Eli Tidmore - Chameleon

The artist I want to present to you today is an independent musical artist based out of East Texas, USA. With the age of 24, he just released his debut album "Chameleon". It is produced by Evan Lick and consists of 12 different songs - all written and performed by the artist himself. The tracks are each unique and don't fit into one category or genre, it is more a merge of Rock, Pop, and Singer-Songwriter stiles with sparkles of R&B and Hip-Hop.

Eli Tidmore is sure one musician to watch out for in the future.

Image: YouTube

I discovered Eli Tidmore (click) on Twitter, as he managed to grow and build a follower-community, both online, and according to "daily plaympe" also throughout the Texas music scene. Brazenly, I just contacted Eli, first on Twitter and then via E-Mail to ask him a couple of quick questions, which he liberally answered. Huge thanks to that! :)

I read that you already started early with music. What brought you to it? How did it all start?

"I started taking piano lessons when I was around six years old and started taking guitar lessons when I was nine. I was always fascinated by music and drawn immediately to anything with it, almost like intuition in a way. Coming from a musical family definitely helped too."

What inspires you when writing your songs and lyrics? They seem to be (partly) auto-biographic, if I got it right?

"Absolutely. I'm inspired by anything that's going on in my life that I feel hasn't been said the way I want to hear it be said. I feel that if you can't really connect to what you’re singing about, than is it really worth doing? Musically, I'm inspired by whatever I'm listening to at the time (which can change from day to day, mood to mood). Change is inevitable, and the most important thing an artist can do is evolve." 

Where do you see yourself in, let's say 20 years? Being a super famous musician travelling all the big stages?

"Haha, that would be cool wouldn't it? Well of course that’s the dream, but who knows? As long as I'm happy and content with where I'm at in life at that point, that'd be okay. I stopped trying to predict the future a long time ago. It's a lot easier to just let things happen and go with the flow." 

                                               ~  ~  ~

Those are definitely true and wise words. Thank you for taking the time allowing us a little bit to get to know you and find out who you are.

Eli Tidmore has brought out his first single in September 2016. To ETXRadio he told that his influences include "John Mayer, The Beatles, Radiohead, Frank Sinatra, and Jerry Jeff Walker, just to name a few." 

In 2017, Eli was guest on the 114th episode of The ETX Rocks Show, including featuring two songs. In the interview he was talking with Boston Chris about his travels, the lessons learned, his style and how he has been successful with social media:

The track list of his debut album "Chameleon" looks like this:

1. Red Herring
2. Reminder
3. 30 Seconds or Less
4. Vienna
5. Fight This Thing
6. If You're Lonely
7. Heart in My Phone
8. The Next Life
9. Don't Forget
10. Background
11. Heroes
12. Jean

Being an Austrian citizen (although currently residing in Sweden), I was of course curious about his song called Vienna. (However, I am not from Vienna, but from the very western part of Austria, just to mention that once, haha)
So, just listen to it:

It starts with some implementions of German-speaking radio- or TV news, and although you just hear them very softly, my sensitive ear filtered it and found it to be funny, somehow.

"Misunderstandings,
I do not speak your language,
But I swear I am not complaining,
I swear"

Yeah, that is how I feel sometimes in Sweden. And I do understand everybody who tries to learn the German language, it is a really hard thing to learn if you do not grow up with it, being your mothertongue. 
The guitar riffs are soft and a little bit "pampered", if I can say it that way, which also fits in a good way with Vienna as a city. If you might happen to experience the classic old style and coffeehouse atmosphere of Vienna, you will understand. And yes, it really has a lot of statues and stories to those. You have to feel the history and imagine yourself, set back in time.
In this song, Eli sings about missing a special girl while he is waiting for her in his hotel. "In Vienna, I am alone" ... sounds pretty sad. It can happen though, as a foreigner, in a town where you don't speak the language and don't know anyone.

The opener of the album, "Red Herring", is an electrical mix of Eli's musical talent.

"Reminder" impresses with strong lyrics which are sure worth to think about. Hearing the first couple of seconds of it, it could also be played at a smokey Whiskey lounge, where you meet all these maybe depressed people drowning their sorrows in liquor... " 'Cause everywhere I go, and everywhere I look, there's something to remind me, of things I overlook, I just got these reminders". I guess we all can relate to such moments of truth and self-experience.

"30 Seconds or Less" reminds me a little bit of Jamie Cullum. Although Jamie is and ever will be the "Jazz Piano God". Maybe it reminds me of him because of the piano, maybe because of the singing style of Eli in this song, maybe because of both of them. 
> Listen to it on YouTube < 


"Heart in My Phone" could be positioned in the 90s spirit, or at least it reminds me of that musical area.

"The Next Life" (Studio Version on YT)  is a song that doesn't allow to keep your feet still. I don't really know where to put it, country, rock, pop, indi,...I guess a merging of all of them. "It's time for leaving, see you in the next life" can be interpreted in various ways I guess... In general, everyone, may it be artist or audience, hears in a song whatever they want to hear, whatever fits the most to the point of life.

"Don't Forget" is very cheerfull, I think, and has that jazz-rythms for dancing Lindy Hop Swing ;-) I would say it is safe to state that is able to "lable" (wow, what a linguistic creation) it with Jazz and Blues with sparkles of Singer-Songwriter vibes. Very wise and useful lyrics, Eli.

"Background" and "Heroes" are kind of melancholic, but I have to say that I really like the intro of Heroes.  Heroes is a good combination of calm and quiet pop, mixed with rock and electric guitar. If it is possible to have a favourite, then this would maybe be it. Everbody has that special Heroe of her/his own, or it may be even more than one heroe.

Like Eli told us earlier that he is inspired by everything that goes on in his life and as an artist you should be able to connect with what you're singing about, I can definitely hear and feel that he has very well managed to implement this in his album "Chameleon".
The name of the album might have a reason as well, because the animal chameleon changes colors and adaps itself to its surrounding. They change colors to disguise. Chameleons' ability to change to various colors could be transferred to Eli Tidmore's album, as it covers many different and various genres that are not able to put in one box and makes positive surprises available.
He is doing what he loves and doesn't try to fit somewhere or to adapt to something. He stays true to himself and that resembles throughout Eli's whole album.
May all the success he deserves find the way to Athens, TX and we are excited to hear more of Eli Tidmore in the future!




 ~   Johanna Walser