We Say…
Next To Nothing might be the debut EP by Thank You Thank You, but it’s certainly not the first project of the band’s creator, Tyler Bussey. In Connecticut back in 2009, Tyler was a founding member of the acclaimed, The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. After leaving the band, returning again, and then finally leaving for good, Tyler went on to tour with Emperor X before joining Strange Ranger, and all the while plotting the tracks that make up Next To Nothing.
Released last month on Oof Records, Next To Nothing is a sparkling debut; Tyler working with acclaimed musician and producer, Stephen Steinbrick as well as collaborators from bands including Spirit Of The Beehive and Another Michael. The record is a dreamy assortment of ideas, creative, intriguing and wonderfully easy to get lost in. For 15 minutes you can simply bathe in the warm glow of this record, as Tyler puts it, “I really do believe in community and lifting other people up, not as a concept, but as a daily practice. It comes just from loving music and wanting to make music with musicians you love. It’s as simple as that.”
Today Tyler is premiering the video to one of the record’s stand out moments, O, with a video courtesy of Philadelphia filmmaker/creative, Sharyl Cubero Aguilar, and with that in mind answered some of my questions and picked out some tracks that influenced Next To Nothing and their wider musical endeavours.
They Say…
FTR: For those who don’t know, who are Thank You Thank You?
Tyler: Technically it’s not a band, but it’s not really a solo project either. I’m not interested in reinforcing the idea that the singer, or the songwriter, is necessarily the center of the frame. In general I’m not that interested in defining myself! That said, as of now, I write and sing the songs, and several other wonderfully creative people are involved in what you hear from one moment to the next, and there’s no telling who else will get involved in the future. On this new EP, the core was primarily me, Sean, Corey and Jacob.
FTR: What can you remember about your first show?
Corey: I remember the batting cages were cold.
Tyler: We played with Emperor X at Everybody Hits in Philly. Chad and I have been friends for a long time and I’ve played a ton of shows with him over the years, so that was a really special night for me.
Jacob: On that level it meant something beyond a first show, but also…for me, I just love performing live, it’s basically my favorite part of being a musician.
FTR: Why do you make music? Why not another art form?
Jacob: I make music because it’s a multi-faceted form of art.
Tyler: Whereas I’m in it entirely for the cash. I considered becoming a professional basketball player until I remembered I am very bad at sports. Thankfully, I am amazing at music in every way imaginable.
FTR: What can people expect from the Thank You Thank You live show?
Tyler: At this point, I think I could say anything and it would sound totally breathtaking compared to how life without live music feels. What you can expect is that we’ll be so grateful we’re even getting to do it at all.
Sean: I think you can expect Tyler to be there.
FTR: What’s next for Thank You Thank You?
Tyler: I have a few more songs planned for release this year. Other than that, we are all working on other projects and records and waiting for shows to return.
They Listen To…
“Here’s a little poem in the form of song titles. They’re beautiful songs, too!“
Ten-Speed Music – Staring At The Moon
Yo La Tengo – Above The Sound
Yasmin Williams – After The Storm
Jeff Parker – After The Rain
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris – I Don’t See The Moon
Next To Nothing is out now via Oof Records. Click HERE for more information on Thank You Thank You.
For The Rabbits 