The Summer Set’s Brian Dales – HuffPost 8.12.11
Mike Ragogna: In the last several years, we’ve seen the toll that fame in the music industry can have on a young artist, especially when they become famous in their teens. How have you guys avoided that so far?
Brian Dales: Well, I think for anyone of that age growing up in the entertainment world, whether as a musician or actor or what not, you’re growing up and going through the most vulnerable time of your life in the spotlight. I think, therefore, that it’s very easy in that situation to make a bad decision, and I’ve seen it happen to a lot of people. I feel like we’ve pretty much avoided those situations. Granted, our spotlight for the first few years of our career was considerably smaller than some. But we seem to be five people that have good heads on our shoulders. I mean, we’ve made our mistakes, but we’ve stayed out of trouble pretty well.
BD: I would say that this is a very internet savvy world, so you have to put yourself out there. The internet, to me, is the best and worst thing that’s happened to the music industry because now it’s the easiest and best way to get yourself out there. But it’s also the easiest and best way for people with no talent to be doing the same thing. (laughs) So, I think it’s very easy to get oversaturated. But, honestly, I would say take advantage of it and get some things recorded and get yourself out there. Once you get out on the internet, there are tons of social networking sites that you can use to push yourself and your music. Then try playing some gigs locally and develop a good local then regional fan base because once word spreads, you can start playing in different regions all over the country. A gradual growth in this circumstance is a very healthy growth. So, I think in today’s world with the internet and word of mouth combined, you can get pretty far.