by Chandler Christopher
Diners is the friendly, guitar pop stage name of Tyler Blue Broderick. Stemming from the suburbia of Phoenix, Arizona, Diners’ nearly decade-long career has witnessed evolution in sound, story-telling, and the overall experience and inspiration behind their expansive catalogue. Tyler is built on the foundation of their love for playing live shows. During the beginning of Diners’ music playing days, Tyler began to establish many connections at a local, DIY venue called, “The Trunk Space.” As locals, Tyler, along with the cycling bandmates of Diners, began to befriend touring bands from different cities who were playing the venue. These relationships would pave the way for Tyler to plan DIY tours using their continually growing rolodex of contacts. “That spot was really the only venue in Phoenix at the time that was accessible to play shows for Diners. Different bands would come through and I’d meet them and exchange contact info and establish a connection. I began to build a lot of contacts in different locations and I could plan and book my own tours around those contacts.”
Diners has made the majority of their music in solitude, with the imagery of a live-crowd receiving their tunes. Tyler admitted that after the release of their latest album, they felt very burnt out by the way their tune creation process had evolved.
“The way I was songwriting and spending time in the studio started to really get to me. I started to become hyper-focused on all of the tiny details, trying to reach perfection. I was the only one with eyes on my music, so there was never any collaborative feedback. The process became unenjoyable and it made me feel a lot of pressure to make the entire process worth it with success.”
The album, “Leisure World”, is ironically named, as the making of the tape was quite the opposite of leisure. The project itself is a fun, innocent, and colorful collection of sounds that I’d enjoy on a hot, summer’s day. Diners’ thoroughly enjoys this album and can’t wait to play it live when they begin touring again. Going forward from this, the only thing Tyler was really sure of was that they did not want to repeat the same, tedious tendencies on their next work.
Luckily, the production of Diners’ upcoming music is a lovely turnaround story. Tyler says that their new project is all about letting go of their old mindsets. Not only were there strong, collaborative efforts from musician friends of Tyler’s, but they also learned to let go of what other people might think about Diners’ music. “I was much more impulsive and loose and I think people will be able to hear that on the record.” Tyler says that they are so happy to be able to look back on this experience with a smile on their face. Look out for the release of Diners’ new album sometime this year and get excited about a fresh, happy, and raw sound from a refreshed Tyler Blue Broderick.
