just, "This needs to be under your name." I should have been doing that the whole time. I think that I just felt if you had a project name you had for it rather than it being your own name that it removed it from the whole singer/songwriter ego world that I grew up around in Nashville. [Note: Tyler's father Dan Tyler is a songwriter with credits including the 1997 LeAnn Rimes hit "The Light in Your Eyes" and Dan and wife Adele Tyler co-wrote 1982 Oak Ridge Boys smash "Bobbie Sue.] But I realized pretty quickly that having a pseudonym or whatever wasn't helpful.

How has Jerry Garcia's work with the Grateful Dead impacted your own guitar playing?

Getting heavy into The Dead completely changed everything how I look at arrangement and performance and everything. They're my favorite band. And it took me a really long time to get into them hardcore but once you get into them it changes the way you look at music. I think the fact they weren't afraid to make a lot of mistakes and fall on their face and they just kind of kept trucking, pun intended.

williamtyler.net