Country breakout Dylan Gossett joins Apple Music’s Ty Bentli on ‘Today’s Country Radio' to talk about the deluxe version of his debut album ‘Westward,' how backyard gigs back home sparked his love for music, and why he’s chosen to self-produce his music so far.
Listen to the full episode live for free tomorrow, October 24 at 10am ET / 7am PT on Apple Music Country, or anytime on-demand with an Apple Music subscription HERE.
Dylan Gossett tells Apple Music whether or not living around the Austin, Texas music scene influenced his own music.
I don't know if there was any specific sounds that I remember growing up, going and seeing live downtown or anything like that that might've influenced it. But, I mean, I think just the live music in general. I used to always just love it. I loved being around it. Loved going to a restaurant and people are playing or going out. And when I was a kid and there would be someone in a park playing, I always just was drawn to it. I loved it. So I think maybe that aspect of it.
Dylan Gossett explains he hadn’t planned to do a full “Deluxe” version of his album Westward, but explains why he’s re-releasing it.
I never really thought I was going to do a massive deluxe drop or anything like that, but I knew I wanted to do some features on it, and I thought that was just the coolest thing in the world. So obviously we got very talented people, Noeline [Hofmann] and Ole 60 and stuff like that to be on it, so I was over the moon. And then obviously Windy City was written while we were on the road and everything. So I just felt like it kind of tied into the album perfectly, almost too perfectly to not put it with that group. So, yeah, I mean, I know it's titled as a deluxe. I don't really see it as this massive new album deluxe thing. I just think it's a really cool ode and kind of like a new song and kind of wraps up the project as a whole.
Dylan Gossett explains what’s behind his song ‘Windy City' off the Westward Deluxe project.
Obviously, I feel like we had a big realization in Chicago, and that's kind of why I talked about Windy City. But yeah, I mean, it's just talking about everywhere, about how this music has been so powerful and how it's been in my life, just how it just goes everywhere. And the fact that people are listening to our music and watching our shows, buying tickets in Australia and in London and Chicago and Los Angeles, not even where I'm from. I would understand Austin, but going and seeing people across world singing these songs, it's like, yeah, if people are doing that, then we're doing all right. Our music's making an impact. That's what that song really means.
Dylan Gossett tells Apple Music why Chicago was the setting for the new song he added to his Westward Deluxe album.
I just remember Chicago because the very first time we played Chicago, it was a sold out show. It was incredible. It was a lot of fun. It was one of our favorite crowds. And then we get to go and play Windy City Smokeout and stuff like that, which was just such a incredible festival, incredible team. We just loved everybody over there and had a great slot, and we were just kind of like, wow, why are we in Chicago singing these songs and people are listening and want to sing along with us? It's just craziness. So that's why I'd say Windy City was kind of the forefront of it.
Dylan Gossett reveals what drove him to want to create music early on.
I just always loved it. I mean, I was in choir and I got my first guitar when I was in fourth or fifth grade, and I always just loved it. I was on the worship team at my church. And it was just always something I loved doing. And I loved writing songs. Before I posted social media, I never really cared about that. I'm not a social media person very much. So I just would write songs just for myself and for my family. I had no thought that I was actually going to be able to do this thing until it started happening, and I was like, it's time to just give it all. I got to send it for this thing and just see what happens.
Dylan Gossett declares what he’s hoping will be the impact of a song when he releases one.
I usually don't have any expectation. I just truly, I know this sounds cliche, I just make the music that I love and I just put it out there. At the end of the day, it's my job. I feel like in this industry especially, you can really get caught up in expectations and numbers and charts and graphs and data and all that stuff, but end of the day, you're just making songs. It's just a song. You're just making something that you truly feel from the heart that you want to put out there, put into words. And, I mean, when people relate to it, it's awesome, because it feels like a kind of connecting force almost, where it's like you come to these shows and people are singing this song about a personal experience of mine that they can relate to so deeply they feel like the song's written about them. It's not an intentional thing that I do, and I don't think it's an intentional thing that a lot of artists do, but it's a beautiful part about music. It's just cool that you can do that. So yeah, to answer your question, I never really have any expectation or anything where I'm like, “This song's super relatable.” It's just that's what I want the song to sound like and be like. And when people relate to it, it means the world. It's cool.
Dylan Gossett tells Apple Music why he’s self-produced his music so far with his debut project Westward and the new Deluxe additions.
I think this Westward album that I produced, it was the exact sound that I was going for. Love it or hate it, it was exactly what I wanted it to sound like. And I have a great engineer in Chris Bell who helped record it and recorded it pretty raw, and it was just really cool. Now, I mean, there are songs that I have visions for that I don't know if I'll be able to get there producing-wise. I don't know. Maybe one day I will, maybe one day I can't. And I would love to collaborate with different producers with specific songs. Wherever I go in and I'm like, “I have this baseline, but it's not scratching my ears like I think it should. I need some help.” So that's something that I'm open and willing to dive into and I'm excited for. But no, I mean, I definitely think a lot of these personal songs that are acoustic-driven and kind of feel like a live band, that's how we record it. So I love having my hand all over that and just knowing exactly from the start, this is how the song's supposed to sound like. Let's just get it there…And it's like, maybe I'm crazy and a little music-controlling. I know what my vision is and I know how I want it to sound. I think the quickest way to get there is just to have me in the room doing it.
Dylan Gossett talks to Apple Music about recording ‘American Trail' with Noeline Hofmann for the Deluxe release of his debut album Westward.
I think Noeline Hofmann is one of the best songwriters there are right now. I think she's incredible. I think she's just uber-talented and her penmanship is just, it's just absurd. It's just so good. We connected and I sent her this song and I was like, “Listen, no pressure. I think you would sound great on it. If you want to do it, that's awesome. I'm just a huge fan, if anything.” And then on a plane, I think she told me, first time ever hearing the song, she just wrote that verse. Just craziness. And I was like, “Yeah, that's it. That just sounds great. It's such a perfect part for it.” And then the harmonies and everything that she does on it, it's incredible. So, no, she flew down to Austin and recorded some of that part, and we became really, really good friends. And yeah, I just have the utmost respect for her. I'm really, really proud of how it turned out.
Dylan Gossett talks about recording his song ‘Back 40' with Ole 60 for his Westward Deluxe album.
I love those dudes. I'm a huge fan of them. Their songwriting too, and Jacob and those guys, they just rip. And I've always just respected those guys since the first day we met them. And the dudes just rip. And they're great guys, they make great music, and I just wanted to kind of be in collaboration with them. We have a history of touring together and I just thought the song would be perfect for him and for Jacob's voice and everything like that. So I felt like a perfect fit. And they crushed. Put some pedal steel on it too, and it was really cool.
Dylan Gossett tells Apple Music how his parents would encourage him to sing by paying him to perform backyard gigs at home.
My parents would pay me 10 bucks to play for them for an hour if we were cooking outside or something, I'd just go set up and just play for 30 minutes. They'd give me some allowance and, yeah, we would always do stuff like that. Mainly covers. I mean, I probably had a couple songs when I was 14 or 12 or whatever it was, but not very good. But my parents pretended they were the best songs in the world. They always gave me a lot of confidence and motivation there. But no, man, I mean, yeah, just go and play Ed Sheeran and some Eagles songs.
