Tyler Damon is a Bloomington, Indiana-based artist whose work aims to reveal obscured and untold narratives via drums/percussion & free improvisation.
Tyler is currently involved in extended duo exhibitions with guitarist Tashi Dorji and bassist Darin Gray (as Duo Oninbo) and is engaged with John Dawson in the shape-shifting outfit Thee Open Sex. He also regularly performs as a soloist.
Other collaborators have included Dave Rempis, Mars Williams, Mette Rasmussen (as a trio w/ Tashi Dorji), Nguyễn Hương (as No Sorry duo), Daniel Carter, Peter Maunu, Ken Vandermark, Little Howlin’ Wolf, Kent Kessler, Albert Wildeman, Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Stein, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Robert Beatty, Muyassar Kurdi, Pham Tam (of Dom Dom), Hải Duy (of Dom Dom), Ross Hammond, Ed Ricart, Jon Lorenz, Chris Trull (of Grand Ulena, Yowie), Brian Sandstrom, Ben Lumsdaine, Landon Caldwell (of Creeping Pink, Burnt Ones), Mark Tester (of Burnt Ones), Steve Marquette, Kevin Harris, Mark Hosler (of Negativland), Matthew Setzler, Keith Jost, Thom Nguyen (as Manas trio), Sarah Louise, Michael Zerang, Matt Shuff (as Vulgar Mudflaps), Curt Oren, Matthew Schneider (Moon Bros), John Morton (of X_X), Craig Bell (of X_X, Rocket From The Tombs), Nathan Warrick (as Canned Hamms Blues Band), Haley Fohr (Circuit Des Yeux), Sima Cunningham & Macie Stewart (Ohmme), Lech, Sir Deja Doog’s Love Coffin and Sitar Outreach Ministry, among others.
Tyler has toured extensively in North America and Việt Nam and is also regularly engaged with other artists, musicians and heads of various sorts across the American Midwest. From his home base of Bloomington he operates his own label, Yoke, and hosts the long-running free-form/experimental radio program Melody Unasked For on Bloomington, IN community radio station WFHB. From 2010-2015, he was a principal curator of “out” music in the Bloomington area, namely at The Artifex Guild and the now-defunct House at the Bottom of the Hill. He has been described by Darin Gray as “the up-and-coming young drummer in the Midwest and a voice that will be active for years to come,” while Chicago-based critic Bill Meyer has noted that “…his solo showcase […] shows that he can play dynamically, fading up from near nothingness to passages where his surging attack fills all available space like a deploying airbag.” Tyler’s recorded output has been primarily offered by the labels Magnetic South, Family Vineyard, Auris Apothecary, Astral Spirits & Yoke.