For 66-year-old singer-songwriter Tee Templeton, creating music has always been in his periphery and a major motivator. His passion for creating songs never wavered, even when making it a profession in music seemed doubtful, and survival meant opting for different daytime jobs instead.
“I knew this was what I was supposed to do, no matter how it unfolded,” Templeton tells SWT. “I was sort of lousy at my daytime jobs, while I was poking music into every free space that appeared. I’d write an off-the-cuff song 5 minutes before I’d leave for work.”
“At lunch, I’d write lyrics. At home, I’d work on the song, and I’d listen to it on the train into work, taking notes. I always carried note cards in my pockets in case ideas came to my head.”
On Friday, June 20, years of persistence will finally pay off with his debut album Diner of Doubt.
It’s a fulfillment of a dream that began in Starkville, Mississippi, where he was surrounded by a musical-minded family. His family even released an ambitious album of Christian and patriotic songs that was fully orchestrated.
“I guess when you’ve got music being played all around you, it just seems like a normal thing to do,” says Templeton.
The idea that he could make music and even release it, ignited his love for music. Seeing The Wizard of Oz and the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show only enhanced his desire to create.
However, since his parents were also businesspeople, he says, “it kept me from jumping off into the outer space of being a professional musician.” His plans to attend music conservatory were derailed when his father asked him to stick around for a year after his mother had died.
That didn’t discourage him, though. He earned a degree in piano performance from Mississippi State and continued writing songs.
After graduating from college, he moved to North Carolina and earned a master’s degree in computer science and worked at a tech industry job at IBM. In his free time, he played in a 3-piece jazz pop band, a series of indie rock bands with his then-wife, and, according to a press release, “a kind of Hare Krishna triphop group whose leader said he had connections in the upper echelons of the music industry.”
Unfortunately, none of the music projects led to significant success.
A major turning point came two decades ago, when Templeton was in his mid-40s. After a divorce, years struggling with alcoholism, a bipolar diagnosis, and a seemingly poor at first decision to move to New York City, he realized he needed to rethink how he was going about things.
He found sobriety and then a stable, full-time job as an employee at NYU’s College of Nursing. The job gave him so much confidence that he spontaneously and boldly handed his new boss a handful of songs seeking her candid feedback to see how realistic it was for him to continue making music.
To Templeton’s astonishment and surprise, she not only gushed over how much she enjoyed the songs but insisted that she help him share them with the world. She started showing up at his shows and helping him haul his heavy keyboards up the stairs. That encouragement made him realize he could indulge in both worlds.
Decades later, as he entered his 60s, he began to take stock of the few hundred pop and rock songs that he had accumulated over the years. In 2018, he started a song exchange with an old friend, which they called “High Noon.” Every two weeks on Monday at noon, they’d share a finished tune they’d written. It was an opportunity for him to share songs with someone for input and let go of his tendency to guard his music tightly.
To that point, Templeton hadn’t released his songs to the public as an official release. However, he was increasingly hopeful he could one day do so. To achieve that, Templeton sought the help of producer James D. Donahue to help him determine which song demos were the best and would translate well with the proper studio production he envisioned.
Donahue helped him organize the songs into different categories and suggested which ones made sense as an album. Once they had the songs selected, drummer Nick Falk and guitarist Adam Agati came aboard to back Templeton in the studio, breathing new life into his songs. Mark Nevers, the longtime Lambchop band member who has worked on records by Bill Callahan, Andrew Bird, and Silver Jews, mixed the results. Templeton says it was a “stellar experience” to finally fulfill his dream of releasing an album.
“I’ve gotten to work with so many great people along the way,” he says. “I’ve always envisioned this. It was all about just keeping taking the next step. Live through it. Always believing that it was the right thing for me to be doing, no matter how many twists and turns come along.”
“I’m just glad it’s finally coming out. I really love doing this. And I really love this album. I love all the songs, and I love the way they are recorded and mixed. Now I’m just looking for the people that love it as much as I do. I figure I can’t be the only one. Ha ha.”
SWT caught up with Templeton recently to learn about how his persistence, tenacious ambition, and ability to take initiative and make connections led to his debut album. (Templeton jumped at the chance at an interview as he loved The Replacements reference in our site name and the band’s album Tim…though admits he sadly “didn’t get a chance to see them when they were around.”)
One of the big moments in your life was in 2018 when you started a song exchange with a longtime friend called “High Noon.” What were your goals with that series? How did it help make you want to make music full-time and consider sharing your music more widely?
“High Noon” has birthed so many songs. We do it every 2 weeks, and we’re up to almost 180 songs. We started it so we wouldn’t waste a Sunday night. When you know it’s due by 12:00 the next day, you end up spending some time to try to pull something together. There are no requirements other than you have to submit something/anything by 12:00 (High Noon) on Monday into a Dropbox folder that we have shared. You can write out a complete song and arrange and record it or just pull out your cell phone and ad lib some kind of something as a voice message. Or just a groove or whatever. It’s great. It’s really fun to go back and listen to them. It’s amazing what you can come up with when you’ve got a deadline. There are songs on the album that came from there (“Golden Boy”, “That’s How I Lie”, I Am the Man”, “Living in a Dream World”).
You began to turn your life around twenty years ago following an unfortunate series of events. What made you realize you needed to make some changes in your life? Did it help to get some of your thoughts down in the song demos?
Actually, the big change that happened was moving to New York to pursue music. I’ll have to give a lot of the credit to “The Artist Way” for making that happen. After a divorce and about 3-4 chapters in the book, the next thing I knew I found myself filling up my rusty ’89 Toyota moon walker van with all my keyboards and guitars and heading to New York. If not then, then when? Tons of stuff got poured into those early songs because of the experience.
You decided to take a job at NYU’s College of Nursing. What attracted you to take that job? Was it a job field you had been considering for a while?
I took that job because I was imploding and going deep in debt, and if I didn’t start making money, I was going to have to leave New York. And that was the last thing in the world that I would want to happen. I joined a temp agency, and that was the temp job they gave me. I took it just to try to hang in there. Before I moved to New York, I had been working in North Carolina for IBM with a 6-figure salary. But I couldn’t get a job in technology because it had changed so quickly, my skills were no longer relevant. So, I was faced with going with the temp job.
One night I was sitting on a stoop talking to this woman and I was telling her about how screwed up things had gotten and how hard it was. She told me that that is the New York experience. People had been coming to New York with a dream and found themselves just trying to survive. If they could do that, then they would try to succeed. It totally changed everything. I ended up staying at NYU, and everything slowly worked out.
Your decision to finally record your songs came as a result of encouragement from others. That included your boss at NYU, whom you gave your demos to early on a whim, and who surprisingly went above and beyond in her support. What did it mean to have people go out of their way to lend their support?
I was at a real turning point. I had always pursued music on one level or another and any job I had was always second if not third, fourth, or fifth fiddle. I was contemplating on whether to put all my energy into some “real” career. I would put music to the side as opposed to it being a driving force. I think it was some attempt to be “normal.” That was the struggle I was having between the music and the business pillars of my family. When I turned my songs over to my boss, who was also a good friend, I wanted that last boost of whether to continue with the constant drive to pursue music or redirect my focus and drive. She told me that in no way at all should I stop doing music for anything else. And that was it, I went to focusing on creating music. Writing and recording as much as I could.
Diner of Doubt seems like a fitting title since you went through your share of doubts. Where did the name come from? Why did you like it?
The name comes from one of the songs on the album, “Whistlers in the Graveyard.” It’s the first line of the song. The line is “Whistlers in the graveyard, duckin’ in duckin’ out, they’re going to meet some face savers for coffee down at the Diner of Doubt.”
I have no idea of where it came from. Or exactly what it means, but I get it. I was just playing around with words, thoughts, phrases. A lot of times I play around with alliteration because they fit nicely into the rhythm of a song. I thought the phrase sounded cool, so I grabbed it and used it for the album name.
You went through hundreds of song demos that you had written. It sounds like you tend to have a tough time picking your best work, so I imagine it was a mammoth of an undertaking to decide what songs to share. What was it like seeing the wealth of songs you had built up and seeing your life chronicled?
Yeah, I love pretty much every song I do. If I don’t like what I start with, I either work on it till I do or start another song. Twenty to thirty years ago, the songs that I was writing definitely represented my emotional path, but eventually it began to be more about experimenting, trying different approaches, letting randomness flow.
Fortunately, you had the help of producer James D. Donahue to pick your best songs. In what ways did he make song selection easier for you? Any specific advice?
James really helped me get started. When I reached out to the internet, I was asking for help. I said I was like a deer in headlights. He took all the songs that I had at that time, which was around 100 and growing. And built a spreadsheet with columns representing artistic references, genres, a rating, etc. From there I could pick which songs to go with. I ended up recording 15 of the songs. Ten of which are on the album, and I have 5 more ready for release for the next album or as singles.
You also worked with talented musicians such as Nick Falk and guitarist Adam Agati. What was it like seeing your songs get fleshed out with their help?
Oh yeah, definitely. Nick and Adam are good friends of James. Nick is amazing. His feel and creativity are off the map. Adam gives you a wealth of very creative tracks to pull from. There are so many great musicians represented on this album.
How would you describe your songwriting? What gets you in the mood to write songs typically? What about songwriting still gets you excited all these years later?
Okay that’s like a crazy huge topic. Cause that’s really what I’ve done constantly since I was a teenager. I don’t need to get in a mood to write songs. I just write songs no matter what the mood is or how inspired I think I feel. Sometimes great songs come out of time’s when I feel a void of inspiration. And there are other times when there are songs that come out of feeling great and in tune with the universe, and they suck. I do find for some reason that I’ve written the best songs in the spring. I’m usually low in the spring (fall is my favorite time of the year). So maybe my emotional approaches are deeper. But I don’t really think that any time is perfect or imperfect.
I write in every style. There’s no specific type of song or genre that I feel I must cater too. Different ways I approach are starting with a drum track, or starting with random instruments like harmonica, trumpet, sax (I don’t play sax, but I can blow into it and make sounds and get something started), synthesizers, there are so many instrument plugins, sometimes I just randomly pick them and make them work. Then start singing something and try to figure out the words I’m trying to say. Or start on piano or guitar and get something going there and then start singing something. The key is to get started. Once that happens, I can build a song out of it. I’ve got notebooks full of words, word phrases, etc. to pull from. Every day on the train into work for 10 years, I wrote word play based on what my gut says to write. Now I use those phrases as lyrics.
How do you think you’ve grown most as a songwriter? Was there any noticeable trend going through the songs?
I think I’ve gotten better but I still have old songs that I really like. I think the ability to have access to recording all sorts of arrangements has opened me up to write more fleshed out songs. I say that but sometimes considering that simple arrangements can push me to make a better song than relying on good arrangements.
A lot of times the lyrics don’t exactly make sense as they sit there on the page. They don’t really tell a story. That’s fine with me. It’s more about visualizing a feeling that I carry around in the pit of my stomach. I can look back at lyrics and even though they might not make sense written out, they make me feel something that I can tell what they are trying to say.
What were the most challenging songs to record? Most surprising?
I think “Frozen Arrows” really took a long time to bring to rest. It’s over 30 years old. I’ve been carrying it with me trying to, for years, get it recorded the way I heard it/felt it. I never could get the buildup part to work until now. “Punch in the Arm” surprisingly took a lot of time because I had to get that waltzing guitar part to work. They all took a long time. That’s why it took 3 years to finish. “That’s How I Lie”, told me how to mix it. I sat down to mix it, and I meant to mute all the tracks except for the vocal and piano to start mixing from there. I accidentally left the guitar and violin parts in. I started it and it sounded really good, so I let it play through and was blown away. That’s how it’s mixed today. I call it the immaculate mix.
On “Whistlers in the Graveyard,” you sing about doubt and loss and all the ways one goes on anyway. It features the lyrics “You chose your path, but fate took it back” and “Well, wantin’s half the effort, but that won’t get you jack.” What was your inspiration for that song and those lyrics?
Those lyrics took a long, long time to develop. There were tons of edits. I wish I could say exactly how those lyrics unfolded. It’s about just keep screwing around with it. I like that chorus. Don’t know where it came from, though. It’s about starting with something and keeping working with it, adding words, changing words. When it doesn’t feel right, you know it. So, I get rid of stuff that bugs me or change it if it bugs me. That’s why I end up loving all these songs. They don’t bug me, and I end up getting a kick out of them. Whether anyone does or not. I only have to please myself. But it’s a hell of a lot more fun if they do.
Sonically, the songs fall into the pop and rock realm. What were your goals for the sound of the album in general? Who do you think are some of your biggest sonic influences and why?
I feel inspired by Kevin Morby, Andrew Bird, Califone, Bill Callahan, Elliott Smith, and back in the day, the Pixies, Violent Femmes, and The Smiths. I didn’t have a specific goal for how it was to sound, except possibly an indie folk rock kind of vibe. I just kept taking steps towards what I thought sounded cool. I wanted a female background or duo sound, and that’s why I brought Somer Bingham on. I thought some strings done with a little bit of radicalness could be cool. So, I asked Andrew Livingston to play some cello tracks. James had a connection with Duncan Wickel, and he played fiddle. I don’t know exactly what I was trying to do. I’ve heard from some people that it sounds like a throwback or a blast from the past. I didn’t intend on that. I think there’s every decade of music that I’ve experienced represented in there. I lived through the ‘60s with the Who, the ‘70s with Van Halen and Todd Rundgren, the ‘80s with The Smiths and Psychedelic Furs, the ‘90s with grunge and Alt-Country, and through the last two decades as the indie sound (whatever that exactly means) has evolved up till now. All those artists are basically in the pop and rock realm.
You’re already planning to release future albums. Can you tell me about your goals for releasing new music? Do you think you’ll write and collaborate more fully with others for future releases?
My goal for releasing these next albums is mainly about getting my music out there. I have several albums planned already with the songs. I just need to record and produce them. But I intend on going through the process much much faster than I did for this album. All I know is I’m supposed to do this, and even though it’s later in life, I have the opportunity to go full on. So that’s what I’m going to do.
Any other exciting plans for the near future? Are you planning to tour for this album?
Right now, I’m mostly excited that it’s finally being released, and I’m excited about moving on to the next albums. That’s what I like doing more than anything. I also love performing, but right now I’ve got that on hold till I see how things evolve.
You can follow and listen to Tee Templeton at the links below:
Instagram: instagram.com/tee.templeton/
YouTube: youtube.com/@TeeTempleton
Spotify: Tee Templeton on Spotify
Apple Music: Tee Templeton on Apple Music
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
