Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Dryes

Husband-wife duo The Dryes are taking over country music, and they have us dancing in our boots. Armed with a new single, “Take You Dancin’,” Derek and Katelyn Drye are mesmerizing listeners with their pitch-perfect harmonies. Pop Culturalist chatted with The Dryes about the track, their career, and the secret behind their success.

PC: How did you all discover your passion for music?
Derek: I kind of fell into it in middle school like most kids but eventually picked up the guitar in my freshman year of high school. I had this emotional reaction to hearing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music and how he talked through the guitar. I found out later that my mom, who passed, actually used to listen to him a lot when pregnant with me! A deep love for the blues is my background, which has its foothold in country for sure! Country came later when I discovered songwriting.

Katelyn: I sang very young, usually mimicking and putting on performances on the fireplace at home for my family! This was because my entire family is musical. Simple as that!

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your careers?
Katelyn: In the country world, it’ll have to be Little Big Town. Their discography is about as versatile as you can get, yet still authentic. It hasn’t conformed to the fads and has relevance and production that always sounds fresh.

PC: You all have had a lot of success in your careers. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Derek: There are plenty, but getting the call from our publicist, Mike Gowen, about Rolling Stone putting our very first single on their Top 10 Country Songs of the Week was the most unreal contrast to what we expected as an artist who just released their first single. This was for “Amen” in 2018. We got the call right before we did a hometown show, and we told the crowd the news right away. We received a standing ovation and were just on the biggest high after taking that first step out to the world with that release.

PC: You’re partners in music and in life. Is it a challenge to manage that dynamic?
Derek: It can be, but people don’t realize the huge advantage we have. Of course, it’s always necessary to create space outside of the fact that we oftentimes both wake up thinking about music and just be a couple. Our routine helps, and we’ve gotten pretty good at that, knowing that if we don’t, it just wouldn’t work. While that’s no easy task, once you’re past that spot of managing personal time, the rest is like a normal couple with healthy boundaries.

Katelyn: This is why it works on the professional front. As an artist, there’s usually no one that cares about your artistry as much as you, the artist, and since there are two of us, it’s a really special thing to share that. Because we know that each other wants the absolute best, we actually gain a different viewpoint through each other’s ideas and creative efforts. It might not always make sense because we are two people who see the world differently, but that trust allows the ultimate partnership in being open enough to hear each other out when we otherwise would think that I, myself, as the artist, know best.

Derek: Yeah. There is so much power to tap into because that creative contrast is exactly what makes leaders in other companies a deadly force and is why there are different roles for key leaders within a company. It’s a healthy confrontation, and we get the best result out of it.

PC: What’s one thing about the other that fans would be surprised to learn?
Katelyn: Derek’s music teacher throughout middle school and high school is actually married to my grade school music teacher! We actually didn’t realize it until a few years into dating. He, Phillip Riggs, actually won the 2016 Grammy Music Educator award, by the way!

PC: Tell us about your new single, “Take You Dancin’.” What inspired the track?
Katelyn: Derek was in a goofy mood one morning, spouting off funny phrases that didn’t make sense. He does that before we have a write, to get in the creative mood—usually while cooking breakfast! Our cowriters wanted to know what we wanted to write about, and he said, “I don’t know exactly, but I want it to be a list of things that I can’t wait for, and then say, ‘I can’t take my eyes off you, but I can take you dancin’.’” Greg Bates and Parker Welling started singing these insane lines about the details of the ultimate dive bar, and we all jumped in from there.

Derek: Yeah, I had this guitar lick in my head that came out at most sound checks, and I just stuck that along with that tagline she mentioned. I wanted something endearing and romantic lyrically, but with a honkytonk kind of swag.

Katelyn: Yeah, we even filmed the music video at a local American Legion veterans post where they host Honkytonk Tuesdays here in Nashville. It’s a perfect dive bar with a real authentic vibe that feels like you’re out in the country.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2020, what does the year hold for you?
Derek: Well, we really had a great 2019 by letting “War” and the other singles ride out and taking the time to write as much as we could. 2020 is all about getting those songs out there! We’ve written a lot and are continuing to, and I have full confidence that there is a timeless factor when the collaboration is right, especially here in Music City. We have a lot of talented Nashville songwriters who have helped us gather these stories and put them in a three-minute ditty. Parker Welling, Greg Bates, Jacob Sooter, and Mia Fieldes, to name a few.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Derek and Katelyn: Radiohead, Bon Iver, and Bethel Music.

PC: First album you bought?
Derek: Chumbawamba. Honest truth. Then my buddy handed me his Pearl Jam, Alanis Morissette, and Dave Matthews CDs. Game over from there—full grunge and jam band mode.

Katelyn: LeAnn Rimes! I can’t count how many times I tried to perfectly imitate her on “Blue” growing up.

PC: First concert you attended?
Katelyn: Backstreet Boys, for life!

Derek: Oh gosh, it had to be Dave Matthews Band. I was a total band nerd by then.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Katelyn: Shania Twain redefined boundaries in so many ways and appealed to my love for pop sounds with traditional instruments.

Derek: Stevie Ray’s Texas Flood, musically, because it is just full of complete soul and spilling your guts through an instrument. Lyrically, I’d have to say Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head album. Also, Katelyn and I made out to the entire thing without realizing it—until that first hit in “Politik” came on and scared the ish out of us! Great album for many reasons.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Derek: Red Rocks. I love being out West—the natural desert/mountain aesthetic—and this venue is just legendary.

Katelyn: Stereotypical choice, but no shame here: mine is the Ryman Auditorium!

PC: A must-have on the road?
Derek: Chipotle

Katelyn: Chipotle

To keep up with The Dryes, follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify.