Photo Courtesy of Skyfever

Author: Sofia Sayabalian

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Skyfever, a rock band from Dublin, Ireland via the Zoom-iverse. I had a one-on-one call with Tyson, guitarist and songwriter in the band. Upon writing this article, I felt that paraphrasing Tyson’s responses wouldn’t serve justice to the interview, so I have written it in dialogue style. As you read through the interview, please enjoy my list of prepared questions and insightful responses from Tyson from Skyfever.

Sofia: Can you take me through to who plays in the band?

Tyson: Me myself, I’m Tyson, I write the songs and play guitar. I kinda run a lot of our strategy and the moves we make… I might be the mind behind it if you know what I mean. Luke would be the lead singer, he’s the tip of the spear. He’s our frontman. When he sings, I hear the ghost of Chris Cornell, I hear Eddie Vedder in him, I hear the Seattle sound, essentially. To be able to write for his voice is sensational. Matt plays guitar. Carl is on drums, but he can also play bass and piano. A bit of talent and a bit of drive goes a long way, doesn’t it?

Sofia: How did you meet Luke and the other members?

Tyson: It took me a year and a half, and I auditioned nearly 40 people for the lead singer of the band. Luke actually knew the guy who ran the studio, who was Carl. We then met Matt through Luke. We haven’t really looked back since.

Sofia: Who are some of your musical influences?

Tyson: It kinda changes sometimes. My musical milk as a child was The Beatles. Chris Cornell, Soundgarden, Audioslave—the obvious ones—Pearl Jam. It’s the power of a voice and massive guitars but also finding that haunting melody that’s not quite happy, not quite sad, a little bit in the middle. There’s a little bit of ache and I’ve always been attracted by that.

Sofia: What does your band name, Skyfever, mean?

Tyson: *laughs* You’re getting into the secrets now, huh?

Sofia: I sure am.

Tyson: It’s all good, hey secrets are made to be shared sometimes. The band name is more important than people realize and you would not believe the band names that are taken. However, at the time the film Skyfall was out, I just loved that name. But you know, you don’t really want to call a band name after a film. And then, around the same time there was the highest sky dive that had ever been done. The guy did it from the edge of space. I remember thinking in my head, he has sky fever. It’s almost like, is it someone who’s crazy to go as high as they can and see where it leads them, or is it someone who’s down here, looking at clouds, looking at the sky and they’re so enraptured by what’s going on there? Have they got Skyfever?

“…is it someone who’s down here, looking at clouds, looking at the sky and they’re so enraptured by what’s going on there? Have they got Skyfever?”

Sofia: Your musical range is really incredible and the blend of instrumentation in Skyfever’s music doesn’t go unnoticed. Is there a favorite song of yours that you’ve made?

Tyson: Ah. I always say my favorite song is the next song, or the one that’s arriving. That’s a tough one, because they all mean something to me for different reasons. I love “Keep Pounding” simply because of the story of how it happened. It was seeing that song played in stadium speakers that made me think, now I know how big songs can be. When we recorded it proper, it debuted at the Keep Pounding Against Cancer game against the Tennessee Titans. And that was a special moment. [Then], you mention “Americana Fame.” I love that [song]. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Versailles Palace but we kinda wondered what would the glistening chandelier, what would royalty sound like? And that’s the sound you hear at the start. The seduction of power. That’s what that song’s about.

Sofia: Are you playing shows in Dublin or do you travel as a band often these days?

Tyson: Before the pandemic we were doing shows in and around Dublin; it was strange because now we have like ten times more fans. We have them over in Ireland and the UK. We will go where we are loved.  We’re definitely planning on shows in Ireland and abroad. People need to hear us.

Sofia: How would you describe Dublin?

Tyson: It’s all relative, alright. Dublin is tiny. You could walk it in an hour. Ten minutes in a car. All the sites are very close to each other. It’s a very old city, there’s a lot of deep spirituality in it. There’s a massive occult history behind Dublin. The bullet holes from the rebellion in 1916, the book of Kells…loads of these historical places which have huge significance. You can see what you want to see in a day or two days, and really feel the place. There’s a deep energy here. If you’re any way tuned to this stuff, you’ll feel Dublin.

Sofia: Wow, thank you. Do you have a holy grail rock album that you love?

Tyson: All Killer, No Filler [by Sum 41]. Oasis’ debut album definitely, for me, it hits everything. It opened up a rock and roll star, you know. What I love about that is like you’re literally catapulted in. I’m eternally trying to write a better version. That will never be replicated, that’s just my view. It hits all the marks.

Sofia: Are you working on any new music right now?

Tyson: Our new single is called “Inside the Fury” and that’s almost like the last of the first phase of this band. It’s one of the first songs Luke and I wrote together and it’s inspired by Dante’s Inferno. We wrote it in an old apartment of his on acoustic guitars and we put a flame to it once we got our band in on it. The video should be out very soon, it’s absolutely epic. Got some mad outtakes. We are always writing, Sofia. We are building a vicious amount of songs. We’re just trying to write and record and get them ready and pick our poison of what’s next. Even though we’re not signed to a major label yet, I know we will we. Our fans are incredible. I always say to the lads, we have idols but they’re gonna become our rivals. You’re gonna love what’s coming.

This upcoming part was one of my favorite parts of the interview. Thanks, Tyson for the awesome compliment.

You have to understand like at your station, there’s a lineage of DJs that are gonna go on to do great things. Your predecessors would have pushed Pearl Jam, they would have pushed Soundgarden, Nirvana, into the mainstream. They would have held these bands in their hands and made sure everyone heard them. And for us to be played on your station, for your station to show so much faith in us, when you did that for our heroes, it’s just a huge thing. So we are so thankful.

Sofia: Wow, thank you so much. I’ll be sure to pass that compliment on. Do you have any short-term or long-term goals for the band?

Tyson: Short-term, I always say to the lads like control what we can control. Really, it’s to write and record the next phase. To get all those tracks sounding amazing. Sometimes you need to get out of the way of a song. Take it day by day. Medium-term would be to look at the summer single and the single after that. Play halftime with the Panthers, make sure our Christmas song is out there. And to get signed by a major label, and I’m fully confident that that’s gonna happen. Once we’re signed, the long-term goal kicks in—to be the biggest band that’s come out in this country since U2, that’s the long-term goal. To have someone’s resources to be able to do that. That’s really it.

“Once we’re signed, the long-term goal kicks in—to be the biggest band that’s come out in this country since U2.”

Sofia: Who are you listening to at the moment?

Tyson: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. B.R.M.C., their first, self-titled album. I love how at the end of the song “Salvation,” it’s kind of weird and spiritual. They start off lighting a match but at the end of the album they’re holding a candle. What I do is I listen to an album for a week. I have it on repeat. And I always get ideas down, like in my creative well. My antenna will be tuned to that kind of style of song and I’ll end up writing something like that.

Sofia: Thank you so much for being so great and meeting with me.

It was at this moment that my interview came to a conclusion. I’d like to thank Tyson and the rest of the members of Skyfever for helping me make this interview happen.

Skyfever Spotify | Skyfever YouTube | Skyfever Instagram | Skyfever Facebook

Sofia Sayabalian | “Americana Fame” is one of my favorites | KXSU Digital Media Director