A Georgia boy who grew up in Loganville, near Decatur, Brantley played piano as a child, but didn’t take music seriously until he was in his early 20’s. He explains, “I started writing songs in my head, and it took my interest in music to another level. I had to pick the piano back up so I could cut music to the ideas I heard in my head. Then I started playing guitar to broaden my horizons even more.” Almost immediately, he formed a three-piece band and began playing local coffee shops and bars, going through what he calls, “the typical post-high school lifestyle.” “I wasn’t interested in anything I was doing other than music, and I loved the wide-openness of my life.”
Recording on his laptop and playing the songs he was writing for his friends, Tim saw their genuinely excited reaction. “Two friends heard the songs, and even though we were all broke, they approached me and we pooled our money to buy a microphone and a recording console.” Now recording in earnest, Tim was gathering skill as a songwriter, taking his influences, like David Gray, Elton John, Hall & Oates, Wilco and Fleetwood Mac, and using them to shape his own style. “I grew up with a lot of 70’s rock,” Tim explains, “My mom used to play Carole King all the time. I naturally gravitate to that kind of sound; there’s a warmth and timelessness to it that I’ve always loved.”
As his name grew in and around the Atlanta area, the pieces began to fall into place for Tim. Entering a citywide battle of the bands in Atlanta, Tim and his band won, which earned them some much needed cash and the notoriety to begin playing bigger shows for an ever-increasing local audience. Recording continuously, Tim hooked up with local producer Russ T. Cobb (Avril Lavigne, Hot Hot Heat, MxPx) and the two recorded an album at Butch Walker’s studio in Atlanta. The songs sparked major interest from several labels and in the end, he chose to sign with Ben Goldman’s (Ben Folds Five, Fuel, Chevelle) newly formed, independent Blackledge Records label. “Working with Ben and Blackledge has given me the freedom to be myself and to make the music exactly the way I want to make it,” he declares.
That freedom allowed Tim to self-produce Goldtop Heights, as well the space to experiment while making it. He reflects, “There was a lot of trial and error that went into the album. The songwriting is far more detailed, and that was reflected in how I recorded. We recorded twenty-five songs, and I picked ten. I spent months on certain songs, refining them until I thought they were just right.” With Tim on piano, guitar and various percussion, Brent Kinney on guitar, Robbey Handly on bass and Guy Strauss on drums, the sound they got is a commanding and infectious one, modern in feel, while also hearkening back to the 70’s pop/rock that is embedded in his musical DNA. But as Tim says, “It’s a little grittier than I thought it was going to be in the beginning.”
From the opening notes of “Damage,” the album’s first single, one hears that combination of melodic irresistibility and lyrical incisiveness that are becoming Brantley’s hallmarks. “The song is about a friend of mine – more like a letter to a friend in need,” Tim notes, “But the vibe of it – ‘Joe Jackson meets The Greatest American Hero’ wraps up for me the way it felt standing around a radio when I was growing up.”
Indeed, that feeling of being a kid again is one that’s prevalent on Goldtop Heights. Tim explains, “’Goldtop Heights’ and ‘Northside’ are the album’s bookends and I based everything on the tone of those two songs. Part of it is nostalgic. It’s me seeing things through a kid’s eyes – in that way that everything is big and heightened when you’re a child.” It’s that sense of wonder that sweeps through the album, and with the resounding piano chords, shimmering guitars and the steady, yet propulsive rhythm section, it’s 40 minutes of modern pop rock nirvana, made wondrously alive and new again. Tim doesn’t just sing the songs – he inhabits them and lives them out, making his tales of growing up three dimensional in the most powerful of ways.
Tim is currently on the road, honing his live show playing both acoustic and with a band. “It’s gaining momentum,” Tim says. “With the band, we’re getting exciting – there’s a lot of off the cuff stuff that’s happening on stage. Being on the road all the time is something I’ve always wanted.” And on Goldtop Heights, Tim Brantley is playing his songs precisely the way he’s always wanted, creating a fully realized album that is the culmination of where he’s been and where he’s going, and one that is sure to win him the notoriety that is demanded by the depth and quality of his songs.
Black on Black
Tim Brantley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In Tim Brantley's song Black on Black, the singer is calling out to someone who apparently has a reputation of being tough and violent, as they were the one who gave his boys a heart attack in the past. He gives directions to reach him, telling the person to turn around and come through the black gates. Despite their violent past, the singer seems to have a fondness for this person, expressing that he had always had it for them and wanting to try out something new with "sights and sounds".
As the song goes on, the tone shifts to a more romantic one, with the singer admiring the person's appearance in the light of a parking lot and urging them to go to sleep and dream. He then recalls a time when they were both younger and wilder, making noise with the 10th street boys and shaking all the uptown girls. The memories are bittersweet as he realizes he just wanted this person, even if it meant getting hurt along the way.
The song overall paints a picture of a complicated relationship between two people with a shared history of violence and rebellion, but also a deep connection that persists despite time and distance.
Line by Line Meaning
If you hit 10th street youve gone too far turn around turn around you just missed me
If you passed 10th street, it means you missed me, turn around and come back
go through them black gates and come on down come on down
Pass through the black gates and come down
are you the same black on black that gave my boys a heart attack
Are you the same dangerous and thrilling person who gave my friends a thrilling and memorable experience?
me and the captain went back to back making that northside noise with the 10th street boys
I and the captain made some noise with the 10th street boys
you know i had it for you so come pick me up
You know I have affection for you, come get me
lets try out this new thing with sights and with sounds sights and sounds
Let's try this new experience full of sights and sound
is it too much fun for a schoolnight baby slow it down lets slow it down
Is this too much fun for a weeknight? Let's take it slow
well you look so right in this parking lot light oh go to sleep my little angel in the night may youre dreams never die
You look beautiful in this parking lot light, sleep well my dear angel, and may your dreams never fade
when whiskers laid it down before cash left town we straightened scottys curls shook all them uptown girls but i just wanted you
When Whiskers narrated events before Cash left town, we straightened Scotty's curls and shook things up with uptown girls, but I only had eyes for you
till i was black and blue my little black on black
Till I became bruised and battered, my beloved black on black
Contributed by Nathaniel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@fightinggoatpro
He's aswesome live!!!