Guitarist William Tyler will release his new full-length studio album Goes West this Friday via Merge Records. Tyler previewed the LP by unveiling the video for “Fail Safe.”
William enlisted Elise Tyler, his sister and frequent collaborator, to direct the video. In the clip, the guitarist performs for a group of line dancers at a local roadhouse in Bakersfield who shuffle and waltz along to “Fail Safe.” Read Elise’s note about the video:
Three years ago, William was preparing for the release of Modern Country, and I was preparing to move from Nashville to Los Angeles. He accompanied me on my cross-country drive to relocate, and we filmed what would become the video for “Highway Anxiety” while driving across Kansas plains, Colorado mountains, Utah and California deserts. During that trip, we began dreaming up the next video—song to be determined—full of line dancers dancing to William’s music. Little did we know that it would take years for this idea to come to fruition.
In those years, William also moved to Los Angeles, and both of us discovered Bakersfield, where we filmed “Fail Safe.” I joked to him that when I’m homesick for Nashville, I can just drive to Bakersfield. The country music legacy that is alive in this oil town is like stepping into a Nashville honky-tonk or Texas roadhouse. Goes West may mark William’s transition from America’s South to West, but his native roots are alive and well. The visuals for this video are just that as well—here we are in California, but each scene is down home and seemingly Southern—from the line dancing to the semi truck to the landscapes to the lite beer to the “Stone Fox” shoutout at the end. It could have been shot in Nashville, but I’m thankful that the magic of Bakersfield brought this to life. This video is a like a letter sent back home, letting everyone know that we haven’t forgotten where we came from.
Watch the “Fail Safe” video below:
Stream William Tyler’s “Musical Mentors” interview discussing his musical influences, the Grateful Dead, making Goes West and more in the latest episode of The JamBase Podcast:
