Tyler Chen is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and producer, best known as the hard-hitting drummer and backup vocalist for the critically acclaimed bands: The Slants, Silversafe and Redshift. He has performed across the globe, headlining showcases at festivals such as SXSW, MusicfestNW, and New Music West, and has shared the stage with groups such as Puddle of Mudd, Saliva, Powerman 5000, Hurt, The Exies, Nonpoint, Metal Church, Men Without Hats, Shonen Knife, Mindless Self Indulgence and Alien Ant Farm.
Tyler is the protégé and prior drum tech of legendary drummer Kirk Arrington of Metal Church. Tyler also received high praise for his drumming, songwriting and audio engineering work from renowned producer/engineer George Massenburg (James Taylor, Billy Joel, Journey, Kenny Loggins, Linda Ronstadt, Earth, Wind & Fire).
His most well known work is with Portland’s The Slants, the first and only all-Asian American dance rock band in the world. The Willamette Week says, “While the band may well be best experienced live, (The) Slants releases always promise a few blistering, note-perfect singles.” The music is the perfect combination of 80’s driven synth pop with hard-hitting indie, floor-filling beats which fans affectionately dub as “Chinatown Dance Rock.”
Tyler and The Slants have been featured on Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco, BBC, CNN, NPR, NBC, IFC TV, The New York Times, Huffington Post, MTV, TEDx, and over 1,500 radio stations, TV shows, magazines, and websites across 82 countries. Every one of their last 9 music videos have gone viral, gaining tens of thousands of views within days.
Tyler officially endorses AHEAD Drumsticks, Allegra Drums, Gibson, Fender, Orange Amplifiers, Dunlop, Seymour Duncan, PreSonus, and Audix Microphones.