- 7 hours ago
Dylan Scott joins Katie Neal inside our Nashville studios to talk about the success and unique inspiration behind his hit song, "What He'll Never Have," his songwriting process, balancing family with work, and much more.
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00:00Dylan Scott back to keep us company come on we were just like laughing not laughing we were both
00:05in shock thinking about the fact that you were here a year ago but I feel like you were here
00:08last week yeah so depressing not the fact that we were here but just how quick time flies it is
00:15wild I was also just thinking about the last time I saw you which feels like it was very recently
00:19but we were out in Utah yeah skiing skiing and I just I don't know about you but every time
00:23I
00:23complete a ski trip fully intact with no broken bones I'm like thank you yes successful right
00:28especially the older I get yeah and that's the thing like I usually take a ski trip every year
00:32like it's my favorite trip of the year but I haven't gone the last two maybe three so when I
00:38went to Utah I was like man I'm three years older I'm mid-30s now what's fixing to happen you
00:43know
00:43like am I gonna tear something easy because I kind of go full blast so yeah I'm with you like
00:48to make
00:49it back in one piece success feels good feels good right also another really fun part of that trip is
00:54we did like a I think it was called 90s karaoke but it was more of like a Dylan Scott
00:58sing-along
00:58it was so impressive to me that like literally any song that somebody threw out like you just
01:04could recall it and play it well thankfully I had other artists Kelsey Hart there to back me up but
01:12still like the amount of stuff that you know is crazy like I can sing along to a song when
01:16it's on
01:16but to be the person singing and leading it I can't do that yeah I think you just kind of
01:21fake it
01:21really just fake it till you make it that's my big thing yeah just sing like what you know of
01:26it
01:26maybe if you'd only know the second verse just start with the second verse nobody's gonna know
01:30but you still like you and you're playing the guitar during it like that's even the crazier
01:33thing to me like don't downplay this this is very impressive yeah it was a lot of fun yeah we
01:38had a
01:39great time on that let's talk about uh what he'll never have climbing up the charts right now will you
01:44just tell me like walk me through a story behind this song kind of inspiration for it how it came
01:48together yeah I mean the inspiration there was really no inspiration behind this okay really just
01:53started with I was playing the guitar and I was like man this feels kind of good and then the
01:57thought came to my head of like you know what's something different that I haven't written about
02:01and it was basically you know if I die which is so morbid right right off the bat if I
02:06die you know hey
02:08some other man can have all my stuff but he will never love you the way that I'm gonna love
02:14you kind
02:14of deal and so I remember writing this song honestly didn't finish the song going oh this is gonna be
02:21awesome you know it was kind of just another day another song to me and then my wife heard it
02:26and
02:26goes this is my favorite song you've ever written and I'm like well this is the biggest insult I've
02:30ever got like after all these love songs you know right my girl and nobody but in a way it
02:35is like
02:36the ultimate love song she had to explain that to me because all I got out of it was oh
02:41I love this
02:42song you're dying you know what I'm saying you're dead you're gone she's like what what woman doesn't
02:48want to hear that like you know if you was to die like they can have all the stuff but
02:52they'll never
02:52love you like but they'll never love me like they love like you love me and it's just like yeah
02:56I get
02:57where you're coming from with this but it's still not the math is not adding to me on this you
03:02know
03:02the math ain't math and but it was um she was right she usually is right it meant that another
03:09usually right one of the biggest songs I've released so far so I was gonna say I was like looking
03:13at the numbers for this and I was like oh my like I obviously know it's a big song but
03:16I was like oh my
03:17god yeah that's crazy yeah even I remember teasing it the first time with me and acoustic guitar
03:23and just from anything else I was posting other songs the comments were doubled the likes were
03:29doubled I'm like man what is it about this thing and I still don't know what it is I'm just
03:33taking
03:34it for what it is like heck yeah I love this you know isn't that so wild like it's always
03:37the thing
03:38that you don't think twice about that is like yeah the biggest thing like I talk to so many artists
03:43about how much time we all spent on content and then it's like that really yeah we get so caught
03:47I think sometimes like in the writing process we get so caught up writing for each other other
03:53writers uh the publishers the labels here in town we're writing for them and we're like hey it's not
03:59it's about the fans at the end of the day what they want we're so worried about oh you can't
04:03rhyme
04:03this word but that word was like well kind of we can kind of can do anything because hey as
04:09long
04:09as it feels good and the fans like it it's all that matters yeah so which is so wild what
04:14did
04:14you think what would you say is like the wildest thing you've made rhyme that you were like where
04:17did that even come from oh um I always love to ask a songwriter that yeah I mean there's
04:23I'll tell you one not the craziest but like the biggest one as a writer here in town you try
04:29to stay
04:29were from is like world and girl you'll hear those two things you just yeah and then they kind of
04:37that's the easiest thing to rhyme world and girl you know or crazy and baby right crazy and baby
04:43and it's kind of an ongoing thing when you're writing like oh we can't rhyme crazy and baby
04:47because it's just done overdone of all of all but it's like it's overdone to us and we're worried
04:53about another writer here and it going oh here he is another crazy and a baby rhyme but it's like
04:57at the end of the day that don't matter as long as the fans like it that's all that matters
05:02that's
05:02so funny it's like whenever you hear somebody talk about how like somebody comes into room and they're
05:05like all right I'm gonna pitch it it's beer pressure yeah you know what I mean exactly another truck
05:10song or something we you know talking about how you were here about this time last year was on the
05:14the album easy does it came out are you like where are you at are we gonna have another single
05:19from this record are you already like working on new stuff I mean you guys are always working on new
05:25stuff you know probably not gonna have another single off that off that album just because the
05:30way I don't know it's just you write so much I'm recording so much I did take a little break
05:35after
05:36the album you know I needed a little break but even since then I bet you I've written more songs
05:41already this year than the last three years combined what do you attribute that to I don't know
05:46maybe just taking a little break taking a few months as you know I kind of got off me personally
05:52kind of got off socials a little bit uh didn't write didn't record and just I don't know taking a
05:58little break really sometimes you like have to live in order to like have relatable content I feel
06:03the way about the show like when we're working a ton I'm like I don't even know what to talk
06:06about
06:06because I haven't like lived a normal day in a while right yeah you know but uh yeah I mean
06:12I think
06:12it's uh we got new music coming out I mean obviously for the rest of the year but just excited
06:17about
06:17that you know it's hard putting a body of music together it's it's it's tiring it's gruesome it's
06:23it's awesome it's rewarding but I do love just the the non no pressure to just let's go write and
06:30record one song and put it out and keep writing and record another and put it out that's the way
06:36I
06:36like to do it yeah you also out right now on the till I can't I will tour through the
06:41end of May
06:41special guest Kelsey Hart and then am I going to say this right is it 12 OC yeah or is
06:45it 12 off center
06:46no it's 12 OC 12 OC okay and then Lauren Watkins what have been some of the highlights so far
06:51being
06:52out on tour and like you know with those guys yeah so so far it's just been the 12 OC
06:56boys and I didn't
06:57honestly I didn't know much about those guys going into it I just knew that they were building what
07:02they're building regionally over out on the east coast and they are doing really good kind of doing
07:08it the traditional way of just like building a fan base in one general area and then spreading it out
07:13which is yeah because I had never even seen that name before I was like what does this say and
07:17then
07:17I had to google like it's like a carpentry term it's like 12 off center massive fan base out there
07:21what they're doing so they're doing something cool and they're awesome boys and put on a great show but
07:27I think Kelsey's out on the next little leg with us um excited to play with him label mates with
07:33him
07:33I've known him way before even being label mates um and then Lauren I think she's towards like maybe
07:39the end of this whole deal and I've just been a fan of her since day one I've never met
07:43her
07:43but I love her I love what she does and so it's been fun we've been playing some you know
07:48some some
07:48bigger rooms uh some some smaller arenas but still arenas like I'll take it all day long but um it's
07:55been good it's really been it's been fun so far tour wraps at the end of May what does the
08:01rest of the
08:01year look like for you though oh still playing shows you know it's still it's still the same thing just
08:07not wrapped into a tour name basically um the festivals we'll do this summer and then you know
08:13just I just random shows here and there is what it is but it's non-stop yeah how are the
08:18kids doing
08:18they're good yeah baseball and softball and just got the little one potty trained well that's oh my god
08:25is this like the last child in diapers like you're done oh yeah we're done wow congratulations thank you
08:30it's a very rewarding feeling a season of life you've survived and now it's behind you my wife it was
08:35her idea to to take care of um for me making sure this was the last one you know what
08:41I'm saying
08:42and now that he's at two and a half she's made comments like you sure you what do you think
08:48about
08:48I'm like look you we've taken care of this I'm not going to take care of it again just to
08:53take
08:53care of it again like we're not doing this that's so funny I was talking to Thomas Rhett the other
08:57day
08:57about it because I was like you guys were like done with diapers you were out of it and now
09:01you've got
09:01a newborn baby it worked out for them they got the boy no totally oh it's awesome yeah but that's
09:07a thing out of the diapers even with my little one the first two we's out of diapers hey they
09:13were
09:13turning on the tv by themselves they could go get a pop-tart out of the yeah you know pantry
09:17by
09:17themselves and then back into the whole situation again it's like man what are we thinking but yeah
09:23we're done now that's so fun though so the boys are in what sports did you say so my oldest
09:28Beckett he's eight he's baseballing okay yep so you're driving around like crazy right now are you
09:33yeah you know he's not doing travel ball we're just doing spring ball and obviously fall ball where
09:38he's at in his age group but I'm loving it that's awesome are you coaching no no I didn't play
09:45baseball uh I will I'll help him in the yard yeah throw the ball and hit the ball but he's
09:51um and
09:51this is not proud dad talking this is just like man where'd this kid come from he's he's he's good
09:56like he's good at baseball that's awesome this is it's a lot of fun to watch you know and then
10:01my
10:01little girl just started softball so now they're playing at the same time and you know that gets a
10:06little difficult and I'm sure the little one who he's gonna want to play t-ball here in the next
10:10year as well so we'll have three full-time ball players and but it's awesome it is it's really cool
10:16I talked to so many friends who were like I love this but the driving around just like wrecks you
10:20I'm always like I hope when I have kids I hope that they're talented but don't want to play any
10:24sport yeah I don't want to do this it's a lot yeah I'm sure it is uh you also you
10:32have several
10:32business ventures outside of music I always love to check in with you and see what's news with the
10:36oh so you got the trash company and a coffee shop we added anything new to the portfolio no we've
10:40not
10:40added anything new I don't plan on adding anything new um trash is good trash is rocking and rolling
10:47that's so funny like that that was the thing that just like did you ever think no never in a
10:52million
10:53years I'd be like oh I'm gonna start a trash company and what's wild is you know we started
10:57this whole trash company with literally a pickup truck and like a dump trailer and now I don't
11:03even know how many trucks like we have at this point but that's crazy we uh we've won two awards
11:09already this year shut up we won the last week for a small business of the year I told my
11:14I told my
11:15trash partner dude I've won more awards in the trash business than I have music business now
11:19and then my little brother with the coffee shop it's rocking and rolling over in Hendersonville
11:24he won some sort of award last week I'm like man we're rocking and rolling in the business ventures
11:29on the award stuff you know that's amazing yeah it's it's it's it's a lot of fun I want to
11:34get in
11:34on some of the stories behind songs that we've never gotten to like talk to you about and I know
11:39obviously this one's like been out for a long time but can we talk through the story behind my girl
11:43yeah my girl that was the first that was the first one for me which is crazy that it's it's
11:49almost been 10 years since has it really almost 10 and I felt that I felt that I went to
11:55the Bahamas
11:55my wife and I on vacation last year and it was during the time of the year where there was
12:00a bunch
12:00of kids there on their senior trip and this dude walks up to me and he goes hey man like
12:06I'm not gonna
12:06make a scene but I just gotta tell you I love my girl like it's still my one of my
12:11favorites from you
12:12I said dude how old are you he said I'm 18 I said you were like seven or eight when
12:16it came out like
12:17talk about make you feel old right right but my girl you know it was one of them songs where
12:24I remember writing it and loved it I remember I just I loved it and this is before I had
12:28any success
12:29any you know single do anything and so I'm overthinking everything and in my mind I was like nobody wants
12:35to
12:35hear this story because every line of that is something I've lived except for crown and sprite line
12:42my wife doesn't drink crown and sprite but one of the back of the one of those rhyming things
12:45yeah yeah you had to figure out a rhyme it but other than that it's like it was super personal
12:49so I'm like man nobody wants to hear that love story you know and was I wrong you know even
12:55to
12:55this day 10 years later it's still one of the loudest songs in my show like I've tried to not
13:00in my show with my girl and I can't I can't yeah that's so wild it's so funny you mentioned
13:06that a kid
13:06came up to you on the beach I had this happen I think it was maybe last summer somebody came
13:10up to me
13:11and they were like I grew up listening to you on the radio and I was like yeah I have
13:15not been doing
13:16this long enough for you have to have grown up what do you mean yeah because I still feel 18
13:21like
13:21that dude on a senior trip most days you know right oh my god that is so wild and then
13:26nobody
13:28nobody when we wrote this song it was we were on the road it was in the back of the
13:32bus it was
13:32me and uh two of my co-writers Matt and Dallas and I knew and I'm gonna start with this
13:39usually when I
13:40write a song I have to live with it like I usually don't know day one like oh man I
13:46got something
13:46here but this was one of those right off the rip right off the bat yeah I just knew it
13:51was catchy
13:52I loved what it said and I remember I was in the back and this was years ago too I
13:56was a little more
13:57flexible and more energetic than I am these days but I was on the back like on the table in
14:01the back
14:01jumping up and down like this is it you know I remember that excitement that I got when we wrote
14:06that song and um yeah I mean even to this day still playing that song is still wild to me
14:11you
14:12know you think back and go all right at some point which one of these are gonna burn out like
14:16which
14:16one's not gonna respond anymore it's like they just they keep doing their thing I was just like
14:20that doesn't happen like there's certain songs like you were saying with my girl like you got
14:23to keep playing that song the rest of your career and like thank god it's a song that you like
14:27love
14:27so much and it is about your life because like I feel like sometimes people get stuck singing these
14:31songs that they're like I'm tired of hearing this and singing about it well I figured that out early on
14:35I record a bunch of stuff back in the day that I look back now and go oh my god
14:40thank god it was
14:41never anything because one that's not me anymore and that's embarrassing and once I realized okay
14:47you can get stuck singing these forever right like all right I'm only gonna release and put out stuff
14:52that I can see myself doing that right how often does somebody like request one of those or something
14:56at a show and you're like that one yeah it happens quite frequently be honest with you yeah you'll find
15:01like the OG fans from back in that day sign out there and you're like I'm not even it's I'm
15:06just
15:06like I just try to ignore it not ignore them but just ignore the fact that I saw it because
15:10I don't
15:10want to respond to it because I'm just embarrassed by it that's amazing and then last one new truck
15:15new truck uh this song so you know what's really cool like obviously we know Hardy as the artist
15:21but you know when Hardy came to town he came to be a writer and he's very talented writer one
15:25of the
15:26best in my opinion and so you know he still to this day just sends me a handful of songs
15:31all the
15:31time here and there you know he'll send one or he'll send five or he'll send ten you know hey
15:35check
15:35these out you know and I respect that you know he's still out there uh hustling in the songwriter world
15:41which is which is really cool because he's really good at it and he sent new truck and it was
15:46one of
15:47those songs I don't sing a lot of breakup songs um just because I haven't really lived that life
15:53I like to obviously sing and record things that I've experienced but that one was different
15:58because it was uptempo it felt good it felt like a fun song but it's not a fun song it's
16:03like oh I
16:04need a new truck because I can't get this girl off my mind every time I get in here you
16:07know
16:07but um yeah that was different and even like you know playing it live is just a big part of
16:14our set
16:15being uptempo I mean we play it like three songs in right now the breakup song yeah and everybody's
16:20partying to it you know that's what's wild about it you got to be at a really fun point
16:23being at this many number one songs of like arranging the set list like designing the highs
16:29and the lows and like where everything goes it's got to be fun yeah and I get pretty crazy in
16:33my head
16:33about the set list you know really well I like to change it up too just for me yeah because
16:38I'm sure
16:38you're doing the same thing every night yeah but then you know you look back and go yeah but you
16:43know
16:43what things flow a certain way for a reason but yeah that's what I was gonna say a while ago
16:48you know
16:48it's like the nobodies and the my girls and even new truck yeah there's no burn-off factor yet but
16:54man it's crazy the like the set we have right now and the songs we put out we're kind of
17:00getting to
17:00the point you know it's two three more things we release that do very well for us something's got
17:05to come off you know which is crazy yeah you know like we got oh we got to take something
17:09off the
17:10set that's actually doing well for us so I don't know it's it's a good problem to have never thought
17:15I'd be in the situation of that but here we are right talk to me what does day of show
17:19look like
17:19for you like I always love to hear like what everybody's like pre-show ritual is it the same
17:22every show or is it kind of like different uh you know we don't really have a pre-show ritual
17:28we do
17:28all get together on my bus you know 30 minutes 45 minutes before the show and you know just turn
17:34some music on and try to hype herself up a little bit but day of show it's a lot different
17:39than it used
17:40to be I used to I used to get off the bus and go do this and go do that
17:44but you know you do it for
17:45so long and you go to these cities and you've already done this or done that and so what I've
17:50done
17:50is I start I stay up really late now on the bus so I don't sit there from you know
17:56nine o'clock in
17:57the morning till nine o'clock at night with nothing to do so yeah I sleep in when I'm on
18:02the road which
18:02I'm sure is like also nice for you like being a parent you're like a minute yeah but what's the
18:07the sucky part is when I get back home and the kids are going to bed at eight my wife
18:10likes to
18:11get in the bed at eight 45 nine o'clock and I'm just sitting there like there's no way this
18:15is
18:16when I get started you know so there's a give and take to that but um yeah day of the
18:21road a day
18:22when I'm on the road is it's honestly pretty boring I think that's like something that people
18:27don't realize a lot about touring like it looks like this big rock star life and there's a lot of
18:31waiting and sitting around yeah and that's all it is literally I mean you literally sit around and
18:36wait till that afternoon when oh people start showing up that maybe you know is coming to hang
18:41out and you're meet and greet and then yeah it's time to do a show and do it all over
18:46again do you
18:46guys have like shows that you'll binge on the bus and stuff like do you watch stuff with the guys
18:49I never turn my tv on on the bus really that's so I was just talking to Justin Moore he's
18:54got like
18:5517 tvs on his bus you guys never turn them on never turn it on you're not like gaming or
18:59anything
18:59what are you doing no here lately I've just been writing a lot but that's a great question what
19:04what are we doing I don't know it's it's it's a boring day on the road until it's time to
19:10work
19:11and then it's the best day ever I mean I love what I do do you have shows that you
19:14watch with Blair
19:14uh I do uh I'll get on I'll get on a Netflix kick or whatever it's on um and when
19:20I get on one I'm on
19:21it yeah like when I start watching something hey I'm watching it we're gonna binge watch it we're gonna
19:26watch it every night till it's over with kind of deal but then when I get off of it I'm
19:31off of it
19:31for a while I'm the same way I'm like I'm either in front of the tv every night or like
19:35this week
19:35I haven't turned on in two weeks yeah I mean at my house I probably haven't sat down and watched
19:39tv
19:39in in months I was it what was the last thing you probably binged or like that you guys watched
19:43I don't even know you're probably watching all the kids shows right now right yeah I don't even watch
19:46those I tune those out to my kids there's so many kids shows like one of my little boys watching
19:52Danny
19:52go or something I'm like oh I haven't heard of that one that's what I'm saying I didn't either until
19:56the other day I'm like where are all these shows I don't have kids yet but I feel like I
19:59like hear
19:59secondhand like this is what yeah somebody I was at my friend's house the day miss rachel was on I
20:03was like oh this is okay this is it yeah and I also I'm like what am I doing wrong
20:08in life that I
20:09didn't just do what miss rachel's doing yeah see my older kids are now on the ipad and let me
20:13get on
20:13youtube and stuff and I'm like that's a whole different experience oh my god we try to keep
20:17them off of it I was gonna say I say all the time like oh I'm so glad that we
20:21did not have that I
20:21would not have done well with any of that stuff as a kid 100 it's like you got to be
20:25careful what
20:26they watch even on youtube kids you know no idea it's a struggle but send them outside yeah they
20:32do that they do they do go outside quite a bit but it's still just where's the ipad can I
20:37get on
20:38youtube and it's like come on man I mean I understand how addicting it is I can't put my
20:41phone down like yeah no I do too and I want them to experience youtube and watch all this stuff
20:46because
20:46there is good stuff on there to learn from but you just never know oh my god totally well listen
20:51thank
20:52you so much for the time I'm so happy to see this dog this song doing so well for you
20:56excited that
20:57the tour is going so well and excited to get out and see some shows this summer yeah it's good
21:00thank
21:01you
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