Exclusive Interview: Dylan Schneider Wants to 'Blow Up a Little Bit' This Year

Dylan Schneider was already becoming well known in country music, even before he signed a record deal. The Indiana native started out posting himself singing covers of songs, later releasing three EPs, before Nashville caught wind of his success, and signed him as the first country artist on Interscope Records.

While it might seem like an exciting turn of events, Schneider was just ready to get to work.

"It's very honoring," Schneider tells PopCulture.com. "I'm super excited to get in and do some stuff with them. I know they're excited as well. It's a cool bond. It's a good spot to be in. They are gonna learn from me, because they've never been in the country thing, and I'm gonna learn from them. We're just going to help each other bounce ideas off each other and hopefully do something big."

Schneider plans on releasing his first EP on Interscope later this year, followed by a full-length album, but he is definitely willing to take his time to make sure everything is just right.

"Right now it's just really, really, really in the development stage," he reveals.
I've been writing a lot ... I'm trying to write for it, figure out some songs, taking outside pitches. So if I hear a good song, it's definitely going to on there. I'm really just looking for the lane and the style that I want this to be. I think that as soon as I get that first song, it's really going to help me out, and we're really going to get things going."

With three EPs, a deal with a major record label, and the opportunity last year to open for both Granger Smith and Chris Lane, his recent successes would be a lot for any artist, but especially for Schneider, who turned 18 in October.

"It's just wild sometimes," Schneider concedes. "I can't believe that everything's been happening so quick, but I'm super thankful that it has. It's really got me excited for what is to come, because there's so much time left, and I just love getting the ball rolling."

Schneider has garnered plenty of positive press lately for his talent (not to mention earning more than 30 million Spotify streams for his unique sound). Asked if he feels any pressure by how quickly his career is exploding, the teenager says he is taking it all in stride.

"I like to sit back and enjoy the ride, because it's everything that I wanted it to be, and honestly, it's been more, so I'm not really pressured," he says. "I realize with me being picky and taking the time to create what I want to create, I don't feel pressured, I just feel like, if it's going to take a while, then it's going to take a while. We just need to do things right."

The singer's goals for 2018 don't have to do with chart success or album sales. Instead, Schneider wants one thing: to become one of the leading forces in country music.

"I just want to blow up a little bit," Schneider maintains. "I want people to know who I am; I want people to know my name, and I feel like, as hard as we've been working and the things that we've been able to accomplish, I feel like it's totally possible, and not out of the question at all. I just want people to hear my music and enjoy my music, and realize, 'Oh, this dude. He has something. That's my goal.' I want to be one of the big up-and-comers by the end of the year."

Schneider's latest single, "No Problem," is available for download on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Randy Shaffer