Southern rock artist returns to his Middle Georgia roots

Tony Tyler’s pink, wavy hair stands out in the dimly lit recording room. He’s sitting in the middle of it, sliding his hand up and down the organ and tapping his heel, hair swaying back and forth with the beat.

His band, aptly named the Tony Tyler Band, and dad look on from the control room as he records a segment on an unreleased song called “Bury Me.” Sean Abel, the bass guitarist, mimes a riff while Tyler’s dad hums the lyrics in the back.

Over the course of a weekend, the Tony Tyler Band recorded its debut album at Capricorn Studios in downtown Macon, and will come back to perform at Grant’s Lounge on Aug. 9.

“In the last seven, eight years, the Macon scene has really come back in full force, I’m just trying to be part of it,” Tyler said.

Tyler grew up in Dublin listening to the Southern rock stars he could find playing a short drive away, like Marshall Tucker and the Allman Brothers. He describes his own music as “Southern rock and soul” inspired by his upbringing.

He used to come to Capricorn with his father, John Stanley Killingsworth, and his band Midnight Blues. He would watch and said he “naturally gravitated” to music for the camaraderie of working in a band and putting a song together.

Killingsworth, whose John Stanley Band sometimes plays at Bearfoot Tavern, said his son has been “exposed to it [music] since day one.”

Tyler started out playing drums as a kid, like his father, but switched to playing guitar when he was 12. That’s when his father would bring him out with his band on weekends to perform.

Killingsworth was only a “weekend warrior,” but he said it was exciting for Tyler to be able to live as a full-time musician.

“We musicians come in dreaming of making it big time,” Killingsworth said. “Out of millions only a dozen make it. The bottom line is making music that resonates with people.”

Before forming the Tony Tyler Band, Tyler had a gig playing with Allman Brothers guitarist Dan Toller in Florida. He’s also played with Duane Betts and Melody Trucks.

About two or three years ago, he joined up with drummer Paige Cantrill, who Tyler said plays “so in the pocket,” and keyboardist and vocalist Linda Kiley to form the Tony Tyler Band. Both were formerly part of a Led Zeppelin tribute band.

Abel joined later on, “a great addition,” Kiley said. She said it was “like magic” when they started playing for the first time together.

“Whenever you find that jelly, you know it’s just good,” Tyler said.

Tyler said nowadays “there’s a million ways to skin a cat,” when it comes to making music, and it’s difficult to know what medium will work the best since people nowadays consume music in different ways. 

With so many bands wanting to perform, it can be hard to get gigs, he said, but they manage to keep busy.

For when they’re not making music, Cantrill makes art and Kiley is a second degree Taekwondo black belt. 

They’ve traveled and played in Colorado, North Carolina and Florida. One day the band said they hope to play at Red Rock in Colorado, or Glastonbury in England or the Cavern in Tennessee.