Meet Tyler Imbrey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Imbrey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing in a band with neighborhood kids at age 15. We were all pretty lousy at first but caught the bug early. Over time we got a little better and better. We were heavily influenced by 90’s music and would write songs and perform around Charlotte. Next, I joined with a friend who was a great lead guitarist and we started performing with an older Blues Band. We were both about 17 singing and playing with some 40 and 60 years old blues guys. I learned quite a bit from that experience. If I wasn’t singing with enough chutzpah, the drummer would launch one of his drumsticks at me and scream to sing with more feeling.

In college, we continued on playing for fraternity and sorority functions as well as the local bar circuit.

After finishing at UNC, I moved out to Chicago and got some music going out there. The band did pretty well growing a fanbase over a couple of years and beating out 200 bands in a battle of the bands at the historic Metro. This led to an opportunity to go play at Webster Hall in NY and at the Bitter End…

We wound up signing with a booking agent and moving into a loft together. We started doing some small tours. This in combination with meeting my now wife, caused me to call off my plans to leave for law school in Los Angeles and continue with music.

With that group, we struggled with a lot of internal drama. One of our members turned out to be sort of a con artist. He was a fake doctor, to be specific. The booking agent fell through on his commitments. The interpersonal struggles wound up killing the band. We tried to carry on and a couple of us moved to Charlotte. We played with some great players down there but struggled keeping the group together.

Around 2012, my brother went to work for BuzzFeed. One day he called me and said he needed an original song for a video. I sent him a few voice memos from my phone and he found one that he thought would fit. I recorded the song in my apartment bathroom. Here is the video he made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmNHNxYiXw&list=PLo1qkib15zbrrXqSiqf8vSJbjtB9Y-xIB&index=2&t=72s. After that, the song took off a bit and resulted in me developing a streaming audience.

Once I moved to Denver, I started attending some open mics. The first member I met was Caleb Koch at the Dada Art Bar. He is an incredible electric ukulele player. We linked up and started an acoustic trio. The first few gigs were a bit odd. We played at a yoga studio on the Santa Fe art walk. People were being body painted in neon and there was an almost cultish vibe to the place. That led us to the furniture store circuit. This was a bit humbling after the experience of playing some big rooms in Chicago and New York.

We had a grinding spirit playing 4-hour sets with bellies full of cheese and wine. After a few months of that, we got tied into the club scene and built out our band. We started having more success locally but never seemed to get much attention from the press. This was probably our own fault. We just focused on songwriting and putting on an energetic and fun show for our audience and hoped the rest would fall in place.

We did a Chicago run and got to experience playing at the Houses of Blues. This was always a dream venue for me. Then the following year we did a bit of an odd DIY UK tour. A bunch of family and friends flew out. We all had a ball running amuck overseas. Shortly after we put out our first record.

Our audience has grown steadily and can often be found dancing, jumping and screaming the words. That is a really cool feeling. It keeps us coming back. Next up is a new EP, arriving in the Fall and hopefully a European run in early 2023.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A band is a little bit like a marriage with 5 or 6 people. Everyone is excited in the early days. Then it gets hard. Problems happen. People don’t show up for a gig. Members are involved with other projects with conflicts, etc. Resentment builds up. We had three members leave in one day right after our UK tour and putting out our first record. This was a blow to morale and our momentum. It takes a long time to rebuild.

I lost my lead guitarist from my Chicago band. One of our bass players played with a group who lost their singer. I think having members and friends pass away so young gives you a different perspective on the day-to-day problems in a band.

I feel incredibly grateful to share a stage and make art with some truly inspiring and talented people. It is nothing short of sublime to connect with other musicians and members of the audience. For a moment it feels like we can transcend some of the ugliness of the world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Ghost Revue is an original band that performs in Colorado and occasionally ventures out of state and country. The style is eclectic and is comprised of elements of indie/alternative folk, blues and rock and roll.

Ghost Revue: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mrrtfXx348RSv9984hp5i?si=RjV18ppnToWEEBGS1kZZyg

Tyler Imbrey is a singer/songwriter from NC, now back and forth between Denver and Los Angeles.

Songwriting: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3dAtaFDTxKrpKAz55uHiNJ?si=nytTYJPmSfifcXFXjmHrhg

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
“The Molecule of More” “Laws of Human Nature”
The Daily
Ezra Klein Show
The Working Songwriter
Atomic Habits

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ghostrevue.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ghostrevue
• Facebook: facebook.com/ghostrevue
• Youtube: youtube.com/ghostrevue
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mrrtfXx348RSv9984hp5i?si=waiCFJTdRpC6gqaQQL2uLg

Image Credits
Annie Rose