Let’s Start A Band: Dalton Cyr’s screen debut in A History of Radness

Dalton Cyr is spreading his wings from stage to screen in the summer release of Amazon Studios‘ musical comedy A History of Radness. Written and produced by Andrew Green (Hannah Montana), A History of Radness captures the authentic experience of aspiring musicians forming their band and follows siblings Jack and Tessie from their less-than-cool middle school beginnings at Pleasant Meadows Middle School to the start of their musical careers. Together, they assemble a band of like-minded musicians, considered outsiders by fellow classmates. The 14-year-old singer/songwriter, recording artist, and actor from Jacksonville stars as Judd, the lead singer of the band. “The show is primarily about this band and how it got started. It’s very exciting. We already filmed the pilot. It was a lot of fun shooting with the crew, and the cast is really great,” says Cyr. “They are all musicians, so it was cool to film with them and hang out outside of work and talk about music and jam. It was such a positive environment.”

The project is also produced by Skot Bright (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Running Down a Dream) and features original music written by Hutch Harris of the post-pop-punk trio The Thermals with original score by James Iha (The Smashing Pumpkins, A Perfect Circle). Musician Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, Black Flag) guest stars as Coach Carlucci and Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino will also lend narration.

The first episode of A History of Radness is one of six kids-oriented pilots Amazon ordered that are slated to debut this summer. Like the Golden Globe-winning Transparent and other programs produced by Amazon, viewers’ feedback will decide whether A History of Radness gets picked up for a full season run. “I think one of the things that is unique about this project is that they cast people who were musical, that can really play instruments” says Dalton’s mom, Cindy. “And Dalton can really sing so I think that’s one of the things that makes this project really special.”

Cyr is new to television, but he is well known in Jacksonville for his original music and high-energy live performances. He wrote and recorded his first original song at age 10 and his first album at age 12. His second album, A New Day, was recorded in L.A. and Nashville in December 2014, along with a Christmas single, Christmas Time With You, which charted #56 across all radio stations nationwide.

He first caught the performance bug at 8 when he watched a friend perform in an elementary school musical program. Cyr was captivated and longed to be center stage, but his dreams were nearly derailed by a crippling stage fright. Fortunately, his parents, principal, and a supportive music teacher helped him to overcome his fears. “The whole year I went on and on about how I wanted to be the lead in the production, but as the year went on, I went from that to wanting to be in a supporting role to ‘maybe I could say a few lines’ to eventually saying I could just be a stage hand,” he says. “I had to work and get over my stage fright. If it wasn’t for them helping me, I wouldn’t be doing any of what I’m doing now.”

Cyr encourages young people to strive to be their best, work hard on their strengths, and work even harder at the things that may not come as easily. “It’s going to sound simple and really obvious, but play. Play all the time. If you want to be a singer, sing all the time. Focus on the details and ask yourself, ‘What am I doing good and what can I do better?’ You always want to be in a position where you can look back and see how far you’ve come. It’s going to feel uncomfortable trying to do things that you’re not great at yet, but that’s the important part. You’re not great yet. You have to work and try and fall down and get back up and keep working on it. You can always get better.”

Making the professional leap is helping Cyr redefine his future as an artist and a storyteller in any possible medium. “Art is what makes you think, art is what makes you reconsider, and art is storytelling. And that’s what I am, whether I’m doing it through music or acting or if I write a piece of poetry and it’s spoken word. It’s all storytelling. I know I came to Los Angeles as a musician who acts because I’ve been touring, albums, and writing, but I haven’t been doing that much acting. I stayed here and ended up doing a lot more acting, and things have balanced out really quick. It’s hard to say which one I like more. I just like storytelling and I will do it through what ever medium I can. If it’s music, let’s do it. If it’s acting, I’m up for it. I came from music and I will always come back to it no matter how much acting that I do.”

Cyr will embark on an east coast tour this summer and will have a special hometown performance July 18th on the main stage at the Riverside Arts Market. His latest CD A New Day is available on Itunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and his website www.daltoncyr.com. Follow Cyr on his official Facebook fan page and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/CyriousStuff.