Nat Myers

Nat Myers is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose music draws on traditional acoustic blues and folk influences, even as his lyrics deal with racial and social issues of the present day. A Korean-American artist based in Kentucky, Myers came to the blues through his study of poetry, believing the seminal blues artists of the 1920s and '30s were cut from the same cloth as the epic storytellers of centuries past, and he uses his songs to spin tales of everyday life as well as the prejudice leveled against Asians. A pair of home-recorded albums caught the attention of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who signed Myers to his Easy Eye Sound label and produced 2023's Yellow Peril, a soulful, straightforward document of his music. Nat Myers was born in Kansas and had a nomadic childhood, as his parents moved first to West Tennessee and then to Northern Kentucky. His first experiences with making music came when his parents gave him a trumpet, but he didn't enjoy being in the school band and ended up destroying the instrument. Myers' tastes as a teen leaned toward hardcore and punk, and in time his mother gave him an inexpensive guitar, which he taught himself to play. In high school, Myers fell in love with poetry and classic literature, with Homer and Shakespeare his favorite authors. When he began digging into his father's collection of classic blues recordings, he saw a connection between the grand-scale storytelling of the great poets and the rough and tumble tales sung by legendary blues artists. He taught himself to play in the traditional rural blues style, and in 2017 someone lent him an old Presto disc-cutting lathe, which he used to record songs using the same technology as the blues heroes he revered. Myers relocated to New York City to study poetry at the New School, and in his spare time he adapted his writings into songs. During his days as a student. Myers supported himself doing odd jobs, but money was tight, and hoping to make a few extra bucks, he started busking on street corners and in the city's subways. After making 20 dollars his first day playing on the street, he was convinced that performing his songs could be a viable career. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put New York's street music scene on hold. With few options, Myers returned home to Kentucky, where he continued to write songs, and he began shooting videos of himself singing and playing guitar, which he shared on social media. As word spread about his music, he digitally released a six-song EP of his Presto lathe sessions, 2020's Field Recordings, and a more high-fidelity collection, the seven-song Hobo Wine & Remedy Blues, followed in 2021, featuring only Myers' voice, guitar, and stomping foot keeping time. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys became a fan, and invited Myers to visit him in Nashville; they played music together, and Myers was introduced to fellow songwriters Pat McLaughlin and Alvin Youngblood Hart, who would collaborate with him on new material. Auerbach struck a deal with Myers to record for his Easy Eye Sound label, and 2023's Yellow Peril was recorded in a makeshift recording setup at Auerbach's home to replicate the natural, unforced sound of his previous work. The album's ten songs ranged from the traditional themes of "Ramble No More" and "Misbehavin' Mama" to the anti-racist screed of the title track.
© Mark Deming /TiVo