Easy Tiger spawned from studies in Audio Production at the Art Institute of Seattle, manifested under the name "Lackluster" with a debut LP while serving in the Air Force in Germany, and solidified itself upon landing in Columbus, Ohio in 2008, where it immediately hit the road; playing shows across the country, gaining national and international press, and landing licensing deals with the likes of Red Bull and MTV. Things were great! One magazine even called us the future of "bro-rock." Not sure what that means, but Deftones were mentioned so... maybe not the worst thing?
Something changed though. Members came and went, and the angsty screams and post-grunge riffs no longer felt authentic. Lackluster rebranded as Easy Tiger in late 2019 and immediately found itself locked down for years with nothing to do but make music. Ever since, Easy Tiger has been releasing music and relentlessly playing shows with established acts such as Hembree, Rumpke Mountain Boys, YHETI, Indubious, Kopecky, Angela Perley and the Howling Moons, Zoo Trippin', and countless others across showcase, festival, and venue stages from Austin to NYC. Easy Tiger has worked with Grammy winning Mastering Engineer Brian Lucy (The Black Keys, Jane's Addiction), has been licensed by companies such as Red Bull and MTV, been featured in independent film and television, and has been awarded grant funding three times through the Greater Columbus Arts Council.
What sets Easy Tiger apart, more than anything, is the desire to innovate and grow. This can be heard in deep-dive self-aware lyrics over inventively accessible sound design with equal parts electronic and rock-n-roll elements. What Easy Tiger is best known for though is their live show. There is simply no other act running a complete DIY laser light show flawlessly synchronized to their music to the same extent. It’s a level of production concert goers often expect to pay a premium price for, and are quite simply shocked to find in their own back yard. Consisting of up to over 40 fixtures, painstakingly programmed to every last beat, it's a level of production comparable to most 5000 capacity venues (logistics permitting, and different sized configurations). We often hear from people that they've never seen anything like it, and that's what we take pride in most. We're an original band, through and through!
With the release of their second EP, Easy Tiger has come roaring back from a long pandemic, landing headlining festival slots, gaining impressive organic streaming figures, and attention from press outlets such as New Noise and V13.
NEWS: Easy Tiger's latest single "A Good Long Time" is now available (Watch Video Here). It's about how we hear people say they're "here for a good time, not a long time," so, hopefully affirming, ultimately. Like, keep your head on, you can have it both ways. It's easier to get caught in the "my way or the highway" mentality. This song is suggesting maybe we all just take a deep breath and realize that life is pretty rad.
HEAR/SOCIALS: For the latest information on upcoming shows, visit here. For the latest updates on Facebook click here, Instagram click here. To hear the band's music releases, click here. To see Easy Tigers latest music videos, click here. For more updates, streaming services and to sign up for e-mail updates, click here.
THE TOP 5 ALBUMS THAT HAVE INSPIRED EASY TIGER, BY JONATHAN HAYES:
1. Alt-J: An Awesome Wave. "Their seminal album, though they have certainly made embracing minimalism in genre defining ways a successful career. All of the albums could easy make up a Top 5 List!
2. Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral. "Trent Reznor has been a tremendous influence, particularly from a compositional perspective. While I'm tempted to list The Fragile, for sheer quantity, The Downward Spiral was my introduction and would change my life forever. It's understood that our music is probably more likely to be heard on a cell phone speaker than a stereo system, but I can tell you that every single one of our songs is built for discovery and I owe that to Trent.
3. Radiohead: OK Computer. "What's no to love? An album clearly ahead of it's time painted pictures of a dystopian society that was just on the horizon when it was released. Society, of course, learned nothing. If this album were written today, nothing would change. I bore easily, and find it hard to connect with anything I've heard before. Paranoid Android was a breath of fresh air! Johnny Greenwood's guitar is masterful throughout an entire album built on left turns. We'd later discover the band was just built this way. You're not going to hear power chords from Easy Tiger. I blame Radiohead.
4. Nirvana: Unplugged. "This was my first CD. I would go on hunt bins at record stores for expensive imports and bootlegs, bringing my tally to 40 Nirvana records at one point. While I've since moved on I can't deny the influence it had. Easy Tiger's previous itteration was perhaps more similar, with clean verses and distorted choruses joined by aggressive vocals. Thankfully, we've grown from that."
5. Pink Floyd: Animals. "I'm sure they weren't the first, but no one did it better. Pink Floyd is, of course, known for their album-oriented rock. Sure, there are a few singles you're likely to hear for the millionth time playing on the radio at any given moment, but this record hits different. Half the album is one song, and it's brilliant. The other half is no less satisfying, and is filled with hooks so classic you would have sworn you'd heard them before upon first listen. This record in particular has definitely shaped the way Easy Tiger approaches songwriting, as we aim to present the familiar in new ways as well.
6. Portugal.The Man: Woodstock. "Well, our namesake derived from this record; at least in part. It would be odd not to include it, even if I wouldn't necessarily count it otherwise. Not that it's not great, because it is! Maybe just because it's newer? "Feel It Still" was everywhere when this came out, and just might be the only song by this band anyone knows. The record is full of the kinds of production elements that invite multiple listens, and we've definitely tried to steal pages from that book!
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