Tribute by Tyler Ramsey - “Flare (For Neal Casal)”
From Tyler Ramsey: “I dedicated a song to Neal Casal because when I met him and spent the small amount of time I was able to spend with him I felt like we were at very similar places in our lives- I felt like I had run into an old friend who was saying the same things I’d been feeling and going through a moment that I was also going through. We were close in age and both experiencing big shifts in our musical paths. I didn’t sense that he was feeling at all defeated- and neither was I- we were maybe just trying to find footing for our next steps.
And he was just a beautiful and kind person.
This life in music for me has had such huge ups and downs- and the longer I stay in it the challenges shift and can be overwhelming. The landscape of the business side of it all changes again and again and it can be exhausting to try and keep up.
But this is what I do- it’s how I express myself and what I’ve done my whole life and when it’s good it is magic. When it’s not it has sent me down some dark paths and I’ve had to work through those.
I’ve lost friends to suicide and to drugs. I’ve seen too many musical heroes go that way.
We all need help sometimes- we all need someone to talk to. The older I get the more I learn to try my best to open up to people- to relate and to feel heard. And also to listen- and to try and watch out for the people I come across in this world.
Here is something I wrote about the song Flare -
I was hiding out in a cheap beach condo in Gulf Shores Alabama and trying to write songs when I heard the news about Neal Casal’s passing. I was way up on a high floor of one of those giant beachfront condos and the sun had just set and I thought I saw a flare go off way out in the dark ocean. After I called to report what I thought I’d seen to the local cops I sat and watched the dark horizon for a long time.
Sometimes people need help and they never ask for it- sometimes people send signals out but those of us that might see them don’t know what to do to help.
I barely knew Neal but somehow I think of him often and miss what was only a potential future.
Look out for each other out there.”
Preorder Tyler’s new release, New Lost Ages (Feb. 9th, 2024) here.
TYLER RAMSEY ON TOUR
Tickets and up-to-date information can be found at tylerramsey.com.
10/13 @ Bourgie Nights | Wilmington, NC
10/14 @ Flat Iron | Greensboro, NC
10/21 @ Asheville Masonic Temple | Asheville, NC
10/22 @ Eddie’s Attic | Decatur, GA
10/27 @ NeighborhoodTheatre | Charlotte, NC
2/20 @ Pearl Street Warehouse | Washington DC
2/21 @ Milkboy | Philadelphia PA
2/22 @ Mercury Lounge | New York, NY
2/23 @ Space Ballroom | Hamden, CT
2/24 @ Faces Brewing | Boston, MA
2/27 @ Beachland Tavern | Cleveland, OH
2/28 @ Rumba Cafe | Columbus, OH
2/29 @ LO-FI Indianapolis, IN
3/1 @ Shank Hall | Milwaukee, WI
3/2 @ Fitzgerald's Sidebar | Berwyn, IL
3/22 @ The Parish | Austin, TX
3/23 @ The Post at River East | Fort Worth, TX
3/26 @ The Casbah | San Diego, CA
3/28 @ Gold-Diggers | Los Angeles, CA
3/30 @ Bottom of the Hill | San Francisco, CA
4/1 @ Tractor Tavern | Seattle, WA
4/2 @ Polaris Hall | Portland, OR
4/3 @ Neurolux | Boise, ID
4/5 @ Lulu's Downstairs | Manitou Springs, CO
4/6 @ Mercury Cafe | Denver, CO
4/8 @ Knuckleheads Saloon | Kansas City, MO
4/9 @ Off Broadway | Saint Louis, MO
4/10 @ Hernando's Hide-A-Way | Memphis, TN
