Another budding San Clemente musical artist is anticipating the next step of his career on the heels of releasing his latest single, “Johnny D,” on Friday, March 3.
Dylan Lagastee, or DYLVN, went to Trabuco Hills High School but gained connections to peers in town through his father before moving to San Clemente soon after graduation.
Lagastee filmed the music video for “Johnny D,” a song about not forgetting a person’s true colors when they first show them, at The Lost Inferno.
He called San Clemente a special town that has greatly contributed to the kind of music he puts out.
“I can’t thank the town enough for being that influence on what I do, and I love calling this place home,” said Lagastee.
After growing up with a love for music because of its therapeutic impacts, and time spent learning to play the guitar with unrealized aspirations to be a singer, it was his San Clemente friends’ advice that convinced him to take the next step.
They sat him down and expressed their belief in his talent, encouraging him to embrace his uniqueness regardless of what others thought.
Hearing those words from people outside his family but who still knew him well, and who had their own relative musical success, was a motivating factor, according to Lagastee.
“Through that, I made my first song with them, and I really fell in love with that feeling of doing that,” he said. “From that point on, three years ago, I just kept searching for that feeling and haven’t ever stopped.”
“Dust of Love” was his first single release, coming out in March 2020. The song has been played nearly 500,000 times on Spotify, and Lagastee said that receiving local support in relation to a song about San Clemente was impactful.
The process of producing that song, which occurred with friends while not trying to please anyone but themselves, created the feeling that he tries to replicate with each new song on which he works.
Later into his career in 2022, Lagastee released four singles that culminated with the success of “Drunk on Drugs,” which accumulated 1.1 million Spotify streams, in addition to 4 million combined views on Instagram and TikTok.
Lagastee said the end of this past year was “where it all started to come together,” and his recent growth has confirmed his belief that he would be able to succeed in music.
Blink-182, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty are some of the influences on what he calls his soulful, raw approach to indie pop music. Post Malone holds a special place among that group, as well.
“(Post Malone) really honed in on just being yourself, and even if you got something different … hone in on that and really be proud of that, instead of overthinking about what’s working,” said Lagastee.
He added that he likes to blend several varying genres into his music and creating new sounds.
Expounding on the meaning of “Johnny D,” Lagastee recalled experiences where people are talking “straight past” him during their first interactions, only to change their tune later.
“A lot of times, when they find out there’s some good aspects about you, they come back around,” he said. “(The song’s) about not forgetting who they were at first, or not letting them back in because they see benefits in being with you.”
“Johnny D” ties into the rest of his upcoming EP, that signifies a breakthrough into becoming confident about the person Lagastee has grown to be.
Additionally, there’s a nostalgic feeling for him, in that he was able to reflect on past experiences during the record’s production.
Lagastee decided to film the video for “Johnny D” at the tiki-themed The Lost Inferno after it recently opened, when he went inside and recognized that its theme was from The Goonies, one of his favorite movies.
“It tied in with the ‘Johnny D’ song, because it’s kind of pirate-y and stuff, and it frickin’ couldn’t have been a better fit,” he said.
The opportunity to film in San Clemente was also special to Lagastee.
His new single is now available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as on YouTube. Lagastee can also be found on Instagram and TikTok @ThisIsDylvn.
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