Meet Miri Tyler | Co-founder/Songwriter/Instrumentalist of indie rock band Pretty Bitter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miri Tyler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miri, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
When it comes to creative pursuits, never ever give up. Whether or not it’s making you money, or even feels like you’re being heard in any given moment, the world needs your input. We’re all trying to get as close as we can to speaking the Truth, and the job is to just keep digging no matter what.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Pretty Bitter is not just another DIY/Indie band. Coming from Washington, DC, we have that political punk rock ethos that makes us incredibly outspoken, but when you listen to our music it isn’t going to hit you as Punk, perse. We make music that comes from an eclectic array of influences ranging from Kate Bush to Deftones; it’s rhythmically complex and sonically enveloping, with the lyrical earnestness of a traumatized poet. After releasing our album Pleaser last year, we’re excited to be working on the next one in the spirit of being even more collaborative. Continuing to combine forces to dig for that Truth that we all know is at the heart of what we’re doing.
Being a professional creative in a world where the ruling system of capitalism is clinging desperately to its last breaths is taxing to say the least! The challenges of making a living as an artist are only getting more and more difficult, with the rising cost of living and the refusal of tech oligarchs to keep their hands out of what we do. We’re essentially a group of musicians selling t-shirts so that we can keep playing music, which will have to do for now! The drive to create is too strong for us to ever stop, so however hard it gets, we will adapt.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Good question! I know very little about Phoenix, being from Washington DC.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would be absolutely nothing without our fellow creatives and queers in The DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia). Our scene is a very unique one, where the norm is to uplift each other and it feels more collaborative than competitive. We’re a proud and tight-knit community, and its the familiar faces that have showed up at every local show since day one that have truly allowed us to get to where we are now: Sophie, Hannah, Bailey, Cooper, Jason, Olivia, Rook, Nadja, Guinevere, Julia, Sam. As well as our friends in Cuni, Flowerbomb, Somebody’s Daughter, Cherub Tree, Thee Trashcan, Pinkhouse, Cinema Hearts, Bad Moves, Pinky Lemon, Dorinda, Spring Silver, and countless other artists and bands that have inspired us and cheered us on along the way.

Special shoutout also to the people in our city who have booked us on shows and vouched for us to strangers to get us opportunities. People like David Combs and Julianna Fadare as well as the whole team over at Black Cat.

Website: https://linktr.ee/prettybitter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prettybitter.mp3/

Image Credits
Alec Pugliese, Murphy Gerrasch