All image credit: @ebphto
The best part about interviewing local musicians is that word quickly gets around. Sometimes all it takes is chatting with the right band to open a flood gate of engagement. My conversations with blankstate. and Joshua Glasson have been clear examples of that. It was the former that led me to connect with Tyler Spencer, who has been making music as Melodramatic for years.
Despite the fact he lives in High Point, we met (mostly) in the middle to browse McKay’s in Mebane — a delightful stop for used media, games, and tech across multiple generations. Our chat was light-hearted, often nerdy, and followed our lazy path through old game consoles and record bins.
I’m grateful to know and have a mutual appreciation with folks like Tyler. The dedication he brings to the music grind for the sake of it is what ultimately binds our scenes together.
Have you been listening to anything new or interesting lately?
Tyler: My friend Dylan Wishon of Bedroom Division just put out a new song called “What Could it Hurt”. The newest Ali Forrest album [CAGEFIGHTER] is phenomenal as well. The newest blankstate. EP [LOTUS] is great. They’re also featured in a song on the new Rosary EP [ROSARY IS THE NEXT BIG THING], shout out to Rosary.
That feature was a nice surprise! We need more awesome guest features and split EPs between local bands.
Definitely. When you first start out, I feel like you want to do it all yourself. I know that’s how I felt, and I’ve heard that story echoed a number of times. But that’s the thing I feel like is a hindrance to a lot of bands. The real magic is in the collaboration, you know what I mean?
How did you get introduced to music as a kid? Was there a band you found or did you jump in with an instrument first?
I got The Ramones’ Greatest Hits album way back in elementary school and it blew my mind. My dad was very 90s country at the time, and my mom was too, so I’d never heard stuff like The Ramones before. It was so good.
What was the next step for you as a music fan after discovering that record?
I played in my middle school band on clarinet. Several other kids were like, “This kinda sucks. Let’s start a band we actually like and play music we want to play.” And then they said, “Ty, you’re going to play bass.” So I went home and told my parents, “I need a bass. I’m going to learn that instead.”
Next thing I knew we started writing songs. Everybody else in the band was very driven, which is weird for a bunch of middle schoolers. I feel like, as middle schoolers, it was “cool” to not do much of anything, but we were all hyped to go to school and share the songs we had written.
It’s a little sad because a lot of those kids fell off in terms of their interest in music. Fortunately, I found some other people in the community that had the same thing happen to them, so it’s like we found each other.
How did you navigate that period in between playing with friends from school and finding a new community?
All those people who were interested in music in middle school started focusing on other things in high school. That’s when I was like, “I’ve gotta do this all by myself somehow. I’ll learn guitar, I’ll get better at bass, I’ll get a drum kit and learn drums if I have to.” I got this little Tascam recorder that’s like a 12-track digital interface. Then, in 2014, I decided I would make an album by myself, but there was no editing on it so I had to play each song front to back in one take.
I’ve been recording stuff on my own in my room for the past 10 years, doing solo shows very rarely. It wasn’t until a year ago when I started playing in other bands and talking to people in the community that things got really real. As in “now I’m doing shows every other week” levels of real, which wasn’t happening before.
Did that come from interacting with bands you liked? What do you think sparked that change?
Dylan Wishon [of Bedroom Division] and I were friends in high school. We were aware of each other’s music but we reconnected after I put out my 2023 Christmas EP [FLIES OF HUNGER]. His band was doing a show, so he asked if I could open for him. About a month later they had some band members leave and he was like, “you should join my band.” [laughs]
So I’ve been doing that a lot, which has been a catalyst for meeting with other people in the community who are very like-minded in terms of doing the grind and trying to make really cool art. That’s what I appreciate about what you’re doing.
I appreciate that! I think it’s easy to put up barriers, like self-doubt, and then struggle to do the things you really love. Sometimes you need a push to build some momentum.
That’s what’s so admirable about actually “doing it”. Almost everybody has those ideas of what they want to do, but thoughts of self-doubt or thinking they’re not good enough get in the way. Such a small fraction of people actually go through with it and “do it”. I wish it wasn’t such a small percentage of that crowd that made art. Ignore those thoughts! Make art even if it’s bad! You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.
So you’re making solo music as Melodramatic, but you’re also in Bedroom Division. Are you playing in other bands?
It’s a little ambiguous. The lines are pretty blurred. I will fill in where I’m needed. Khallori is a great local artist and I’ll play bass with her sometimes. I’ve played with Codey Pollard a couple times.
I also play bass with Bedroom Division, but it’s similar to Dylan playing with Melodramatic in that I’m filling in live for what is a solo project. It’s like a cooperative in a sense. Bedroom Division is Dylan’s project, Melodramatic is mine, and we want to make it on our own, but know we can’t perform it that way.
And we all respect each other’s music. I’ll send Dylan a track and say, “How does this mix sound?” and he’ll send me a song he’s working on and ask, “What do you think?” We need each other in a way and we’re rooting for each other. Supporting each other helps make cool things happen. Everybody has their own strengths, so you know each person is bringing something valuable to the table.
What’s your typical approach to writing songs as Melodramatic?
It’s pretty different every time. The one method that’s most prevalent is that I’ll just hear the entire song in my head and I’ll just recreate it in my DAW [digital audio workstation]. I don’t know where it comes from. People will compliment my writing sometimes and I’ll be like, “I can’t even take credit for this.” It feels like I just pulled it from somewhere in the ether.
It feels like at that point the skill lies more in the “how do you translate the thought to the DAW” than anything. So if you’re gonna give me credit, I guess give it to that.
Exactly. It’s all in being able to get it out as soon as possible and not lose it. As soon as you lose it, it’s gone forever. It’s like the universe extends its hand out to you for a moment and if you don’t grab it, you’ll never get that idea back.
What would you say your biggest influences have been for the last 10 years of making music as Melodramatic?
I’m hesitant to say because I think it’ll be so obvious who I’m ripping off. [laughs] But I’m too transparent to lie. I think back in the day I would’ve said The Front Bottoms, but more recently Alex G is a huge inspiration to me. I’ve released music every year since 2014 which is really interesting because you can hear me get better as a producer over time. You also hear my musical inspiration shift through the years so it’s hard to pin down the biggest influences because there have been so many
Most recently, it’s probably Alex G, MJ Lenderman, and Junior Varsity. Over the 10 years as a whole? Neutral Milk Hotel, AJJ, The Front Bottoms, The Strokes, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles. If I don’t stop there I would go on for far too long.
Over the last year or so over playing more shows, have there been any noteworthy gig stories or milestones for you?
I haven’t gotten to play many Melodramatic shows with a full band, it’s mostly just me solo. But that will be changing this year!
With Bedroom Division, we’ve had the opportunity to play for some pretty big acts. We opened for Jonah Marais [of boy band Why Don’t We] on his first solo tour in November 2024. His team reached out to us and we were like, “Let’s check him out,” only to see he has like 2 million followers. I hate that that’s a metric in any way, but we all definitely looked at each other like, “Woah.” And that was the biggest show we ever played by far. It was a pivotal moment for all of us.
Was there a positive reception from folks who weren’t aware of who you were before?
Oh yeah. Dylan has a very “indie pop dream boy” type of vibe. So we fit the bit perfectly. It was a bunch of high school girls that came out and they fell in love with him. Some started following and DMing him, despite the fact they’re way too young for him and he has a girlfriend. [laughs]
That was the first time where, after a show, we had a line of people at our merch stand wanting to take pictures with us. Definitely experienced some whiplash going from playing shows to like 12 people to doing a show like that.
You’ve named a couple already, but who are some of your favorite North Carolina or Charlotte-specific bands?
I’m almost definitely going to miss a few but, Bedroom Division, Fifth Floor, blankstate., Rosary, Nervous Surface, SCOBY, Saturn is Changing, briZB, Khallori, Codey Pollard, Ali Forrest, Lando Sparks, Between Two Trees, and Panes. These are all top-tier local bands you HAVE to check out.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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