Neon Trees singer Tyler Glenn performs during a fundraiser show for Vista Murrieta High School activities at Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, June 8, 2013. (Frank Bellino/Staff Photographer)
Neon Trees singer Tyler Glenn has come out as gay in the March 28 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.
“I’ve always felt like I’m an open book, and yet obviously I haven’t been completely,” Glenn said in an interview with Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone.
Glenn along with guitarist Chris Allen, grew up in Murrieta before moving to Utah. The band’s third album, “Pop Psychology,” will be released on April 22.
Glenn, Allen, drummer Elaine Bradley and bassist Branden Campbell grew up as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
According to Rolling Stone, Glenn started coming out to friends and family members in October 2013 as the band finished up “Pop Psychology,” and many of the songs on the album reflect Glenn’s years in the closet.
“I think everything about this record, it’s definitely emotional; it’s definitely completely from my mind. I think we set out to make an album that’s a pop record but that has a lot of weight to it,” Glenn told The Press-Enterprise in a January interview.
The band’s first single from the record, “Sleeping With a Friend,” is a song about friendships and sex. Glenn spoke with me about it earlier this year, describing the song as a true-life “cautionary tale” about what happens when two people blur the line between friendship and romance.
“I think there’s a real danger to maybe take it to the next level with someone that you’re friends with and I think that’s something people can identify with more often than they’d like to admit,” Glenn said.