Artist Spotlight: Tylor & the Train Robbers

As the last full month of summer begins and warm sunny days turn into cooler nights, the quaint town of Challis, Idaho, which sits snug near the Sawtooth Mountains, prepares for an influx of music aficionados from all over the globe for the Braun Brothers Reunion Festival. Regarded as one of the state’s premier musical gatherings by both attendees and artists alike, the BBR is a family-friendly event that unites artists and fans in an unparalleled setting for three unforgettable days. 

This year, the BBR will be held from August 8th-10th and will feature fifteen Americana, Texas, and Red Dirt artists including Idaho's own Tylor & the Train Robbers. In anticipation of their debut appearance at the BBR and their new album, Best of the Worst Kind, which drops August 26th, front man Tylor Ketchum took the time to talk Idaho, the BBR, and much more!

In Aug you'll be playing the BBR for the first time, prior to being a performer, have you ever attended as a festival-goer?
Yes! The BBR is actually kind of a big part of what made me want to move Idaho. When I was 19 I was still living in Oregon and some friend suggested that I go and they ended up bringing me with them that summer to check it out. I had never been to a festival with so many of my favorite bands all in one place. It was a very inspiring and educational experience for me as a young musician. After that my friends and I made it a tradition to take the time off work and drive the seven hours from Pendleton, Oregon to Challis, Idaho every summer to go.

So it must have been a no-brainer to say yes to the invite to play?
It was definitely a no-brainer to say yes! When I moved to Idaho I made it my goal to get on the BBR stage and everything I did to advance my band was with this goal in mind.
Over the years, my relationship with the Brauns has evolved a lot. In the beginning I was just a huge fan of their music - both Micky & the Motorcars and Reckless Kelly. After my first year at BBR I wrote a song on my way home about my experience at the festival and called it "Challis." A few months later my little brother’s and I shot a homemade music video for the song and I sent it to Gary & Willy via Facebook messenger lol! To my surprise they both wrote me back and gave me words of encouragement to keep doing what we were doing and working hard. That really stuck with me and helped me to continue pushing forward. A couple years later I had the chance to meet George Devore (who has been a BBR regular for years) at a festival we were both playing at in my hometown of Helix, Oregon. He gave some strong worded advice to get the hell out of the small town and find a bigger music scene to grow in. I moved to Boise a few months later to do just that and the rest is history. Shortly after my move to Idaho I got the opportunity to open up as a solo act for Micky & the Motorcars up in Ketchum at Whiskey Jacques and that was really the start of building a relationship with the Braun’s. Over the next fews years I worked to get the right people in my band and form a solid line up. Once my band was locked in, I tried to get on the bill with them every time they came through Idaho and over time we developed a friendship.  

That's an amazing story! Are you still Idaho based?
Yes, we are still based in Boise, Idaho. We love living here and for now it’s a great place to call home, but who knows what the future will hold. If the right opportunity arises we are open to whatever may come. No matter where we land though, Idaho will always be home. 

​How does living in Idaho shape your music? 
I grew up in Helix Oregon, a small town near Pendleton Oregon. Helix has a population of about 200 people so I think it’s safe to say that there was no music scene there whatsoever. We were fortunate that our Mom brought music into our lives at an early age. She played guitar and sang to us as kids and when we showed interest in playing, she was very supportive and continues to be our biggest fan. My two younger brothers, Jason and Thomas, and I formed a family band at a really young age and started playing “gigs” around town in any place that would have us. Tommy was about 9 years old when he started playing live shows with us. This year Tommy finally made the move out to Idaho to join back up with us on drums and we are so happy to have all three brothers back together making music again. When I first moved to Idaho the music scene was so welcoming and I felt really lucky to find such a great community to be a part of. Boise felt HUGE to me at the time and so did the music scene. Obviously as we’ve grown and started to tour around the country we’ve found much larger music scene’s, but Boise will always be our home. The people in Idaho have been so incredibly supportive and have treated us like family from the very beginning. I know that no matter where we are in the country one of our Idaho fans is going to reach out and say that they know someone who they told to come out and see us there. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate all those people who have been with us since the beginning. 

---

​Circling back to the BBR, is there someone in particular you are looking forward to see play for the first time or again? 
There really isn’t anyone on the bill that I’m not excited to be sharing the stage with! Probably the biggest for me is Steve Earle, he has impacted me as songwriter so much and is probably the most influential songwriter walking the Earth today to me. I am really looking forward to getting up on stage this year for all the people that I played around the campfire with every year and the people who supported me and believed in my dreams all these years. The BBR fans are like family to us already so it’s going to feel like home being up there playing for all of them.

Your new album, Best of The Worst Kind, is due April 26th. Did you approach this album any differently than the last? And if so, how?
Gravel, our first album, was a record that captured an accurate representation of the band’s live show in the studio. This time around, with Best of the Worst Kind, we wanted to add some depth and color without losing our original sound. Also, as time passes we’ve had more time to hone our sound and become tighter as a group. We’re more comfortable in the studio together and can let the creative process flow more freely.

Can you share the story behind the album's title?
Best of the Worst Kind - the album’s name comes directly from a line in the song, "The Ballad of Black Jack Ketchum," which tells the story of my outlaw ancestor’s life as an infamous train robber in the late 1800’s. The song started with some advice that my Dad gave me back when I was young, which turned into the opening line for this song: “My Daddy always said you’re only as good as who you’re hanging with.” In this business it seems like no matter who you hang out with, they might not be considered the most upstanding model citizens, but that is exactly why I look up to them. They are the best of the worst kind and I’m proud to be a part of that club. When I decided to write a song about Black Jack Ketchum, I realized that the life of a train robber in the 1800’s can be easily compared to the life of a traveling musician in the sense that we’re not following the socially acceptable plan for work or life. And if you do it successfully you can be made into a hero or idol of sorts, even though it’s against the norm. Of course, we’re not killing people or stealing money along the way, but life on the road definitely can feel like the Wild West at times.

One can only imagine.
Black Jack Ketchum has a strong impact on the album. 
As a kid, the story of Black Jack Ketchum, my distant relative, was passed down to me from my Dad’s side of the family. He is the reason that I called the band the Train Robbers, so last year I decided to do more research on his story and instantly felt connected and invested in it. Ever since I named the band the Train Robbers, I knew that I needed to write this song, I just didn’t know how I wanted to approach it. So it kind of simmered in the back on my mind for a few years. A western song about a train robber isn’t particularly hard to write, but I wanted this song to be different. I didn’t want it to be cheesy or too theme-y. Since Black Jack is a relative, I wanted to be able to tap into that story and kind of go into character both when I was writing it and when I perform it live. The more research I did on him, the more I felt like I could tap into his persona and once I did that the words just flowed. I was up in Stanley, ID for a month-long residency at the Kasino Club, I was spending my days on the front porch of a little cabin at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains and the song just started to course through me. I let it all come through and put everything on paper - I didn’t want to cut it short. I threw out all the songwriting “rules” and just went with what was coming. So in some ways it came really easily, but it has also been cooking in the oven for several years. It just took me being in the right place and in the right state of mind to bring it out and get down on paper. Also, we are releasing the album on April 26th which is the anniversary of the hanging of Black Jack Ketchum (April 26th, 1901). We thought that was a very fitting release date and was a good way to honor his memory.

An incredible way to honor his memory!
You have played with some of the who's who in the Americana scene. What's on tap touring wise for you this year?
We have been so fortunate over the past few years to get to share the stage with some truly incredible musicians and a lot of our heroes. We’re looking forward taking this new album out on the road this spring/summer. Right after our release parties in Idaho we are hitting the road back down to the Southwest - Colorado, New Mexico, Texas & Oklahoma. We always love getting down to that part of the country so we’re really excited for that tour. This summer we have some great festivals on the schedule: Jackalope Jamboree, Wild Hare Country Festival, Whittle of the Woods Festival and of course the Braun Brother’s Reunion! We get out on the road as much as possible, so you can count on seeing us wherever we can get to.

Sounds like you're going to have a busy summer!
Finally, the drive from Challis from Boise is simply beautiful, is there one place on the route (or any of the routes depending on how you come in) that anyone headed to the BBR should stop and see? 
You’re absolutely right, that is one of our favorite drives to take and there are some incredible sights to see along the way. Stanley, Idaho is like our home away from home so if you pass through, make sure to stop in to the Kasino Club, have a steak and say hey to Cuss! 
​
Tylor and the Train Robbers:
Website
Facebook
Insta

2019 Braun Brothers Reunion
Challis, Idaho
August 8-10th
​Purchase: 3 Day Pass $129.30
Purchase: 2 Day Pass Friday and Saturday ONLY

The BBR is held rain or shine.
Tickets purchased online will be picked up at will call at the venue.
Tickets are Non-refundable.
Kids age 5 and under are free.
Kids age 6-12 are $15 a day and can ONLY be purchased at the front gate even if its sold out.
Kids age 13 and up pay full adult price.

Website/Facebook/Twitter

---