Tyler Childers gave fans an inside look at his time in the studio, as well as himself, in a new mini-documentary, Tyler Childers: Reimagined. Released on YouTube on Wednesday, the nine-minute clip features a partial performance of “Lady May” and a full performance of “Creeker”.
Given that “Lady May” and “Creeker” appeared on different albums two years apart, it is unclear when this footage was recorded. Regardless of the date, Reimagined still finds Childers in his prime as he mixes performances with storytelling from the cushy confines of the recording studio.
Related: Tyler Childers Shares Live “Nose On The Grindstone” From Lexington [Watch]
“I grew up in Lawrence County, Kentucky. You know, songwriting, telling stories, is a trait of people from my area,” Childers said. “People like to tell tales. I sat around a lot with my dad around hunting clubs and outside church and barbershops listening to folks older than me tell tall tales and flat-out lies. And I guess some of that rubbed off on me.”
Reminiscing on his early days as a musician, before his songs paid the bills, he reflects, “I don’t see songwriting as a job so much as it’s something to do to keep from working.” Childers revealed that many of his early songs were written while undertaking the zen task of de-nailing pieces of wood.
Conversely, with a song like “Lady May”, and with several others in his catalog, Tyler wrote about his wife, Senora May Childers. Evidently, he has gotten into a habit: whenever he gets in trouble and upsets her, writing a song is his method of smoothing things over.
“Nowadays, it’s not as effective as it used to be. Nowadays, I need to do something else on top of that,” Childers said.
Finally, on “Creeker”, Childers relates the story of how an Uber ride gone wrong in Chicago led to the song off 2019’s Country Squire. With five dollars in his pocket and two percent on his phone, he walked into a bar, ordered whatever five dollars would get him, and sat down to charge up his phone to find a ride to where he was supposed to be. In the meantime, he wrote “Creeker”.
Watch Tyler Childers perform and pontificate in the new mini-documentary, Tyler Childers: Reimagined.
Tyler Childers: Reimagined
[Video: Tyler Childers]