Local musician Tyler Fortier isn’t interested in fame or popularity. Rather than gaining billions of dollars and MTV coverage, he just wants to be able to make a living doing what he loves.
“I just want to be able to say it’s my job, and for the past year or so, I have been able to say that,” he said.
Fortier already has four albums under his belt, and he has been busy making another three for 2011. The first new album, “… And They Rode Like Wildfire Snaking Through the Hills ‘Neath the Scarlet Sun,” came out earlier this year, but the second, “Fear of the Unknown,” will be available in Eugene for the first time on Saturday, April 30, when Fortier will perform at Sam Bonds Garage for his CD release event.
With six albums by the age of 25, Fortier spends a lot of his time in the recording studio.
“I’m pretty much always recording. I’m addicted to recording,” he said. “It’s where a song can live or die.”
When he was in sixth grade, Fortier wrote his first song, and he played bass in punk bands throughout middle school. Today, Fortier describes his music as Americana. He lists Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Josh Ritter and Ryan Adams as influences and admires their lyricism.
“I’m inspired by the way they’re able to convey certain emotions by turning a phrase,” he said. “That’s what I aspire to do. You can say the simplest thing but the way you say it makes it profound. It’s the power of words.”
Fortier considers his music lyrical, and he spends a lot of time working on the words in his songs. “Fear of the Unknown” revolves around a future Armageddon theme.
“Lately, my songs have been more fictional, but it all comes from a real place,” Fortier said. “On the new CD, they all follow a similar story. It takes more effort than a simple love song. It can be a love song, but in a world-is-ending scenario, it’s more challenging.”
Fortier’s initial plan for 2011 was to release two CDs, but a particularly productive week in October changed that.
“On the last tour, I was writing the most I’ve written,” he said. “I tried to write a World War III novella, but it was really hard to write a book, so many of the songs on the new CD came from that.”
Originally from Camas, Wash., Fortier first came to Eugene to attend Lane Community College. He took a year off to record an album, then transferred to the University and graduated last March after majoring in sociology and minoring in creative writing. Lately, he’s been touring all over the country. His most recent tour kicked off in March.
“I just got back from touring a few days ago,” he said. “The last couple of years, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling. In mid-May I have a two-week tour, and then I’ll probably take a break from traveling for a while.”
Fortier said touring can get tiring after a while, but the shows are worth it.
“Touring would be a lot more fun if it wasn’t just myself,” he said. “There are long days, 10 hour drives, but the people I meet along the way are great. When I get a really good show in, sell a bunch of CDs and the crowd is really responsive, it makes it worth it.”
Joining Fortier for Saturday’s show will be James Orr from Boise, Idaho and Kory Quinn from Portland. The show starts at 9 p.m.
“My band and I like having a good time, and that’s what the show will be about,” he said.
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