Gus Dapperton grew up at the mall. The musical artist grew up in Warwick, New York, and “the closest spot that had all the stores to shop at was this mall called Galleria Mall in Middletown,” he tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. It’s where Dapperton and his friends would do everything. “We’d see movies. There was a Journeys in the mall and I definitely got skate shoes there … Going to the food court and taking free samples of the food. Sometimes we’d also be skateboarding in the mall and would get in trouble for that. It definitely was a nostalgic place for me going to the mall when I was younger,” he says.
Now, Dapperton is returning to his roots by partnering with Journeys for their Life On Loud campaign. As part of Journeys’s Life On Loud, Dapperton had the opportunity to remake the iconic ‘90s anthem “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals — the accompanying music video was fittingly filmed in a mall. “That music video… the original is so, so good. So I think just making sure [ours] was as cinematic as the one in the ‘90s and making sure it has the same energy [was important].” Dapperton worked with New Radicals frontman and original songwriter Gregg Alexander on the cover of the song. “Gregg was like, ‘Make sure you sing your heart out and dance your heart out.’”
And dance he did. The best shoes for dancing? “I’d say for this particular instance, Dr. Martens,” Dapperton says. “But honestly, I think Converse are good too.” Her Campus sat down with Dapperton to talk more about his dancing, musical influences, and his partnership with Journeys for their Life On Loud campaign.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You had this really cool opportunity to bring back the cult classic Anthem “You Get What You Give” with Gregg Alexander from New Radicals. What was it like for you combining the modern age with the past for this collaboration?
Well, first off, it’s one of my favorite songs of all time, hence why I think it was an easy collaboration for us. I had known Gregg for a while, so I think he was excited to have me sing on it.
I have covered songs pretty often and have learned over time how to keep the integrity of the tunes and while adding something new to them. But Gregg and his colleagues actually did most of the production, so they put sort of a modern spin on it with some disco inspiration and some pop inspiration. It was a fairly fluid collaboration, making it fit into this era.
It’s your favorite song of all time? Do you remember the first time you heard it?
Honestly, it’s weird. It’s one of the songs I don’t remember hearing for the first time, I just always have known it since I was a small child. I just remember always knowing it. I definitely have glimpses of me and my family listening to it in the car and playing it around the house when we were younger.
It’s also always been my karaoke song. I remember the first time I did it in karaoke I just went up and did it, and it was a big hit.
You mentioned that it’s really important for you to keep the integrity of the song when you’re working on the collaboration. Why was it so important for you to keep the soul of the song?
I think most great songs have some sort of a desperation and urgency in them, hence why they’re great. It’s obviously really intimidating to cover a song or try to make it sound like you’re not really trying to make it sound as good, but make it sound parallel to it in a unique way. So I really got in the studio with his team and we just sang all day long.
What was that day like for you, being in the studio recording with someone that you grew up listening to?
It’s always a really surreal feeling and I’m always extremely nervous before I go in.
I’m not classically trained. I am still figuring out how to do all the basic things that you’re supposed to know how to do if you’re a singer, but I think the one thing I have is, I always give it 110%.
Immediately, Gregg and the team made me feel like I was supposed to be there. So at first I was nervous and it was really surreal, but then we got into it and just felt really just like we were all just hanging out, having fun.
What visuals were important for you to keep from the original video, and what were you inspired to change?
The initial idea was to shoot the original video shot for shot — a ton of kids in the mall breaking in after hours and having fun. Gregg was like, make sure you sing your heart out and dance your heart out. And he particularly was a fan of my dance moves, so I just made sure to just really bring the energy with the dancing and performance.
The director, Stillz, I’m a huge fan of his. I’m really hyped that they were able to get him on this project. In the past, although I’m super involved in my own visuals, I think it’s sometimes tough to be in front of the camera performing and also behind the camera. So having someone that you trust behind the camera, that’s really amazing.
Did you spend a lot of time in the mall when you were a teenager?
Honestly, yeah. I grew up in a small town in upstate New York in Warwick, New York, and there were no fast food places, there were no big stores, and the closest spot that had all the stores to shop at was this mall called Galleria Mall in Middletown, New York. It was a little bit further away, and my mom was always reluctant to bring me and drop me off. She didn’t want me to get into trouble and be pranking people at the mall.
There was a Journeys in the mall and I got a lot of skate shoes there. I was always tearing through my skate shoes. We’d also go to the food court and take free samples of the food. It definitely was a nostalgic place for me. I think the original video captures that same kind of energy, so it was really fun just shooting in an empty mall. That was a really surreal experience as well. I’ve never been inside an empty mall before, so it was really cool.
Were you ever pulling pranks? Was your mom right about that?
Sometimes. We’d also be skateboarding in the mall and would get in trouble for that.
How did the visual of the mall become a representation of youth culture coming full circle in this day and age?
It’s definitely a place where kids would congregate to hang out and go shop and go to the movies and wherever, and it’s funny. I feel like that still holds up to this day and age — that hasn’t really changed. Going back-to-school shopping, it’s definitely something I did all the time when I was younger. I think it’s an important part of youth culture and growing up, going and getting new shoes, getting new clothes, getting new school supplies.
What about Life On Loud was it that drew you to this collaboration?
Well, kind of everything about it drew me to the collaboration. Getting to cover one of my favorite songs of all time, getting to work with one of my favorite artists and writers of all time, getting to work with Journeys. I always loved shopping at Journeys and in particular, they were the only store that had Dr. Martens, and Converse and Adidas. I would go there all the time. It’s important to me for it to be a brand that I actually have a personal connection to.
What are the best shoes at Journeys for dancing? What are your go-to dancing shoes?
For this video, you’ll notice I’m wearing some tassel loafers from Doc Martens. Usually I used to wear these jazz dress shoes to dance. But honestly, I think Converse are good, too. They sort of have a slippery bottom. So for doing the moonwalk, those are probably good.
One of the central lyrics in the song is, “We only get what we give.” What sort of impact are you hoping to leave, whether with this song, or just in general as a person or an artist?
It’s just exciting to introduce this song again to new people and new fans who probably haven’t heard it before. That lyric is sort of one of my mantras in how I think about making music and live. It’s like a protest to the politics and hierarchy of the world, and really just telling people to go for it and shoot your shot and be yourself and start and do your thing.
It feels like a real anthem to just starting and just being yourself and trying something new to me. I was never a musician or a singer or anything, but I just really loved music and thought that I had something to say. And so songs like that with those mantras inspired me to start.
You’ve made such amazing growth as an artist and I’m so excited to see how the video comes out.
It’s all about sort of growth. Growth and just trying new things. So yeah, I’m excited for everyone to see the video and hear the song for sure.