Record shopping with Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
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Mike Grimes likes to know what his customers are listening to. When you walk into Grimey’s record store and he’s there, you might find yourself getting engaged in a conversation about your favourite music of the moment. That personal touch, shared by co-owner Doyle Davis, along with a friendly, knowledgeable staff, is one of the reasons Grimey’s remains Nashville’s most popular record shop.
Opened in 2004, it outgrew two smaller locations before moving to its current home in the former Point Of Mercy Church. Under a distinctive blue butterfly roof, with 4,000 square feet spread over two floors, Grimey’s stocks some 15,000 new and pre-loved vinyl LPs, plus 45s, CDs, turntables, posters, T-shirts, books and magazines (including Classic Rock).
There’s also a stage in the back, where they’ve hosted in-store performances and signings over the years by Wilco, The Black Keys, Kacey Musgraves, Dawes, Sierra Ferrell and many more.
This morning the shop has opened early for three of their regulars, the denim-clad members of Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown – guitarist/vocalist Bryant, guitarist Graham Whitford and drummer Caleb Crosby.
“I moved to Nashville when I was seventeen,” Bryant recalls, “and discovered Grimey’s right away. I bought my first turntable here, an AudioTechnica. It’s still the same one I use today.”
“I remember getting Foo Fighters' Wasting Light here, which might’ve been one of my first vinyl albums,” Whitford says. “That record reminds me so much of the year I moved to Nashville.”
“My wife and I used to live in this neighborhood, so I was in here a lot,” says Crosby, as he and the guys move toward the racks. “When I heard we could spend the morning in Grimey’s, with nobody in here? You don’t get to do that ever.”
Bryant met his two bandmates in Nashville (on stage they’re rounded out by bassist Diego Navaira), and after two EPs they released their fiery blues-rock debut album Wild Child in 2013. Which of course Grimey’s carried, and they have all six of the band’s releases.
“Around that time, I had managed to finagle getting a copy of the first album to [Heartbreakers guitarist] Mike Campbell,” Bryant recalls. “He sent an email that said: ‘Tyler, this record is surprisingly not bad’ [laughs]. But the coolest thing he said was: ‘I’m gonna give you the same advice that Tom [Petty] and I got – go buy every Bob Dylan record and every Byrds record you can get your hands on.’ So I went to Grimey’s, and basically forfeited my month’s rent to buy every Dylan and Byrds record they had. And I still have them all. I mean, thanks to this place my wife and I have a pretty giant record collection now.”
Bryant is married to Rebecca Lovell, one half of the sister duo Larkin Poe (they’re guests on the Shakedown’s latest, Electrified). “At home our records are alphabetised,” Bryant continues. “And that’s something I take pride in. There’s also a really fond memory attached to that, when she and I first put our collections together, just sitting with thousands of albums piled on the floor, and going through them, talking about where we got them and what we love about them.”
“Hey, shouldn’t I get a complimentary copy of this?!” Crosby says to his bandmates, holding up Dolly Parton’s double album Rockstar. It would only seem fitting he does, given that Crosby brought the boom and beat for Dolly as the drummer on her 2023 rock-oriented album, as well as on her latest live performances.
“Funnily enough, as soon as we’re done here I’m going to Dolly’s management office to pick up my drum head, which she’s signed for me,” says Crosby. “She’s the coolest person to be around. She’s a light. Just like you would envision her. So positive, and really complimentary about my playing. There was one day in the studio, when she sang Jolene, the producer said: ‘She hasn’t sung this in the studio for over twenty-six years.’ And I’m just sitting there, listening to that voice, thinking: ‘Whoa, this is crazy that I actually get to hear this!’”
Crosby isn’t the only Shakedown member with connections to music royalty. If Whitford’s name and tasteful guitar playing didn’t give you a hint, his lanky good looks would tell you that he’s the son of Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford.
“When I was young it was hard to conceptualise what that meant,” Whitford says of having a famous father. “I knew my dad was in this big band – and I knew it was really loud [laughs]. I started playing drums first when I was a kid, and I remember Joey [Kramer, Aerosmith drummer] even showed me a few grooves. But I would jam with my dad all the time. I remember he came to my school when I was in sixth grade and we played Aerosmith songs for my class.”
Appropriately, it was Aerosmith who inspired the Shakedown’s name. “We were still looking for a band name, and we opened for them in Syracuse,” Bryant recalls. “I put my guitar down on the stage, and they had pyrotechnics. So my guitar got flagged the next day going through airport security because it had come in contact with some sort of explosive dust from the Aerosmith show. It set off an alarm. They ran all sorts of tests on it, and one of the security guys walked by and said: ‘Look, it’s a shakedown!’”
“Remember, we were going to call the band Steady Rollers, after the Robert Johnson song,” says Whitford. “I still think that’s a good name.”
Although he was influenced by his dad’s playing, Whitford says the guitarist he gets compared to most often is Peter Frampton. And here we are, conveniently standing near the Humble Pie section in Grimey’s.
“It’s a really high compliment,” Whitford says. “Frampton is definitely one of my biggest influences. I love how melodic and soulful he is.”
Talk turns briefly to the recent news story about a possible AI-assisted Steve Marriott record project, pushed by his widow, with ‘new’ Humble Pie songs. Frampton, Robert Plant and David Gilmour are among those who have been vocal in their opposition to it. The analogue Shakedown boys join the chorus.
“It seems like a really bad idea,” Whitford says.
“Why would anyone do that, or even want to listen to that?!” asks Bryant.
As we admire the cartoon collage cover art of Humble Pie’s Lost And Found, Bryant says: “I’m always captivated by cool album art. Any time we make a new record, I always go to my collection for art inspiration.”
For new album Electrified, he says he looked to 50s and 60s-era LPs by Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. “I was thinking: ‘How cool is it that they wrote text out on the back covers rather than just slapping the usual picture on?’ A lot of those old blues records, that was their advertisement, that was their billboard. They told you what you were getting.”
Continuing his riff on artwork, Bryant grabs Beck’s Blues – The Defining Sounds Of Jeff Beck With The Yardbirds, a 2024 vinyl compilation with a cover that shows Beck in full Mod-era fringe cut and corduroy splendour.
“Look at this beautiful photo of Jeff and how cool and vibrant he is!” Bryant says. “These albums are like musical photographs, where they captured moments in time that will live forever. A friend of mine said last night: ‘Hey man, I’m sorry I haven’t heard your new record yet.’ And I was like: ‘Oh, there’s no rush. It’s there forever. Whenever you’re ready, you can listen.’ That’s the beauty of recorded music.”
“It’s also really cool walking through this record store and seeing all these heroes that we’ve been lucky enough to play with,” says Crosby. Over the past ten years the Shakedown have opened for ZZ Top, Guns N’ Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Aerosmith.
“I think almost every band we’ve played with has inspired us,” Bryant says. Pointing to Powerage by AC/DC, he continues: “But these guys come to mind right away, because we had to really up our game just to survive!”
“That magnitude of touring was so foreign to us,” says Crosby. “The pressure was high, so it forced us every night to really bring it. We’d finish our set, and say: ‘Okay, guys, let’s go to school!’ and we’d go to the front of house. We were there for the downbeat, watching every AC/DC show. ”
“The same when I toured with Jeff Beck, I never missed a single soundcheck that he did,” Bryant says. “I’d sit on the side of the stage, just soaking it in.”
“Also, beyond the music, we’ve been inspired by bands like Blackberry Smoke, Clutch and REO Speedwagon, the way they’re like travelling families,” says Whitford. “I think the sort of moral compass that those guys follow,” Bryant adds, “as far as, like, being true to who they are and treating people well, that’s really eye-opening as something we want to emulate.”
Speaking of family, the community of high-quality rock bands has grown so strong in Nashville in recent years that it’s almost starting to rival the country scene. The Black Keys and Jack White both run studios in the downtown area. Kings Of Leon and Paramore are based here. Classic rockers including Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons and Sheryl Crow live here.
“We’re close with Halestorm, the Greta Van Fleet guys and James Nichols,” Whitford says. “Also, Rival Sons and these guys,” adds Crosby, pointing to a copy of The Cadillac Three’s The Years Go Fast.
“Jaren [Johnston, Cadillacs guitarist/singer] was my next door neighbour,” Bryant says. “We knew them when they were called American Bang, and they were one of the biggest influences on the Shakedown. To be a part of the scene here is incredible. I feel lucky to say that a lot of our peers are actually making significant waves in the music industry. It’s competitive but friendly, and it inspires you to raise your own bar a bit higher.”
As the shopping excursion winds down, we wonder if any particular records were touchstones for Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown’s latest album.
“North Mississippi All-Stars, RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough,” Bryant says.“We’re always listening to them. The Band, especially on the single Trick Up My Sleeve. And also the new Blackberry Smoke record. I remember texting Charlie [Starr, Smoke guitarist] when we were writing this record, because I was convinced I was ripping off one of his guitar riffs in a song. I sent him a video and said: ‘Is this your riff?’ He said: ‘No, but I wish it was.’”
“The thing about our band is that our influences are really wide,” Whitford says. “From the blues to rock’n’roll to punk to 90s grunge to country. Gospel music too – we listen to the Staple Singers every night before we go on stage.”
And in the name of shaping those influences on their recorded output, two years ago the Shakedown started their own label, Rattle Shake Records. Its mission statement read in part: “We’ve built our fan base in such a grass roots way that it only makes sense. They want to support us and OUR collective cause.”
Electrified is the third release on the label, out on CD and naturally, vinyl.
“There’s something really special about vinyl,” Bryant says. “ I think turntables and vinyl really help you focus on the music when it’s being played. Just the act of flipping from side A to side B. You’re physically involved in it. I think that’s special. There’s really nothing like sitting down with some good records.”
As we head for the checkout counter, he adds: “And in this band, we’re all record junkies.”
What Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown spent ￡50 on
Tyler Bryant: Truly Handmade Volume 1 by Guy Clark (LP)
“This is compiled and produced by Rodney Crowell, one of my favourite songwriters. That tells me that there’s some stuff on here that I need to take in. I know a lot of these songs – L.A. Freeway, Old Time Feeling – but there are some I don’t know. So I’m getting the best of both worlds.” He also bought Iron & Wine’s Our Endless Numbered Days, as a gift for his wife.
Graham Whitford: Lost And Found by Humble Pie (LP)
“When I go in a record store, I’m usually trying to find something I’ve never seen or don’t have, like this. I already know I love Humble Pie so I’m pretty sure this album’s going to be good.”
Caleb Crosby: Betty Davis by Betty Davis (LP)
“We play this all the time on the road, but I don’t own it on vinyl. It’s produced by Greg Errico, and has Larry Graham on bass and the Tower Of Power horn section. It’s super-soulful. She was married to Miles Davis. Her voice is sultry and behind the pocket. There’s something about her delivery. You get lost in it.”
Electrified is out now via Rattle Shake Records.
