An Interview With Warner Bros. Records LA-Based Singer-Songwriter, DYLAN GARDNER!

Based in Los Angeles, Dylan Gardner is a 20-year-old pop/rock genius.  He recently reissued his debut album “Adventures in Real Time” on Warner Bros Records which hit #9 on Billboard’s “Next Big Sound” chart and single “Let’s Get Started” now has over 5.5 million streams on Spotify.

Dylan is an incredibly talented and prolific writer.  Adventures is stacked with timeless hooks, eclectic beats, vivid production, and modernist energy.  It was whittled down from 9 albums worth of material, over 100 songs, that Dylan wrote, recorded, and produced entirely on his own.

He’s had coverage on Conan O’Brien’s TeamCoco, Young Hollywood, Uproxx, Boing Boing, Huffington Post, Diffuser and PopDose who raved “Adventures in Real Time gets my unqualified vote for the most purely entertaining pop record of 2014 (so far).”

 Learn more about this very promising singer-songwriter in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What’s a typical day like for you lately?

A typical day involves waking up around 10 o clock slightly tired from listening to records until 1AM the night before, followed by a quick read of the news then it’s off to my computer and instruments for a day of writing, recording, and practicing. When I’m not doing that, I’m researching recording techniques, artists, songwriters etc. or reading a good book. I end the night by listening to some great records in my record collection!

Growing up, was music always a big part of your life. Did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?

I wanted to be nothing but a musician growing up. There was a period in middle school when someone told me that wasn’t financially viable so I had my job set on architect for the future, but forget that. There’s no better feeling in the world to me than playing or making music. My earliest musical memory is sitting on my kitchen floor while my mom was cooking and she’d leave out some pots and pans for me and I would play percussion on them and sing “Hang On Sloopy” by the McCoys

How was your summer tour? What were some highlights of it?

Every tour for me is a magical fun adventurous hard-working learning experience. It requires me to put that many adjectives in the description. This summer tour was something special. I got to see most of the United States, and I really felt I grew up as a traveling human being (I previously had been not well traveled). Highlights for me were playing to a home crowd in Chicago, walking 30 mins in Georgia to get a peach pie, and spending a night on the town in New York City after a show at the Gramercy Theatre!

You recently released a reissue of your debut album, “Adventures in Real Time” via Warner Brother Records. Why did you decide to do this?

I’ve always been enamored with the Warner Bros. roster of artists. From the core record label to its subsidiaries, WB hosted what felt like 90% of the artists I listened to growing up. When “Adventures in Real Time” starting gaining Spotify traction, Warner Bros contacted me and I was unbelievably honored. They believe in me as an artist and songwriter and I’m excited for the future with the label.

How were you able to narrow down 9 albums worth of material into 1 collection? Was this a difficult task for you?

I don’t recall it being very difficult at all! In fact I remember my manager and I making one list in an email and saying, “cool, that’s it!”. It definitely was easier than writing the 9 albums of material! There’s so many stages after I started songwriting at 14 that I thought I had my first album. It turns out that when there’s an actual deadline, I write the album to be! I’m finding this out currently with the second record I’m working on.

You’ve had your music featured on many big name shows. Which one has meant the most to you so far?

I’d say the NFL Pro Bowl, since that was the first time I heard my music on television. I was in Nephi, Utah on my way to play Sundance when I stormed into my hotel room after driving, threw off my six layers of coats, and turned on the TV and I heard “Let’s Get Started” underneath the announcing of the players! It didn’t feel real, it felt like I accidently turned on my own song on my iPhone while I was watching the game.

What artists have consistently inspired you? Who would you love to work with one day?

I’m always consistently inspired by any songwriter from Paul Simon to Taylor Swift. I tend to look up to Lennon-McCartney, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, and Smokey Robinson the most. They all created their own tiny galaxy of creation with their melodies, production, and lyrics. One day I’d love to work with Jack, Nate, and/or Andrew from FUN., Ezra Koenig/Rostam Batmanglij, Grouplove, Zella Day, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, any one that wants to do something quite frankly, I love making music!

Generally, where do you get the inspiration for your music?

I feel like music and melodies course through my veins 24/7, and sometimes the melodies explode out and I just sing what I hear in my head out loud and I try to write down words that mean something to me. I’m inspired by the act of writing a song itself if that makes sense. It’s the best way to express my true self.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope fans take away from it?

I want fans to take away the great feeling they get when they relate to someone’s words or sing with their heart on their sleeve to a melody. I try to make albums that are as consistent and as fun and creative as they can be because it’s all about the album experience to me, not singles. I hope people can listen to the record and have a good smile and not worry about life for those 38 minutes.