The Dylan “Golden” Aycock Interview

Tell me about growing up in Tulsa, OK. What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music and what was it that initially fascinated you about it, more specifically the guitar? Was music relevant around your household growing up?

I spent most of my childhood playing outside with the neighbors and with friends. I skateboarded a lot from the age of 7 into my mid 20's and was really just only interested in that for many years. I did get very obsessed with "turntablism" in my teens and would spend hours everyday practicing. Had I channeled that energy into a traditional instrument I'd probably be better at guitar, or drums than I am, but I don't regret it. I still love hip hop as much as I did when I was younger. I grew up in a musical household so I was around it always. My dad is a songwriter and big record collector, so I heard a lot of diverse music in the house. My mother is a painter. I rebelled a bit from all the folk music and rock music I heard but some of it definitely stuck out as a kid like Tracy Chapman, The Innocence Mission, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Nirvana, Pearl Jam... Basically all the popular 90's grunge music that played on the radio and some of the folk and british folk music my dad was listening to. All those artists are still so deep in my subconscious I have a nostalgic overload when I hear any music from childhood.

Do you have any siblings? What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? When and where did you see your first concert that really made an impact on you in your formative years?

I have an older brother who plays music as well and grew up playing guitar. He's a very accomplished guitar and lap steel guitar player. He was much more interested in being a musician than I was growing up. I didn't start playing guitar until I was 25. I would hear my brother playing along to the black crows for hours and hours when we were kids. When I finally became interested in guitar it was after falling in love with Suni McGrath and Peter Walker's music. It made the guitar seem accessible and also a tool for creating a peaceful environment around me. I would escape into that music and feel transported into my own personal projection of what I thought the 60's were like. My friends and I would get dropped off downtown when we were still in elementary school and skateboard all day. That was pretty much my favorite thing to do when I was a kid was wander around the city on a skateboard. It kept me out of real trouble and gave me the best memories. I have complete autonomy as an adult but, there's nothing like the freedom you feel as a kid getting let loose. I went to lots of concerts as a child, sadly I can't remember many. I saw a lot of reggae artists at the Reggae Festival that used to happen in Tulsa. I got to see Rita and Ziggy Marley and that made an impact for sure. I also saw Counting Crows when their first album came out. As far as impactful concerts maybe Malcolm Holcombe and a local blues guitarist named Steve Pryor. He was a hero in this city and played with so much emotion, he passed away a few years back in a motorcycle accident. Malcolm is also one of those musicians who plays concerts completely uninhibited. It's something I respect because I know how hard it is to be present in front of an audience. I have always struggled with that. It's why I rarely play solo guitar music live. Growing up my parents took me to the Rentiesville Blues festival in this tiny town in Oklahoma. That also made a big impact because I got to stay up late and hang out in an old blues bar as a kid and here these old guys play til dawn.

Who were some of your earliest influences?

Musical influences I guess would be DJ Qbert, The Pharcyde, Blind Melon, Digable Planets, Dr. Octagon, Kool Keith, Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Chaka Khan, Madlib,  Chris Weisman, Ruth Garbus, Keith Murray, Das Efx, Squarepusher, Mark Kuykendall, Aphex Twin, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Bob Marley, Raekwon, Scarface, Eluvium, Mum, Audiopixel, Fourtet, The Books, Tae Meyulks, Robbie Basho, James Blackshaw, Bibio, Stephen Steinbrink, Andy M Stewart, Andy Irvine, Paul Brady, Vashti Bunyan, The Innocence Mission, Ry Cooder, Anne Briggs, Bill Frisell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Cannibal Ox, Jess Price, Cymande, D' Angelo, Itasca, Lake Mary, Chuck Johnson, Harris Newman, William Tyler, Brad Rose, John Fahey, Erykah Badu, Sarah Louise, Don Williams, MF DOOM, Gavin Bryars, Gogo Plumbay, Mazzy Star, Dj Shadow, Knxwledge, Joseph Allred, Leo Kotke, Chris Combs, Andrew Bones, Josh Raymer, Dabir Khan, Brad Mehldau, Nathan Salsburg, Nic Jones, Nick Drake, Otto A Totland, Norberto Lobo, Rick Danko, Planxty, Scott Tuma, Scott Hirsch, Tupac, Sandy Denny, Tia Blake, Emmanuelle Parrenin, my brother and my dad of course and about a ten thousand more artists.

I understand you also run Scissor Tail, a label you started in 2010. Tell me about launching the label and what has been the overall vision for releasing records. You’ve given alot of wonderful artists such Joseph Allred, Rosali, Sarah Louise, Hayden Pedigo and many others. What do you look for the most in artists when considering working with them? What are some of the most important elements for you when working on a project with someone?

The label started as a hobby to release music on cassette and not really over think it much. I love the "cassette culture" because it seemed very open minded and less interested in perfecting a song and more about the beauty of first thought - best thought. I still love that about cassettes and is why I still put them out and often spend more time on cassette releases than vinyl releases. I like to hand make the artwork for cassette releases and letterpress print the artwork. All the artists you mentioned are just really sweet people and make beautiful sincere music. I don't seek out a lot of artists, mostly they come to me via friends or I stumble upon it somehow. There's no vision for the label, I just attempt to release music that feels good and I try not to think about whether it will sell, or not. Some of the Scissor Tail artists are hermits and so am I so I can appreciate a person who loves to just make music at home and record and maybe not ever play live. I don't believe you have to have a drive for a career to make something special.

Did you participate in any groups prior to setting out as a solo artist? When and where did you play your very first gig and what was that experience like for you? 2012 saw the release of your debut album “Rise and Shine”. Tell me about writing and recording that album and the overall vision was for putting that project together.

I played turntables in some jazz groups and also play drums as my main instrument (as far as gigging goes). My first gig with a band was at a sushi place and then I played in a band called Mar that made shoegaze music. I played pedal steel in that band. Now days I mostly play drums for random jazz groups and occasionally play solo guitar. Perhaps I'll tour again with my friend Chaz someday but I'm not a big fan unless it's with good friends. I wrote Rise and Shine over a short period of time while my dad was in the hospital for a heart attack. I recorded some of the songs prior and some during that time. It was an album for him, that was why I did the initial pressing on his chest xrays. The second edition I screen printed a ribcage and hand painted the cover. When I was a kid he would wake me up by coming in my room and saying Rise and Shine!

2013-14 saw the release of your follow ups “The Blind Fold” and “Guitar Meanderings I”. Can you tell me about writing and recording those projects and the approach you wanted to take that differs from the previous album? How did the deal with Cabin Floor Esoterica, Jordan Spencer, come about?

The Blind Fold and Guitar Meanderings both are albums built out of improvisations. The Blind Fold has more post production and have songs that I tried to flesh out more while Guitar Meanderings is just that... Guitar Meanderings. I'm mostly improvising and compiling recordings of improvs that sound good to me. I've always been a huge fan of Cabin Floor Esoterica and I can't remember if I sent that to him or made it with him in mind but either way I'm honored to have been a part of that label and I still gather inspiration from Jordan's releases.

What would you say has been the overall vision for your music? What do you find yourself expressing, or exploring the most through your music? What have you got in the works as 2023 continues to roll out nearing Spring/Summer? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?

Hmm... I don't know really. I like to make music to let my mind wander off. I don't want to think about it much and hope that people listening also don't think about it much. It's traveling music I suppose. I know people talk down on nostalgia for some reason, but for me it's what makes music and life feel romantic, so if I can ever create something that has that outcome then I will be glad. I have an album under the name Talk West that actually came out today on vinyl. It's a reissue from an album I made for Preservation Records out of Australia. I guess that's all I can report on because I'm not focused on my own music right now. Maybe again sometime in the future, but right now it doesn't feel necessary.

Thanks for taking interest in what I do! 

NEW RELEASES:

John Fizer - Treasure Man (LP) 1977

Marc Emory - Listening Music / Anfang (LP) 1975

OUT NOW:

Marc Barreca - The Sleeper Wakes (LP) 1986

Tobacco City -Tobacco City, USA (LP)

Scott Hirsch - Lost Time Behind the Moon (LP)

Merry Airbrakes - Merry Airbrakes (LP) Reissue 1973

Rosali - Trouble Anyway (LP)

Chuck Johnson - Blood Moon Boulder (LP)