Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights

The photograph on the cover of Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights' album "Hot Trottin'" is dramatic. A cigarette dangles precariously from Tyler's lips. The stem of the cigarette is only ash down the filter and the disheveled Tyler seems to be so inebriated that he's more spent than the cigarette. He has only managed to open one bleary eye for his portrait. He looks like he hasn't seen the sun or sobriety in weeks.

Tyler says a former roommate who is a photographer shot the photo in Tyler's garage.

"He would just carry his camera around all the time and take pictures. He called me one day and said, 'Dude, you GOTTA see this picture I got of you! It's unforgettable! When I saw it I was like 'Holy (expletive)! I can't believe this.' "

When it came time to choose an album cover, Tyler knew the photo would leave an impression.

"That was where we were. If you caught us in some symbolic way of where we were in our lives when we made that album. ... It was definitely a time of experimentation with a lot of things and definitely in a state of, um, not reality! It was also a little middle finger to a certain group of people, too. So it serves its purpose well."

Tyler seems little like his portrait in a phone call from his home in Dallas. He says he's outside, enjoying the sun. And, overall, things seem to be looking sunny for the band. Tyler and the band recently signed with Atlantic Records and completed a new album that will be released in early 2010. One of the songs was co-written with Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, who has become a fan of the group.

Tyler says the new album has the same spirit of the raw rock 'n' roll of "Hot Trottin,' but more finesse.

"This new album is mostly recorded live, too, but we put it under the microscope a little more. It's still in-your-face, attitude rock 'n' roll, but it's definitely a big step forward. The sound is cleaner, but, at the same time, it sounds dirtier. The tones are better. The texture is better."

Tyler grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and Dallas, but he says his first memory of music came from visiting his grandparents in South Carolina and hearing his grandmother play piano and organ.

"When I was really young I remember being in her living room and the family sitting around and singing hymns while she played," says Tyler.

Later, he discovered Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" album and other classic rock music. He began playing guitar at the age of 13 and started writing songs three years later.

"The first stuff I played was in church and sounded kind of churchy. It's a different chapter of my life. I've been through a lot since then."

By the time he was 19, Tyler had enough of a reputation that record companies began checking him out, but, he says, "I didn't have anything to write about, so I didn't sign.

"When I turned 21 I found booze and other things," says Tyler. "I took a year off and started writing the songs that ended up on 'Hot Trottin.'"

While fans in Dallas have been supportive, Tyler says the music scene in town isn't what it should be.

"It's pretty weird out here. But I think it has to do a lot with the papers and the media getting behind it. Our media out here are really cynical to all the bands in town. Unless it's really trendy and obscure they don't get behind it."

While his band may be on the edge of a national break-out, Tyler says he isn't thinking too much about it.

"To me, the joy is just to write songs, travel around and make music. It's a really cool thing. If anything more than that happens I'll be really happy about it, but, at the same time, that's not why I do it. I just do it because I love music."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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