By: Denise Smith
hances are you have already heard the
soulful and melodic sound that is Tyrone
Wells. His music has been featured
in over 50 films and television shows such as,
American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, The Odd Life of
Timothy Green, Something Borrowed, One Tree
Hill, Vampire Diaries, Private Practice and many
more. The first time he heard his music on a show,
he found the experience very touching. That first
show was FX’s Rescue Me, about New York City
firefighters. He fondly remembers Denis Leary’s
character dealing with the passing of a friend
and fellow firefighter. We talked with the singer/
songwriter about his up and coming album, tour
and most importantly, his music.
Tyrone Wells, the youngest of five, hails from
Spokane Washington. Although currently living in
California with his wife, Elina and two kids Aria and
Ireland, he has always been amazed by the beauty
of the Evergreen State. “Spokane is full of hard
working, fun loving and generally kind people.”
You can always find new pockets of cool and
culture when you visit his beloved hometown.
Awesome is how he describes growing up
with four sisters, with whom he is still very close.
Spread out across the Western United States,
they are great, and he feels lucky to have them. If
not for them roaming around the house singing or
playing instruments, he may never have developed
his love for music. He thinks his fan base leans a
bit female because he learned how to talk to girls
growing up.
Tyrone grew up listening to gospel music,
old country/cowboy songs, and singer/songwriter
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John Denver. Though, his all-time favorite is
Stevie Wonder. With an eclectic blend of tastes,
he embraces the classics such as Simon &
Garfunkel and James Taylor as well as modern
music like Snow Patrol and Bruno Mars. He also
enjoys lesser known artist such as Patty Griffin and
Andrew Belle.
He took guitar lessons but lacked the
discipline to sit and play scales. He found writing
songs far more interesting. You will not find him
playing ripping solos; he has a quiet love affair with
the acoustic guitar. “We make out from time to
time…always passionate, always satisfying,” how
very lucky for the guitar.
Decent at soccer, basketball, and tennis,
he quickly realized that David Beckham, LeBron
James, and Rafael Nadal had nothing to worry
about; instead he dreamed of making a career
out of music. At the time, it was unclear how to
accomplish this dream, “It’s still a mystery to me
that it’s working out.” He achieves his goals by
“working really hard and writing and recording
songs, and then being very motivated to go out
and play them for anyone that would lend me an
ear.” He has turned this fervor into a solid fan base
that helps him to make music and a good living…
for this he is humbled and grateful.
While fronting bands in high school and
college, he learned the business of making music
and merchandise and made a little money while
he was at it. “I kept learning and growing until I
didn’t need a job anymore; my passion became
my job.” Always hustling, there were times when
he was starting out as a solo artist, playing four >>>