Interview: Composer Tyler Strickland on John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise

Today we're joined by Tyler Strickland, an award-winning film composer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. You can hear Tyler’s music in the recently-released Peacock mini-series John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise and The Oxy Kingpins, a documentary produced by Adam McKay that premiered at SXSW this year. Tyler also scored the upcoming season finale of Pride for FX, coming out on May 21st. Tyler’s past credits include Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Audrie & Daisy, The American Meme and Trial by Media. In 2016, Tyler received a Dove Award for producing Jon Foreman's Rock Album of the Year; The Wonderland: Sunlight & Shadows. Tyler has been a part of some really interesting and fun projects, and we’re excited for you to hear what he’s been up to.

Kurrent: Tell us a bit about yourself. What was your first job scoring film and how did you decide to pursue your craft professionally?

Tyler: I played in bands in my previous life, starting back in high school and in 2008 I started touring in a more professional level with the band, Mae. We toured all over the world, and it was the best but when it came to an end, I really wanted to get into composing music for film and TV so I could write different kinds of music. I made some friends on the road that got into filmmaking and I started scoring their commercial projects basically for free. One day, one of those friends called about a indie thriller he wanted me to score. It never really took off, but it opened doors and I wound up scoring a documentary called The Genius of Marian that year, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013. I quickly fell in love with the whole process and being a part of a big team of highly creative people. I moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and I have worked on about 50 documentaries since then, as well as TV shows like Chef’s Table and Castle Rock. I’m still trying to keep my songwriter chops sharp, and I do quite a bit of producing between scoring projects.

Kurrent: Who are some of your favorite long term collaborators?

Tyler: Rod Blackhurst, the director of the newest show I just scored for Peacock, John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise, is probably among my most long-term collaborators. We met when I was on tour back in 2009 and have been making things together ever since. Michael Barnett is another filmmaker I’ve been working with for years. We made a film called The Mars Generation for Netflix in 2017 that premiered at Sundance, and we have a new film coming out very soon called Changing The Game. Alex Jablonski is another fantastic director I’m constantly working with, and our film Wildland won two Emmys in 2019. I’m really fortunate to be able to work with so many talented friends.

Kurrent: What scene in was the most fun to work on?The Oxy Kingpins

Tyler: There’s a scene in the middle of the film where our main character, a former drug dealer, is explaining his process of going back and forth between Miami and New York that was really fun to score. The super unique thing about scoring the film was that we treated the drug dealers like the heroes for a change, and Big Pharma as the villain in this story.

Kurrent: What gear do you tend to use, especially in the production of John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise?

Tyler: I tend to stay away from the sample libraries out there as much as possible. Some of them are really impressive, but I find that so many of them are just a sure fire way to sound like everyone else. I have and play a lot of instruments in my studio like piano, cello, lots of old synths, a bunch of guitars, etc. I also have a habit of collecting things that aren’t exactly instruments but that sound interesting when you bow them and throw a ton of effects on top. Before I even started scoring Devil In Disguise, I spent about 2 weeks in my studio recording audio samples of crystal wine glasses, cello textures, clarinets, some super close-mic’d stuff inside my piano, and then making synths with them in Iris and other programs. I amassed probably an hour worth of unique sounds and loops that I could use in the score. I also used my vintage Korg Polysix on a lot of the ambient beds to give the score some 80’s vibe to fit with Gacy’s timeline.

Kurrent: Who are some of your influences?

Tyler: I’ve always been huge consumer of ambient music, and it’s probably where I find the most inspiration for my music. I still regularly listen to old classics from the likes of Brian Eno and Stars Of The Lid. I’ve been on a big Ryuichi Sakamoto kick lately too, his album Async really got to me. Admittedly, I don’t listen to film music very often, but a handful of Max Richter and Jonny Greenwood scores are usually on repeat over here. I’m also heavily inspired by photography, both collecting and shooting myself. Something about telling a story with a single frame is super inspiring and there is a strong parallel to when I’m trying to tell a story with a three-minute piece of music.

Kurrent: What is your dream project? Dream collaborators?

Tyler: I think a Western would have to be at the top of the list for me. Or something having to do with space. Two environments that pretty much guarantee an opportunity for beautiful music. On the doc side I’d have to say Werner Herzog, and for narrative, David Fincher or Darren Aronofsky. Some of the best minds in my opinion. 

---

You can read more about Tyler Strickland's work updates and personal photography on Instagram at . Thanks for reading!@tylerstrickland