FOLK ROCKER IS ALL OVER THE PLACE >>>

If Tyler Fortier is one thing, it's an up-and-coming, present-tense folk rocker - in a complimentary sense of the notion - based out of lush (read: stony) Eugene, Oregon.

If Tyler Fortier is two things, it's all of the above and a damn entertaining blogger. I know, I know - blogging is a debatable art form, but there's no debating Fortier does it well. In addition to playing a whole slew of shows over the next two months in Oregon, Idaho and Washington - in support of his just released This Love Is Fleeting record, which "dropped" April 15 - Fortier will also be doling out witty lines like this on tylerfortier.wordpress.com:

"I played first, tickling some ivory (and by ivory, I mean a plastic keyed digital piano).  I should have prefaced this section by stating the night was billed as "danceable, funky, pop music."  My music.... Not danceable. Not funky.  Not pop.  In fact, my music just wants to make people f***ing cry."

Awesome. Fortier plays all over this week - starting in Olympia tonight, then working his way to Tacoma by Saturday.

I caught up with Fortier this week to get his take on touring, blogging, This Love is Fleeting.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: I guess the natural place to start would be This Love Is Fleeting, which will have only been out for two weeks by the time people read this. Not that you've had time to fully digest it yet - or maybe you have? - But what would you say you were able to accomplish with this record? Is it what you envisioned it would be - or did you allow yourself such visions?

TYLER FORTIER: I don't think any record I make is going to be exactly as I envision it to be. My ideas kind of start out one way and then sort of meander into something else. It keeps me writing and always thinking about my next project, which I guess is a good thing. But this is definitely the closest I've come. I just want to make good records whether it's labeled as folk or rock or country or rap or whatever. My intentions with This Love Is Fleeting, as with my last record, was to really focus on making a complete record. I hate how you can buy individual songs now a day. But I do think I made a decent record. I'm proud of it, but there's so much I know I can do better and I'm already looking forward to my next record, which I will hopefully be able to start recording once I get back from tour in June. And also I should note because people have given me a hard time about it, I call "CDs" records. No I'm not saying a vinyl LP or anything, but a record, as in a record of events. It's something Jackson Browne once said in an interview and it has always stuck with me. I wish people looked at CDS like a book or something like that. You wouldn't just buy a chapter of a book. I think you miss so much by not hearing all the songs together.

VOLCANO: You definitely bring some folk to the table, and there seems to be kind of a folk resurgence of sorts surging through the popular indie scene (though I feel wholly uncomfortable typing the words "folk resurgence"). Do you fit into that at all? What do you see out there, from a folk perspective?

TYLER FORTIER: I feel uncomfortable classifying my music as "folk" because it's definitely not what I would consider traditional folk music by any means. There certainly is this sort of modern folk/Americana wave that is happening. Anything involving acoustic guitar, harmonica, pedal steel, and organ kind of gets stuffed under that umbrella of Americana. I'm horrible at classifying music and I always have been. I don't worry too much about what's popular or any sort of trends like that. Right now I just sort of seem to be leaning towards this style of songwriting and I'm just kind of letting it take me where it wants to go.

VOLCANO: You've embarked on a fairly substantial tour. What are your plans for out there on the road? Your music would seem to suggest you're good at the travellin' thing - but who knows. Are you the touring type?

FORTIER: The only plans I have really for being out on the road is to play my songs and hopefully make some contacts, expand my fan base, and sell some music along the way. Easier said than done. Traveling would have been a lot easier for me a couple years ago, but now it feels like more of a sacrifice than anything I want to do for fun. I miss my girlfriend, Katy, dearly and my 11 month old son (AKA my dog, Topper). It's hard to be away.

VOLCANO: You're also an impressive blogger, if I do say so myself. What are Tyler Fortier's keys to blogging?

FORTIER: Oh well thank you. That's one thing I was never expecting to hear/read. I started blogging about a month ago for the first time. I just figured it would be a good way to keep people updated on my tour and also maybe attract some new listeners. It's fun to write in a different format opposed to songs, so blogging is a good outlet for that. I don't know if I really have any keys to blogging; most of my blogs are about how no one reads my blogs, but I do consistently blog with an attempted wit, an ignorant candor, and a cup of coffee. Those three ingredients perhaps are what create my blogs.

VOLCANO: You have two shows lined up in Tacoma - Rocket Records and the Mandolin Cafe. Sure, they're both all ages gigs, and the crowds might be similar - but they're also significantly different venues. One is a punk leaning independent record shop; the other is one of the warmest coffee shops in town. Why do both of these places fit you?

FORTIER: Well I grew up with punk rock. That was the first music I started playing. But I think my style of writing is accessible to different varieties of people because it's really raw and honest at the core. Punk to folk wasn't a weird transition for me; it seemed natural. I play a little harder and sing a little louder depending on the venue or the audience. I try to adjust for the situation but I think people, for the most part, respect or appreciate someone singing something they are passionate about, no matter what genre it is.

VOLCANO: What are you expecting from Tacoma?

TYLER FORTIER: Every show I have and every city I am in, I am not expecting anything. I've played shows where there have been crickets and I've played shows where there have been encores. I just want to play, and if I can connect with just even one person, then I consider that a success.

[4th Ave Tavern, 9 p.m., cover TBA, 210 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360. 786.1444]

[Rocket Records, Saturday, May 1, 3 p.m., all ages, no cover, 3843 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.756.5186]

[Mandolin Café, Saturday, May 1, 8:30 p.m., all ages, no cover, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.761.3482]