Meet George Tyler Heffley | Guitarist, Artist, Songwriter, Producer, Composer, and Band Leader; my artist name is HEFF

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

Hi George Tyler, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind everything that I’ve been able to accomplish thus far in my career is tenacity; being able to truly identify what I want to achieve and do what I can to do just that. I’m a guitarist, songwriter, band leader, artist, producer, and composer and trying to make it in the music industry is a sheer act of will, especially in the early stages. With having the drive to write music, release it, play shows, and get my art in front of as many people as I can, I’m able to push myself through the bumps-in-the-road that would typically pull people away from continuing. You have to love what you’re doing to keep moving forward and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Another helpful factor that I’ve found to be beneficial is how I’ve been able to establish a good atmosphere of people in my life; bringing forward people that inspire me and don’t add too much to the roadblocks that I have and will run into. You are the people that you surround yourself with and I aim to surround myself with good and meaningful friendships. I continue to network with successful people and find ways in which we can help one another. Mick Fleetwood said in the Sound City documentary that you can do everything on your own when it comes to writing and recording music, but you’ll be a happier human being when you work with others. I try to curate a good camp of people to be in and that has helped to create beautiful music and worthwhile experiences.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My original music really comes from a mixture of all of my influences. I’m a big fan of the music of John Mayer, Frank Ocean, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and recently The 1975 and Sam Fender. From listening to and learning their songs and what they were able to do on stage and in the studio, I’m able to create my own original sound that really consists of love songs and guitar solos. It’s a bit basic of an answer, but I’m most proud of all of my original music. I feel like I’m able to create music that sounds great in the studio and on stage and that my music has the versatility to be performed with either a full band, a trio, or just by myself. I’m really excited for this upcoming year because I’ll be releasing more original tunes and have shows that correlate with these releases. I got to where I am today from years of practicing, performing, recording, and pursuing my musical career with an entrepreneurial aspect to it. Nothing about this is easy, but if it were, then everyone would be a rockstar. This kind of career takes focus, hard work, dedication, and a way to have fun while doing it all. At this point in my career, I’ve learned to accept that great things take time and aren’t immediate and that things happen for a reason. You just need to continue to grow your skills and be the best that you can with what you love to do, be kind to yourself and the people around you, and be as strategic and precise with your career as much as you possibly can. I want the world to know that I’m genuine with my sound and what I do and that I want to take the music that I love to the highest level that I can.

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?
There are so many things to do here in Los Angeles, that’s why the whole world is trying to be here. But there are definitely a few things that I would have to take my friends to if they came to visit. We would have to go to a few beaches because I grew up surfing and there are some spots that they would need to check out, like: Malibu, Santa Monica, Topanga Beach, County Line, Manhattan Beach, and a few others. Also, I’d take them to some shows at places like: the Hollywood Bowl, The Greek, The Troubadour, The Wiltern, The El Rey, and wherever else the good music is happening. We definitely need to get some street tacos and KBBQ and we would need to carve out some time to go out and play pool because I’m obsessed with that. While we’re at it, we might need to drive down to Disneyland, cause why not?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Let’s go!! Shoutouts! Well I need to give a shoutout to my friends that I’ve been performing and recording with for a few years now. My best friends Penny, Mango, and Davis have been a part of my music career and success for a few years now. Michael Penny has played bass guitar with me for a while and the same with Davis Chong on alto saxophone. Ryan Mangalindan (Mango) has been and still is my main drummer. We’ve all had amazing times playing fun shows and we continue to do so. Recently, we all played at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles, along with Evander (Drew Karperos) on second guitar, Samson Rabinowitz on percussion, and Sierra Sky and REY (Rachel Young) on background vocals. That was an amazing show and I look forward to having more shows like that in the near future. Also, I want to shout out to my friend Johnny Oreshnick who has been helping me on the recording and production of some of my songs. We were in choir together in high school and we reconnected sometime after quarantine. He’s an amazing singer who’s incredibly talented and creative and I’m glad to be working with him. And shout out to the rest of my friends that I work with and who support all that I’m working on! We’re all going to the top together!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heffthedope/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-tyler-heffley-b1a6311b9/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@heffthedope?lang=en

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0bkPboebEXLMfUqVS4968k?si=TD9XnuWeRHGlRdRX8FVvDg

Image Credits
Nya Federoff

Reece Lingat