On the Spot…Tyler Warren

In the concluding part of an exclusive interview that originally appeared in the Official International Queen Fan Club summer 2024 magazine in support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, Tyler Warren talked about everything Queen + Adam Lambert (Q+AL) to Dave Fordham. This article is reproduced with permission and the full version is available in the fan club’s members only archive. For Dave’s exclusive interviews in the winter 2024 magazine with Mack and Bob Catley(Magnum), join the fan club now at www.queenworld.com.

How would you describe the chemistry of playing alongside Roger in Q+AL?

I think I have a little bit of an intuition about how Roger thinks as a musician, not just from working alongside him for so long, but also from growing up learning how to play by playing along with those songs… and learning how he played, technique-wise. The tough part is the harder rocking songs when I double him on snare and hi-hat, which can be tricky sometimes in arenas where it can get pretty echoey… but after you sync up, it feels kind of natural. 

So as far as what we do in a live show, there’s always certain parts I have to play, but there’s also room to stretch and you find those little moments to have a little bit of fun. We always know too, because Roger will look at me if there’s a mistake and we’ll laugh at each other; if a mistake happens, then a mistake happens – it’s not a big deal and as long as it’s not a trainwreck then you laugh it off and move on. 

Neil and I always find moments to mess with each other too! You find these little nuggets in the show where you can stretch out and do these silly things, but you never trample on anybody. We find little spaces to play around and it keeps it fun… but not in a distracting way for us or the audience. 

I really hope the chemistry comes across?

It certainly does! What more can you tell us about the relationships with your bandmates?

Brian and Roger: Everything that is written about them, their abilities and prowess and how they see and hear things, it’s all true man. They are extremely involved and care if things are going right and working with their parts on the night. They spend time on their instruments before we get together for rehearsals and that’s another thing I admire about them - they still care so much after all this time. There are so many people their age that are still out there and going through the motions for the paycheck [cheque] - and they are not those guys; they do it because they love it. 

Spike: From Spike, you learn how to keep a group together; Brian, Roger and Adam are so strong-willed and if you don’t have the ability as a music director to keep everyone focused then it can descend into chaos… but Spike is great at reining everybody in, knowing when to interject or let them do their thing. Of course, he’s had 40 years of experience with Brian and Roger, so he knows what he’s doing! He knows how to have a good time and he’s definitely got the sixth sense when it comes to the intuition of knowing what is going to work in a live situation. Many times Neil and I have spoken to Spike about ideas before we take them to Brian and Roger… and if he thinks it’s a possibility then that’s when we’ll present it. But if he doesn’t then he is pretty much always right. He knows how to work with musicians and get the best out of them.  Spike is so much fun to be around too and we can’t forget his prowess on the keys. He’s the same way when it comes to putting the show together, always working to make things better. I love how everybody in this band is that way and always looking to improve. 

Adam: When people find out that I work with Adam, everybody wants to know how much of a diva he is… and I wonder why because he’s never been that way with me and has always been a sweetheart! And it’s disgusting how easy it is for him to sing the way he does – he is just otherworldly; I don’t know how else to describe his voice. He can do it at the drop of a hat and the truth is nothing he does surprises me anymore because he can do anything. And I wish I had his fashion sense! Melodically, structurally and certainly visually, he has a good sense for everything and is constantly getting better too. Everybody in this band has been an inspiration for me just to be better. 

Neil: He’s just a great guy, on stage and off. He’s one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. We are besties and we always find ways to mess with each other! Whenever there is a new tour and there are new crew members, Neil will introduce himself to every single person and make sure he knows their names. He cares so much about interaction and people and is an inspiring person to be around. There are not many bass players as good as Neil and what’s more he can play piano and drums. And I tell him his vocals are a cross between Bruce Dickinson and Stevie Wonder! He’s just the best. 

And from what you’ve said, your relationships with Roger and Brian extend to offstage too? 

My biggest takeaway from us together as a group and the thing that means the most to me is how they are offstage with us. They are just guys and we hang out together as chums. They like that too, having pals and just being people. It would be easy for us to only see them at the show and that’s it - that’s the way it is in the business sometimes. But they are not like that at all; they like to be around us, mess around together, talk, and go out on days off. We stay in the same places, there’s no segregation and I love that they love being around a group. Obviously, there’s a bit of separation because it’s their band, but I feel like if we didn’t spend that time together offstage then there would be an invisible line that would be obvious that they’re them and we’re us. It’s not like that and I think people can tell that we are comfortable around each other because we spend time together offstage. From my point of view, the camaraderie together is extremely important and a reason why the show is as good as it is. It comes through on stage. 

How much fun were your drum battles with Roger and were they spontaneous or well-rehearsed? 

The only real pattern is that it will change from time to time depending on how Roger feels the flow is going, and the only real structure is that he’ll do a bit, I’ll do a bit, he’ll do a bit, I’ll do a bit and then we do Let There Be Drums. But our solos were always spontaneous; there was never really a set thing except on my very last solo I would give it everything and be a bit silly and ridiculous so that he would turn around and either point a stick or give me the finger! 

Every now and then I’d like to stick in a bit of a drum rhythm from a song such as ‘More of That Jazz’ or a Rush lick for a few seconds! Neil and I like to sneak in things like that to our little solos now and I would always try to finish it on the timpani with that bit from his Brighton Rock solo… just little nuggets that maybe only one person out there will notice! But the inner child in me thinks it’s so cool… 

Brian loves the drum battles too and is always trying to get Roger to do it… not just so he can take a break but because he loves shows, the interplay and different moments – you get to see Roger do his thing and people really like that. 

How important are your backing vocals to proceedings?

When I came in, Neil, Spike, and I really hunkered down and made sure we added as much sparkle as we could in the vocal department. With the Queen Extravaganza, I’d already gotten a handle on singing harmonies and vocals and knew how much it brought to the table… and I made sure I brought that to Q+AL too. Between Spike, Neil, and me, we really spend a lot of time going through each song and adding little bits that they weren’t doing at the time – it’s all about what can we do to make it better; no matter how many times we’ve done the show and played a certain song, we are always trying to make it better. Brian, Roger, and Adam like camaraderie and if we’re doing our job and making it better then we’re making it better for them too… and everybody has a good time! That’s a big reason why we’re there. 

There are still certain things we don’t do live from the studio versions with Q+AL because they have now become their own little beasts, but even now with some of the songs we’ve been doing forever we’ll try to add little bits here and there that we haven’t done before to spice it up and make it even more interesting – we try things out and sometimes it works and it’s great, but sometimes it doesn’t and we realise that’s probably why they never did that part live! Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should - but that’s why we rehearse to make sure nothing like that happens in a live situation. I love doing that and it's fun finding out those new things and why they do what they do live. That trickles down to us and every now and then we bring something new to the table… and that’s pretty cool! 

So you have a certain level of freedom in the process then? 

That’s another thing I love – although it’s all about Brian, Roger, and Adam and that’s why we’re all here, there are bits that we work on together that are very collaborative. Whenever we’re putting songs together it will be somewhat collaborative I would say, but obviously, Brian, Roger, and Adam will always have the final say. Spike wrangles all of us cats together and I think we are all comfortable enough around each other to suggest things here and there - and we do. Bearing in mind the Queen nerds that Neil and I are, we are usually the ones trying to get little things in here and there! There is a feel now as to the level of our input and we’ve figured out where we can go; from my point of view it’s collaborative enough and that is really special to me. As far as the show goes, that’s definitely them but musically if there’s something that we speak up about then they are always pretty open about it.  They are always looking for ways to improve and make the show even better – they are not resting on their laurels on the tour and that’s pretty inspiring to me. Even this far along in their careers, they are still so focused and so into it.  It trickles down and that’s what makes the show so great because we are all looking for that one tiny thing that makes it better. From the moment that I joined to now, it still feels like that. Even this far along we are all striving to be better.

Has playing alongside Roger increased your appreciation of his musicianship as well as improving your own performance? 

For sure, and that comes with the whole multi-instrumentalist thing too as Roger plays everything. I think being a songwriter gives you a sense of what works and what doesn’t and I’ve definitely learned so much from him in the live situation too - he knows what works. I’ve learned when it’s cool to go nuts and when it’s cool to lay back a little bit because the way he plays drums is to serve the song; it’s not all about how much he can do in a split second, it’s about serving the song and he does that so well. 

I remember it was during the Outsider tour that Roger said he’d noticed how much better I’d gotten… it’s not something I’ve ever picked up on but because it came from him, it was the biggest compliment ever. And it’s because I’ve noticed how he approaches the live situation and serves the songs. 

Already championed by Neil in his fan club interview in 2022, do you imagine ever succeeding in getting Let Me Entertain You on the Q+AL setlist?!

I sure hope so! Neil has always had a dream to start the show with it. Every time we get together we ask ‘So are we going to do it this time?!’. We always try to throw some stuff in there and for some reason or another they always tend to get chucked… but there’s always talk of certain songs, so you never know! Our way of trying to get Brian on board is for Neil and me to start playing something together during a soundcheck… and every so often they’ll play along with us! So you never know what’s going to happen…

Which other tracks would you add to the setlist if the decision was down to you? 

My pinnacle would be ‘It’s Late’ being back in the set! Adam sang the shit out of that song. There’s always talk of sliding in one or two nuggets and I thought it was really cool when they did that little bit of ‘Doing All Right’, even though I wasn’t even part of that song! 

When you’ve been doing it as long as they have, if they don’t get that giant response then it kind of makes them feel exposed or awkward, even at this point… and I think that’s why ‘It’s Late’ and ‘Spread Your Wings’ weren’t big gangbuster crowd pleasers on the 2017 tour. Of course, they are to big giant fans like you and me, but there does come a point where you have to cater to the casual fans… but throw in things here and there to give excitement to the diehards too. 

The show is so good that sometimes you get afraid to make a change because everything flows so well and one little thing might knock it out. But they do like to try new things too and that’s how things like ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ got on the set list. The original plan was to only do ‘Born to Love You’ in Japan but it went so well that we kept it in for the Australian shows. They will never ever go through the motions and a way of keeping it fresh was to throw in those songs and have some fun. And of course, there’s nothing that Adam can’t sing… 

But it’s tough because what do we get rid of if we throw in a deep cut? There are so many of the hits that have moments in the show and are the fabrics of the performance. Brian always wants to throw special moments in but he understands the situation and if we do this then what goes? 

That’s sometimes where medleys come in and how ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ and ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ come into the show as snippets like the medleys they used to do back in the day. 

Are there any songs you especially enjoy playing alongside Roger?

I like a challenge and oddly enough as I normally like to go for the deep cuts, as time has gone on ‘Radio Ga Ga’ is one of my favourites to play as we’re both so busy during it. And when you look out and see everybody clapping, it’s just amazing the power that certain songs have over people. I know it was kind of tailor-made for that (no pun intended!) but to see it happen from that vantage point is really special. It’s hard for those pinnacle moments to not be a highlight from the show, even though it’s a giant song that we’ve heard so many times. The response to the song is an emotional thing and so special. Watching Brian doing ‘Love of My Live’ is the same and he feels it too. 

How do you cope with the intense itinerary of a Q+AL tour and what type of things do you all do for fun between shows? 

We all find ways to cope whenever we’re on the road and because we are doing 6-8 weeks at a time and not doing 18-month runs, it’s just long enough when it’s over to still be good and ready to go home for a while. 

We always find little ways to make it easier on the road like bringing family out for a while. The best thing we always try and do is spend time together as a band because if you start isolating then that’s never good for anyone. If there’s a World Cup or something like that then we’re all huddled up in each other’s rooms and having bets and stuff like that! We’ll go to dinners and excursions together and it keeps camaraderie at a high level… and that’s probably the healthiest part, keeping together and having a little fun without anything getting out of hand. 

The most important thing is the show and you can’t let anything get in the way of that – Roger would tell you that a thousand times. Even back in Queen’s heyday, we’re always told that nothing got in the way of the show. Everybody likes to have their fun in as healthy a way as possible, but when its show day then it’s time to focus. 

During downtimes, do Roger and Brian ever share stories from the old days?

Of course… and we don’t really have to make an effort to get stuff out of them. They like talking about what they used to do, especially in the company of people they trust; they know if there’s personal stuff being discussed then it won’t go any further. They love talking about Fred and all the times they used to have; for example, we could be in a city where they remember something happening that was silly or funny and they’ll talk about that. And whenever we’re in New Orleans, they love talking about THE party! 

There are little nuggets that come out and it’s always great fun. I know Neil feels the same that we’re privileged that they feel comfortable around us to talk about those things. It makes it feel for me that they don’t just look at us as the musicians in the band, they look at us as friends. 

If you could relive just one of all your many Q+AL concerts to date, which would it be and why? 

I think it would be the Fire Fight festival in Australia because it just felt like a pinnacle moment to me. Even though it wasn’t our show, the overall feeling of the whole thing was so special and it felt like a full circle moment for Brian and Roger because we repeated the Live Aid set. They released the CD of it too and of course, that was special for me as my first recording with the guys. 

All the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden shows have been really special. And the cheerleaders in Dallas, that was fun – I hope that happens again! 

I’d like to relive the first Nashville show as well (basically the hometown show for me) as there was so much going on that I don’t think I really took it all in, or focused and appreciated it as much as I should have. 

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Party at Buckingham Palace was something else and moments like that, you just look back and think wow, that actually happened. 

And after the pandemic, we were all so ready to get back out because when it was all taken away, it made us appreciate what we have even more. When things kept getting postponed there’s always that little doubt as to whether it would ever happen again. We all had a new appreciation for it and we just went in as hard as we could and didn’t stop. 

But I can tell you the one show I’d definitely like to forget is Rhapsody Over London because I lost my voice. That was awful. 

Having joined Q+AL just prior to the release of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie that further escalated Queen’s status as one of the biggest acts of all time, what in your opinion will Queen’s legacy be in decades to come?

The movie was certainly a game changer for the band and exponentially grew as far as the younger audience is concerned; just when you think it couldn’t get any bigger, something like that happened! 

For me, I think their legacy is that they were the band that changed the game for rock ‘n’ roll, not just their songwriting but the live show and how to present yourself as a band – they changed everything as far as I’m concerned and I think everybody knows that now, especially when they think of Freddie as a frontman. 

But they also changed the game as far as their presentability, visibility and marketability because now you hear a Queen song on a commercial every hour of every day, even in the States – its inescapable, even if you wanted to! 

And in a completely opposite direction, I think there’s a bit of escapism involved with Queen because today people can be more what they want to be; they notice how free Freddie was and if he could be that way in the era of the 70s and 80s then there’s a certain freeness that I think comes across in not only their music but their live shows and how they presented themselves – its important now but will be even more important to young people who discover this band and Freddie in the years and decades to come. They will realise that Queen were one of the first bands that made it ok for them to be whoever they wanted to be and still be accepted. 

Even in years from now, they are going to be the band that everybody looks to as to what being a band is, what a live show is, and what writing a bombastic anthem is – when you look at all these different aspects of pop music, rock music, and live shows, Queen will continue to be the benchmark for many years to come; it will only get bigger and that’s never going to change. 

Finally, what are the latest developments with your own band, Flarelight?

Well, we’ve had our third album in the can for a while now… we just have to agree on releasing it, haha! But we did manage to get the lead single that Brian played the solo on, ‘Glimmer’, out last fall, so that’s a pretty good start. But hopefully, it’ll be out sometime this year. In the meantime, I’m always writing. I released two new solo singles on Valentine’s Day 2024, called ‘Beautiful Ways’ and ‘Falling Into You’ that I’m SUPER proud of. And I’m always doing something crazy like covering Rush’s Grace Under Pressure or doing Instagram live stream shows for all the people around the world I can’t reach with my live shows in the States! So hopefully more new music and live shows in the near future…

Thank you very much for your time and insight Tyler. Being such a big Queen fan yourself, is there anything you’d like to say to fan club members around the world? 

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed all the silly stuff I’ve been talking about to Dave in this interview and I hope to see you down the road at a Q+AL show. Thanks for putting up with me as I wouldn’t be here without you – it’s full circle, so thank you. And if you guys are so inclined then it would great if everyone reading would donate at least ten bucks to the Mercury Phoenix Trust so that we can keep that going. See you around – cheers everybody!

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This interview (continuing Tyler’s support of the Mercury Phoenix Trust: www.mercuryphoenixtrust.org) is © Dave Fordham and the Official International Queen Fan Club and is not to be reproduced without permission. Join the fan club at www.queenworld.com. Part one detailing Tyler’s journey towards the Queen Extravaganza, Q+AL and the Outsider touring bands can be found at https://www.queenonline.com/features/on-the-spottyler-warren-part-1

Many thanks to Tyler for his time and to fan club members Tiphaine Rinckenbach, Alex Dunmore, Dan Dunmore and Alan Fordham for submitting questions. 

Follow Tyler on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tyler_fn_warren/ and visit www.flarelightofficial.com for the latest information on Flarelight. 

Image credit: Dave Fordham.