Our next podcast interview is now live! Dillon Basse is the lead singer of emerging band FlipTurn. His passion for music started at just four years old. After forming the band in high school, their group has now gone on to make multiple albums and travel all across the U.S. playing shows. At the end of 2022, FlipTurn had reached over 30 million streams on Spotify and played hundreds of live shows. Enjoy Dillon's full story of passion, growth, and musical expertise.
Link to the interview is below so be sure to check it out and let us know your favorite part of the interview.
Colby Harris: Alright, welcome back to the “Grit.org” podcast. My name is Colby Harris alongside me as always is Brian Harbin and we're here with today's guest Dylan Basse. Dylan, thank you so much for being here.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Colby Harris: So, lead singer of FlipTurn. They're from Fernandina Beach, kind of Jacksonville area. Really been on the rise recently. So, tell us a little bit Dylan. Just got off what like eight weeks of touring?
Dylan Basse: Yeah, 8 weeks straight of touring in a van, playing shows. Definitely the longest we've been out. So, very happy home, but yeah, pretty much just back from 2-month long tour, yeah.
Colby Harris: Pretty electric time. My brother and sister actually caught you once in DC and then up in New York also.
Dylan Basse: Oh, they did.
Colby Harris: Yeah.
Dylan Basse: Oh, that's crazy. Okay, very cool. Those are some fun shows the East Coast shows are always some of my favorites.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I know that's definitely kind of been where you guys have spent a lot of your time. So, we're super stoked to have Dylan here today our first musician on the podcast.
Dylan Basse: Cool.
Colby Harris: So yeah, really excited to get your perspective for everything. So, go ahead and just take us back to the beginning, man. I mean, I know you spent a lot of your time being raised in Fernandina, but tell us a little bit about your upbringing and kind of where all this started.
Dylan Basse: Right. So, I actually moved to, I don't know if we knew each other yet but I moved to Fernandina when I was 15. So, freshman in high school. So, yeah, I did grow up in Fernandina but I actually lived in Massachusetts for most of my life. My mom was an Irish fiddle player. So, like there's a big Irish community up near Boston and when she would go to these like Irish sessions, pub sessions at like bars and stuff and people would bring instruments and jam. And she'd bring me in like a little baby carriage and she put me under the table, so no beer would be spilt on me or anything like that. But I kind of just would take it all in and grew up through that and started wanting to be a part of the music scene and everything. But yeah, she kind of just really threw me into to music ever since I was really little.
Colby Harris: So, it all started up in Massachusetts which is what I thought because I've known you for a long time.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Colby Harris: What kind of led you guys to Fernandina and making that decision to move down there?
Dylan Basse: My mom got remarried and my stepdad had, like had a house down here but he grew up in Massachusetts and we were looking to move anyway. But I think she wanted to give her kids a new, maybe some new possibilities, a new, a look on things and we had Florida was an option. And all four of us had to agree they weren't just going to take us down, but me and my brothers and sisters are like yeah Florida, let's check it out. So, it actually one of the main reasons I wanted to go was because of baseball, because baseball was a huge, huge part of my life for so long. It's 365 days a year, nice weather, baseball was played.
Colby Harris: Definitely spokes stoked to spend some time talking about that today too.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Brian Harbin: And we'll definitely circle back to baseball. But so oldest of three siblings, any other siblings that were really in the music as well?
Dylan Basse: Yeah, so there's I have it's like yeah, 4 of us all together. So, Jesse he's my youngest brother and then Bonnie and Lou, my two sisters and they all kind of got into music a little bit. My mom definitely made everybody play something at some point, but everybody kind of, I think I was the one that stuck with it a little more got more emotionally attached to it. But they can all play. Jesse underrated piano player. very good, yeah so.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, he's got this huge hands.
Dylan Basse: I know. He kind of took the whole basketball thing and run with that but he could play, yeah.
Colby Harris: Yeah. I know Brian would love to I mean if you saw Jesse his little brother, I mean he's twice the size of either of us. I mean he was a starter as a freshman already dunking. Um huge kid. Even again so I went to Fernandina for everyone listening. So, I've been very familiar with Dylan for a long time. Dylan played at my junior prom.
Dylan Basse: Oh yeah, man that was Bonnie's senior prom.
Colby Harris: Yep. But I remember like Bonnie was in one of my math classes and she'd like jokingly sing and I'd be like do that again. Like, do I get, I could hear it. So, I could definitely understand that they had a little bit of that and then too.
Dylan Basse: She'll love that if she ever listen to this.
Colby Harris: Oh, I've told her. Yeah. Give her a little ego boost right there. But tell us a little bit more too about that shift like you said. I mean, you kind of traded out the snowboard for a surfboard. Now, you're at the beach and, I guess your parents had just gone through a divorce and things like that too. So, how was that, what effect did you feel like that had on you or was it really kind of an exciting experience to try to transition into a new life?
Dylan Basse: It was, I'm really glad that I had that experience when I was younger. it made like meeting people when I was older actually a lot easier because most kids, I had a whole friend group in Massachusetts and that was a really hard thing to leave was a lot of my friends up there. But when I moved down here, I was kind of thrown into a high school, where everybody was already friends and grew up friends. So, I kind of had to come out of my shell a little bit and meet people that way. So, that was a big thing that I'm really thankful for that helped me I think later in life. But also yeah, it was a big cultural change. I had to learn how to say, yes ma'am, yes sir. That was a huge thing. I remember coach Purvis would get on me especially a lot in a baseball practice if I didn't say yes sir and so I had to get into that and that also gave me a little more perspective about everything's a little different everywhere you go, you kind of, if you grow up and live one or just see one part of the world for so long. You kind of create a bubble around yourself and you think that that's the world, that you live in. It's not. So, that was another thing I was very thankful to learn at a young age for sure.
Brian Harbin: And tell us when you kind of jumped into music for yourself whether there was a first instrument or what age you started.
Dylan Basse: So, I was I was about 4 years old. Like I said, my mom would bring me these sessions and I was about four years old when I wanted to pick up instrument of my own. It was an Irish drum. It's called a baron. It's like it's hard. I can't it's most people you might know it if you see it but no, when you say the name, what's that?
Colby Harris: It's part of that Irish music culture.
Dylan Basse: It's you ever seen Titanic or the scene where they're all playing music down in the third class and the guys playing like a drum like this that's what it is, and I don't know I'm that was the first thing I told my mom I wanted to play. I saw that, that's what I want to do and that's kind of got me into feeling rhythm that's where I learned a lot of rhythm and timing and feel was through that instrument. And then when I was 11 and that's when my parents were getting divorced. A friend of my mom's just gave her like this beautiful 1945 Gibson guitar and we kind of like one of her at the time I was young but realizing now that was like a big coping thing for her and together, we kind of taught each other how to play just by learning simple chords and writing songs. So, that's really when I started like writing music was like around 11, 10 years old just with the guitar a friend of mine gave to my mom. So yeah.
Colby Harris: That's awesome and yeah and I can definitely feel you there I don't know if we've ever really talked about but same with me. I moved to Fernandina in sixth grade.
Dylan Basse: Nice.
Colby Harris: My brother Chase, he was a freshman in high school.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, really?
Colby Harris: Parents divorced, then we move down there. So, same situation.
Dylan Basse: I never knew that.
Colby Harris: Yeah, from North Carolina so definitely like I'll see him very soon and I'm excited to tell him about too because I know that was one of his big struggles when we moved down here was just being in that culture where you were raised with those old friends. And now it's time to kind of reset your entire livelihood. So, circling back to baseball and kind of the other things you did outside of music. Tell us a little bit more about playing baseball growing up and then you continue to play all four years of high school if I'm not wrong. So, tell us a little bit more about your baseball career and just kind of what you loved about playing sports.
Dylan Basse: For a long, time baseball that I mean my family was a big sports baseball family. My uncle was drafted out of high school. My grandfather was like absolutely loved coaching, loved the sport. Brought me up through it. My whole family just yeah very like baseball family. We had the Boston Red Sox. It's like one of the, it's a good team to root for when you're when you're growing up, they're always winning and stuff. So yeah, for a long time I thought that's what I wanted to do. I was, you asked me what I wanted to be when I was little, I was either going to be a rock star, I was going to go play professional baseball and that's crazy obviously. But those are my two passions when I was little and I thought baseball was going to be it for sure. I don't know, I loved the team aspect of it. I loved the competition just the sport itself that baseball's very romanticized in America. Kind of grow up with all the movies and stuff.
But yeah, that I had a very very just a big love for baseball and yeah, it wasn't until like my maybe I think junior senior year of high school. Where I was like, I think I'm a little better at the other thing maybe I'll try to go with that.
Colby Harris: That Red Sox culture stuck with you though.
Dylan Basse: Oh yeah, yeah absolutely yeah big fan of the Sox, go socks.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, so I was going to ask so about junior year you kind of made the decision okay I'm better music. Was there a certain performance or were there any performances in high school that kind of helped lead you to that decision of like, okay, I'm really this is an area I can really go all in?
Dylan Basse: I don't, this wasn't like the defining moment of when I knew that I wanted to go with music, but there was a defining moment when I knew that maybe like I wanted to try something else. And it was yeah, I think it was going into my senior year of high school, the summer that summer there was a production put on by I think it was, I can't remember the name of the club. But there was a musical pretty much happening and I'd never gotten into it. I'd always wanted to I was so it was really cool musicals and I didn't really tell anybody that when you're you don't want to tell people. Especially not the kids on the baseball team do not want to tell.
Colby Harris: Definitely not the lunch table.
Dylan Basse: No, that's not the discussion and so I was very intrigued by it and I got into it went to a few rehearsals and tryouts for this musical. I realized I really enjoyed it. And when I got the part, I auditioned and I got the part to be in this this musical, I realized that I was going to have to I wouldn't be able to do both. I wouldn't be able to play summer ball and I would not at the same time as rehearsing for this play. So, I had to go up to coach Roland. Do coach Roland? And he's very old-fashioned hard nose baseball guy. I love him so much but I remember I had to look him in the eyes and tell him that I was going to be in a musical this summer and I wasn't going to play baseball. And he was kind of looked to me. He's like, what? So, there was a moment where I started to realize it was okay to start pursuing something else. And that wasn't to say I hadn't been how I got through high school was, I didn't have like a regular job. My mom and I would play gigs at bars around Fernandina Drain Turtle, Salty Pelican. Places like that would do covers and I'd obviously play some originals and stuff.
So, it was like a patch of mine that I wanted to pursue but it wasn't until I feel like then that I realized it's okay for me to do this. It's going to be fine. I think this is the right direction to go in. Yeah.
Brian Harbin: So, what was the part of the musical that you had?
Dylan Basse: It wasn't even a big part like it was, I was a quartet member. There was it's the play was Music Man and there's this like barbershop quartet and I got like one of I have a higher range of singing so I got one of the higher range guys and I don't know. I only had a few speaking lines and I got to sing a few songs but I was like this is so cool. Like I really liked it so yeah.
Colby Harris: No, I could definitely understand. I that kind of leads us right into my next question I wanted to talk about because I feel like speaking is something that follows you wherever you go like if you have the ability to get on stage. Like I was the student body president in high school.
Dylan Basse: Oh yeah.
Colby Harris: That's what started. What you're seeing today, it's just being able to get in front of people and have conversations and perform and kind of make laugh. I really found a passion for that. So, the first thing that schools now though kind of tend to deteriorate is the things like the arts programs whether it's like physical arts or the musicals. Whatever it might be. So, tell us a little bit about why you think it's important that they uphold these programs and they keep offering these opportunities that could create the next Dylan Basse essentially.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, I think it's it is it's really important to have arts programs. Not I mean sports I will always have for sports. It's keeps you healthy, keeps you competitive. I think it teaches you a lot of things about life before you're thrown into real life but the other thing is it how many kids are going to go off and be a professional athlete. With art, I think it's not to say that everybody's going to go off and have a crazy successful art career, but it really opens up expressing to this day. Like I love music mostly because it is a form of self-therapy in a way and it really, really allows you to express so much of yourself and I think that's really cool on a team on a sports team it's very There's this great unity, but its I mean there's one not to say all sports or team sports. But I feel like sometimes you're able to express more of who you are as a person through arts in a way and I think I think people the earlier they learn that in life the better. I think that would help a lot of mental problems like mental trauma maybe later in life just being able to show who you are and like learn things about yourself at a younger age.
Brian Harbin: Absolutely, and really just to creativity working with a blank slate whereas with sports like you said you kind of have certain things you're supposed to do. so, tell us about the Genesis of FlipTerm. The name, how you recruited other band members. Tell us about how that started.
Dylan Basse: So, me, Madeline, and Tristan, we were all the Fernandina members and I remember Tristan and Madeline, they've been friends. They've been in Fernandina for longer than I had and they had always kind of had this idea to like want to start playing music. When I to Fernandina and I met, I think it was, I think I met Madeline first and then therefore was introduced to Tristan and they had this, we became friends. But we all knew we liked similar music, but it wasn't until like I think junior or senior year around the same time the musical happened that they kind of hit me up and they were like, we all play music. Why don't we try to jam sometime? I remember that they were at a Starbucks and they gave me a call and they were like, hey, look you want to come meet us for coffee we have this idea. I’ve met drove over it was when Starbucks was over at the near like fancy sushi, I don't know if you remember that.
But drove over there and we started, they pitch me idea and we kind of joked and we were like, wouldn't it be funny if we like had music on Spotify or like had like played like a show or something. wouldn't you. Just kind of joke about that and then kind of got into it started jamming a little bit and liked what we were making. We just would do covers at first and once we started doing original material not everything, but people really seem to latch on to it and like it and we're like well people are liking this we should keep doing it and that's kind of where it got its start. The name is actually from Madeline's parents. She was a swimmer in high school and a flip turn is actually the move you do when you turn around in a pool and you kind of like head back. So, we're just looking for names and they pitch that one we're like oh it's that's kind of cool. I mean it's something that a rich shows your originality of the band in a way. I don't know. I just kind of just stuck. Some names you just have to like stick and you're like, that's cool. Yeah.
Colby Harris: It could come up with probably some deep philosophical reason. It's flip turn if you had to. I think it's really cool to remember that you guys were all kind of together at that time. So, I mean, right as you were leaving baseball going into senior year, you guys started performing like I said, you even performed at your own graduation which is something I move very closely because I was there. I actually witnessed Allen but tell us a little bit more about what you were going through as you finished out senior year. What was going to be next? What was your plan and kind of what were your aspirations as that time as you were about to leave high school?
Dylan Basse: Well, obviously I knew that we knew music was, the band is what we still wanted to do we all talked about it and we were like we're going to try and make this work through college. Madeline went to University of Florida. I went to university, or Jacksonville University and then Tristan went to University of North Florida. Me and Tristan would our first few years or Madeline actually would drive to Fernandina. We'd all meet up on weekends and practice and write. And then our junior year of college, me and Tristan both moved to Gainesville just to keep things going just because we built up. Gainesville was huge for our start. I mean Jacksonville friend that's really where we started, but like our first like fan base really started in in Gainesville and that's kind of where we started to get some momentum was there.
Brian Harbin: So, I'm curious one of the things with our, like you're talking about obviously there's a ton of benefits but you're also kind of putting yourself out there. How do you felt like you doubt early on with obviously of your fans and people that like the music people that don't like the music? How do you feel like you were able to kind of deal and overcome with that?
Dylan Basse: That's an awesome question. Because that is something that I feel like not too many people too many artists, I hear talk about. That is a really cool question. And I think that there is that obviously just it teaches you to deal with rejection in a way when you do realize you have to realize that when you're starting is it not everybody is going to like what you're creating and it is a very vulnerable place. But I think it's taught us a lot how to not focus on the negative, like focus on the people that you have an impact on and the people that are you're really connecting with. And that is why you're performing, that is why you are making this. This is why you continue to do this what makes it so awesome is that the impact and the connection you have with people. And that's so much more important I think than the people that are like, oh, I don't really like this and you're like, alright, that's cool I don't like some music that's dope whatever. It's kind of, it teaches you I feel like not to focus on that and it is, I will say it is a challenge to overcome sometimes when if you see that somebody like maybe didn't like, I mean didn't like the music or something like that and that's okay. It teaches you to just keep going and doing it for the people that really are connecting to it.
Brian Harbin: And I was curious too. Was there some constructive criticism along the way that you think help kind of change or redirect?
Dylan Basse: Definitely, and I think I mean a lot of the self-criticism. I mean I'd say it's self-criticism. A lot of it. The older you get, the more music you intake, the more you really find what kind of music you want to create and the more you mature. I think a lot of it was always trying to create something better than what you previously made and that I think has been our constant motivation and driving is always out always try to outdo yourself. That I think we've had some success with I think for sure at least from my standpoint I'm always happier with I always think the next thing we make is always better than the last.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I can really appreciate that because I remember even last year was one of the first times I came and saw you at Jack Rabbits. I just ran into you randomly at over at High Tide and you're like, hey, we're doing a show.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Colby Harris: Well, I remember I just came out to that show. I went with only one other person. We were just coming to jam and I didn't know anyone else in the crowd. But the whole time all I felt so electric like watching you up there doing your thing and we were just now in the foothills of starting this. And it just gave me so much perspective and respect coming in to do something like this where it was the exact same thing in a way. I mean, we only have 100 listeners. I know you guys got a couple million now but.
Dylan Basse: Starting anything, it is always you always got to start from zero, always.
Colby Harris: Yeah.
Dylan Basse: It is kind of the same thing, man. Absolutely. 100%.
Colby Harris: Just the kind of the evolution like you said like having that self-awareness, I think is huge. So, tell us more about that that time you spent in Gainesville. Because kind of that I guess would lead you into graduating 2016 to the release of Citrona, your first album into 18. So, tell us a little bit more about that time in Gainesville growing your following and working on producing that first album as well?
Dylan Basse: Yeah, I think we, that was another, time where we're just trying to outdo the last project that the first ever project, we put out was Heavy Colors and that was an EP. We put out in 2017 and I remember Citrona, it was always just like, alright, this is the sound that we like. We're going to just keep finding our way and a lot of that was just self-actualization. Realizing things about yourself and just I know Citrona itself was a lot about home was a lot about Fernandina. That's the feelings and the connections we had made there and our upbringing in Fernandina. But yeah, in Gainesville.
Colby Harris: Got to be a grind with those shows man all the time.
Dylan Basse: Tristan would have, I remember Tristan would have classes at like 8 AM the day after shows in Gainesville and we wouldn't get out of there until like 1 or 2. he would get home at like 3 AM and then have to like sleep for a few hours and then go to class. Like it was a lot of that is what I'll say absolutely about our time in Gainesville. It was just doing whatever opportunities we're given. Taking the most, every opportunity trying to grow and as with everything we could. Yeah, just grinding it out honestly. Doing the lot of the little things and lot of the sleep deprivation. Wish there's still a lot of that there's we're still grinding.
Colby Harris: Grinding, don't stop.
Dylan Basse: It doesn't and absolutely it does not but that specific time I think we were just so we want to do this so bad and we're going to keep trying to do whatever we can to make it work. Yeah.
Brian Harbin: So, there had to have been a point where you guys hit a wall, where you're grinding so hard. Maybe weren't seeing the results that you wanted. Like was there a moment where you guys thought about stopping slowing down and then what helped you kind of push through?
Dylan Basse: Well yeah, the wall was we realized why maybe we weren't getting the outcome we wanted and we knew we had to make more sacrifices, I would say. It was going into our senior year we'd already moved to Gainesville but Tristan dropped out of college. Me and Madeline switched to online classes. Because we wanted to, we knew that what attracted people most to our music and to our band was our live show and we knew we had to tour. We had to get on the road. We had to put this out in front of people and yeah, we made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that that's what we were going to do and that's what we did. We just went out and played as many shows as we possibly could. And we're still playing as many shows as we possibly can kind of in that same mindset, but that we knew what we had to do. You knew exactly what moves you had to make and it's they're not easy moves to make.
We'd still we had to talk to our families, hey mom, I'm going to go online or I'm going to drop out of school and then they weren't easy conversations. But we did it, and I think it paid off for sure.
Colby Harris: Would you say that's probably the scariest part about what someone in your position does is having to make those decisions that kind of is a leap into the unknown?
Dylan Basse: Absolutely. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it's terrifying. I mean, anxiety can be like I really didn't understand what anxiety was until making some of these decisions. So, it is very, very scary, I will say. But there so much, I don't know, maybe I listen to too many motivational speakers when I was like too many movies watch too many things, but I was so just wanting to do whatever it meant to make my dream possible and I'm still doing that. I wouldn't say that I've reached a point where I'm like, oh yeah, like I've made it. There still doing everything that I possibly can everybody in the band is doing everything they can to just fulfill that dream they have in their head. Like it's a definitely more of a like kid's dream. Like I told you like that wanted to a musician when I was.
Colby Harris: Rock star. Rock star. Not a musician. We want to be a rock star.
Dylan Basse: Right, and that's the little kid dream and something just I was not going to like let that fade in a way. I don't know what it was that made me not want to let it fade, but think everybody was on the same page and was like kind of might as well just give it your all. So yeah.
Brian Harbin: And basically, you mean like getting in front of more people like expanding your audience. But in order to do that, obviously you got to travel more spin more. So, how did you guys was it everybody kind of pay their own way kind of thing.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, we didn't, nobody takes, nobody for a long time and still a little bit today nobody. Everything we made from the band would always just go into one big fund and that would always be for gas money for getting for hotels, for staying. We'd sleep on people's floors couches, now we can afford to stay in a hotel every night. But like at the very beginning yeah, like definition of just like very…
Brian Harbin: Who do in Charlotte?
Dylan Basse: Literally, we would put out we'd call family members, maybe that we haven't talked to in a long time. Like, hey, I know I haven't talked to you in years, but can I crash on your couch. Stuff like that, just kind of putting everything into it not taking any money or anything personally just putting everything into one big fund to keep this going. So, that's pretty much what we did to support that like traveling wise. Yeah.
Colby Harris: So, up to that point now, I mean you guys have been rocking shows around Fernandina. Everyone loves you there. Gainesville has definitely taken notes. You can go play any show there, get 100 couple hundred people out there. Now you're starting to do some more travelling probably 2019, 2018. Tell us, it was there a moment that you feel like you had a like specific big break moment, or was there a certain show that was bigger than the most you had done up to that point? Because I definitely feel like there was a tipping point for you guys where over the last two years, I mean you guys have really started to blow up big time. So, do you feel like kind of heading into 2020 or maybe even later after that that there's been a moment that really helped you guys’ catapult where you're at now?
Dylan Basse: I like I say this mostly maybe it's like ignorance and maybe not realizing or maybe not self-realizing. But I still would say we haven't had our, like big breaker. I wouldn't, I just will never say that we've made it. I just can't, it doesn't. I think that slowly what I do like about our band and our group is that it's always like a slow build, but it's never like a huge jump or a huge loss in fans or listeners or people that are going to shows. It's always been a slow climb, and I really, I really like that it's been that way, but I wouldn't say there's been like a defining. Like, oh we made. It's always just been like the next step or what do we have to do next? What do we have to do next? What's the next goal? And it's always you have to hit that goal. And if you fall short, you're aiming for bigger goals. So, that if you fall short of that you're still trying to land somewhere just as long as it's just growing.
I'd say that because of that mindset that we've had just to keep it constantly growing and trying to keep the foot on the gas. We've been able to do some cool things. This tour that we just went on definitely the most people played in front of headlining for sure. And it's cool when you play a big venue and you're like, oh whoa. Like last time we were here we were playing the maybe 4th of this many people. But yeah, no I wouldn't, I still, I don't and I don't really want to have that ever realization maybe one day or I could.
Colby Harris: It's one of those things too, man. I mean you understand. I mean in the age of music that we live in, like you could be the number one charting artist for 3 weeks and then your name can never be mentioned again.
Dylan Basse: That's what I mean, yeah. Absolutely.
Colby Harris: Definitely could go either way.
Dylan Basse: Yeah. I definitely and I don't want, I mean, that's what I mean by I don't want to have that realization. I want to constantly be wanting the next thing.
Colby Harris: Yeah. No, I think it's healthy too. I mean, that's one of the biggest things that that I think I've taken in perspective in the same way. It's like, when you start patting yourself on the back, when you think it's okay to let off the gas.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, that's dangerous and I think that's.
Colby Harris: Definitely. Getting high on your own supply a little bit.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, exactly. I think it's good to take it in. I won't say that like if you're we played some really cool. We had some really cool opportunities this summer. We played some really big festivals and we played in front of a lot of people and there's it's very important something that I forget and sometimes bandmates will have to remind me is to like take it in. Because I will constantly, I've be stressed or freaking out about making sure that everything goes well and I'll sometimes forget, like oh man, come on you're doing something that you've always dreamed of doing like let it sink in. I will say it's important to let things sink in so you appreciate what you're doing. That's why you're doing it in the first place. You're chasing trying to chase a dream. Make sure you understand that it's happening trying to make it happen. Just never being like okay I don't need to do anything else. like this is going to take care of itself. Never having that mindset ever. But learn yeah, definitely it's okay to let it sink in a little bit for sure. Yeah.
Dylan Basse: So, I'm really dying to ask you this question, because you hear about Flow State get to experience it in sports and all these different parts. But I imagine as a musician on stage performing in front of people. Like it's just got to be at a whole another level in terms of just that feeling of not really having to think about what you're doing but just totally embracing the moment. So, is there anything that you do before the performance to kind of set you up and prime you for that and then also when you're in that moment, can you kind of describe what that feels like?
Dylan Basse: I've been going on stage for a long time, like I said my mom's been bringing me on stage even just to like play something with her because she's had gigs. So, playing in front of people is always been very, very nerve wrecking and I used to hate getting nervous, but my mom would be like, no being nervous is good it means you care about what you're about to do. But to mentally prepare, I definitely usually need a good, my girlfriend's listening to this she's going to laugh. But like being around sometimes I'm not always really fun to be around before a show, just because I'm looking on edge yeah maybe more on edge. And she'll usually try to stay clear just because I'm probably freaking out a little bit. But yeah, we have like our we have a ritual before every show that the band will get in the group and its kind of just, we have like a little funny thing where every show we pray to Prince. This is super.
Colby Harris: I know I can tell you're, no you're just hesitant to share this song.
Dylan Basse: It's kind of just weird thing that we do, but its kind of like makes us all laugh and kind of calm down a little bit and like kind of get us in the zone of we're going on. And pretty much one of our member Devin will all get in the huddle and he'll just jokingly we'll pray to Prince Yeah.
Colby Harris: Right.
Dylan Basse: And it's a weird tradition that started like a year ago, but this just usually we'll talk say something, we'll usually make us laugh and like chill out and then we're like, alright cool. We're going to go do this and it's still the anxiety at least for me at least like the nerves, like they kind of stay with me until you hit that first note when you step on stage and then you realize like well like this is happening. Like I can't run, I can't go I can't stop this. So, you kind of that also kind of sinks in and you're just like well I got to go and give it but that kind of makes the nerves go away is you're like, well, this is happening whether I like it or not. So, you're going to go and give your best performance.
Brian Harbin: And when you are singing, I guess you feel like the music probably takes you right to where you need to be. I mean.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Brian Harbin: I'm always curious too like, I mean, is there anything with a crowd that can throw you off a little bit where maybe you forget or skip a line or something that, okay, how do you kind of recuperate from that?
Dylan Basse: Every crowd, I mean, every crowd is different, I would say. That's another thing you learn about when you're and you're playing to bigger crowds and more people. But there's always like if there's like one dude in the crowd sometimes that like his girlfriend brought him and he's just kind of like sitting there like what's this all about. And like sometimes you'll like lock eye contact and you're like people will be enjoying people will be jumping and join the show. But like some reason that one dude is just like making you be like what's going on.
Brian Harbin: Right, yeah.
Dylan Basse: So, sometimes that will kind of throw you off but we've learned off obviously like that's another thing. Just don't focus on that dude, focus on the people that are really, really enjoying it and that's always as I've learned that that's helped me have better shows. Even if there's somebody in the crowd that's like being weird or whatever I don't know.
Brian Harbin: And one other question I want to ask you about this just because I'm really curious. Like so if you had to describe what it feels like performing in front of like any certain emotions or feelings that you feel like you experience while you're up there performing.
Dylan Basse: Can you say that again? Sorry.
Dylan Basse: Well, I'm just saying like when you're in front of a large crowd performing at your best, the crowd's going wild. I mean, can you kind of describe a little bit like the emotions or what that feeling feels like?
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Brian Harbin: For those of us that will never experience it.
Dylan Basse: No, it's I mean, it's it is hard to explain. But it never I don't think it ever it never gets old ever. And its constant reminder of why, sometimes when you're on the road and it wears you down for sure. Like mentally physically, it's hard to keep up to take care of yourself. It's definitely takes a toll. There’re long drives, like very late nights, very early mornings getting to the next show. So, most of the time touring is not this glamorous thing. It's very tiring but for that hour and a half that you're on stage and just connecting with people and playing music and you can't really describe it but it's a great feeling.
Brian Harbin: It's a reminder of why you do you do.
Dylan Basse: Reminder of why you're doing it. Yeah.
Colby Harris: Yeah. Kind of just ascending into the clouds every time.
Dylan Basse: Like very yeah. Every time you just kind of like this is why I'm doing this. This is awesome.
Colby Harris: Well, that's what it looks like. I mean when I watch you, I mean you're my favorite performer to go see for sure man. I mean I’ve been to a number of bands and performers but I've seen 21 Savage. I hated it, right? I hated it. I couldn't stand. He's one of the number one rapper in the world. I hated going to this concert, right? No offense if he's listening. But watching you, I mean, it's truly enjoyable for me like I'm not the guy in the crowd with his arms crossed like.
Dylan Basse: No, you weren't. I remember. You have a good time. Thank you.
Colby Harris: I always strive and like I said, I think that's that reciprocation of respect of like I said it for someone to go spend tens of thousands of hours to learn to play an instrument to learn to sing then you write the song then you produce it and then you get on stage. All this stuff it's like I think the lack of perspective for the person that just puts their earbuds in and takes the three minutes to listen to it. It's totally different.
Dylan Basse: Oh yeah. Live music. Go see as many live shows as you can.
Colby Harris: Yeah.
Dylan Basse: Music is where it's so different and it's so awesome. I don't know. Yeah.
Colby Harris: No, I totally agree again and my brother's the one that got me into that because he went to Flagler. So, that's a very underground music scene and we spent a ton of time just going to like small venues and to this day he says like that's where he sees some of his favorite shows or like these 50, 100 person crowds. So, kind of right on the back of that. Tell us a little bit about some of your favorite performances maybe. I mean, I know you guys went out west for the first time this past year like you've been all the way out to Colorado to DC to New York.
Dylan Basse: Talk about favorite performances or just favorite shows. Colorado, people go real people love live music in Colorado. Denver, Fort Collins, some of my favorite cities to play outside of Florida, outside of Gainesville, Jacksonville, obviously is awesome. Every time just hometown it's hard to beat. But yeah, Denver great times up in Denver there's this theater called Bluebird Theatre up there really cool spot everybody is just like I don't know super amped. Let's see. Some of my favorite shows though one that always like always sticks with me was at UF when we were kind of just, it was like a release party for Citroen, I think it was at least. And we just put out Citrona maybe like a week or two before. We played this like intimate house show at a place called the Surf Club and it's just a house show in Gainesville. It was gross. It was we had maybe this like really crappy speakers and our pedal boards and our amps and our guitars were getting like beer spilled on them and it was kind of like but like nobody cared. It was just like this cool you're like right here me to you like people you're playing and everybody just like super. Like the energy in a room when there's like it doesn't have to be a thousand people. It can just be a 100, 50 to 100 people like you said and the energy in there is super fun.
But I remember that was there's something about that like those that house show that we played 2018 in Gainesville. It's one of my favorite shows easily. Yeah. And it was just like very, very small like tight-knit thing.
Colby Harris: While we're still talking about performances, there's one I wanted to ask you about too like you said, being from Fernandina, Jacksonville, earlier this year they had the Bicentennial over in downtown, headline that show. I mean there's a lot of people there for that one. I was out at that show and I was kind of, I didn't know what to expect or anything. But you guys’ headline that show, came out at the very end. What's that like now to be able to come home to Jacksonville and have people? like I was in the crowd and I was talking to people from Gainesville. I was talking to people from Sarasota. I was talking to people from Fernandina. What's that like for you to be able to come home a place that it's kind of like, how do I say it? May be like you're like organic show where it's like the people they've always come to see you play. What's that like to be able to just come home and put on a killer show like that?
Dylan Basse: Oh, it's great it's really, it's so cool seeing family and friends in the crowd. My little brother was I remember at that show it was like in the very front, and that's always awesome just see the people that have been with you since day one still there. Still having a great time. Still singing the songs and everything. Yeah, that's really cool. Yeah, Jacksonville, Fernandina, Gainesville can't thank people enough for just constantly supporting us and helping us grow. So yeah, anytime we play there anytime we play there.
Colby Harris: There was a timeless moment and I saw you post a picture I was right behind Jesse at the show. Yeah, I was like right him and I remember you came up off the stage and I think it was even like I think it might have been like his birthday that day or something. Like it was in June or May maybe, I don't know.
Dylan Basse: Well fun fact about me and Jess, we actually had the same birthday night.
Colby Harris: Really?
Dylan Basse: So, it wasn't our birthday.
Colby Harris: Well, either so he was out there and I was talking to him because we've like played basketball together but I remember you like came off the stage while everyone was still playing and you were kind of like on a break on the mic. I have two older brothers too, and you just kind of like the embrace for the moment as one even got like a really good picture of it. But man, it's just really cool moment for me to see again like having older brothers like to know who you guys went from filling around playing with toys in Massachusetts to literally jumping off the stage or them front row. It's a really cool thing to see.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, it's just trying to it's cool like I said family is, they're the people that have supported you since day one and they're the people that are going to support you even when you're not at your highest. He's got a game after this; we're going to go see and he's killing on basketball. So, I'm excited to go see him later tonight and he's going to crush it. Kids Duncan already. Like it's nuts. He's awesome. So, yeah. Jesse, love Jesse very much. Yeah.
Brian Harbin: So, early 2022, you guys got a record deal, right? So, tell us how that came about and kind of what that looks like.
Dylan Basse: Yes, we signed with Dual Tone Records. They're based out of Nashville. Just we were kind of, since 2020 we had been when we got home from when the pandemic hit pretty much, we had to cancel. We were in San Antonio Texas when we had to turn around and come back to Florida. We were about to embark on a very long cross-country tour and we're all really excited it was going to be our first time getting out there and that got cancelled. And we had to come home and it was all, it's just kind of weird, I don't know. Everybody experienced a pandemic, everybody had to go through some sort of grief or something. It was tough on everyone. But when we got home, it was people like, oh, you must have so much time and inspiration from all this happening to write, that's probably what you're all going to do. And really, I'm not inspired man everybody's kind of like bummed.
There was no like inspiration really or motivation to want to do a lot at least for a lot of artists that I knew as well it was not until like later. But that initial hit was really just tough. Nobody knew what the music world was going to look like. This was, and we weren't where we're at now where we can afford to hit something like that. We all had to come back and embrace the idea that maybe music wasn't going to be what we're going to do. That's a tough thing to realize. But it was until like August of that year when we were like, alright, now let's try and do this. Let's try and write a record. So, we went out to somewhere in, we went to Apache Junction Arizona just found like a really cool Airbnb just pointed to somewhere on a map and we're like let's go here, let's get out of Florida, let's go live in a cabin for a few weeks and just see what we can do.
We came up with a lot of, that's where we came up with a lot about the ideas on this new album. But since then, had been writing and continuing to shape the album and along the way we were talking about maybe we'll send this to some labels or connections that we have and see if anybody likes it. But the goal wasn't to sign to a record label it wasn't to, we were the goal was going to we had our plan. I think that's the coolest thing about our team is it was all independent and we had everything laid out, mapped out for what was going to happen. We put out, I remember put out a few singles even we were still independent, and we were still sending it to people. Sending the rest of the music to some people and the people Dual Tone were like this we really like this. Let's see if we can make something work.
So, we started talking for a few months and I don't know we thought that they were a great fit. They're a smaller team. We like that a lot. Like I said always we've had from the ground up surrounded ourselves with people that are very passionate about our music and they just they seem like a good fit. So, very, very stoked to be with Dual Tone.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, and then basically just so they have like a bird's eye view of how they work. Do they help set up all the shows? I mean they basically kind of the business side of helping run it or?
Dylan Basse: No, that's so I mean they've definitely added this aspect through Dual Tone we've been able to meet a lot of really cool people in the industry. They've been able to get our music out to a lot more people and that's the reason for sure that we went with it. We want to make sure this record gets in front of as many people as we can and Dual Tone seem like the best way to do that. But no before that we were all our business and all our booking shows was still all through our team that we have at Atlas Touring. Huge shout out to them, they've helped us in so many ways. Caleb Coker and Sam Heeken those are our managers and they've just this team that we have really was going to be, we were going to continue to go without the label. But yeah, I mean they've but what they've really been able to do Dual Tone is just get our music out in front of more people than we would have without them. So, that's pretty much what we did.
Colby Harris: Yeah, we've just got a few more questions. I’m goanna kind of shift this last few around while we're talking about this. Because I think you've used the word team a lot whether we're talking about baseball or your family or your managers or just the band itself you're the lead sing you kind of have to be the mediator at the same time. Maybe sometimes you're the diva. You play every part probably.
Dylan Basse: Is this stereotype I'm sure and there.
Colby Harris: It all kind of just happens that way, but tell us what is it been like you for you to embrace the team, build the team, what value you've found in having a team. Just this entire group of people, family, friends, managers that makes FlipTurn possible, not just for you but for the entire band.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, that is what, that is since the day one what FlipTurn is and why we've been able to have a little bit of call it maybe a little bit of success here and there. It's strictly because everybody is working together and there is no one person like being like oh this is what's going to happen. Y'all come up with me. Everybody plays a role. Everybody, it is very much an equal drive of everybody being very passionate about the project and wanting what's best for it. Yeah, there's really no, like yeah it is so much a collaborative effort and I really think that that's why we've been able to keep going for sure. There's nobody is taken like charge in something and been like this is how it's going to be in my way the Howard type thing. Everybody's collaborating even I side of the artistic standpoint everybody's collaborating just to make sure that the best possible outcome is happening whether that means you take a backseat or not. It's what I what I love so I really love that about our group is it is like I said, it's like that's something I'm really glad. I learned from sports is it takes more than just one person. It is no one person in our group is the reason for any success we've had at all. Like it is everybody has had contributed for sure. Yeah, absolutely. That's I think my favorite thing about us. Absolutely.
Brian Harbin: Yeah. I'm curious too because I know like when it comes to, you're talking about with this being your form of art, creativity, passion, kind of an expressive outlet. But then, when it becomes basically a full-on business of like selling tickets and the whole logistical side, it's not as sexy. How do you feel like you kind of find the balance where you don't let the business logical side steal from the creativity that's needed?
Dylan Basse: Yeah, it's good to, we're lucky to be surrounded with people that are like our friends. It's not like maybe in movies you see like a team being like no you need to write a song this way or you need to do this. The business side never steps into the creative side. Our managers will give us like a push maybe they'll be like alright, like do this you got to get on type thing here and there when they need to. But it's never like, they never ever overstep into the creative process. And we make sure that we don't force the other way it doesn't work the other way around either. We're not telling whatever they bring to the table the business side brings, we're always they norm know more about that. So, it's constantly just communicating healthily. And if there's ever maybe a disagreement here or there, we just try to, like I said it's nobody tries to take the lead on it and like say this is what's happening. It's always just like what's going to be the best option. But yeah, we've never really had any problem creative team business teams.
Colby Harris: button heads.
Dylan Basse: Button heads, knot. Always been one big collaborative effort for sure.
Colby Harris: I'm sure that's really helpful for you too, because that sometimes I think it feels way better to find something for yourself. Like even if they instead of them coming to you and saying hey change this sort of style or the way you're playing and you find that, oh hey, that actually I like the way that that sounds or works for this song. So, we've kind of talked a lot about a lot different of these positives to in a number of negatives. So, when we talk about the challenges, we've said that grind just in and out of going to shows producing the music COVID to mention.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Colby Harris: What would you say and you could take this however you want either as a musician or just as Dylan Basse as a person. What would you say the biggest challenge has been in this pursuit of fulfilling your dreams as a musician?
Dylan Basse: You're going to make a lot of sacrifices. You're gone a lot. There's life goes on without you when you're gone. You're on the road you're pursuing it, but the people your friends and family they're still living their lives. You come back and my brother's like maybe an inch or two taller and he's, I saw him basketball the other day I was like, whoa, you got good man. Like he's killing it and but like I didn't, you don't see necessarily you have to, you miss funerals, you miss weddings, you miss birthdays. There's a lot of things that you have to sacrifice and it is that's I would easily say it's probably the toughest part is maybe missing some of the things that you wouldn’t have. I mean I would say that it's worth it. This is still my dream still pursuing what I want to do. But yeah, there's a lot of sacrifices that you have to make.
Colby Harris: Yeah, and well I think back to like you said that self-awareness too. Like the sacrifices that you make. I would like to believe that a lot of the decisions that I make for myself and the pursuit of what I'm passionate about those people would back me up. Like it's hard in your mind to process that of like I'm making this big sacrifice and not put that weight on your shoulders when that person would want to lift that off you. Like don't be burdened that that you can't be there. So, on the flip side of that, one thing I was actually I spoke at Fernandina about two or three weeks ago to the kids about kind of what I've learned since leaving high school and about creating success. And the first thing that I wanted to tell them was, you have to define success for yourself.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Colby Harris: Like you're now almost grown not your teachers not your parents not your neighbor like you're going to have to define that for yourself and we've kind of talked a good bit about what success is for the band and what it's looked like the ups and downs. But what would you define as success in what you've been doing and for yourself?
Dylan Basse: I'd say success is to be able to continue doing what you love and being able to support yourself in doing so. That is where I've found that I've had success. The fact that I now like the band pays rent for like everybody we're slowly being able to sustain what we're doing. And also, as long as you're like I said, as long as you're loving what you're doing, I think that is the definition of success. Living life, like I mean if you're not happy with what you're doing, I don't know what are you doing. I think you should be even and if music doesn't work out, okay, just going to make sure that I'm pursuing something that I love doing. So far that is where I've been able to find peace of mind and a little bit of success in FlipTurn is I'm able to sustain now more of just going out and doing what I love doing. It's absolutely like my favorite thing in the entire world. So yeah.
Colby Harris: It's exactly how I described it to the kids because I've there, I had a few different case dosages and there's people I know that are making half a million dollars a year. But they do love what they're doing and the same guy making 30 or 40 and loves what he's doing and he's still taking care of his body and his mind and the people around him whether that's monetarily or just through your presence. That is successful, because that person views themselves as successful, right? They're kind of fulfilling that that notion of what it means for them. Again, that was kind of my whole big thing. It's like what you want figuring that out.
Dylan Basse: Yeah.
Colby Harris: Brian, you have any other question?
Brian Harbin: Yeah, I just had one last question is so what is, can you kind of share with us what is your mentality to kind of stay grounded to really appreciate everything that you're going through but also staying, obviously wanted to continue to grow. Is there a certain mentality that you feel like you have or that you're constantly reminding yourself along the way?
Dylan Basse: Yeah, like definitely the mentality of just wanting to get better at what you're doing constantly wanting to make sure that you're not being complacent or like accepting like what's going on or what's happening. Just always trying to improve whether it's getting better at learning a few new chord progressions or learning like a different way of singing or just make the production of your songs. If it's getting better, I think that's the constant mentality that we've been trying to have is just keep trying to get better. Never trying to be happy. Obviously like I'm proud of the music that we've made, but I'm never.
Colby Harris: Never complacent.
Dylan Basse: Never complacent with it. No, I want to make sure that the next project is always better than the last, that the next show is always better than the last. So, that's I think the mentality that we've tried to have.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, I love it even just 1% better each time.
Dylan Basse: Yeah. And that was a big baseball thing a coach probably say every day. 1% better.
Brian Harbin: That's right.
Dylan Basse: It's like, okay, but like yeah, that's absolutely so true. Just because, it adds up. Absolutely over time.
Colby Harris: Oh, for sure.
Dylan Basse: So yeah.
Colby Harris: I mean, I think it's definitely prevalent and what you guys have been doing, man. I think the 1% applies, when you go from ten people in the crowd to 11 to 40, you're at 100 and then 1,000 then. Just more and more for sure. So, it's thrill to have you here today man. I think I know I told you.
Dylan Basse: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Colby Harris: Oh, absolutely man. This is what we love to do tell stories share what people are going through. I mean you're like I said our first musician we've had just an array of people on here, and I think the coolest part is it's a notion that a lot of what people are going through and what they experience in that pursuit is very similar. We've had physicians’, athletes, now musicians’ real estate agents and everyone kind of has these similar things and that's just really what we believe and it's like there is kind of a blueprint of mindset, habits.
Dylan Basse: Yes.
Colby Harris: That will kind of help you get to where you want to be whatever it might.
Dylan Basse: Every industry is different but the mindset that you take to it for sure should always be, I think is definitely commonly found. I have a lot of friends that do very different things to me, but if they are having success there it's because we have the same, trying to have the same mindsets. So yeah.
Colby Harris: Cool man. Well, again tell us a little bit, where can our listeners or anyone out there catch up with your music, your socials anything of that nature?
Dylan Basse: Yeah. You can any streaming platform you can find us on. We're on social media, on Instagram. We're on Twitter. We're on Facebook. We're pretty much everywhere. Just Flip Turn Band. That's us. Yeah. Definitely check us out. Check out our and also not the plug but our new album Shadow Glow. Just put it out a few months ago. So, definitely check that out.
Colby Harris: You're going to want to check it out. Big fan.
Dylan Basse: Heck yeah.
Brian Harbin: Oh wait, real quick. Last thing with the Grit Creed.
Dylan Basse: Oh yeah.
Brian Harbin: That I was curious.
Colby Harris: Yeah, sorry about that. Yeah, so of course I forget what part of the great creed resonates most with you and why as our 12 principles?
Dylan Basse: Easily, this one, “I'm someday going to be what I'm now becoming”. That one stuck out the most there was, what's his name? Christopher Reeds. Christopher Reeves the old he was a superman in the 80s and there was a quote that he had that when I saw it or heard it somewhere for the first time, it stuck with me so much. I got it like tattooed on my arm, just because it was so I don't know, I so moving, I guess. But the quote was it's I know I'm blanking oh my gosh. But it's like oh yeah, okay. “At first our dreams seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and when we summon the will, they become inevitable”. And I think that when I heard that it really like resonated with me just because it was every day that you keep pursuing what you're doing. It becomes a little you see it the dream become a little more real until finally, you're like maybe there is that moment of, oh, like I did it type moment. Like I said definitely do not feel like I've had that at all, but I still am in pursuit of it might have felt very impossible years ago. But it's starting to feel a little more real a lot of thing goals bucket list things that I've always wanted to do have happened. And you just keep pursuing it, and the more stuff that you want to happen it starts to happen.
It's kind of just like oh this is if you keep doing this you keep pursuing keep having the mentality, it's just the picture everything becomes a little more real. So, that this one, yeah.
Brian Harbin: Love it.
Dylan Basse: Definitely.
Colby Harris: Yeah, me too man I'll tell you the music thing one day changes maybe you got this little those motivational videos might come back out of you in another performance.
Dylan Basse: Maybe. Yeah, like I said music's the goal, but the reality of life is things don't always happen the way you want them to but as long as I'm pursuing something that I am passionate about and love, then I'm going to be happy hopefully. That's the goal.
Colby Harris: Well, we've loved watching it man and I'm super excited for everyone to be able to hear this everyone that listens to your music or might get interested in your music because this again just really appreciate you coming on being vulnerable talking about your story. I know that out there there's going to be people that are wanting to do what you've done and now they've got the toolbox to be able to go out and do that. so, really appreciate you being here today.
Dylan Basse: Of course. Yeah, thank you so much this is great.
Colby Harris: Thanks, man. Well, that's it for us today at The Grit. org podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Share it with someone you think it would resonate with or impact. As always, we appreciate you tuning in for another episode of “TheGrit.org” Podcast.