Meet Dylan Fellows | Musician & Luthier

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dylan Fellows and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dylan, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
What does it mean to give up? For me, one of the many things that brings my life joy and meaning is making music, but it does not generate enough income to sustain my lifestyle. When I was younger and struggling to find my footing, I often considered “giving up”, but that would have been giving in to laziness, self-doubt, and rigid expectations.

It’s easy to get stuck in binary thoughts – perseverance vs hopelessness, late nights vs low output, friends and family vs your passion – but life isn’t meant to be lived like that. Giving up should never be an option if you find joy and meaning in your pursuit, but you also shouldn’t kill yourself trying to make something work. The solution is two things that work in unison: the willingness to pivot, and the ability to find joy in the act – not the outcome.

If you’re frustrated with the reactions (or lack of) from the public, adapt and be willing to change. Find new ways to generate revenue besides general stream-count, incorporate new elements into your sound, and find your faults and improve. At the same time, don’t live the next ten years of your life in misery with the hope that it’ll all be worth it in the end, because there’s a chance that the payoff will either never come, or won’t bring as much satisfaction as you imagined. Don’t focus so much on fame or ‘success’. Focus on enjoying the process. Remember why you are doing what you do – because it brings you joy, and you are (presumably) good at it. If that’s true, then the question of whether to persevere or retire shouldn’t even cross your mind.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a musician from Virginia Highlands who works under the name of Visc and Peachflame, though I also have a few upcoming currently-unnamed projects. While Covid definitely took the wind out of my sails, I’m excited to get out into the world again and share my music with as many people as possible — both willing and unwilling!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Eating is one of the main joys in life. Everyone knows that the food pyramid should really be simplified into two categories: tacos/burritos, and burgers. If a friend was visiting for a week, the first thing I’d do is take them to Grindhouse to get a killer burger. After that, I’d like to wash that burger down with a nice beer from Moe’s n Joe’s, or a Margarita from El Taco — or both!

While eating is great, it’s also important to exercise your body and work off some of the gelatinous additions that a burger, beer, and margarita can build up. To make sure my friend stays nice and healthy, I’d top off the burger/beer breakfast with a nice round or two of bowling.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A few people that are always there to help me hone my songwriting skills and bounce ideas off of are Justis Cook, Daniel Clark, and Joe Jonker, all of which are Atlanta-area musicians.

Website: vivavisc.com

Instagram: @viscmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VivaVisc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe7d8RoXYEn4OaSGSu-M8tw