Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that bring joy to people’s lives – and Dylan Gerard has created a song that celebrates family and growing up in a small town, two of his “simple things.”
Gerard is an up-and-coming musician whose new single “Simple Things” reached 37th on the Music Row Country Music breakout chart. The 29-year-old Florida native spoke with John C. Rose on Town Talk to discuss how the song and accompanying video came about, artists who have influenced his sound and his appearance on NBC’s talent program “The Voice.”
The lyrics and music came first for the song, he said, and he was just beginning work on the video about the time COVID-19 restrictions locked everything down, so he used the time to go through home videos.
“I thought it was fitting to go through old home videos and just really show people my side of simple things,” Gerard said. “You hear the song and think about your own simple things.”
“On top of it just being something for other people, it was really nice just being reminded of that for myself, especially in (these) trying times…it’s my mom and my dad. It’s my sister and brother, my Granny and Papa,” he continued.
When it don’t make sense and the world’s fallin’ apart. It’s the simple things. I love the simple things. — from “Simple Things,” Dylan Gerard
Music was an integral part of Gerard’s childhood – both parents sing, his dad plays guitar and mandolin. “I can’t remember a time we didn’t have music going…in the car or the house.” He picked up the guitar in high school and never looked back.
Enjoy the TownTalk Podcast and more below.
He since signed with Nashville’s SSM label and said a follow-up single – “Please Don’t Let Me” – is set to drop in the near future. There’s an album in the works as well, he said.
Gerard appeared on Season 13 of “The Voice.” “That was something else – quite the experience.” He talked about the fascination of seeing the production of the show and all the behind-the-scenes work required to do it. “It was pretty stressful, pretty nerve-wracking, but it was definitely an experience,” he said.
Getting compliments on his music from the likes of judges Adam Levine, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson didn’t hurt, either. “It gives you some validation, some hope, a little more drive and motivation” to continue pursuing music.
It was Clarkson who helped steer Gerard into the country music “lane,” he said. “She said I had a really good country music voice… a voice that’s not necessarily out there, and I thought that was really cool,” he said. “I think country is kind of in my voice,” he added.
Despite finding a spot in country music, Gerard rattled off a range of artists – past and current – whose music has influenced his sound. From Otis Redding and Frank Sinatra to Bonnie Raitt and the Temptations, it’s the soulful sound that he’s drawn to.
“I’ve always loved soul and I love to hear that passion in someone’s voice,” Gerard said. In fact, when he’d finished his audition for “The Voice,” he said judges Levine and Hudson remarked that although they had listened to others perform that day, his audition was the first time they had felt the emotion emanating from his music. “To get that from them was really nice and really rewarding,” he said.
Find Gerard on social media platforms Instagram and Facebook and at www.dylangerardmusic.com to learn more about him and his music. He invites others to consider what their “simple things” are and then share them in a message to him; “it’s the things that mean the most to us,” he said. “It’s interesting and really nice to hear what those things are and how they differ from person to person.”