Tyler was born in 1979 outside Philadelphia, P.A, in a small town called Schwenksville. Tyler now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The first show he ever saw was Huey Lewis and the News at the town fair. Guitar playing is central to Messick. He has been influenced by Richard Thompson, Knopfler/Cale, and primarily by a folk legend named Nic Jones. While Tyler was growing up in Pennsylvania his mother curated a Revolution period historic site called Pennypacker Mills.