Music

My primary and most active band is Negative Scanner and my current band is called Maria Flowers. I’ve been playing guitar, songwriting, singing, recording, touring, and teaching for 14 years, with brief stints booking local shows and U.S. tours. I’ve played in a variety of genres including punk, post-punk, hardcore, indie pop, power pop, and experimental. I have also volunteered as a music instructor for organizations that support youth from marginalized groups. As a show promoter in the DIY music scene, I hosted workshops and experimented with tools for promotion and activism with a focus on abolition, opposing deportation, and building community.

From top to bottom, photos from Anthony Nguyen, Vita Photo, and Simon Parfrement.

Listen

Discography

 

Full-Length Albums

  • Negative Scanner, Nose Picker (Trouble in Mind Records, 2018)

  • Negative Scanner (Trouble in Mind Records, 2015)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler (Slow Fizz Records, 2010)

Singles

  • Negative Scanner, Ambitious People (Trouble in Mind Records, 2014)

  • Negative Scanner, Pastel Blue, Clinical White (Tall Pat Records, 2014)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler, Loyal Caskets (Slow Fizz Records, 2012)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler, Separate Issue (Rococo Records, 2010)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler, New England Street (Trouble in Mind Records, 2009)

Cassettes

  • Negative Scanner, Nose Picker cassette (self-released, 2018)

  • Lil’ Hellraiser demo (self-released, 2017)

  • Cyber Pink demo (self-released, 2017)

  • Negative Scanner cassette (Eye Vybe Records, 2016)

  • Negative Scanner, Live on WHPK’s Pure Hype cassette (Maximum Pelt Records, 2013)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler cassette demo (self-released, 2008)

Compilation Appearances

  • Negative Scanner, “History Lesson (Demo),” Bughouse I cassette (Not Normal Tapes, 2015)

  • Negative Scanner, “R.I.P. (Live at Young Camelot),” Dark Circles Winter Compilation 2015 cassette (Dark Circles Records, 2015)

  • Negative Scanner, “L.A. Galaxy (Demo),” Pelt Tones, Volume One cassette (Maximum Pelt Records, 2014)

  • Tyler Jon Tyler, “Separate Issue (Live),” Live at the Empty Bottle vinyl (Shimby Presents, 2012)

“potent demonstration of how tension is most rewarding when it snaps”—pitchfork

Selected Press and Reviews

“Negative Scanner embrace the absurd (see the record’s hilarious cover) to elevate, complicate, and ultimately enrich an infectious, white-knuckle guitar record.”—Bandcamp Daily

Video and Live Sets

 

Live Sets

Selected Video

Et cetera

  • “The Silence of Memory” reading with live score by Theo Katsaounis, Empty Bottle (September 6, 2021)

  • Microimprovisations with Camila Nebbia and Elena Perales at Konvent Art Residency (2021)

  • Konvent Art Residency (2021)

  • Sustain Chicago Music Grantee (2021)

  • Fresh Take, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic)

  • Solo Vocal Performance, Dizzy Invert Festival: Celebrating the work of radical queer, butch, non-binary femme, and women (April 19, 2019)

  • Solo Vocal Performance, Red Bull Music Festival presents Drone Activity (November 9, 2018)

  • ACRE Art Residency (2017)

  • Vocals, Trailers (2016) and Elevator Games (2017), benefit shows for Fed Up Fest: Chicago’s Queer and Trans Punk Fest

  • Guitar, WIRE’s Pink Flag Guitar Orchestra, Drill Festival at Metro Chicago (June 13, 2015)

  • Guitar, Transmission: A Tribute to Joy Division at Lincoln Hall, a benefit show for Girls Rock! Chicago (June 23, 2013)

  • Guest Vocalist, Double Nickels on the Dime: A Tribute to the Minutemen at Lincoln Hall, a benefit show for Girls Rock! Chicago (February 20, 2011)

Instruction

 

Experience

  • Volunteer Workshop Instructor (youth camp), Volunteer Guitar Instructor and Band Coach (adult camp), Girls Rock! Chicago (2009-2019)

  • Volunteer Guitar Instructor, Chicago Public Library—Humboldt Park Branch, YouMedia (2017-19)

  • Guitar Instructor, Chicago Public Library—Wicker Park Branch (2018)

Workshops and Lessons

  • Beginner Guitar Instruction (Single Sessions, 3-Day Intensive, and 4-Week Program)

  • Songwriting, Song Analysis, and Active Listening

  • Performing Live

  • Vocals

  • Gear Technology (Instruments, Amplifiers, and Live Sound)

  • Sound and Recording Technology

  • Guitar Effects Pedals

  • History of Women in Music (Early Women Guitar Players, 1920-60; Women in Music History & Zine Workshop)