Dylan Schneider Talks ‘Bad Decisions,’ Touring With Nate Smith, And Teases New Music

Dylan Schneider spent the last year on the road, bringing his music to stages all across the country. After seeing his fans fall in love with his toxic new song “Bad Decisions,” from the stage, he’s finally ready to fulfill their demands and release the tune to streaming services. 

The song was born from a writing session with Schneider, Gabe Foust, and Jacob Hackworth, and later produced by Lalo Guzman. Throughout the upbeat tempo, BBR Music Group/Wheelhouse Records artist pairs the evils of seduction and temptation as he sings about a pair of exes who continue to give in to their toxic connection instead of finding closure. 

“Girl, we’re good at making bad decisions / We go up in smoke the second we start kissin’ / They tell me I’m crazy baby I don’t listen / And I just can’t let you go / You’re so good at blurring up my vision / Ya hit me harder when the whiskey kicks in / We both know there’ll be consequences / But girl we’re good at making bad /Good at making bad decisions,” he sings on the chorus. 

“Bad Decisions” comes hot on the heels of Schneider’s latest release, “Daddy Drinks Whiskey,” and his viral hit, “Ain’t Missin’ You,” which has racked up over 39M on-demand streams and continues to be a fan-favorite within his life shows. 

Touring With Nate Smith

Schneider is currently on the road, serving as direct support on Nate Smith’s World on Fire Tour. The emerging artist kicked his year off strong, as he debuted a whole new, career-spanning setlist on the opening date of the tour, which took place January 4 in Athens, GA. The trek will continue through February with several dates already sold-out.

For more on Dylan Schneider’s brand-new song “Bad Decisions,” his next project in the works, and the goals he’s bringing into 2024, keep reading the Q&A below. 

How did the idea come about for “Bad Decisions” and what was that writing process like for you?

So, it was funny that day, I was actually running late to the session. I showed up probably 30 minutes late, but luckily, when I walked in, I was writing with one of my best friends that I grew up with, Gabe Foust and our other buddy, Jacob Hackworth. They had already kind of figured out and started the whole chorus. They were wrapping it up when I walked in. I heard the original track and it’s super similar to the mastered version that we produced, but I kind of just started spitting on some ideas for the verse. It all fell out, I think, within an hour, but yeah, it was just kind of a topic that I felt like a lot of people would relate to and understand, even with its kind of toxicity…the writing process was dope, and getting to write it with those guys was great.

This song has started to see success across social media, but what has the live reaction been like from fans?

It’s great. We’ve been teasing it for a while and it always goes over really well. I think we’ve been playing it since kind of the middle of last year. We got it all produced and just have been waiting for that right time and right situation to release it. Now that we’re on this next tour and it’s the top of the year, it just kind of felt right to come out swinging with some new music. And we didn’t waste any time obviously playing shows and stuff, so we’re gonna keep hammering it out this week. Then I think when we’re up at the show in Connecticut on Friday, that’s the day it comes out. So I’m really excited for everybody to hear it, but yeah, live, it’s just been one of the best ones and most fun ones to play in a while.

Will there be a “Bad Decisions” music video paired with the release?

Yeah, actually we filmed a video yesterday and it went really smooth. It was awesome. I’m pretty sure my guy is working on it, my content creator, Randy. He said he’s going in last night, and then I think it’s going to drop on Friday with the song, so it should all be ready. It’s not a full music video, but it’s a visualizer. So I’m excited to at least have that come out and then we’ll probably film a bigger one later in the year. 

This release follows “Daddy Drinks Whiskey,” which seems very personal as it takes on a slightly different storyline than what we’ve heard from you in the past. Can you talk about what that song means to you?

I felt like it was something I needed to address and like you said, it’s very personal. So to finally be able to put that out there and kind of just tell that story was good for me. We had written it I think two or three years ago and it was just another one that had to, you know, find that right time and the right answers and right instance to want to tell my story.

Why did you decide to release a live version of “Daddy Drinks Whiskey” from your performance at the Grand Ole Opry?

I wrote it with Gabe Foust as well and another buddy Nate Kenyon and getting to finally play that on the Opry stage, that was the first night I ever played it live. Recording it, doing that live version from the Opry was just so special and my family got to be there and watch that and stuff, so it was just a cool night and a special moment that we were excited to get to share with everybody. 

The last project we got from you was your College Town EP in 2022. Are there any plans in motion for another EP or an album this year?

We are currently cutting a bunch of songs in the next couple of weeks and we’ll be dropping a few over the next couple months. Then I think we’re looking hopefully to do an EP project, something like that. The whole album thing, I’m not exactly sure on the timeline, but I’d like to do something like that hopefully within the next year or so. Nothing’s set in stone, but I know that there will be a lot of songs coming out right at the top of the year, so with “Bad Decisions,” it’s just the first one. There’ll be another one probably in the next month or two. So I’m excited for everybody to hear all this new stuff.  

When looking at the new music you want to put out this year, what goals do you have and what should your listeners expect?

I’ve been writing over the course of the last two years with songs that have just not been put out yet. So, I just want to put out the most music possible, I think the most music I’ve ever put out this year. And let people hear all that great stuff that we’ve been working on and see what works, see what doesn’t, and kind of just grow and build from everything that we do this year.

You’re kicking off the year on the road with Nate Smith. What has it been like touring together so far?

This is our first time ever touring together. It was cool though, last year we played a radio show, like a charity show at the end of the year…It was like a little preview before we got to actually get out on the road. So it’s been fun. The first weekend was last weekend and it’s cool cause I’ve known Nate for like 3 years now. We met back in 2020 and we’ve been good buddies, and we have mutual friends and then my band guys are all cool with his band guys. It’s just been good energy out on the road. It’s probably been the most excited I’ve ever been to get out on tour yet, so everything’s going good.

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What can fans expect from your shows this year? 

It’s just cool, the range of music that we’re playing spans over the years. So we got all the new stuff, we’re bringing back some old stuff, we’ve got the biggest set list of my own songs that we’ve ever played put together. So, it’s just a whole new show that’s filled with, I feel like, great pieces and great moments and you can kind of travel back through my whole career with all the music, which is really cool. I feel like it’s the first time we’re ever doing something like that.

Prior to Nate, you were touring with some other big names like Kane Brown, Tyler Hubbard, Scotty McCreery, and Granger Smith. Is there any advice or lessons that you took away from any of those experiences that you are carrying now with you into this year?

I’d say probably Granger Smith. I got to be with him last year as well, and it was his last tour, his farewell tour that he was doing. We’ve been playing shows together since, I think I was 17, so we’ve always had this good bond, and he’s always been one of the most supportive. I feel like one thing that I always learn from him and the way I want to treat anybody else I’m on the road with is, he’s never afraid to reach out, ask questions. He instantly tossed his phone number my way and was like, “Dude, if you ever need to talk or anything like that, now that I’m not in it, I still know a lot about it and I’d still love to help you.” So, I just feel like that’s important from the industry side and I like to carry myself that way as well.

Fans can keep up with Dylan Schneider on Instagram.