Overview

Hey everybody! My name is Tyler Millard, and I’m a singer/songwriter here in the lovely little town of Oak Ridge, North Carolina.

I moved to Oak Ridge in 2011 after graduate school to be close to family. I knew that if I was going to make this music thing happen, I was going to need their support. Ten years later, I’ve been able to carve out a little business for myself, playing covers about three times a week at wineries, breweries etc. While I feel incredibly lucky to be able to perform for a living, my real passion is for writing and recording songs. I’ve been stock-piling songs over the last decade, and I’m finally ready to give them wings, let them out into the world and see how high they fly.

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating my first ever, professionally produced studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Mike Davidson in Boston, MA. Mike is a Boston-based producer and engineer with 15+ years of experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Mike and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song remotely, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Crazy,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund this initial recording process for "Crazy" on my own, to create an album of songs of studio quality, costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. Mike and I will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this project would change my life.

I’ve taken some time to learn more about the business side of the music industry over the past few years, and there is one common theme that keeps coming up: The song is king! The lyrics, melodies, and chord choices are all on me as a writer, but the recording quality itself is a different story. You may not know it, but you can hear the difference between a high-quality recording and a low-quality recording almost instantly. To me, a song is a piece of artwork that is capable of distilling a lifetime of experiences and emotions into three or four minutes. For that reason, those few minutes deserve a high level of care and attention to detail.

Getting the chance to record my songs at Plaid Dog Recording with a professional producer, engineer, and session band will truly be a game-changer for me. Having an album of super high-quality recordings will put me into a completely different tier of musicians and open up three new revenue streams. I will be able to pitch this music to record labels, pursue radio play, and submit my songs to playlists and ad agencies. For me, having this kind of quality material is the difference between being a local musician and an artist.

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting me, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to share this music with you.