Leading up to his homecoming appearance at Newport Folk Festival this Saturday, LA via Rhode Island crooner Tyler Ballgame is sharing a new track and video, ‘Got a New Car’. Directed and produced by his friends and roommates Joey Casale and Victoria Gagnaire Stein, the video for ‘Got a New Car’ was shot in their apartment and perfectly encapsulates the warm, playful, slyly metaphorical nature of the song.
Ballgame drew the inspiration for ‘Got a New Car’ from philosopher Alan Watts. He explains, “Watts said ‘The ego is an obsolete vehicle for human consciousness.’ So I wondered, what if I bought a new car? It’s about my spiritual awakening. Realizing I’m not this set of stories. I don’t need to attach to stuff around expectations, which is 90% of human suffering. There’s so much peace under personality, there’s so much peace in the cessation of the active mind and surrendering to the Now.” In the song, Ballgame sings, “Saw my old self / Beat his brakes off / Doesn’t know yet, he’ll feel it when he wakes up / Got a new car / Hear me start it / I was beamin’ nearly cryin’ when I bought it.”
Renowned for his live shows, Tyler Ballgame caught the attention of Rough Trade Records’ co-managing directors Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee, who say hearing him reminds them “of the tenderness that can exist within the most powerful framework of a human voice. Like Elvis, Roy Orbison or Harry Nilsson.” His astonishing, versatile tenor is a bracing reminder of how great songs delivered by a gifted vocalist can move, captivate and inspire.
The child of a classically trained music teacher mom, who encouraged him to joyfully perform anytime, anywhere, Ballgame grew up in Rhode Island, obsessively downloading classic rock from Napster before attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Post-Berklee, none of his musical endeavors caught fire and doubt began to creep in. At his lowest point, Ballgame toiled on the cover band circuit, playing three nights a week in Rhode Island bars.
Feeling like he had little to lose, he applied online for an office job in Los Angeles, where he’d never set foot, and got the gig. With encouragement from a life-changing, body-positive-centric counselor, and the support of his family, Ballgame left the East Coast to find himself. As traveling companions he carried books by philosophers Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now) and Alan Watts (The Way of Zen).
Soon, Ballgame was slaying at a weekly open mic night in LA, playing his own songs. After a year of growing an ever-larger audience, he met acclaimed indie producer-multi-instrumentalists Jonathan Rado (Miley Cyrus, Weyes Blood, Foxygen) and Ryan Pollie (Los Angeles Police Department). The duo were wowed by his extraordinary voice, charismatic stage presence and catchy repertoire, inviting him to make a record on the spot.
More on that record soon to come, for now consider ‘Got a New Car’ your official introduction!
Tyler Ballgame on:
