Anthony Tyler | Songwriter

Growing up in Skaneateles in the 1970s and '80s, people knew musician Anthony Tyler by his birth name Tyler Cole.

The performer said to this day many people still just call him Ty.

It was under the name Tyler Cole that he got his start as a musician, writing and recording his first three albums (Don't Look Back the EP, Black Cat and Home) under that name while living in Skaneateles. 

Since then as Anthony Tyler, he has gone on to release multiple albums and perform all over the country. 

Tyler recently released his latest work, To Be Blind, to Be Brave, his 25th album, which can be found at anthonytylermusic.com

Over the course of his career, Tyler said a lot happened, a lot has changed, including his name, but remembers his roots in Skaneateles fondly and said that helped shape him as a musician.

"My life in Skaneateles during the 1970s and 80s was great," Tyler said. "Seriously. It was very much a small town experience. Everyone knew everyone, that didn't necessarily mean they liked everyone. My mom and dad were natives. Much of my extended family were form the area. My mother, father, sister and I lived about two miles outside the town, but I spent a lot of time at the lake and Austin park playing baseball or basketball. School was, well, school. I graduated in 1986 with a bit of a flourish (to this day, people ask, 'Are you the guy who wore the shorts?' - it's a long story). After graduation I worked for my parents. My father had lost his job in '86 (after 30 years at Solvay Process) and my mother beginning her battle with cancer. In April of 1986 they bought a dry cleaning establishment in Skaneateles and began their next chapter as I was trying to get a grip on what is was I wanted to do."

Tyler said music was always a part of his life as long as he can remember and something that was a part of everyday life around his home growing up.

"I was influenced very early on by the music of my parents' youth, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, etc," Tyler said. "My older sister, Vicki, was perhaps the biggest musical influencer in my life. Most of what I gravitated toward was heard through her record collection. The Bee Gees, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Peter Frampton, Dan Fogelberg, The Bay City Rollers, The Hudson Brothers, on and on. But, when I first heard the rock band KISS, that was it. I knew I wanted to play the guitar. I was five when I started taking lessons at the Auburn Musician in Auburn, NY. Joel "Hotz" Converse was my teacher. The guitar was the start of it, but as the years passed, I grew interested in drums, bass, piano, pretty much all of it."

By the time Tyler was in high school he writing his own songs and branching out into new interests. 

"As much as I loved KISS, I wanted to be more like the singer / songwriters of the day," he said. "I dreamed of releasing album after album and being a popular musician."

Tyler worked at the local grocery store while developing his talents and along the way made connections with other local musicians. 

"Skaneateles native Joe Whiting was a family friend who I got to know a bit more as I was growing up," Tyler said. "Joe was a huge source of information for me as I began looking into recording my first album in 1987. As was my Uncle Allan Klimek. Uncle Al was a local drummer and knew so many people. I actually played in a band with him for a short period of time, too. The Dean Brothers were another source of local influence. Auburn, NY had tons of bands playing everywhere back then and I kept an ear to them as well."

Tyler said his start came when a local business person took an interest in him and offered to co-produce an EP in 1986. 

"I had the songs. I had been pitching them to all the labels in Los Angeles without much movement so, I took this person up on the idea of producing an EP," Tyler said. "That was truly the start for me as a singer / songwriter / guitar player. That was also my first experience with being sued."

Tyler said the lawsuit took five years to resolve, but also as this time he decided to go out on his own. 

"I went it alone and filed a DBA as Midnite Music Records in 1989 and at the same time I toured with Benny Mardones (of Into the Night fame)," Tyler said. "Benny was well-known nationally as well as throughout Central New York and I wound up in his band for a short stint. That was a great experience. I had met Benny working at that local grocery store. Many schoolmates came out to those shows not realizing I was even in the band. What's more, very few people even knew that I played guitar in high school. It's kind of funny."

Along the way Tyler also played in Skaneateles. 

"There was on memorable performance at Under The Stone in December of 1994," he said. "It was one of the last 'band' performances before I went solo / acoustic. My then-drummer Sal Gianacarelli (currently with the band STAIND) often reminds me of that '...unbelievable show!" It was something else. Lately, I have thought of a 'dream gig' playing somewhere in Skaneateles once again. I would love to do a home town show at some point, although, I don't know if anyone would show up."

From Skaneateles Tyler went on to Syracuse, Rochester, Nashville, Colorado, Washington D.C., Virginia and back to Central New York, Pittsburgh and now currently calls Western New York home. 

"Yes, there have been a lot of moves and honestly, they weren't all because of music," Tyler said. "There was always a day job, retail, technical writer, designer, veterinary technician, waiter. Music was never something I thought of as a job. I'm not a very good capitalist when it comes to my music and the 'business of music.' So, you find other work to be able to continue doing what you love. I've been fortunate to have had many wonderful work experiences along the way."

It was during these years that in 1996 he changed his name to Anthony Tyler.

"It had nothing to do with music, but it confused many," Tyler said. " No one calls me Anthony. They all call me Ty. Re-releasing the older albums under a new name was a bit of a headache. I asked for it."

Tyler continued to release music and perform up to 2003. 

"My last performance was in Colorado Springs opening for John Mayer and after that I played a small cafe in Manitou Springs, CO for a year or so," he said. "I started to focus more on writing and playing. Performing has never been something I love doing however, it's necessary, now more than ever. With the completion of To Be Blind, to Be Brave it's obvious to me that I need to get back out in front of people. I need that connection again."

Tyler said his latest release is the final chapter of The Steel & Flower Cities Sessions album series. 

"Three albums released over the past three years," he said. "It all began in Pittsburgh during the pandemic. I wrote and recorded 123 complete songs in 2020. No joke. My wife and I decided to return to Ontario, NY and I began the final process of writing and recording lyrics and vocals for, what would become, Which Way to the Starlite (2022), Distillate (2023 - instrumental album) and To Be Blind, to Be Brave."

Tyler said through all that has happened in his career he has managed to stay inspired and most recently changes in his personal life have played an important role.

"I'd have to say most recently it's been being diagnosed with a form of cancer called Orbital Lymphoma," Tyler said. "So, awareness of my own mortality. That keeps me in line and focused. I'm seven years into treatment for the cancer and things are going well, but it certainly gives you perspectives you may not have had. Life in general fuels the creative firest. It's true. Everyday I'm moved by something and I feel incredibly fortunate to have those moments. The industry has changed so much since I dove in years ago and over that I let go of the bigger dreams of stardom or being on the covers of Rolling Stone or Creem Magazine and became very pragmatic. I wanted to be a good songwriter, first and foremost. I still don't think I'm there and probably never will think that, but I try. In the end, I just love creating music. It's something I have fought over the years. There have been nasty divorces from music along the way, but I keep going back to it and doing what I do - trying not to be my own worst enemy along the way."

Tyler said he hasn't had the chance to get back to Skaneateles music lately, But he hopes that will change soon, but he has maintained connections. 

"I am in touch with people from home and it's not always music-related, but those who I'm in touch with know about the music," he said. "I've actually met a few people recently who are in Skaneateles and when I mention that I grew up there their eyes get a little bit wider. I've run into several people across the country who are aware of the town. Some have an opinion of Skaneateles that I understand very well. I lived there and I know the divisions that existed and still pop up in conversation. It's funny because no matter where I've lived over the years, the Skaneateles experience is something I've looked for in each city and town since. That sense of community. I've not found it since living there, but having the memories of it is fantastic and maybe I'm playing the part of Polly Anna, but I don't care. I often remind myself, 'You had that moment in your life. You were very lucky.'"

Whether from his hometown or elsewhere, Tyler hopes people will enjoy his latest work. 

"All I can hope for is that someone, somewhere gets a whiff of one of my songs and feels the need to hear it again; to feel something relatable," he said. "Or, even better, they want to hear something else of mine."