Photo by Joey Wharton
Tyler Meacham thought she had it all. She worked hard in school and got her dream job, working as an Imagineer for Walt Disney World in Florida. Despite making videos for the amusement park, she wasn’t fulfilled. Leaving the Sunshine State, she moved back to Richmond. When she told her family she was quitting her job at “The Happiest Place on Earth,” their response was, “About time.” After navigating the open mic scene and dropping an EP, “Property,” in 2019, she released her debut album, “Into the Fray,” in February. Meacham says she draws her inspiration from singer-songwriters such as Sara Bareilles and Jack Antonoff, and anyone familiar with their music can hear the influence in her work. We spoke with the 27-year-old about her musical journey, the art behind the album, and what song on her latest release that is sure to raise eyebrows.
Richmond magazine: A lot of musicians have a moment where something clicks, and they fall in love with music. Was there a moment like that for you?
Tyler Meacham: When I was in middle and high school, I just wrote songs to process all of the drama and angst of being a teenager, and it was always special to me — it was kind of like my diary almost. The more I did it, the more I realized that it was something I was passionate about. Fast-forward to my first year of college. I studied film, I was at a really great job that was supposed to be a good career move, and I realized I wasn’t happy. I realized I hadn’t been [creating] music in a while. So that was kind of a roundabout way of realizing how much music means to me and how much I wanted a life where music was at the forefront.
RM: Can you explain your album cover?
Meacham: You see on the album cover Post-it notes, yarn, pictures and all this stuff, and I got that idea from the notion that for someone who has anxiety or overthinks, your brain can kind of spin conspiracy theories about yourself or your worth to people. So that visual ... stood out to me because the album covers a lot of those same topics.
RM: What made you want to write the song “You Mean Self?”
Meacham: I grew up in a Christian environment, and those values were very important to me, but I did not see how they were aligned with the things that were happening in our legal system and some of the rights that were being taken away. There was so much discrimination happening under the guise of Christian morality that just didn’t make sense. When I sat down to write [the song], everything just kind of poured out. I had a lot of opinions over the last few years, and I would post things on social media, and sometimes people would send me messages like, “You should just stick to the music.” I realized my beliefs are just as much a part of my art as anything else, so I have to put this on an album.
Tyler Meacham performs at The Camel at 9 p.m. on Aug. 26 with Zach Benson and Wild Love. Tickets are $10 to $12.
