The Viking Saga: How did it feel being a part of Vanguard last year?
Tyler Eng: It was amazing. It was, and still is, such a good opportunity. Originally I met Darius [lead singer] through Instagram; I posted something about looking for a band to play with and he replied saying he got a guy who plays bass, then I was talking to him for a bit, and that’s where it all kicked off. That was around the start of sophomore year, September-ish, and we definitely came a long way and hopefully we’re gonna keep going [as a band] but yeah, it’s kind of confusing. Everyone’s scattered now, literally.
TVS: What was your reaction when “Bullet to Bless My Soul” hit 10,000 streams on Spotify?
TE: It’s actually surreal, because I remember when I made the riff part of that song just one day straight out
of my bedroom. I recorded it in five minutes and then I sent it to them. We practiced it and next thing you know, I was drawing up the album cover art for the single. Now it’s on Spotify; it’s awesome.
TVS: What made you decide to do the Berklee program this summer?
TE: It was around December that I got a flier in the mail for the Berklee five-week program, and I thought that sounded cool. Then later on I got an email about it and that made me more interested in it, and it was definitely a lot of fun. The program was basically a bunch of different musicians, of various genres, who got to dorm in Berkelee/commute in to take college level classes. That way you can get your foot in the door to Berkelee, and with good enough grades, you’re able to get up to three college credits, which is essentially a full semester of one class.
TVS: What was the biggest thing you got out of the program?
TE: Honestly, it was just such a good experience. I felt like I became a better musician and a better person in general,
because I met so many people from across the world in Europe and Asia. It’s also really cool to meet everyone in one place and then play music with those people and perform. I got a lot of useful experience from doing that.
TVS: What are your plans, both for this year and afterwards?
TE: We [Vanguard] have another track that’s recorded that hasn’t been released yet. I’m not sure what the release date is looking like for that, but hopefully we’ll get that out soon. Other than that, with personal music plans, I’m trying to hopefully record some demo tapes using Garageband and I’d like to get some drums in there and further still, it would be awesome to find musicians for a new band this year too.
[After high school] I definitely want to pursue music as a career. I’m kind of interested in being a music therapist because I feel that’s a great way for me to explore music still, but still be able to help people and provide something for the community. I’d also like to start a band in Berkelee or wherever I end up going for college, but overall that’s what it’s like looking into the future.
