Tyler Broderick only recently got off of a seven-month tour. Some of that was spent playing in his friendโs punk band Dogbreth. For part of it, his band Diners got to open for AJJ. The rest of the time Broderick played solo DIY punk shows under the Diners moniker.
Diners isnโt punk, though. Broderickโs music is mellow, full of jazzy guitar chords, and dreamy melodies. In fact his latest album, Three, is even quieter than anything heโs previously released. Lead single โFifteen on a Skateboardโ is a nostalgia-drenched โ70s AM pop ballad.
โI feel like the DIY musicians I know that play a lot of fifth chords, or jazzy pop, they donโt take to Diners because thereโs already someone in their music scene doing it,โ Broderick says. โThe punk community, they take to Diners really well. So itโs kind of confusing. Itโs funny to me.โ ย
When I saw the band a few years ago in a dive bar, opening for one of the loudest punk bands Iโd ever seen, I was amazed at how quiet Diners played. They were a four-piece band, practically muting their guitars, and played the songs slightly slower than on their recently released record, Always Room.
Broderick admits that on the two-month section of the tour supporting AJJ, the band beefed up their songs, and even played them a bit faster than normal, due primarily to the energy of the show. Playing with AJJ was a bit of a dream come true. Both hail from Phoenix. AJJ used to be on Asian Man Records. Dinersโ latest album is on Asian Man. ย
โAJJ were hometown heroes. They were breaking through to other music communities and touring constantly. I have pride being an Arizona band because of them,โ Broderick says. โWith us doing the AJJ dates, it was like, all right, weโre a professional band for these two months. But it was super rewarding to come back to the DIY world where I normally exist.โ
Since heโs been on the road doing solo shows so long, heโs developed a special solo set well beyond the guy-with-a-guitar act. He opens and closes the show with some karaoke-style songs (during which he projects the lyrics on a screen behind him). The rest of the set, he plays songs on the guitar, while random home movies from his cell phone play on the screen. Heโs even worked out little choreographed dance moves to go with the tunes. He calls it the โDiners variety show.โ
The seven-month tour was originally supposed to be a year long, but got cut short for personal reasons. Broderick is glad to be back in Phoenix for a little while so he can work on new material.
To try and spark creative ideas, Broderick has been writing on the piano, then transcribing the songs to the guitar. Itโs a far cry from when he started taking guitar lessons as a teenager to learn how to play AC/DC and Van Halen licks. His guitar teacher, a Pink Floyd fanatic, eventually started teaching him jazzy chords and some basic music theory. Broderick took right to it. But it wasnโt until he started Diners in 2012 that he was able to start writing music using these type of chord progressions.
โIf my 16-year-old-self caught wind of what Iโm currently listening to, Iโm sure heโd be pretty bummed out. One of my most listened to albums of last year was the Nutcracker Suite,โ Broderick says.
Lately, Broderick has taken to โ70s singer-songwriters like Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson who incorporated a whimsical, musical-theater element to their songs. But Broderick also likes that they were active, working songwriters in L.A., while producing their own pop songs on the side. In August, heโs hoping to follow in their footsteps and move to L.A., where he can hopefully get work scoring TV and films while continuing to exist as Diners. His moody, dreamy music would be perfect for films.
โItโs a silly idea. I kind of romanticize these songwriters that do work like that, but they also write pop music,โ Broderick says.
Itโs this dreamy element that makes his music unique. The music doesnโt just sound like heโs lost in thought; he even sings about thinking and contemplating. โFifteen on a Skateboardโ and โIn My Hometownโ set the nostalgic tone for the remainder of the record.
โA lot of the lyrics are about ideas that I have, rather than actual things that exist in the real world. Even though I talk about things in my hometown, itโs not about those things. Itโs about the memory of those things,โ Broderick says.
Like his songwriting, Broderick feels at home drifting without too much of a plan. He extended the tour as he went along to โavoid paying rent.โ Some of his new songs might end up being more rock, others even more mellow. Heโs not really sure what to expect when he moves to L.A.
โI try not to think so much about direction,โ Broderick says, โand just follow my nose wherever it goes.โ
INFO: 6:30 p.m., May 10, SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5-$7. 426-5242
On the 100th day of the Trump administration, thousands of people across the nation will march for solutions to the climate crisis, as well as a host of other green causes. Locally, Assemblymember Mark Stone, Fred Keeley and TJ Demos will speak at this Climate March event, which begins at 1:30 p.m. at San Lorenzo Park. 
Are you a secret artiste, an artisanal applicateur or hobbyist painter? Applications for the 2017 Open Studios Art Tour are available on Zapplication through the Arts Council Santa Cruz website until midnight April 30. Open Studios is an opportunity to explore creativity in Santa Cruz County, connecting artists with art lovers. To encourage emerging artists, this year the application fee will be waived for artists 18 to 25 years old; and artists without studios that can be made open to the public may be accommodated by other selected artists. This yearโs North County and South County events will take place between Oct. 7 and Oct. 22. Guidelines to apply are at artscouncilsc.org.
A month after Melissa Bangs gave birth to her daughter, Adelaide, she was admitted to the Providence Psychiatric Facilities in a manic state, hormone-depleted and sleep deprived. She left a month later with a bipolar diagnosis and a lithium prescription. Now, Bangs does comedy. Over the past two years, she has been telling her story across the nation, and now sheโs on tour with her four-year-old daughter, husband, and 130-pound dog. 
Every year during the first week of May, the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and local Yogurtland franchises partner to celebrate โBe Kind to Animals Week.โ Yogurtland will offer free yogurt to any adopters of Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter animals for one weekโone 16-ounce cup per day. Twenty percent of proceeds will go to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, and during the entire month customers can donate $1 to the shelter at Yogurtland. 
