Carter Vail‘s birthday was Wednesday, Jan. 15, and there was a good chance he’d be signing a record deal by the end of the day with a major label. If so it would be a very happy 28th for one of Wilton’s favorite sons.
Towering around 6 feet 4 inches, fit, amiable and confident, Vail also exudes a vibe that feels centered and sincerely humble. The musician and creator has literally and figuratively struck a chord with his music and his comedic writing, and while he’s been dedicating himself to his craft for 10 years now, it looks like only the start of things.
“I started writing songs in high school,” he said, having begun learning to play guitar at age eight. “I started taking it really seriously when I got to college.”
Now, in the last few months, Vail has been written up in Rolling Stone, which called him “a lovesick cowboy for a digital age,” and last month he was the subject of a profile in The New York Times.
Vail, who enjoys 1.1 million followers on Instagram, hit significant viral fame with his 30-second video and song “Dirt Man,” which he released in August. The song, a cautionary one-liner about men keeping some dirt under their pillow in case the Dirt Man comes to town, spawned an explosion of followers and fan art for Vail, as well as numerous offers from record labels.
“It’s been cool … It’s super fun,” he said, stepping away from an increasingly busy schedule for an interview near his Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles.
“Once some of the funny songs started taking off, all of a sudden a ton of labels reached out,” he said, with a multitude of short videos songs available throughout his social media sites, including “Knives,” “Frogs,” “Let Me See That Hog,” and the infectious “Sh*t.”
“We spoke to every major label there is and that was pretty wild, especially since it was mostly off the song ‘Dirt Man,’ which is a f***ing stupid song,” Vail said. “And all of a sudden we were talking to the head of Atlantic and Epic Music and all these huge labels and I was like, ‘Whoa! This is kind of the real deal.’”
After graduating from Wilton High School in 2015, Vail went and majored in audio production at the University of Miami.
“I needed something to engineer and I started writing songs kind of seriously,” he said. “Then, yeah, I’ve just kind of never stopped doing it since then. Even when no one was listening to my music, it’s just kind of the thing I’ve always been doing.”
Hoping to make his living with production, Vail and his college roommates made the move to Nashville after graduation, starting Happy Camper Recording.
“I’ve always liked engineering,” he said. “I thought post-college I was going to do more circuitry-based things. I had a job for two weeks manufacturing guitar pedals and I hated it. It was just soldering for eight hours a day and I remember after two weeks I called my parents and I was like, ‘I think I’m gonna not work. I think I’m not gonna do this,’ and they were like, ‘Okay, figure it out,’ and so I quit and just started producing music.”
“I was living with a bunch of musicians and they were amazing musicians, but I remember I wasn’t very good at actually producing the music and no one really hired us,” Vail said.
“Nashville was a lot cheaper than L.A., so we started out there … We didn’t make any money and we just ate black beans for probably two or three years,” he said. “It was a lot of fun though. It was a great way to develop musicianship and to develop production skills.”
Vail spent three years in Tennessee honing his craft, growing close with the musicians who formed his band, including drummer Garrett Fracol, bassist Reed Gainesm, and keyboardist Andre Bernier.
Though he learned a lot, he also came to find that Nashville wasn’t a good fit for him.
“It felt like the ceiling was a little lower there and the people that were in the in-crowd in Nashville didn’t want to let new folks into it,” he said. “Maybe that was me projecting onto the scene, but that’s how it felt. Where, in L.A., it feels very the American dream of it all, like a lot of opportunity out here.”
“I love being here,” he said. “I think there’s just so much going on all the time, so many creative people. You can’t beat it. It’s the best.”
Bob Riccio of Wilton was Vail’s first guitar teacher in elementary school.
“Carter was always open and confident for the opportunities to perform,” Riccio said. “He had a great singing voice, as well as his ability to accompany himself on the guitar.”
He said Vail used to perform regularly in small venues around town, and was always very serious about his studies, opening to learning music and technique.
“Carter has become a multi-talented producer, engineer, songwriter, musician and vocalist,” Riccio said, noting how proud he was of him. “I believe he has all the qualities he needs to have a successful career in music.”
Vail downplays his own abilities, explaining that while he can now play many different instruments adequately, he prefers the chance to work with musicians who exhibit real expertise.
“I rely heavily on my friends being good musicians, more so than me,” he said.
Vail noted that his greatest “superpower” has been an ability to wholeheartedly believe that, wherever he is on the gradual ladder of success, he is killing it and the best in the biz.
“So when I was in high school and I would play a show at, like Trackside, I would be like, ‘I’m the best this town has ever seen,’ and that I was amazing,” he said. “And then you look back like a month later and you go, ‘Oh, I sucked! But now I’m really good!’ and then a month later you say, ‘Now I’m good and was horrible.'”
“So I think I’m pretty good at suspending reality into thinking that I’m always doing well, so I’m pretty optimistic,” he said. “It’s a good skill. It’s fun and it’s taken some of the pressure off.”
After heading west to Los Angeles three years ago, Vail began playing out more with his band, producing more of his own material, and releasing several new works, including his most recent LP 100 Cowboys, which features a song called “Nashville.”
“It’s a little dancier,” Vail said of his more “serious” music, combining a bit of Western flavor with an alternative indy-rock sensibility.
In particular, Vail is grateful to have potentially found a record company that is showing equal interest in all the different kinds of music that he’s creating.
“I’m writing some stuff right now that I’m super excited about,” he said.
Vail explained that, when he writes, he’s not out to impart a message but ideally capture a feeling.
“It’s more like, if I’m gonna write a song, how am I feeling right now,” he said, “and then when I’m finished with the writing process, I look back and go, ‘Huh, I guess this song was about that.'”
“I love songs that have a good driving beat … Songs that you could listen to on a highway and it just feels like it goes the entire time,” he said. “I don’t ever really try to say something in my music.”
Later this month Vail begins a tour of Europe, which includes sizable venues across the continent. While his team is not ready to release details, he’ll also be embarking on that tour with a new record deal in his pocket — it turns out he did score that memorable 28th birthday present.
“The thing that matters the most to me is … just getting to get my stuff in front of more people,” he said.
“I love my life right now,” he said. “I’m having so much fun.”
This dude – I predict – is gonna make it big-time because he has an undying passion for his craft and is doing what he loves…
I love your story Carter. Good luck !…Keep going !
Hey Carter, Keep up the great work – you’re on your way – best of luck!
No one is nicer than Carter. He has been a sweet friend to my daughter Cayla for years. I kept saying – back in high school – that Carter should go into movies with those looks but Cayla kept coming back saying that he’s a musician. No one deserves success more.