Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Beall.
Hi Tyler, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started Catholics in 2015 as a little solo project. I now consider it to be more of a collective rather than a band in the traditional sense. We tend to operate with various satellite members whom are dispersed across the United States. We have always tried to bring an eclectic sound coming from directions that you might not expect within our Post-rock or Math-rock labeling. The original lineup was formed in 2016 (with some additions and subtractions throughout the first few years…) That lineup consisted of myself (Tyler Beall), Andy Krepelka, Andy Munz, and Tallon Knight. In 2017, we released a split with the now defunct Charlotte band Cuzco on the also now defunct Refresh Records, which released our EP Guilt as well. With big things on the horizon for 2020, the collective was massively set back by the pandemic and our respective lives took us in different directions and the collective was reduced to just myself once again.
In 2021, I began making regular trips to Philadelphia to work with Arman Serdarevic and Daphne Getty on what would become our record Synonyms of Void. We spent about a year working on that. Then, longtime satellite member John Shafer moved back to Charleston from Los Angeles, where he had been working as a film composer/assistant and occasional session guitarist. Shafer upon his return joined the new lineup. Finally, Josh Lynes (ex-An Era of Echoes) then stepped in to fill out the band, playing bass and bringing in some compositions of his own. This in turn allowed my long-standing dream of trading instruments to get more varied sounds/perspectives to fruition as I began to take on bass duties here and there for his or Shafer’s compositions. We spent the last few years writing a bunch of music and setting up / putting out some new releases. The most recent of which is a split with Florida’s Prinze Jr. which was released on Florida based Salvaged Records. A song from that release “Archie Pelago,” was used on a ESPN+ show called TrueSouth for their Charleston, SC episode. 2025 saw the most ambitious touring the band has experienced to date taking on a Midwest/West coast tour. And that basically brings us up to current day. We absolutely have to give a big shout out to one of the most important satellite members (cello and keys) / our mix engineer Cristóbal Gato. Two releases are slated for the end of 2026 and mid 2027 and we have some pretty big news coming up but nothing we can say at this moment.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think the hardest part has been keeping a steady lineup in an industry that operates entirely off of your want to participate and the appreciation that comes with that. I think it goes unsaid that a lot of pretty heavy sacrifices have to be made in DIY scene to exist in this day and age in any kind of meaningful way. You see it even with major acts nowadays, touring has just become so expensive, it really is a labor of love.
There’s an ongoing joke in the band about how many drummers we’ve had. I think the tally is up to 10 people and 11 times the position has been filled. Charleston isn’t exactly the best scene for what we do, however we have some really close ties in the scene that we are very grateful for. Shout out to Art Star, To Forget, and Sear. And our friends Brad Simmons and Jon Stout aka Badjon.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are a post rock and math rock collective focused on pushing the boundaries of genre limitations whether it be through instrumentation, noise, etc… We really want to subvert the listeners expectations and keep you wondering what’s going to happen next. We want to have you asking: Is the next album going to be heavy? Is it going to be more mathy? That sort of thing.
I think what sets us apart from other acts, especially within our genre, is our ability to be considered for sync opportunities while maintaining our punk rock ethos due to the eclectic nature of our music. We have a pretty wide palette so there’s a lot of opportunity I think it’s just about finding the right placement. Sync being one of the main opportunities left for smaller bands to make a decent chunk of money to help fund more traditional endeavors such as music videos and touring adjacent costs (merch, gas, lodging, etc…). I think that’s what I’m most proud of, being a chameleon of sorts, yet still getting some more mainstream opportunities, however niche they may be. I just enjoy making people think in a world where it tends to feel like it’s all been done musically.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think AI has put this industry in a stranglehold and I really am horrified to see where it might end up. At this juncture, I consider Catholics and my production label, Figurehead Media, more of a passion project because I am well aware that I will likely never break even though we try. To me Catholics is just an opportunity to hang out with my friends and do something we love to do. I typically look at touring as taking a cheap vacation. I wish it could be something that I could pursue full-time, but it just doesn’t appear as if that will ever be a reality. I would never turn it down if I were to be proven wrong… if anyone wants to pay me to do this *wink wink*.
I think we as a Math/post-rock act are a little bit safer from AI than people that are working within film or other more mainstream types of music creation because what we do is considered niche. I think there is a hunger for physical media and it’s a direct result of the frustration of today’s young adults and the fear of what is to come. I think it is a way of symbolically preserving our autonomy. A lot of stuff is getting pulled from streaming platforms willingly by the artist for justified reasons or for being flagged as being AI when it isn’t. We personally have had experience with the latter. That being said: anything that we can do to fight that future is very needed in my opinion.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Catholics.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cath0lics?igsh=MTE5Ym1pcnZpYzdjdA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cath0lics666?si=6BapPJEyLd_Top8w
