David Dyas is a nice southern boy who ended up in Portland, Oregon by way of New Orleans and Los Angeles. Despite a lack of riches, he’s living the dream most aspiring musicians conjure up as they load their gear into the back of vans and dank bars throughout their youth: he’s a professional.
February 23 marks the release of Dyas’ 4-song EP, Stag, which was recorded with the help of friends who run the gamut of his musical career. What he calls “a cavalcade of rogues” that he’s collected as a session player, hired band mate, copywriter and philosophy teacher. It’s a lilting acoustic folk-pop record with surprising arrangements that belie the seemingly simple structure and approach to the songs.
We caught up with Dyas in the GLONO West headquarters to talk about life as a hired gun, Rod Stewart, the city we all love to hate, and Scientology.
With recording of the EP and touring going on are you going to do any session work?
You know, I will do gigs that come my way that I’m interested in. I know it’s hard living by this but I’ve kind of set myself up in that I don’t have to take gigs I don’t want to. But I’ve never wanted to just be side man for hire guy. I either want to be doing my own music or be part of the band It’s a big part of why I moved up here [from Los Angeles].
So, is it more competitive down there, from a music standpoint?
I don’t know if it’s more competitive or if it’s more—and I got caught up in this too—this looking out onto the horizon for what’s next. Something better coming along. I grew up in this ethos that you grow up and start a band and that’s what you do and I guess I am stuck in this naïve paradigm.
It seems popular for people to say they hate LA. That’s the first thing anyone ever says, even people who have never been there.
That’s right, and that’s the genesis to one of my incredibly witty sayings, “You have to earn the right to hate LA.”