EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Dylan Schneider Chats Backstage @ C2C Festival

This past weekend C2C Festival took over the O2 Arena in North Greenwich with the event running until Sunday. Music & Tour News were lucky enough to land media access for the three days and caught up with Dylan Schneider backstage.

I wanted to start off by saying congratulations on the new single ‘Bad Decisions’, how have you found the response so far?

Oh, thank you so much! It’s been great, we were playing it live on a couple of tours last year and it was going over so well. We decided once we got on the Nate Smith tour this year that we had to drop it and put it out with everything that was going on. We had some momentum and hype going on. Everyone’s been loving it, it’s been performing and streaming really well across all platforms and I’m just excited to see what’s in store for it.

Do you feel like the UK audience is receiving it differently from the US?

Um, no, pretty similar honestly. Yesterday playing it was really cool, it was a party! I saw people singing along and I feel like it goes over very well live. I’m excited to play it today at the Indigo and see how that all goes and see who knows the words and who’s singing along already and stuff like that. It’s been really cool, it’s one of my favourite releases that we’ve done in the past couple of years.

Do you have any other new music in the pipeline off the back of ‘Bad Decisions’?

Yes, we just recorded some new ones. We left Canada a few weeks ago, wrapping up that tour and then went back to Nashville for like 2 days and recorded 4/5 new songs and I’m in the process now of working out those mixes. It’s been a funny thing being across the pond and trying to go back and forth on this stuff. Cos, when my producer’s awake and doing things is sometimes when I’m going to be and then I’ll hit him up in the morning and I won’t get a mix back. So, it’s a funny thing. But there’s new music coming. We’re wanting to do an EP within the next couple of months and it should all be wrapped up really, really soon. I’m excited for everyone to hear all the new stuff.

What would you say has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in this process of making this new record?

It’s always a hard thing for me just to weed out all the other songs. I’ve written a lot of songs for this project and I think the best thing that I’ve learned is to not be afraid to let the best songs win and not putting out too much either. It’s always a difficult task to be like this one is better for this and this one is better for this release. That’s something I learn more and more with each one, just making sure the quality is there more than the quantity and making sure we have the best songs.

How do you feel you navigate recording, writing, being on the road, and home life?

Oh, man! It’s been wild, right now I haven’t been writing a whole lot cos like since January 4 it’s been touring straight. So, when I’m out here, I’m on, I’m going when I get home I don’t really do much. I think after these shows, I have a few weeks and take a week or two, and go somewhere outside of Nashville, maybe Gatlinburg or to a beach in Florida and write with a bunch of guys and get a bunch of good songs. But yeah, if I’m home, I’m home doing nothing, if I’m on the road I’m grinding this stuff out and then just waiting to get back to the writing. It’s been good, I feel like everything is going well, it’s just been a busy, busy year.

What would you say has been your biggest career highlight to date?

Probably touring with Florida Georgia Line, who are my biggest inspirations and I got to play a song with them in their set. They played one of my songs with their full band in the middle of their set, it was the coolest thing ever. Those bucket list moments, you can’t beat that.

What’s the biggest challenge you feel you’re facing as a modern-day artist?

I guess, separating yourself from everyone else cos there’s a whole lot of oversaturation I guess, feel like on the internet, and through streaming platforms. It’s a good thing technically to have a platform to be able to get your stuff out there but it’s also hard to diversify sometimes cos everyone’s always doing the same thing. I think that’s the biggest struggle, the originality and making sure you’re unique and you stand out in your own way, cos there’s so much all the time. I think it’s just making sure you’re putting quality music out and finding a way to make it stand out amongst everything else.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Probably, “be ready to be really tired and be ready to work really hard. It ain’t for the faint-hearted”. I would have tried to make myself a little more aware cos it’ll catch up to you sometimes, That’s what I tell a lot of people, “just be ready to work and be ready to put your head down and grind.” When you do those things the hard work pays off. So, I’d probably just give myself a little pep talk about that.

What are the goals you’ve set for the next five years?

I want to be headlining my own arena tour in the next few years, hopefully. Excited to hopefully put out my first album and then maybe get a couple of number-one songs on the radio.

How do you feel the country music community has embraced you?

Oh, I think it’s been great. I’ve been doing this since I was like 16 and I’m coming up on almost eight years in Nashville. I’ve had some really big and busy years, and some years where I’ve been chilling but every single time it gets busy again, I’m welcomed with open arms. I think it continues to get bigger and bigger these days so it’s a good feeling. The country music community has always been super gracious to me and they changed my life so I can’t complain too much, ever.

So eight years in Nashville, do you feel like the ten-year town tag is true to life?

Yes! I’ve thought about that a lot lately, like I said I’m coming up on eight years in Nashville. You realise it’s true, there’s a lot of people but it’s worth it and pays off. You feel like you’ve really got somewhere, it’s a journey. It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon and it’s about building yourself in life, there are going to be ups and downs and in this career, there are gonna be ups and downs too. It’s just something you have to power through.

One last question for you, what would be your message to your UK fans?

I’m blown away and thankful to see the reception and the way my music is known. It blows my mind, I’m so thankful to them for that. I want them to know they can expect us to be coming back a whole lot in the next few years, it’s all love. Every time I get to come here it’s a pleasure.

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