Pretty much every musician has a hobby outside of being broke and playing music. Whether it’s drawing and graphic design on the artistic side of things or even passing the time playing video games, you can likely count on your favorite artists having other artistic talents as well.
That’s why we’re stoked to bring you another edition of The Video Games That Shaped Me, where the premise is simple – we bring in a musician or other artist to discuss some of the video games they played growing up. Today, we’ve got singer/songwriter D.K. Lyons here to talk about everything from winning 16 virtual World Series championships to the awesome soundtracks in games like SSX: On Tour. His debut album, The Past (Romanticized), is out now – so give it a spin below! Taking influence from the likes of Tom Petty and early Goo Goo Dolls, Lyons’ music is a stirring cavalcade of emotions, so don’t miss out.
Hey, this is D.K. Lyons! While all of my friends grew up obsessed with traditional classics of the 2000s like Halo, COD, and Fortnite in modern times, my video game obsessions tended to come from simulating things that I was passionate about. So what does that mean?
Well starting off with my all-time favorite games, I grew up obsessed with baseball and actually at one point thought I wanted to be the general manager of my hometown Boston Red Sox. So my two favorite baseball games as a kid were Backyard Baseball 2003 and MLB2K6. And while I certainly loved the gameplay elements, I was actually more interested in simulating my dreams as a GM in 2K6, taking the St Louis Cardinals to 16 World Series Championships at the helm for 90 years, simulating all of the games and focusing in on trades, free agency, and drafting players. Talk about an obsession!
Secondly, I’m an avid skier, ski film maker, and fan of ski resort development (major nerd alert!). So I grew up obsessed with SSX on Tour for Gamecube, getting to simulate my dreams of becoming a pro freeskier, as well as the rare and insanely nerdy Ski Resort Tycoon on Windows, building ski areas from the ground up. And as is the case with many games, the soundtrack to SSX really opened up my eyes to a lot of music by artists I hadn’t been exposed to before (Jurassic 5, We Are Scientists, and Bloc Party). Me and my cousin still play to this day!
Finally, as a musician with my feverish desire to be a rock star, I can’t not mention playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band as I’m sure most musicians did. And while the exposure to music and memories of playing with friends still stay with me, it was once again the opportunity to simulate something I was passionate about that was always the draw, living out the dream of rising up the ranks as a rock star, developing a persona, and melting faces with amazing music.
And while I certainly played a plethora of non-passion driven games (I play a MEAN Mario Kart), my strongest attachments to video games from my youth come from that desire to simulate and play out dreams. And while baseball and skiing have receded to more informal passions for me, the music desire is stronger and closer than ever.
About D.K. Lyons:
D.K. Lyons emerged with charisma and strength on his debut album, The Past (Romanticized) which was released on June 26th. Spending years pouring his stories and life experiences into this well-polished 12 song release, D.K. ensured that The Past (Romanticized) was wholly authentic to all that he is. From the lyrics and instrumentation to the visual aspects of the album, everything about this debut release speaks to a part of D.K. Lead singles “Danger” and “Shades of Amber” have bright, visually appealing music videos that help further tell the underlying story behind the songs. July 17th saw the drop of his newest music video for “Sleep with the Lights On”, which you can also watch below.
